I drowned my Coleman 502

Great stove the Coleman 502, but leaving it out in the rain isn't a good idea.

I drowned mine ...



The burner discs are difficult to reach without dismantling and hard to dry out. The stove won't light reliably to dry everything off until the discs are dried off - Catch 22. Could use a compressor air-line, but not everybody's got access to one. Hair dryer? Slow and difficult to explain to bystanders. Allow to dry naturally? Could do, but these things rust like blazes if left damp and it's grim to have to unscrew a rusted-up burner mounting disc (more on this in the stripdown)



Dismantling the stove is a more manly solution than labouring over it with a hair dryer, so I start by disconnecting the fuel supply pipe from the generator mounting component



I can then extract the generator assembly



The pan rest comes off when three crosshead screws are undone, and these three screws release the burner discs ...



... which alternate between plain and crinkle washers. There's a plain washer topping off each end of the sandwich



Now, this is what I've referred to in my opening paragraph as the burner mounting disc, but I daresay Coleman have a different name. It unscrews (anticlockwise) and can be a pain to unfasten if its been neglected. Mine's ok, so no trouble at all to unscrew ...



... and remove



The burner bowl then comes off ...



... and the next step's to unscrew these three long screws that hold the remaining assembly onto the tank



I've reached my picture limit, so I'll just set up a 'Reply' to finish the job off.

John

 

Out in the rain? Well, if you were backpaking and a sudden downpour that would be normal. Again another good pictorial of how to service a 502

Ron

 

Right, let's take a look at the mixing chamber, the component that the burner mounting disc screws onto



Here's the whole set of parts. I've no need to remove the valve and fuel-air tube from the tank on this occasion. I know they're working fine (checked them out when I got the stove)



That burner mounting disc again. I dry off the threads thoroughly. I really don't want to have to struggle with a rusted set of threads on another occasion. Lube? Graphite grease might be ok, but it gets hot (obviously), so I don't want the screw joint to bake solid



Assembly now. I insert the mixing chamber at this stage - have to, it won't fit through the access hole in the spacer ring unless assembled in this sequence (experience told me). Those three long screws should be tightened down just enough to hold the assembly secure without crushing the aluminium spacer ring. The burner mixing chamber is loose at this stage, even after those three screws are tightened up. (That burner mounting disc screws onto it remember?)



The burner bowl fits over the burner mixing chamber and sits in place ...



... held down securely by that burner mounting disc, a crucial component you'll have noticed



Here I'm stacking up the burner rings in the sequence I mentioned - plain, crinkle, plain, crinkle, plain, crinkle, plain ...



... and I've loosely fastened the burner cover plate disc down with the three fixing screws. Loosely fastened so that I can jiggle the disc stack into line to make an even stack with no disc or discs mounted out of position. I tighten up the three fixing screws with a crosshead screwdriver when I'm satisfied the assembly's correct



I re-insert the generator assembly and tighten up the mounting (clamping) nut prior to re-fastening the fuel supply pipe clench nut



The grate's been re-mounted with the three cross-head screws and I fire up the stove to test it. Works fine again



Regards,

John

 

John.. Another tutorial triumph.

Bravo.

 

I thought it might be handy for you Andrew. You've had a delivery by the Stove Stork of a 502 I think? Couldn't manage the Turm 39 by telepathy after all, sorry.

Well, yeah, Ron. I had it out in the garden to brew up on while working outside and inadvertently left it there overnight. Great stoves as I say, but not the best of designs to require a strip-down to get it working again if you get it wet. I tried lighting it and it gurgled and threw out a 4-inch tongue of yellow flame from a part of the burner, so I switched off. A Primus is all-weather I've noticed - yes, I've left them out in the rain too!

John

 

Excellent tutorial!

 

You're a better man than I am, Gunga Din! I think I'd be lazy and treat the 502 like a paraffin stove: prime it with meths to dissipate the moisture. Yours is ultimately, a much better approach.

 

very good! thank you for taking the time to take the pics and write this up - makes for a nice ref when and if i run into a 502...

(funny how all i seem to find are the 2- and 3-burners - never a 502 in the past five years of flea marketing in my neck of the woods)

 

Great series.

I have also had a few rained on colemans, they ran a little funky for a while but they eventually heated up and dried out. So they are not going to leave you high and, uh, wet.

 

Great tutorial. I got my first 502 a couple months back so it is good to know what is involved in a tear down.

As far as rain, I just figure with enough fuel to prime a water logged burner, you can start anything.

The Colemans are more prone to rain, probably due to a combination of the wafer burners collecting and holding water, and the burner/airtube(?) doing the same. In comparison what is to go wrong with a roarer type burner or even silent? I would think with a 502 you could shake out the majority of water and burn off the rest.

Still it would probably be worthwhile to tear down and clean these stoves once in it's life. Would be interesting to figure out what kind of lubricant to use for the threads. I would probably try either automotive Antisieze(silvery paste, works on exhaust bolts) or brake caliper grease(black high temp graphite grease), or maybe even just dry graphite.

I'll have to try this sometime soon, perhaps with my Model 2 Coleman that is almost to the repaint stage.

Thanks for the post.

Jim Henderson

 

Great job John!!!

I have been taking apart, putting together and taking pictures of the 502, 500, 501, and 501A lately. I had to fire up a Primus for tea just to get away from those damn Colemans.

Though not a "great looking" stove and maybe not a "Classic stove" it is a safe one I believe.
The burner bowl helps by giving a barrier between the flame and the fittings. Unlike its older brothers 501 and 501A.

Thanks for the pictures!

Cheers,
Jeff

 

Thanks Jeff.

The 501 THE 501!!! you say?

I found the following post on the Coleman 501 on the Old Town Yucca (Coleman) bulletin board, which I've been unable to create a link to, but reproduce with thanks and respect to the author, Bob Hitchcock. Sounds like the 501 and 501A need more than the shielding provided by the 502's burner bowl. I'm thinking maybe a concrete wall between stove and user!


"To All Readers of The Old Town Coleman Bulletin Board Service

"As most of you may have noticed, I do not post here on the BBS often. However, I must make exception to this particular thread. I have some great concerns about some rumors that people are talking about repairing 501 stoves. I feel that I would not ever want you to go into the bomb making business so I am making this post because that is what I think I would be doing if I did not take time to point out some VERY important facts about this particular stove.

1 This stove was put into production before it was thoroughly tested.

2 The first version was made with the off on valve on the far side of the generator and had the potential of not being able to shut it off if it had a generator failure.

3 The second version of this stove corrected the error of point one but created a second Very unsafe condition with the fact that the valve assembly was not able to handle the amount of heat generated by the stove.

4 When The Coleman Company discovered these errors they decided to completely scrap the 501 stove and a recall of all of the 501 stoves sold. Because this was done many years before it was known how to do a recall, Coleman did their VERY best job of having any stoves that were in the hands of retailers or wholesalers return them to the factory for full credit.

5 During this time some 501 and 501A stoves did get out to consumers and since this was long before consumer registration of a product, the small number that did get out were handled on a case by case basis. If a stove was taken to a Coleman authorized repair center the center was told to just give the customer a new 502 stove no matter how long they had had the stove. The repair station would then give the stove to their Coleman salesman and he then was given the responsibility of destroying the stove. This was usually done by using an ax on the stove.

6 The Coleman Company has always been committed to the safe operation of any product and took all reasonable action in this case because safety has always been of utmost importance to the company.

"The is reason I make this post is that safety is still IMPORTANT. If anyone is still trying to repair one of these stoves they are playing with a potential BOMB. I would suggest that if you have one of these stoves in your collection that you keep it in as close to perfect condition as possible but make sure it can NEVER be lit if it leaves your collection. One good way to do this is to remove the check valve and fill the tube below it with Epoxy and then replace the check valve before it hardens. Another would be to drill a hole in the fount so that it cannot hold fuel. Always remember that when you have one of these stoves and when you either sell it or give it to another person that you don’t want the responsibility of passing on a potential BOMB."

Thank you for your time,

Bob Hitchcock[/color]

 

A concrete wall would be a start. I prefer asking the mother-in-law to use it. jk

Bob Hitchcock is a great guy! I bought a generator from him for a 501A. He called me before he shipped it and asked if I was aware of the problems the 501 and 501A has. Truly a Gentleman.

The 501 lacked testing but also any logic. Not a first for Coleman. The slant generators comes to mind. It puzzles me why Coleman didn't move ahead with the 530 design. I guess it had been some time and the 530 didn't simmer. I do give Coleman credit for trying and being innovative.

Below are some simple pictures of the 501 business end. Note the two fittings before the control knob. A nice 23-25 mm between the fittings and the burner holes. If either fitting failed you would be hard pressed to control it I believe.




It is interesting to note that todays Coleman use that style of mixing chamber.

Sorry to go off topic. My fault.

Cheers,
Jeff

 

good photos.next time i work on mine i'll have a closer look..i just wave a propane torch around wet stove burners or give it a hot pre heat and they will kick over and run

 

John,
Outstanding tutorial, but needless. You could have just blown it out with compressed air! I know, I know... not nearly as much fun, but lots quicker! Keep em coming!!!

Mmmm, you could also store the stove in one of those plastic coffee cans, perfect size...

 

Fascinating, Jeff, first time I've seen close-up photos of the 501 burner setup. It makes it more obvious why it was a bad one. Off topic? Not a bit of it, grateful for that aside on the 501. Enlightening.

Cheers,

John

 

You're right, Steve, and I listed that as one of my options at the outset, but I had it in mind to make a topic out of the strip-down and reassembly. I was thinking of those without ready access to a compressor.

That said, last time I took an airline to a Coleman (lantern) to clear away some dust prior to dismantling it I took most of the paint and labels off!

All the best,

John

 

Hi, Presscall,

As usual, top notch stuff, Mate!! Well done, and much appreciated! Take care, and God Bless!

Every Good Wish,
Doc

 

A 502 fits into one of those big plastic coffee containers? Brilliant!

 

Thank you John!
Great break down. I have one that might just need the treatment!