# coleman stove question



## ihuntgsps (Mar 10, 2008)

just now bought a large 3 burner coleman camp stove. has a red canister for the fuel. lady says it take coleman fuel like they sell at wal mart/etc. I plan to buy several containers of fuel to store but am curious if they could also run on other fuels (kerosene, etc.) if someday coleman fuel was hard to find???


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## Cabin Fever (May 10, 2002)

My understanding is the stoves with the red tank use Coleman fuel only.

The stoves with a silver tank can use gasoline or Coleman fuel.


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## MrCalicoty (Jun 27, 2010)

How about green tanks? I saw one at a yard sale last weekend but I got pre-empted by another shopper before I could decide on it.

Another question if I may... Since the need to use "white gas" ie: coleman fuel came about because of lead in gas (in years past) would today's unleaded gas work? I suppose not but thought I'd check. 

I know that a lot of expedition stoves can be fitted with different "jets" to use a variety of heat fuels but I've never heard that a Coleman style stove could be retrofitted.


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## hillbillygal (Jan 16, 2008)

I'm interested in this thread also as I bought one at a yard sale 2 weeks ago. It still had some fuel in the little red tank. I had never seen one like it but dh was explaining the "white gas" thing to me.


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## Cabin Fever (May 10, 2002)

MrCalicoty said:


> How about green tanks?....


I don't believe I've ever seen a Coleman stove with a green tank...hummmm


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## mistletoad (Apr 17, 2003)

The green ones I've seen are dual fuel - Coleman fuel or unleaded gas.


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## MrCalicoty (Jun 27, 2010)

I just found this for converting Coleman stoves to propane.










Here's the direct link to one place that sells it for $29.99
http://www.gleasoncamping.com/browseproducts/Propane-Converter.HTML


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## BillHoo (Mar 16, 2005)

I think you can buy a converter or duel fuel "carbureator" for the coleman stoves to use either.

They work great. Before I bought my own, I used to borrow or rent them. Those would have poor burning capability - black, oily smoke that gets into the flames. I think that was from an older coleman stove that used leaded gas.

I would have to clean and scrape excess carbon off of them and they would work fine - nice blue flames.

Used frugally, a coleman gas stove and a gallon of unleaded gas could serve you for a few months.

There's also the Coleman propane stove. Works nice too.

I would go with the unleaded gas stove for a 6 month to a year "on-the-road" situation.

Beyond that, it would be a matter of hunkering down with a good stockpile of wood.

Or entrenching myself with a pile of coal.


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## tonasket (Oct 20, 2004)

We converted ours over to propane, using the same part you showed. Works great, hubby put a 5' hose on our tank, switching from stove to bbq to lantern as needed.


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## MrCalicoty (Jun 27, 2010)

I also found this article on Epinions. Here's a brief quote about using unleaded gas:



> The stove was originally designed to run on Coleman gas (which is really a liquid closely related to gasoline), also called white gas, which is available virtually everywhere from your local hardware or sporting goods store to the most distant outpost frequented by campers. Coleman has developed a &#8220;dual fuel&#8221; version of this stove which will also run on unleaded gasoline, but *the original will work well on gasoline in a pinch*. I&#8217;ve used it many times when I either ran out of or forgot my Coleman fuel. WalMart sells a slightly less expensive white gas under the brand Ozark Trails.


Link to full article: http://www.epinions.com/review/Coleman_Compact_2_Burner_Gas_Stove_425f499g/content_171259891332

The person giving the review mentions some important considerations such as gas vs. propane efficiency (especially at higher elevations).


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## radiofish (Mar 30, 2007)

At the local hardward store I looked at the price of Coleman Fuel the other day, and @ around $9.00 per gallon! OUCH! 

I would be very very hesitant of using unleaded gasoline in a red tanked Coleman stove. I had a Govt. issued Coleman liquid fuel stove leak, and flash over with a resulting fireball out in the field. I thought that I was gonna be deep fried that day, out in the woods. It singed my eyebrows from the leaking fuel, and needless to say it 'had an accident', and was never put to use out in the field again!

But then I went and switched out my own two burner Coleman stoves, from the old school liquid fueled ones to the newer propane models.

I still have several Coleman lanterns that use the liquid fuel and they still function. Plus I have a pile of around 8 to 10 of non-functioning ones that I want to repair and trade off some day..


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## Bret4207 (May 31, 2008)

I have 4 Coleman stoves, 3 gas, one propane. The gas stoves are all the older red tanks. I've run Coleman fuel, Walmart camp stove fuel and, mostly, regular unleaded pump gas. IMO with the pump gas you'll have to clean it a little more, but were talking maybe once a month using it 4-5 days a week. Rust and burnt on food has always been a bigger problem than carbon for me.


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## MrCalicoty (Jun 27, 2010)

I guess I can't think of a reason NOT to use unleaded pump gas in a Coleman stove then.

The reason that white gas was always used was to avoid the lead additive in "old-school" gas. Leaded gas was determined to be a health risk whether using it in a stove or an automobile. 

Unless there's some hazardous additive in the gas you're using then maybe it's safe to use. Plus how much of the fumes after the burning process are going to get into food, your lungs, or skin? 

Maybe the higher than normal carbon buildup that Bret4207 experiences is due to additives. I have read elsewhere (actually a linked article in one of my earlier posts) says that "in a pinch" unleaded gas is fine.


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## bowdonkey (Oct 6, 2007)

I found that unleaded fuel, even in the dual fuel stoves and lanterns gums up the generators. Unless there has been a change in the stove design or automotive fuels I recomend regular stove fuel. I used Coleman stoves and lanterns year round for all my light and cooking for about 15 years. I'd rather use a propane setup, since you're purchasing fuel, it's the way to go in my book.


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## GoldenCityMuse (Apr 15, 2009)

Or you can mix coleman fuel & unleaded gas together to stretch it out. Buy unleaded without any ethanol though. Otherwise the tank will get water in it and rust.


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## MrCalicoty (Jun 27, 2010)

Harbor Freight sells a nifty propane fixture for about $20 that allows you to refill the smaller appliance propane bottles from a larger 20lb tank. I'm not sure how long the seals on the small bottles would last after repeated fillings but the convenience and cost savings would probably be worth it. 

















http://http://www.harborfreight.com/propane-bottle-refill-kit-45989.html

I don't have any experience with this kit but you probably won't get a full refill unless you invert the larger tank when refilling the bottle because of the vapor vs. liquid propane issue.

I have the propane style coleman stove so I may have to get one.


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## Harry Chickpea (Dec 19, 2008)

I use unleaded gas in my Coleman. I'm not sure what all the fuss is about. The concept of operation is super-simple and is pretty close to that used by the old blowtorches. Some fuel is going to create more crud, and require more cleaning, some isn't. A tank that leaks is going to leak whether it is Coleman fuel or unleaded. The caveat is that any of these tanks should be checked for corrosion or leaks anyway. Alcohol actually acts like dry gas (in fact it IS dry gas) and in a sealed container REMOVES moisture. Alcohol and plastics don't mix, but a stove doesn't have plastics (yet). FWIW, I've used alcohol stoves as well. They are slow, but again, no big deal.

What I find fun is playing around with concepts. Gasoline has a LOT more BTU per buck than propane, and after the last propane bill, I'd love to be able to tell the dealer to take a hike. Here is an idea - get a REAL tank, like a 100lb propane tank with thick walls. Pressurize it with nitrogen or some other non-reactive gas and a proper valve, store it outside like a propane tank, use small diameter piping, then have cutoff valves on stoves an appliances so that the veins can be cleaned (or replaced) as needed, and use gasoline for cooking instead of propane. Now that Ethyl has left the building, I don't see any drawbacks that don't already exist with propane and natural gas.


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## Bret4207 (May 31, 2008)

MrCalicoty said:


> Harbor Freight sells a nifty propane fixture for about $20 that allows you to refill the smaller appliance propane bottles from a larger 20lb tank. I'm not sure how long the seals on the small bottles would last after repeated fillings but the convenience and cost savings would probably be worth it.
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You have to invert the tank anyway. Usually they'll give you 1/2 to 2/3 a full tank, give or take. I haven't bought a new 1 lb propane tank in a good 20 years since I got my adapter.


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## MrCalicoty (Jun 27, 2010)

Great info Bret4207. Thanks for sharing it. Now I'll have to have one.


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## poorboy (Apr 15, 2006)

bowdonkey said:


> I found that unleaded fuel, even in the dual fuel stoves and lanterns gums up the generators. Unless there has been a change in the stove design or automotive fuels I recomend regular stove fuel. I used Coleman stoves and lanterns year round for all my light and cooking for about 15 years. I'd rather use a propane setup, since you're purchasing fuel, it's the way to go in my book.


Summa uv thet there carb-fuel injector cleaner for automobile engines..put an appropriate amount in yer unleaded gas for your lantern stove..Tune my lantern thet away every oncet inna while to keep from having to disassemble and manually clean..werkz fer me...:dance:


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## ihuntgsps (Mar 10, 2008)

Thanks for all the great replies. I like the idea of changing to a dual fuel set up and will look into that. For the time being will just use the coleman fuel I was able to find at the local farm store.


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## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

for a truly multi fule stove look at the britelyte lantern and stove it costs more but is ment to be a multi fule stove including diesel and kerosine as well as gas ,white gas and minral spirits to name some ot the things that work.


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## BillHoo (Mar 16, 2005)

I've got one of those. I think it was $15 at Northern Tool.

A tip I heard was to freeze the empty 1 Lb tank before filling - it helps to remove some pressure through contraction. The tank is supposed to fill a little better that way.

Yes, you have to invert the big propane tank while filling.





MrCalicoty said:


> Harbor Freight sells a nifty propane fixture for about $20 that allows you to refill the smaller appliance propane bottles from a larger 20lb tank. I'm not sure how long the seals on the small bottles would last after repeated fillings but the convenience and cost savings would probably be worth it.
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