Well, here you go a Coleman 550 that I found for $15 with all you see below. I'm not sure it was worth what I paid for it. It had some problems, big problems. Otherwise, according to model number this is the first 550 as it has no 'A' or 'B' in the number. As far as I know the stove has no date stamp anywhere except on the instructions that came with it. One difference to mention right off the bat is the fuel cap isn't the tethered type as on later 550s. I know, there are some of you out there that don't like the 550 series of stoves. That's ok, this isn't my favorite stove but I don't have a disdain for it either. I thought I would post what I have anyway for those that do. The first thing I noticed was the whole side of the stove where the main valve is from the burner to the instructions below there, it appeared to have been on fire. The instructions were singed to a nice little tan, obviously not from a tanning salon. As I got to playing with it, I turned the knob and the whole valve and fuel pickup moved like it was just hand tightened and loose to the tank. As you can see in the photos below, the main valve and fuel pickup looks brand new. I did no clean up of it and found it to be in perfect condition, as in new old stock condition. It probably is new but it sure wouldn't have fixed the stove. The second problem I found was that there was probably decades old layers of carbon deposits that were in the burner bowl (which the seller had attempted to scratch out before selling) and between each of the burner rings. I could not see any hole that would have let flames pass through. When I tore down the stove, I realized that the mixing chamber, the rings and burner bowl are one complete unit and are held together by a flared retainer tube. To get at the rings and clean them thoroughly, my only solution was to drill out the retainer. I managed to drill just enough of the flared tube so the retainer could let go of the stack but be usable when I put the parts back together. That appeared to work. Of course, the rings were stuck together until I could chip away at the deposits and break them loose from each other. I had to brush down each ring until every speck was gone. Tedious to be borne for sure. I think this also acted as a preservative as there was no rust nor was any of the rings worn thin. They were still stiff and strong. If you've never seen the inside of the mixing chamber before, well, it's interesting to see how simple it is. The generator passes through the wall of the main chamber and then through the wall of the air inlet tube, which gets it's air from beneath the burner bowl where there is a hole for that purpose. Once I got things cleaned up, I sandwiched everything back together and found that the chamber screw held things together quite nicely. One of the design items that I thought was interesting was the number of O-rings the main valve has! There are five O-rings that would have potentially needed replacing but since the valve and fuel pickup were new, I didn't have to. If you are refurbing yours, you will probably want to find these O-rings and replace them. Another design item is the main valve spindle is not threaded in! It is merely inserted until flush and then held on with a spring steel clip. I was a bit nervous about removing the clip since I could have busted it off in the process and would have permanently damaged the stove. Whew! I guess the valve has two O-rings, the first to stop fuel from passing, the other as a redundancy measure in case the first fails. But how would you know when the first O-ring failed? Hmmmmm. I installed the Coleman Fuel generator instead of the kerosene generator to keep the stove clean. The kerosene generator is the one on the left in the photo with the notched retaining nut. Ok, ok, I'll try out the kerosene gennie later for you kero-fuel fanatics! There are some other interesting details but I'll let you find them yourselves.
Sam, its a good stove, easy to light on coleman fuel. Only qualms would be soft aluminum pot supports so no heavy cast iron pots Ron
Wow! great job and thank you for the tear down! interesting that today's 550b does not come with the fiberglass matting - must have an owner add on as there's no indication of one in Coleman's parts listing or diagram for this model? EDIT: there *is* a part, #550-4615 "Insulation"! but no price and shown as 'Unavailable' (and not included with any recent 550b that i know of?) btw, i run kero in my 550b and it burns very clean - no soot whatsoever *IF* given a hot prime!
Actually, the pot supports and semi-windscreen are made of steel, so is the burner bowl. The main bowl is made of aluminum and the collar is too. The collar and outer bowl would collapse under heavy weight, probably the tank would too since it is made of the thinnest metal on the stove, but since it is pressurized, it'll hold up. It's lightweight, so only lightweight pots and pans for a couple, few people. It'll still hold up a few pounds but not much more than that. sam
I've noticed that these were the only models with the insulation. I had another before with the same insulation. I suppose it keeps everything underneath a bit cooler, but it must not have made a big difference so it is not included in the later models. I can't tell the difference, it's hot anyway! Thanks, sam
Here's the other one I had before. A few more details of the same model. This one as a different main valve and fuel pickup with same metal clip to retain the valve. I also forgot to mention, the first stove above was probably made in Canada since the instructions were printed in Canada. This stove has a stamping on the bottom of the tank, 1 - 88 Made in Canada. So, a strong indication that the first could have been made there too. You'll notice the insulation found under the burner bowl. Not found in later models. sam Coleman 550 Multi-Fuel Stove.
Excellent work, picture and description. A good while back there was some discussion about which 550 generator has the notched nut. Turns out, everyone, regardless of position, was right. While the US version of the gasoline generator has the notches, it is just the opposite for the Canandian made generators. For those, the kero generator has the notches as you described.
Here you go. The instructions apparently say that the kerosene generator has a chrome nut rather than the notched nut. Apparently the kero generator for this stove is not original. Also, according to the instructions, the main valve has to be changed to a kerosene valve, marked 'K', which has a straight tube rather than the typical fuel pickup tube. Makes me wonder what the later models' designs are. Coleman 550 parts diagram. Zoom of kerosene application. sam
Damn Canadian stoves! Great work Sam. The valve design was used on the 505B stoves also made in Canada. The thought was o-rings are better in cold conditions than graphite packings. I am not sure about that but the design of the valve and clip would make it easy to change orings. Thanks, Jeff
nice work and great photos,there is more than enough there for someone to follow and do their own work.you guys who strip down these stoves to the last O ring always get a pat on the back from me.if i try and the first screw won't turn i'll back off and find another project.
Thank you, Sam. I really enjoyed such a thorough exploration of that stove. Just the sort of detailed analysis I appreciate. I've an Apex stove which evidently has pretty much the same burner arrangement and it's interesting to see the interior of the riveted burner assembly. Similar arrangement on those little Coleman 222 lanterns. Wonderful post Sam! John
hello! nice to find this camp stove forum.nice job with your coleman ,i really enjoyed it and learned a lot.i just bought a coleman peak 1, in pretty bad condition, but i want to make it functional.i will make a thread with my work as it is my first camping stove which i try to fix.sry for my bad english!have fun all of you.
My Coleman 550a would also not stay lit. Here's how I fixed it: 1. Stripped the stove down. * All you need is an adjustable spanner and a smallish flat headed screw driver 2. Cleaned Generator Assembly: * Pulled out the wire from the brass generator and cleaned it with a scouring pad * Removed the threaded end piece when the fuel is expelled * Cleaned the brass body of the generator with some "Cillit Bang" cleaner (leave it to soak for 30 mins in the stuff that cleans coins) * Reassembled, re-threading the wire is tricky, but be patient. I have done this a few times now... 3. Cleaned Valve Assembly: * Cillit Bang soak again, plus I used a small pin to clear out the hole that sucks up the fuel (just don't widen it too much) 4. Reassemble My 20 year old stove is now working perfectly again after 15 years in the loft.
RE: Coleman Peak One 550-499 Hope it's okay to add on to this thread but it gave me a glimmer of hope to finally find someone who has/had the same stove as me. I bought this stove secondhand back in the early 90s in London from I think an Aussie who had toured/camped with it. It would be great to get a copy of the manual if at all possible. I've resurrected this from my garage and when I fired it up it wasn't happy at all it did fire up but every time I pumped it up the flame would eventually extinguish. I'd only used it only once in all this time on a camping trip about 10 years ago and I believe it worked fine for me at the time but I'd never serviced it. I've now taken the generator (removed wire) and valve off and left them to soak in carburettor cleaner overnight. Today I reassembled and it with a little protest it came to life What I've noticed that the control knob can be turned beyond it's apparent limit so when you turn it off if you are not careful you can end up turning it back on again if you go too far. Maybe I've not reassembled correctly as I hadn't noticed this before. I also haven't clean the burner bowl (mine has insulation) so maybe again a good soak in carburettor cleaner would help. What I also noticed is when turned down low/simmer mode(?) it tends to smell more, is this normal? Whilst on high there didn't seem to be half as many fumes if at all. I'm hoping to use if for camping and there will be occasions when I'll be wild camping out of sight and I'm not too keen on fumes giving me away. On top of that fumes tend to give me headaches!! I'm burning Coleman's fuel as it's cleaner. I know, there are some of you out there that don't like the 550 series of stoves. Earlier in the thread this was said and I'm wondering why?! Anyway I'll leave it at that for now.
Hello Gus, First off, no the stove should not smell during operation. At least mine doesn't. Only when turned off, it smells a bit, due to residual fumes left in the generator. So I think there is something amiss with the stove. Can you put some pictures up? Perhaps we can something obvious
Well it smells of fuel more so when turned down to low/simmer mode but if on medium/high it's fine and of course when turned off you can smell the fumes. I'm not sure if all Coleman stoves do this or it's just this model. I'll put up some photos for you.
Hi, does anyone know if/where the 550-499 instructions pictured in Sam's posting might be found? I don't see a copy in the reference library. If not, does anyone have a copy they'd be willing to share? Thanks!
Fortunate to find this thread. Recently got an early 550 made in Canada 1987. Mention here of five O rings in the valve has me puzzled. Can only find four. Cleaning the generator and re-threading that needle was 10% patience and 90% persistence. Plan on using this stove so looking at changing the flimsy aluminum collar with something more sturdy. Have the CF generator and valve. Wondering if the kero valve has an additional O ring somewhere? Any early 550 owners out there that can give me a clue? Thanks, Charlie
@Gus I completely forgot about this thread... Where you able to figure out why the stove smelled on low flame? Looking at your pictures I see small flames where the generator goes into the mixing chamber. That might be where the problem is. I also read about people thinking the aluminium support/ring is flimsy. I find this odd, because this is a 'lightweight' stove and wasn't meant to support heavy pots and pans. If one uses it with lightweight pots and pans, I think the original solution should be ok. @Lantern as for the rings, this I do not know. Perhaps poeple with more knowledge about the history of this stove might chime in.
