Hey all, I scored an old Coleman 502 Stove from my parents house while there for Thanksgiving Dinner. It's in pretty rough shape, but I'd like to try and restore it. The tank is in pretty good condition, I'm weary about sanding it down and repainting it. The "Coleman" sticker is the only part of the tank in rough shape. The burner bowl looks rough though, kinda rusty. The plunger isn't working at all, but I think I have a rebuild kit somewhere around here, somewhere, maybe. It even has the original price tag on it. I can barely make out the numbers on it though. I think it says 21.99 and is from a company that used CK for the logo, I don't remember any place local like that though. This should be a fun project I don't know how much actual cleaning I'll do on it, I kinda dig the worn look to it. Hopefully it won't take too much to get this thing going again.
I have one in essentially mint condition. I think I may have paid a bit more for it. The things are pretty well bullet proof. I'm pretty sure the plunger is the same as the one for the lantern, and the generator may be, too. I still use it now and again. It has a hellacious heat output, and simmers a lot better then many backpacking stoves. It's never going to replace my Whisperlite in my affections though.
This in my FB page, ***LINKY***, and you will find lots of information there. Feel free to ask any questions, lots of fart smellers....er....smart fellers hang out there. The tank is refered to as a "fount" and there are a couple basic checks to ensure you have a safe fount. Not alot to a Coleman stove, just the generator needs to be clean and remove the dirt dobber nest from the fuel/air tube. The valve needs to be in working order. Remove the pump and oil the leather with anything from motor oil to my favorite, 3-in-1 oil. Look on the bottom of the fount to find the Born On date. DC
Oh, by the way you are fixin' to be bit by a serious collecting bug!!! :haha: Worse than eating pretzels, once you start you can not stop. You will soon have Coleman stoves and lanterns everywhere. Sorry dude, it is like the moon and tide, just what happens once you get started. Coz
Haha... That's cool with me. I've been looking for a hobby to get into. Collecting Coleman equipment is something I could see myself getting into. I already have several new pieces I've picked up from retail over the years, so going on to older equipment seems natural. I've been on the hunt for an old two burner stove I remember from my youth. I hope it's put up in a better place than the 502 was.
I actually got the stove almost completely taken apart. I don't know if the rust will be able to be cleaned off the burner bowl though. Maybe it will, I'll keep working with it. Surprisingly the "Fount" wasn't that rusty inside, but it was still pretty full of old fuel. I'm guessing that helped some with keeping the rust off. I'd like to be able to remove the Fuel Tube Assembly out of the Fount to check it out, but I can't get it to budge loose. I may just leave it be and not worry about it. Everything else is cleaning up pretty good though.
You can't beat an old Coleman, can you? My dad swore by them, and we still have some his old pieces. We don't always take them with us, but they have a special place in our hearts. When we do bring them out, it's a special tribute to my dad, who taught us about the outdoors and helped us develop our reverence for it.
For the rust soak it in CLR, a product found in the kitchen cleaning suppies at your local supermarket. Ploish the base with any aluminium polish. To clean out the fount drop in some nuts and bolts with a "swig" of gasoline or camp fuel and shake, shake, shake to knock loose all the crud inside. Then flush out several times with camp fuel. DC ps, this is a small part of my collection.
I don't collect Coleman stuff- all my stuff is for use. My two-burner stove gets used several times a year. I'm keeping my eyes open for a 3-burner one. I had one once but it got stolen...I'm still carrying a grudge over that one. The 2-mantle lantern is my go-to power failure light. My Sportster stove is great for little fishing trips when I'm not far from the car and want to make a nice shore lunch. I'd love to come up with the two-piece case that makes a fry pan and a pot, but the ones I've seen are a bit pricey for my blood.
BG - You sure can't. There is quite a bit of nostalgia with these things. With the stove I picked up, it's one of the same stoves I remember using ever since my dad first started taking me camping. The really neat thing is it will only take a little TLC to get it working again, probably a bit more to get it looking nice. Coz - Nice collection. I can see it getting addicting. I already have it mind to hunt me up a Kerosene lantern. I did finally finish getting the stove completely apart this morning. Just needed to sleep on it to figure out how to remove the Fuel knob/tube assembly from the tank. I don't have a bench vise (yet), which would have been ideal. I would up improvising a vise on the back porch. I cut the end off a landscaping timber, since it's all I could find. I then screwed the timber to the handrail of the porch with the fuel tube assembly in between. It gave me the leverage I needed to get the tank started loose, and things unscrewed easily after that. Now, just to get all the parts cleaned up. I have the brass pieces polished up a little already. The rest is soaking in some vinegar/water, but I may have to switch the solution up a bit, it's not working to good on the tougher spots. I guess maybe that is how the term "Pickle Soak" came about. I'm still undecided on repainting the fount. I don't really have a good way to remove the old paint. I did find a place to order the right stickers though if I go through with that part of it. I'm thinking I might just clean it out and go with the worn look. It gives it character.
Since I had plenty of time over the weekend, I got it all cleaned up and put back together yesterday. I fueled it up and tried it out today. The stove fired right up. All I could think about was how nice it'd be to be out on a nice fishing trip, and be able to warm me up a good snack.
Here are a couple of before and afters. I know it's not that great, but I didn't have much to work with.
Nice pics. I just went down and dug mine out of the big pile o'gear and looked at the bottom. Mine was born in 1976. Also, I'd kind of forgotten, but mine has the black steel heat drum with it.
