Hello, I am sure some of you have seen the check valve removal tool for sale on ebay. The one for 22.95 USD plus shipping. I bought one a few weeks ago. I must say... beats the modified large slotted screwdriver. a lot. Works almost too well. My general thinking about check valves is why remove them. There is no seal to replace so why remove it. I have been lucky not to have a seized check valve ball. But being the fettler I am, I like to check out the condition of the check valve ball and space below the check valve. OCD maybe? I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts on the topic. I would say Coleman meant for the check valve to be removed. They most likely meant for a service center to do it. But is it really a tool that is needed? I believe one could get by without it. Cheers, Jeff
Seems like the only reason to remove a check valve would be to replace it. Other than that, the only thing I've been able to do is spray carb cleaner or other solvents to loosen stuck valves down into the tube and work it loose with the pump, etc. Usually comes loose after working with it a few minutes. If it don't come loose, it comes out! I've been able to get by with my giant screw drive just fine. I've been tempted to buy the tool, but bought stoves instead. sam
I have never used carb cleaner. Seems like it would do the trick though. I don't think the problem is rust but just old pump oil, age / and or gunk. Thanks, Jeff
Hi all: I never saw a "stuck" Coleman check valve that couldn't be freed. Lacquer thinner works much better than carb cleaner. Fill both pump tube and fount so it can attack the gunk from both sides and clean bottom of tank in the process, let sit over night. Empty then blow tube out with compressed air, oil and pump, valve will come free. The only times I had to remove a valve was when someone had messed it up by using a punch or other tool to free or remove valve. They do not go bad they just get stuck because of improper fuel usage. Mike...
There are those times when all the carb cleaner, lacquer thinner or some other cleaner just will not work on bad check valves. Don't forget that sometimes(rarely), the check balls get rusty and hence, pitted. They just will not seal correctly inside the check valve body. It will always leak. Then one has no choice but to remove the old check valve and get a new one. They're cheap enough and very easily obtained. Online, that is! And the best part is that these new check valves interchange with virtually anything Coleman made back to the 30s with very few exceptions. There were 3 sizes made over the years. Two of them interchange with each other provided you use the air stem that came with the check valve. Beginning with the very early stoves, the check valve has the same outside diameter as todays valves but where the air stem screws in, that inside diameter was wide(I don't know the exact dimension). Lanterns used a short air stem while the stoves used a longer stem. The late model check valves sold today has the same outside diameter for the barrel but the inside diameter is narrower, hence, air stems won't interchange. Also, today's air stems are the same length whether for lanterns or stoves. But for an early stove from the 20s up to about the early 50s, stoves used the long air stem and the new ones today might, and I emphasize might affect the air pump stroke in terms that one may not fully back the air pump out while pumping. But that is a minor problem overall. The older check valves can be found but one has to ask around or watch eBay closely. And not many around at that. For my old 413C stove, I really had to hunt for an original old style with the large inside diameter. Luckily I know a brother stovie from another forum and he hooked me up. The 3rd style check valve is what is termed, the "large" or "wide" barrel check and these were used on the 220B and Mil-Spec lanterns. As far as I know, they were not used on stoves. Now the Solus stove uses a different check valve, if I'm correct. More the European style, I believe, so not affect by the above. Sometimes, one obtains a stove that the air tube below the check valve is clogged up with gunk and so, will not pass air into the tank no matter how many times one pumps. Removing the check valve and trying to dislodge the gunk is far easier with the valve removed than not. Besides, if one has to do that and you know the check valve is good, at least the valve will be saved for re-use once the obstruction is cleared. For those who contemplate buying that $22 check valve removal tool on eBay, be warned it is made from poor quality steel and the tabs that fit into the check valve slot can and do break off. I know of several people on another forum who didn't want to spend the money on a good one and bought the eBay one instead and each one save one had the tabs broken off. And the check valve didn't budge. I have always found that the Coleman check valves are the most difficult to remove compared to anything AGM made or perhaps Akron. These have always been easy. Seems Coleman must have had a gorilla tighten down those damned check valves because they have always been the most difficult valves to remove. Joe
Hi Joe, Thank you for your comments! You know your Coleman's I forgot about the 3rd style of check valve. Need to get one of those Mil spec lanterns. I have a Canadian made 516 Solus stove with a check valve. One or more of the Solus stoves have a European style valve though. I can't remember sorry. Cheers, Jeff
Hi Jeff: I once had a Solus stove, American made and it did have a European style check valve. I found that quite by accident. I had brought back a SunFlame lantern from Bolivia a few years ago and after rebuilding the lantern, found that the check valve wouldn't hold pressure(and fuel). I noticed a type of soldering job around the base of the pump barrel and when I looked inside, found the oddest looking check valve I'd ever seen. Learned the hard way that someone had swapped out the complete pump barrel and check valve, in hindsight, with either probably a Primus or Optimus lantern. This guy had tons of them in a 12' x 12' room, stacked floor to ceiling! Anyway, I was checking some of my non-American lanterns and found that the check valve matched that of an Australian Aladdin pressure lantern that I had ( I learned later that this check valve matched other makes as well). I then ordered a new check valve on a hunch plus the removal tool. After all was said and done, I decided to check other lanterns in my collection plus a couple of stoves and found that my Solus used the very same check valve. I never knew that Coleman utilized such a different check valve compared to their normal ones. I then began to learn more about check valves in general of various makes. Hence, some of the knowledge I gained and try to impart.
If you fettle two or more Coleman products a year it is well worth investing in the tool. The difference between having and not having the tool is: You don't bugger up that stuck check valve that has to me removed. You can easily make removing and cleaning the check valve part of your normal refit and repair of a newly acquired lantern/stove. The tools work very well are quick and easy to use. Buy it from Mike at oldcoleman parts. He supports us so we should support him. He is a great guy to do business with and the CV tool he sells is well made and works on all the models.
Where in Canada or secure site can you buy a check valve tool? I've got a 10/91 #286 lantern with a seized and leaking check valve. Thanks
@Hoolgn welcome to CCS There are several listed on ebay. But first, have you tried cleaning the valve. They gum up with fuel residue and stick. Fill the pump tube with automotive paint thinners or acetone and let it soak through. Then force a couple of fills through using the pump.
The ones available on ebay are the cheap ones discussed above and are of poor quality. Order one from Old Coleman Parts https://www.oldcolemanparts.com/ They are a couple dollars more but worth the difference. Having the tool makes removing a check valve so easy and foolproof that it becomes a standard part of your rebuild routine. I can have a check valve out, cleaned and replaced in 5-10 minutes. For ones that are gummed up, removing the cv allows you to put it in a small jar of carb cleaner or other solvent, soak it and et it working again.
I agree with @cottage hill bill I have the tool from Old Coleman Parts. High quality and works every time.
I have the check valve removal tool, and used it only about three times. It is a high quality item, and allows rapid removal and cleaning of the valve. As discussed above, the valve ball can get gummed in place and not function. A friends stove leaked Coleman fuel on pumping, so it was an easy fix to remove the check valve, clean the ball and have it running good as new. It was Coleman 400A (Peak One) black stove. Leaking fuel from the pump could have had a very bad outcome. Cheers Simon Foxxx
True ... But..... With Coleman check valves, the rod has a needle valve that will positively 'lock' the valve shut by turning clockwise. If the Coleman check valve is leaking I keep my thumb over the hole and turn the rod clockwise to close before removing the thumb. Swedish style NRVs do not have that feature, but they are used with kerosene.
The impression I get, and my experiences have tended to mirror this as well, actual check valve removal is almost never really necessary for DIYers, folks just wanting to get Dad's stove or lantern hissing again, and is therefore probably a needless complication and expense. Cleaning the ball check of gum and varnish - yes - almost certainly a Good Idea, but it can be done even easier "in situ" without buggering up the stove or buying special tools. Usually. Not always, but almost always.
What happened (I was there) was that with each pump, with thumb over the air hole, more fuel spurted out. This was part of testing before we left on a three day tramping trip. Luckily, I had a stove too and took that one. The Coleman 400A was fixed easily, back in town. Well worth checking important things before you depart into the wilderness. Happy New Year, everyone! Cheers Simon Foxxx
