# What's the best campstove?



## Oldcountryboy (Feb 23, 2008)

For years and years I used the very same coleman campstove that I bought when I was 18 years old. Right up till 2 years ago when I finally retired it (34 years later). I went out and bought the cheaper Ozark Trail brand and it last two outings, which was one year apart. The third year I couldn't get it to work. For some reason the gas line which connects from the propane bottle to the campstove was clogged up and wouldn't release gas into the campstove. I changed the valve on the end of it, but that didn't solve the problem. 

I can't find campstoves using coleman fuel anymore, as they all use the propane bottle. But when I checked Coleman Brand campstove they are set up with the very same gas line/valve. Skeptical about buying this kind of setup again since the first one didn't work very long. 

What do you all use and have you had the same problem as I?


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## arcticow (Oct 8, 2006)

Our W Mart has the dual fuel Coleman stove,Coleman fuel or regular gas... They work and last like the Coleman's always have...


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## frankva (May 21, 2009)

LL Bean. Coleman brand.

It don't work, they make it right.

Check your fuel line/burner for spiders. Have had them go in over night on a propane version. 

People see that little hunk of black tape and think I am dust obsessed. No, I am nasty about 3' yellow flames before coffee in the dark.


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## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

it depends , do you set up camp a few feet from your bumper , and stay put for days , is it just you or do you like to cook for the hole crew.

it is hard to beat a coleman LP stove for most uses , they have small 6# tanks of LP now that refill just like the 20# tanks 

but i have a larger 2 burner camp chef that i really like if I am cooking for more than 2-4 people 
it has nice big cast iron burners easy to control flame , but it is no fun to carry i think it weighs 35 pounds and i have to feed it with a 20# tank but it will crank out food.


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## Wis Bang 2 (Jan 12, 2010)

I was just on their web site checking out their e z up canopies. The same white gas stove i bought 34 years ago, on sale, for $15.99 is still being sold. Cost just a bit more now...$149.00

That white gas stove and my Coleman road trip propane grill did all our cooking duties during Hurricane Sandy. 

As long as it is kept dry, that white gas lasts for years.


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## tryinhard (Jul 19, 2007)

Look for a Coleman outlet close to you. The one here constantly has a "blem" table where they put things that have gotten damaged during transit. Most of the stuff is just the outside packaging. I have seen $300 tents sell for $100 there.

Brian


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## Chuck R. (Apr 24, 2008)

Iâve been using the same Coleman 2-burner dual fuel since 1991; replaced the pump about 4 years ago. Itâs been to more than a few hunting camps, scouting trips, and power outages. It just keeps goingâ¦â¦

IF it ever does fail, Iâll replace with another. Iâve also got a pretty neat little single burner white gas stove for backpacking trips thatâs made by Brunton. 

Chuck


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## Oldcountryboy (Feb 23, 2008)

Well I looked around in two different walmarts with no luck. I guess I need to go online and order what I need. If I can get it to last another 34 years it''ll be the last one I'll ever have to buy. Hopefully I'll outlive it tho!


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## shawnlee (Apr 13, 2010)

Unless it is rusted out, almost every piece is available for replacement and even if it is, some people sell them for cheap when the burners stgop working and the box is still good.

If you do not feel like messin with it or do not know how......buing another new one that will last a long time is just as a good of a choice.


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

I've got a duel fuel Colman back pack stove that has been great for going on 18 years now. I use it as a heater in the deer blinds, to make coffee in a seven cup pot & warm up soup. I've cooked a nice meal on a fishing trip down a river in the canoe for almost a week. I have used it to melt bees wax in a big double boiler. A small griddle allows more that one thing to cook at once.
I found I can carry extra fuel in dried out water bottles I have painted red and labeled with a sharpie so I don't have to carry a full gallon jug. 


 Al


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## wildcat6 (Apr 5, 2011)

To be honest you just can't go wrong with the ole coleman. You can still find them just not really at Wal-Mart (at least around here) for the coleman fuel operated ones. They are a number of other places that sale them including Amazon. However, I bought a used a 1981 model from ebay and it works perfectly. For another $13 I bought a propane converter so I can run either coleman fuel or propane.


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## wildcat6 (Apr 5, 2011)

what exactly is wrong with your stove? Parts are very easy to come by and it is simple to work on. I bet it can be fixed for just a few bucks.


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## Oldcountryboy (Feb 23, 2008)

wildcat6 said:


> what exactly is wrong with your stove? Parts are very easy to come by and it is simple to work on. I bet it can be fixed for just a few bucks.


Actually it probably could be fixed easily, if I still got it. I haven't used it in 3 years so I'm not just sure where I've placed it. I remember it was leaking around the fitting next to the tank. But I think why I wanted something different is cause coleman campfluid was getting so expensive compared to a bottle of propane. My campstove was a old model and it didn't use duel fuel, just coleman fluid only. I might have to brave the elements and look around in my back storage building.

Well yesterday eveing I happened to be in the big city of Tulsa and on the way out I stopped by Sportsman Academy to see what they had. They had about 10 or 12 different models of campstoves for sale. But not a one of them used coleman or duel fuel. Everyone of them was propane only. 

So I don't know!


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## wannabechef (Nov 20, 2012)

Academy sells a house brand white gas for much less than Coleman brand.

Also, defending on the model Coleman you have, it can be converted to dual fuel.


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## Oldcountryboy (Feb 23, 2008)

wannabechef said:


> Academy sells a house brand white gas for much less than Coleman brand.
> 
> Also, defending on the model Coleman you have, it can be converted to dual fuel.


It can? It's a really old model. I bought it when I graduate high school back in 1978.


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## wildcat6 (Apr 5, 2011)

Oldcountryboy said:


> Actually it probably could be fixed easily, if I still got it. I haven't used it in 3 years so I'm not just sure where I've placed it. I remember it was leaking around the fitting next to the tank. But I think why I wanted something different is cause coleman campfluid was getting so expensive compared to a bottle of propane. My campstove was a old model and it didn't use duel fuel, just coleman fluid only. I might have to brave the elements and look around in my back storage building.
> 
> Well yesterday eveing I happened to be in the big city of Tulsa and on the way out I stopped by Sportsman Academy to see what they had. They had about 10 or 12 different models of campstoves for sale. But not a one of them used coleman or duel fuel. Everyone of them was propane only.
> 
> So I don't know!


I bought a propane converter from Amazon for $9 and it just fits into place just like the Coleman fuel one. Very easy and makes it a dual use.


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## wildcat6 (Apr 5, 2011)

Oldcountryboy said:


> It can? It's a really old model. I bought it when I graduate high school back in 1978.


Mine is like an 81 model and the conversion takes no work at all. Just take out the coleman fuel tank and put the propane converter into place.


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## Nimrod (Jun 8, 2010)

I am still using the Coleman white gas stove dad bought when I was 5 (1956). It's a little beat up but it keeps on tickin. I fired it up this spring to heat a big pan of water. Dipped the dead roosters in it before plucking when I sent them to freezer camp. 

You can find used ones on CL or EBAY or at auctions for really cheap. I bought one from CF that he found at an auction for $20. It's almost new and still had most of the box. It's the same model number as mine but has a few changes so it's probably newer. 

I also still have the Coleman lantern I bought with my paper route money in 1965. Nothing throws light like a double mantel lantern. It's also good for following a blood trail. The blood almost fluoresces under that light.

White gas is very expensive now. The propane stoves sell way more than the gas ones because they are neater and this is what the camping families use now. Not a bad idea to have both so you have backups to your backups.


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## wannabechef (Nov 20, 2012)

Oldcountryboy said:


> It can? It's a really old model. I bought it when I graduate high school back in 1978.


Mines about the same age, maybe a year older...it was my dads...almost as old as me.


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