Long ago my college adventure club had Coleman Canada 576's as group equipment. These were the first stoves I learned to use and maintain. 576's are rare these days. But the very similar Coleman 400's can be found. A beat-up Model 400-499, date stamp 5-81, landed in my lap. The stove was burned and sooty. Looked like a classic "Coleman fireball" from severe fuel flooding. I cleaned off the soot, decades of dirt, spiders, rust, etc. It cleaned up rather well. Tank paint and decals were intact. Tank internals were very clean. Seals and valves passed leak testing. Fueled it up, lit the burner, and it ran very well. At first anyway. A small leak occurred at the generator throttle lever (black knob lever). A small candle flame was spotted at location of pencil in photo below. Stove was shut down for repair. There was no remaining thread to tighten the packing. There are many useful posts here on Classic Camp Stoves, by many excellent stove fettlers. The references, photos, and discussion at Help creating / bending Coleman 400 Generator | Page 3 | Classic Camp Stoves was especially helpful. Thank you all! I removed the packing nut, extracted the black lever, removed the jet, and removed the pricker / throttle nib. Cleaned out the packing box. The original packing crumbled easily. Here I hit three problems that were not covered by former posters. (Maybe I missed it; if so, my apologies.) 1. The black knob lever was deeply pitted along the section that rides in the packing box. 2. Reassembling the lever into the valve is very difficult. The "S" tip actuator (that moves the pricker nib) has to zig-zag through a hole. This zig-zagging prevents the new packing from being inserted before, or at the same time, as the lever. Worse, there is no easy way to line up the "S" with the notch in the pricker nib. 3. Once getting the "S" properly inserted into the pricker nib, there now is not enough room to easily add the new packing. Packing box detail; Eventually I learned how to align the "S" to the pricker nib. The operating rod left marks on the pricker nib, showing that the nib needed to be withdrawn about 1/16" to allow the "S" bend to engage. Then repack the stuffing box with the black lever fully inserted. Requires multiple cycles of wrap, push in with a tiny screwdriver or wire, compress with nut, reopen nut, repeat. This is not easy but gets the job done. There must be a better and easier procedure. Coleman made these by the thousands on rapid production lines. Clearly I'm missing something. Perhaps Coleman kept the lever straight, making the bend near the packing nut after the packing box was tightened? I'm stumped. Anyway, here it is for the all important Tea Test; And by the way, it came with a matching Coleman 222 lantern (1-83). Filthy dirty but when cleaned up it appeared almost new. That fettle was very easy. Together they make a cute pair. Thanks again to all the Expert Fettlers at CCS who share their knowledge. You are great resources and fun folks! -Gasweld
There is a similar issue with the cleaning lever packing on some Coleman lanterns. This is a thread on how I did it. Repack Tip Cleaner - The Coleman Collectors Forum As you can see, your approach is very much the same. It's tedious but it works. I can't see any other way. Good job.
Thanks for your informative post. I have one of these too, but my issues is severe fuel flooding. When I screw the jet back in, should I be putting some sort of thread seal on the threads? What else might cause this flooding?
Personally I think when they made these at the factory they would have been straight and one of the last steps would be the bend and cap. I gave away a broken one of these generators but seems to me that you could straighten it out with heat to prevent breaking or mimic the curve on it. @fjfj765 any insight?
Flooding results when liquid fuel is not properly vaporized before reaching the jet. The jet seat does not play a significant role in fuel vaporization, other than maintaining a small back pressure in the generator tube. So the jet seat is unlikely to be the issue. You can check the orifice for wear (hole too big) and check the seating surface, but unless something is very wrong the jet is not likely the root cause. If your stove is flooding on startup try this test; Preheat the generator tube using a torch or dribbles of fuel. If preheat solves the flooding, the problem is in the on/off valve assembly. Specifically the fuel/air control system inside the tank, under the on/off valve. Clean the fuel/air control (early stoves) or Schrader valve (some later stoves). Cleaning usually solves the issue. Old Coleman Parts is a great source for detail drawings to show the parts layout. Search previous posts on this website (CCC) for comparison of the different fuel/air devices Coleman used in these stoves. First models used a “traditional” Coleman brass fuel/air tube. That is probably what you have. Later ones used a plastic fuel/air tube. A simpler method; try a tank wash & rinse to loosen the fuel/air tube without disassembly. I’ve not used this method but many other posters have. I have used carburetor cleaner additives to free up a gummy fuel/air tube in a lantern. YMMV. If your stove is randomly flooding during otherwise normal operation; Clean or replace the fuel/air control under the on/off valve as described above. The Coleman fuel/air control was their original selling point, making Coleman stoves “instant light” compared to competitors’ preheated stove designs. The drawback is the fuel/air system is difficult to access maintenance. One must remove the on/off valve from the tank to reach it. Hope this long-winded explanation helps, and best of luck repairing your stove!
A caution regarding flooded Coleman single burner stoves; this condition can cause the dreaded “Coleman Fireball.” Liquid fuel saturates the wadding inside the burner box, underneath the flame rings. Adding more fuel causes overflow. Burning fuel spills down the sides of the tank. It is a very bad experience. To prevent fireballs, turn off the flooded stove. Let it sit 30 minutes to evaporate the excess fuel. Then try starting again. Coleman Fireballs are rare but if you experience one, you’ll never forget. I test all white gas stoves in a large steel baking pan, with a steel bucket handy to cover it (smother the fire), in a large outdoor shed. Also keep a pair of pliers nearby to reach the shutoff valve. Gasoline stoves demand a lot of care and respect from operators.
Thoughts. The jog that engages the pricker is a precise bend. The lever handle bend isn't. I make the jog, throw on the brass bushing, packing (I use Teflon), and nut, and make the final bends by hand. No clue what Coleman did. Before you read anything below this paragraph, read this paragraph carefully!!! When heated to glow red hot, the braze used for assembly of these generators will melt. I heat these generators while they are fully supported by firebricks, so that melted braze won't result in an unscheduled disassembly. I have had success with loosening the packing but as far as possible, heating the graphite packing till red hot, and letting it cool gradually to restore sealing ability on bottomed out packings. The heat opens the pores of the graphite allowing it to be compressed again. The brass bushing on your generator is stuck down there. After heating it up and letting it cool gradually, you can pry it out with a dental pick.
@Greg Jones , I used to detest my 576 (same burner/generator) till I read and followed the directions to the letter. Lots of pumps as per directions. Then it is CRITICAL to have a match/flames something AT THE BURNER as you crack open valve. If you open valve and then go to strike a match, stove is flooded just that fast. Then, after stove lights, pump in more air as per directions!. My 576 now light like a dream, all I had to do was read the directions, duh.
