What kind of gas for coleman stove

The rest of this article explains the difference between Coleman Fuel and gasoline and gives a few recommendations on alternative fuels. You might also want to check out this article that lists 5 alternatives to Coleman fuel.

On paper Coleman fuel and gasoline seem like very similar products. White gas has flammability similar to gas without all the additives. Most burners and camping stoves will burn both white gas and unleaded gasoline.

Problems only start to come to light after long term use. Gas will eventually start to clog fuel lines and eat away at the inside of your stove. Gasoline has lots of additives which are great for your cars engine, but terrible for a Coleman Stove. Gasoline formulas change depending on where you live and the time of year. All the random additives and fuel stabilizers muddy the water further. This makes summer blend gas more efficient than winter. Gasoline stations in the United States sell three main grades of gasoline based on their octane level.

Regular gas is generally 87, Midgrade is 89 and Premium is These are great for your cars engine, but terrible for your stove. Ethanol-based gas opens up a whole other can of worms. Personally, I would only use gasoline in an emergency. Coleman fuel is a little more expensive, but a gallon goes a long way. Use regular gasoline at your own risk and take special precautions.

I would highly recommend cleaning out the fuel lines before any long camping trip. On a weekend trip you can probably get by without a stove, but longer than that would be terrible. You can only cook so much food over the campfire.

Empty out the stove and dispose of the remaining fuel. However, there are a couple of additional things you need to know:. While all of these things seem scary enough to put you off the scent, take comfort in this: the World Health Organization has reported that there is insufficient evidence that kerosene is a carcinogen.

This type of fuel may sound pretty familiar to you. It should! Most of us use unleaded gasoline every day when we drive. You may be surprised to know that campers with certain Coleman lanterns and stoves can use the same substance to power their own products. Unleaded gasoline is a fuel derived from crude oil — you know, the stuff that we drill for on those rigs in the ocean. This oil produces the highly flammable energy source we use to carry us through our lives.

Even though it seems like there could be very few things wrong with unleaded gas because many people use it frequently, it has its downsides for several different reasons. This one is easy. You can get it by the gallons for all of your camping and vehicular needs in one go.

The safety warnings about unleaded gasoline are more severe than others, though you should treat all with equal precaution. Propane is used to heat houses as well as stoves and lanterns. Many people use it in their homes as the main source of warmth during winter.

You know what you can use to power a Coleman camping stove or lantern, but which one is the best? It is really up to your situation and preference, but we have a recommendation based on these factors:. Just remember in the end to check out what kind of fuel your Coleman lantern or stove can use.

In fact, that can be dangerous. If you try and run diesel or kerosene in these it is a chore. You will need to downsize the jet and find a way to preheat and keep the generator hotter while it is running. I hope we wont have to resort to using diesel inside the stove. We have a 5 liter backup jerrycan, that should suffice. Hello Mr. My wife just gave me the grey tank for my birthday this month.

Did you put much amount of the nozzle cleaner solvent on the tank each time? No idea of the model number but it is the same as the one my father had.

We do use white gas… and have used it continually…. Hello Jim. Yeah, using white gas takes care of your cleaning problem. So glad I ran across this post. I bought a dual fuel coleman this summer on craigslist, used it once, then could never get it to light again.

Bought a propane stove in order to salvage my camping trip on the cape cod. However, I did already get rid of the gas lantern, which I always found a pain in the butt, as the stove was a twofer deal and I bought a propane electronic ignition lantern with it the craigslist one. I chucked it cause I figured I was gonna sell the gas stove. So my question is, do you use a gas lantern also? Is it possible to find the little propane tanks worldwide? At least now I know I can get it running again.

We used to have a kerosine lantern, but due to having to much stuff and now having some awesome Hella LEDs in and around the car, there is no need for us to have a lantern. And might take some time to hunt them down if you are not around mayor cities. But when you ask about little propane tanks, what exactly are you referring to?

I only came across them twice, in Costa Rica and Ecuador, and trust me I was looking. LEDs and headlamps are the best options, minimal size and low-draw! Thanks Brenton for chiming in here. In Europe I think they sell a kit with all the European adapters, there might be a U.

And take lots of mantels they might be a challenge to find, but they are small and light, just tape like six or more of them in a ziplock bag to the bottom of the lantern and then they wont get lost when you really need them in the dark either. They can be picked up at flea markets or garage sales and if you find them with no globe they are only a few bucks used, clean them up and they will last another 50 years..

I also add little amount of motor oil in pump unit for it feel the pump cup are dried at the first use. Did that amount of motor oil harming the check valve? I always left half tank of fuel and a 3 full stroke pumping pressure on the stove when keep it. I found that adequately preheating the especially in cold weather — lower than 30 F will greatly aid in the stove starting and burning hot. Much like the MSR stoves.

Also, pumping about 40 strokes in to the tank, opening the valve and then waiting till you actually hear the fuel mix coming out of the burner helps.

Just needs more pumping, etc. Can always be inventive when you run out of regular fuel! Thanks so much for the article and re-posting the videos! I just bought a Coleman 4M and found this very helpful. Looking forward to being on the road with a vintage Colman stove,. Just a helpful hint as to cleaning out the fuel tank. I found my stove and it had old gas in it. So I use a spray bottle nozzle with the tube as a siphon to empty the tank.

Worked great. Loved your story and photos by the way. The spray bottle pump never occurred to me. Yes, Dave, paper towel was the final drying tool. The rope is a better idea. Thank you for your comment. I love that rope trick no more looking like a fool jumping around trying to shake the last drop out, thanks. Uncooked clean rice poured into a tank and shaken for a couple minutes will clean the rust. Absord bad fuel. And leave the tank Shiny inside. Hello Stephen, we have a small 5 liter jerrycan which provides the necessary fuel for us for a while.

I only clean the generator at most once a year in the stove and maybe once every three to four years in a lantern and they get used hard, I do pressure canning and can entertain 5 stoves for 8 to 10 hours a day. I go thought the stove racks faster, yes they burn over time getting thinner and thinner.

About the only thing I do that most people overlook, I do filter the gas though a water absorbing felt fuel filter, the old Coleman fuel funnels came standard with this feature, but any funnel will work and you can buy some felt from a good outfitter,auto parts store or ebay, they also help to remove any junk in the fuel, like dirt, lint, sediment, and the funnel will reduce fuel spills..

If you want a stove that lasts look for the even older Coleman stoves with the copper colour tank with concave ends, they built them to last back in the day, not like the newer thin gauge pressed steel they use in the new ones, sure it might be one pound heavier but it will last twenty years longer..

Hello Thomas, when you say heat the generator. Are you talking about it while it still being attached to the tank?

Can you elaborate on your procedures? Also pulling the spring… Did you also great that? The newer Springs are different. They are very tough and have different coiling through the length. Rap it a few gently on a piece of wood,or brick or what ever you have straight up and down being mindful of the threads wood is ideal for this so any larger pieces of junk trapped inside will fall out and then I reheat it to make sure all the carbon is burnt off.

Thank you Thomas for that elaborate explanation! I will use it in practice the next time. I love my Coleman. The stove is in outdoor use since 34 years. Three times repainted. Original green, than black and now green again. At the last restoration i have paint in two layers. First a coating with zincpaint than heat-proof color.

I have used aluminium sheets with 1mm mounted with a distance of 2 mm onto the bottom, side walls in front, right and left, and edge protection at the front side and 15 cm from front to back right and left. Now there is no more effect from the heat to to the color and hopefully the next years no problems with rust.

By the way, the generator in use is still the first. I have only used white gas. Since 34 years the replacement generator is mounted on hold inside the box. In the U. Is that not the case outside the U. Hi Dave, yes you are correct, the red tanks are supposed to be for white gas.

But just the same we used it years on end with normal gasoline. I only add less than a soda bottle cap full of injector cleaner per tank filling. Thank you for the information and the great site. I appreciate you sharing a bit of your adventure with us. You can go on Coleman collectors forum and find out anything you would ever want to know about Coleman stoves or lanterns dating back to the teens. Really enjoyed your site. Great information.

I have a concern about using the coleman oven with a liquid gas stove as the oven hangs over the tank. My concern is over heating of the tank and generator with having a large oven directly above. Did you use your stove often? What is the longest length of time you have the oven going on the stove…at what temp.

Thank you in advance for you help. We have been baking bread and making cookies in several sessions, sometimes multiple consecutive sessions. The tank heats up a little indeed.

But it was never a concern to us. If you like you could easily shield it with a piece of aluminium foil. This article makes me want to fire it up. Congratulations on your buy. First see if it has any old fuel in there and maybe give it a rinse with some rice, as someone stated in the comments. Let us know how you faired.

In Central America, we ran out of Coleman stove. I used paint thinner and it worked! It is cleaner than gasoline less stove cleaning and it is available everywhere in the world.

In Latin America, it is called Tine. Just for reference. The main reason you get rust when using unleaded fuel is the alcohol in it. It draws moisture. If you can get non ethanol fuel you can eliminate this problem.

Testing fuel for ethanol is actually very simple, all you need is an old water bottle or glass bottle, a felt pen, some water and fuel you want to test. If you use a larger bottle, pour off the gas, and toss the water add some epson salts Magnesium sulfate, common bath salts to the bottle of gas shake it, let it settle, let it clump in the bottom and filter it again, and you will have ethanol free fuel..

I use the recreational unleaded available at some gas stations in the US. Seems to perform just like coleman fuel. Rec fuel does not have ethanol in it. Many stations carry pure gas non ethanol it is used in older model vehicles, lawn mowers, chainsaws, etc, or engines with carburators.

The newer model stove probably has a coating that compensates for the alcohol. As most newer cars are built to compensate for it as well. I also use this kind of stove about 35years, but always for outdoor cooking. What is your experience about cooking with this stove inside the landcruiser? No Problem?

I my opinion, in the coleman manual you can read about no indoor cooking.. Hello Michael, yes you are right, the stove is designed so that you should use it outside. We use it sporadically indoors, but only with at least two windows open in order to get sufficient fresh air inside. Hi Coen, ok. We will also use the stove sporadically indoor, with enough windows open. Thanks for your answer! I enjoyed reading your article while doing research on using unleaded gasoline in a SVEAR camping stove, and particularly liked the tip on adding a dash of fuel injector cleaner to the tank.

I used to fire up a number of these while working in the army to cook meals for the platoon, and found that regular maintenance and good preheating of the generators essential. Motor oil is my preferred choice. Also I have a space leather cup waiting for the original rubber to fail. After I used maybe 1 gallon of Coleman fuel, I decided to just use auto fuel in it. I buy Premium gas that has no Ethanol in it. I will probably take apart the generator to clean it though and put a shot of Mechanic in a bottle or other cleaning agent like you show in the gas can as well.

My Dad and I used to use an old Coleman two burner stove on our hunting trips every fall trough winter in Alabama. My Dad did all the cooking of course as I was 14 when we started hunting together.

He never had a problem with the stove I have no idea what model it is as I still have it and it still works , and I still use it when needed. I also have an old two mantle lantern that will stay lit on low all night, in a ventilated space, all night and produce enough light before dawn to get ready for hunting. I believe he used mostly kerosene mixed with Coleman Fuel to power these devices.

I do recall him using brake cleaner spray to clean the generators about once a month during the season, then at the end of season a full take apart cleaning. Both still work. Hope this helps. They will keep on serving you as long as you did what your dad did and handle them with care. He would be really pleased to see that you will put them to good use. Keeps the lights burning! Hi there, I was just wondering how often you used to have to clean the original F generator when running on petrol?

If you use it every day or if you use it only once a week. When we use it daily I think I will clean it every 3 or 4 months.