Coleman Generators

[tnt go east]

Ive been living with my coleman stove for a while now and it gives me excelent service...BUT....once in a while it blocks the generator with soot and so i have to pull the wire out give a clean with the blade of my trusty leatherman and then it works again for a whille.

Any advice on stove care??? What do you do???

Ive got a new genny for Africa.....have you used a coleman stove in the Dark Continent??? how did it like the petrol???

Not long Now!!!

[Threewheelbonnie]

The more basic the petrol the better my optimus stove and coleman lamp seem to like it. It's the detergents and other assorted gunk in EU petrol that seems to make soot.

A suitably bent paperclip has to be the ultimate solution, but putting a tank full of hideously expensive coleman fuel through seems to work too.

Andy

[danward79]

Other thing to take with you is a pump overhaul kit, contains all the washers etc for when it stops pumping

[edteamslr]

Just put a new generator in it. Saves time, hassle and produces a wonderful flame straight out of the packet. We should have done that rather than muddle along with the old one for 3/4 of the africa trip!

[Flyingdoctor]

I think you're just unlucky. I've used mine for the last 15 years and have only fitted one new generator, which I keep as a spare. I've also replaced the pump washer. The washer kit is cheap so carry that and remember to oil the one in the stove from time to time. Generally these cookers are bomb proof and thrive on daily use.

I've had no probs using whatever fuel is in the bike. The flame gets a bit sooty at altitude but even so mine has always worked.

[Ken and Carol]

Converted to a Coleman Dual Fuel in the USA in 1997 on our first RTW and still using it now. Have replaced the generator twice. Once when it got crushed in a little tumble and once when the internal wire broke. Cleaning for this stove and for any other petrol stove would be to purchase a small bottle of carburetor/fuel injection cleaner. We put about a cap full into the stove tank and the rest into the fuel tank of the bike... We do this probably every 4 to 6 months depending on use. Never have to worry about the clogged genny although we still carry the spare purchased in South Africa in 2000. Have seen MSR's running very poorly with the owners reluctant to pull them apart to clean but a cap or two of the cleaner and they come back to life. For convenience we prefer the single unit of the Coleman rather than the separate tank. Travelling with other bikers carrying either MSR's or Primuses was always interesting. Stopping for a cuppa on the side of the road ..it was always the Coleman that came out because it was clean and quick.

Ken and Carol

[Chris Scott]

Not all Coleman gear is great but my 533 lasted 10 years on the original generator, occasional plunger oiling and whatever came out of the pumps in the Sahara. As someone said, give it a blast with Coleman fuel once in a while - carb cleaner tip is good too. What killed it in the end was using too heavy pans. I now I have a Featherlight which I hope lasts even half as long.

Just back from a high-alt trip with a Primus RBJ ('red bottle job' - not mine). Sure enough after 3 weeks it was poked beyond repair.

On a moto a Coleman is all the stove you need.

Ch

[DAVSATO]

Originally Posted by Ken & Carol

Converted to a Coleman Dual Fuel in the USA in 1997 on our first RTW and still using it now. Have replaced the generator twice. Once when it got crushed in a little tumble and once when the internal wire broke. Cleaning for this stove and for any other petrol stove would be to purchase a small bottle of carburetor/fuel injection cleaner. We put about a cap full into the stove tank and the rest into the fuel tank of the bike... We do this probably every 4 to 6 months depending on use. Never have to worry about the clogged genny although we still carry the spare purchased in South Africa in 2000. Have seen MSR's running very poorly with the owners reluctant to pull them apart to clean but a cap or two of the cleaner and they come back to life. For convenience we prefer the single unit of the Coleman rather than the separate tank. Travelling with other bikers carrying either MSR's or Primuses was always interesting. Stopping for a cuppa on the side of the road ..it was always the Coleman that came out because it was clean and quick.

Ken and Carol

for reference, this stuff is called REDEX in UK

[apapadop]

Ah, splendid. I guess I've hit a corner case then with my Coleman 533 sooting like crazy about 40% of the time during its first month of use. For the record, I run it only on unleaded - that was the whole point!

I naturally expected it to "just work" and didn't pack an extra generator.

Will have to try out the various cleaning methods suggested, as sometimes it's just a nightmare to use - flames everywhere, pan on fire, worried my synthetic clothes may go up in flames with the wrong gust of wind etc etc, pretty charming really.

I'm generally useless at taking things apart and fixing them, so this will an interesting one... are there detailed instructions about how to clean this thing anywhere online?

Thanks

Alexandros