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Discussion in 'Stove Forum' started by Paul Hoffman, Aug 31, 2026 at 5:17 AM.

  1. Paul Hoffman United States

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    Location:
    PNW Washington
    I'm kinda junkie when comes to cool stuff, and camp stoves, well there pretty cool. I currently have three one is a Optimus 00 kerosene that I used quite a bit hiking in the Olympics and Cascade, that's my home area across the Puget Sound from Seattle. My other stoves are the coveted Coleman 520's both 1942 three legged. One was my dad's, he was a big Seattle Mountaineers member and proud #4 in R.E.I founder members COP register. I just wanted to say hi . Other hobbies Fishing and currently a addicted collecting old Shortwave radios to solve why they don't work and restore, sound familiar, most of them need new capacitors and out of tolerance resistors can also cause problems, we call them boat anchors. My dad's stove works but I plan on restoring it to it's glory days alot of mountaineers used these stoves back in the day but you guys already knew that. The other 520 needs a valve stem the splined end broke off it was like that when I found it at a yard sale missing control wheel marked down from 3.00 to 1.50 can you believe it, score! it also had one of the cooking pot/cover which I didn't have. If anybody has one of those short 2" valve stem or control wheel with inner spline please let me know. Paul Hoffman
     
  2. Ed Winskill

    Ed Winskill United States Subscriber

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    Aug 20, 2004
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    Location:
    Tacoma, Washinghton, USA
    Welcome to CCS.

    The Optimus 00 is a go-to stove of mine, and indeed it's my avatar photo, taken in 2008 at Echo Lake, up the Greenwater in the North Peak wilderness.

    My dad was also an early REI guy, with a card number in the low 100s.

    You've found a good place here at CCS!