I have five gas camping stoves; all have a history of their own.
#1 is a large Pre-WWII Colman Cabin Stove with cast grill sections. The fuel tank holds about a gallon of fuel. I would not be surprised if this stove was used in an early logging or mining camp. I have never used the fuel tank I use a propane adapter. This is a great high altitude Campstove. In deer camp I can easily keep a combination of three large pots and pans going, or replace one of those with a large coffee boiler. This stove saves the trip during freezing weather, and high wind. It also catches duties when there is a large family group of kids, grandkids, and grandparents. I can fix large meals in a timely manner on it for a big group.
#2 Is a two burner Winchester brand propane stove. This stove has seen a lot of duty. During the two-month hunting season it goes out in my vehicle emergency box on every trip. One of my fondest memories is one of the last trips my elderly Dad made with me. We had 4-wheeled up a high elevation, boulder-strewn path to a small lake. Dad was digging into the cookies so I knew it was time for lunch.
Even with the light snow it was pleasant, I made instant hot chocolate, heated a can of stew, opened a loaf of bread and open a can of peaches. It was a good time!
This was the family go to camping stove for many years. My wife gave it to me for Christmas early in our marriage. The regulator valve has an issue and it maybe time to retire this stove.
#3 It is a small two burner J.C. Higgins stove I inherited from my father-in-law. He bought it mail order from Sears when the family lived in Alaska. When my wife and I were newly weds we used it on a few trips and it was less then satisfactory. This leads to stove #2. I have converted it to propane and it is a better stove now.
#4 It is small propane, single burner backpack stove. I used it when I backpacked into hunting area’s the night before the season opens it was okay, but I am getting to old for that. During the summer I make day trips out in the woods scouting for deer. I carry a small food box under the back seat. This stove takes little space along with my WWII GI mess kit.
#5 It a nice later model larger two burner Colman. An older couple that was moving gave it to me and their adult daughters had become full time city slickers. I checked the stove out and gave it to my son with the agreement that I could barrow it.
I decided to go light one deer season because a hunting partner was pulling a small trailer to hunting camp. I barrowed #5 back from the son, thinking it would be better stove in cold, windy weather then #2.
Fire prevention is high on my list. When I setup my tent and table I raked the pine needles back about 30-feet. We return to camp late and my partner was cooking the main meal in the trailer and I was boiling coffee and heating dishwater. The wind was blowing 15-20 MPH. When I was over at the trailer the flame on my stove blew out.
I shut the tank off because there was still some fuel flowing, and wiped fuel out of the stove. After about a twenty-minute wait I pumped up the tank pressure, turn on the valve and lit the burner. About 2-minutes later there was a pop and I had flames 3-4 feet above the stove.
While my hunting partner went looking for his fire extinguisher, I grabbed my nearby shovel and filled the stove full of dirt. My hunting partners still get a good laugh out of this. An hour had not passed after we return to town that the world knew about it.
I was embarrassed a little, but pleased I was prepared with a shovel at hand.
Lesson Learn: Cleaning all the gas out of the bottom of the stove is not adequate. I intentionally opened the valve on the stove when no flame was present to find out what happen. It was not long and fuel appeared in the bottom of the stove. What was not apparent to the eye was that the manifold filled with gas.
The stove worked fine after I clean dirt out, the paint was blacken. I cleaned it up, primed it, and found some dark green paint that matches the original Coleman green, not the current light green.
I returned the stove to my son.
#6. I was going to buy a stove like number 6, when my partner offered me an old two burner Colman of the same size. Clearly this was a yard sale special. I cleaned up the stove body with steel wool, primer and painted it with left over supplies from number 5. The fuel tank had rust in it. I tossed the fuel tank and converted it to propane. The stove works great.
P.S. My hunting partner had his fire extinguisher lock in his pickup and could not find his keys, which were on his bed. He now has a handy fire extinguisher in his trailer.
