Here are a couple of my WWII military burners. The M-1941 and M-1942. Both great stoves. If the 1942 had flame control, it would be my all time favorite. Great design and rust free stainless. Way ahead of its time IMHO. A Coleman 520/M1941 And the Aladdin M-1942 They sound like little rocket motors. Mike
Coleman realized the main difficulty(removing the pot stand) and modded the 520 to the 530 after the war for civilian sale and the 536/M-1950 for the military. 3, or 4 easy access screws instead of that bastard center nut. Even worse on the 1942 without a special tool. I wish they would have retained the Coleman pump and check valve for the M-1950, then it would be my all time favorite....Are we seeing a pattern? Ok a 1942 with a Coleman pump and cv and flame control and you have the best gasoline stove of the 20th century. Single burner, at least. Mike
Ron, what specifically, have you had issues with working on these? I've done a LOT of them. Perhaps we can compare notes. Mike
hm, got me thinkin' would it be possible to franken-stove a coleman CV and pump assembly onto a m1950 / m1942 tank? I'd imagine some soldering would be in order but crazier has been done on the site that would at least address the pump issue some have - now onto pondering flame control
Bolexguy, I've been working a couple of iterations of just that or a couple of years now.(on and off when I get bored) The big trick is the air tube on the pump tube. See the curved tube in the drawing. Thats what make it so safe. Even if the check valve leaks, no liquid fuel comes back up the pump tube. Unlike the 1942 and 1950. I guess these had to be assembled prior to installing the tank bottom. ANYONE?? Anyway, my effort so far is a 1 lb Coleman propane bottle that I brazed the feet and pump tube from a rusted out 1950 onto. I know, it's not the check valve or pump I want, but that darn air tube is a bit*$ for me to figure out. That's as far as I've gotten and it holds pressure for months at least. I just haven't put a burner on it yet. It's the little things, right? HA! Coleman 520 patent drawing: Mike
Ok now you got me thinking. If you were to fabricate a new air tube by slicing a small brass tube longitudinally (a piece of pipe cut in half the long way) and solder the edges along the pump tube itself, and notch the hole to accept it, you would only have a small hole to fill. Or will that curved sob come out and go in there in one piece? Oh! do we need the FRANKEN warning here? Mike
Mike, had that type of stove before.......now long gone had I not sold it, I would have placed the vavle of a car tire and just pumped it with a bike pump as the original pump was too short Next I will see you thread that burner on to a coleman lantern tank wow! lotsa fuel to burn FRANKENSTOVE! Ron
Mike..that's what the inside of my 520 looks like --it's like looking at one of those medical books about your body and getting way too much information--
The black valve knob does 2 thing. 1 turns on the fuel. 2. Feeds top of the tank air into the fuel line when its opened a quarter turn or less. The needle controls the flame on these by simply blocking the jet. Mike
Hey Mike, Nice pics and diagram. Looks like you've got two great running stoves there and a nice little lighter too. Was there another angle on the diagram that showed the main fuel control knob? sam
Hey Sam, I posted the image files for the patent in the patents section here: Coleman 520 Patent Images The 8 page document was 14kb too large(404KB) to post in its entirety, so I just posted the images. The lighter is an IMCO Triplex Super 6700. It runs on Coleman fuel too. Mike
Mike: Great work and photos. I too believe the 520 for it's size is one of the best single burners ever. ( no need for priming even in high wind or rain,self contained gas tank,built in spare parts,sturdy feet and grate-will support a dutch oven,built in windscreen,protecting canister is also cook kit,will simmer well,attached funnel, chain connected to fill cap and funnel to prevent loss, war proven and time proven,and in an emergency will burn almost anything, (Coleman fuel is recommended for regular operation) and is extremely easy to fix if the occasion should arise but almost never does.)Priming cup was only added later in production to prevent snipers from spotting soldiers at night with pre-heating flame,It was removed in the 530 after the war because it has nothing to do with regular operation of the stove. Mike...
Mike, the only reason the curved tube works is because the filler port is sleeved so you can't over fill the tank. The same could be accomplished by sleeving the pump, and porting the sleeve so the air escape ports would be above the fuel level. Murph
I agree that the 520 is a great stove. Burns easily and hot and generally trouble-free. But the post war 530 must be the prettiest. A refined 520 with brass tank (last forever). The nickel plating (or is it chrome) gives a wipe clean stove that will last forever. The one design fault with the 530 is the lack of stabilising feet.
My M1941 right after boiling up for an evening cup of tea: A fresh Viton tank cap washer has replaced the swollen and perished nitrile one that went in only a few months ago.
Viton washers? Will have to try that. I use a lead washer in my 520 and never had to replace it. Thought one has to cinch it down a bit more than rubber,However they last forever. Mike...
I did just that with a Coleman 530 which i gave to my youngest son. I had to braize a new fitting and some nuts to the 220 lantern fount to make it fit but it works a treat and is stable as a rock. Be sure to purge the fount of any fuels before braizing. The standard Frankie warning applies. lance
