They don't make 'em like they used to

"jminer" (jminer) 10/07/2020 at 13:15 • Filed to: None

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For the vast majority of things the above statement is a lie, this item falls into the select few categories like hand tools where it is true.

A Coleman Sportster stove.

I grew up camp ing with the backpack model of the Coleman dual fuel stove, it never quit and always cooked morning eggs and boiled water for my father’s coffee without complaint.

Thia guy popped up on my jobs internal classified site for $5 last year. I snapped it right up without hesitation. The guy who was selling it was older and said it hadn’t been used in decades. I wasn’t worried.

It sat in my garage for too long before me doing anything with it but today that changed. I’m cleaning out my garage as I’m moving so anything I can’t fix or see a use for goes in the dumpster in my driveway this week. A pump rebuild kit arrived for it a while ago but before I put it in I disassembled the pump and confirmed it was old, it was the leather style pump.

Th e leather looked in good shape though so I poured some white gas on it to make it swell and filled the tank. The tank threads had some rust and wasn’t sealing and it leaked. Some steel wool and elbow grease and no more leak.

A minute of pumping and it continued to hold pressure, time to grab a match.

She lit! And after a minute stabilized into a nice adjustable flame!

Thank you for coming to my show and tell, next I need to decide if the rusty o ld lantern without a globe on the wall is worth saving.

MonkeePuzzle > jminer 10/07/2020 at 13:21

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for camping gear I think the statement holds true often becuase new items have chosen lightness over ruggedness

boredalways > jminer 10/07/2020 at 13:22

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Yes, the rusty old lantern without a globe is worth saving.

BaconSandwich is tasty. > jminer 10/07/2020 at 13:25

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I remember using stoves like that in scouts. There was one, in particular, that had the red plastic knob melted off. Before my time, one of the delinquent scouts had fueled it up on the wooden railing of a cabin, and was quite messy.  He spilled a bunch of fuel when filling it, then proceeded to pump it up and light it.  He ended up lighting the railing on fire, as well as the stove.  Thankfully he didn’t burn down the whole cabin.

lone_liberal > jminer 10/07/2020 at 13:26

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There is something about the light the  old Coleman lan terns gave off that just said “camping”. Maybe it was the added noise, I don’t know, but the LED ones just can’t compare.

CalzoneGolem > jminer 10/07/2020 at 13:27

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I think the statement holds for a lot of things but it’s not always that items are worse.

Thomas Donohue > jminer 10/07/2020 at 13:30

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I can remember my Dad’s old Coleman pump lantern....with the two white wick/sock things (mantles!). It was quite the production every time we got to our trailer at night. I’d be holding the massive, heavy 2-D cell flashlight while he got the lantern lit. I can almost smell it....

ibRAD > BaconSandwich is tasty. 10/07/2020 at 13:33

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I have an old 210 stove with a similar back story. One of the first times I used it, 25+ years ago, I was boiling something on it and the flame went out. I looked at it and- here’s the problem! The water had boiled over and put out the flame and was pooled in the bottom of the stove. No problem. I’ll just relight the burner and...oh shit. That’s not water. Was a pretty good fire, but I still use that old burnt/rusty hulk to this day when car camping.

ibRAD > boredalways 10/07/2020 at 13:34

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It’s almost as easy to get a replacement globe as it is to break them!

jminer > MonkeePuzzle 10/07/2020 at 13:34

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For some things yes, but most like tents, packs and boots they’re much nicer now.

jminer > boredalways 10/07/2020 at 13:35

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I mean I already have a working dual fuel lantern, but yeah it'll probably get put in the keep pile.

jminer > ibRAD 10/07/2020 at 13:35

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This is true

jminer > lone_liberal 10/07/2020 at 13:36

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Exactly! I mean the ease of use of a rechargable led lamp is amazing, but I’m with you.

I backpack with battery led gear, but when car camping it's the dual fuel gear.

415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) > jminer 10/07/2020 at 13:37

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Well they are pretty nice now, I used to go on climbing expeditions and live in tents in the Marines, I love the Jetboil genesis base camp, folds up small and gives you two burners if you want them, I have never broken it either. I have a gas kit on my Honda generator now so it can run that and this with the same fuel.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > jminer 10/07/2020 at 13:38

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I have a 25 year old MSR white gas stove. Still works fine, I just clean the carbon out of the jets every few years.

MonkeePuzzle > jminer 10/07/2020 at 13:39

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good point. certainly tent fabric has come a looooooooong way.

but for ruggedness, the new tent poles have nothing on what appeared to be solid steel i-beams in the tent my family camped wiht in my youth :D

shop-teacher > jminer 10/07/2020 at 13:50

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Nice!

jminer > CalzoneGolem 10/07/2020 at 13:50

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Very true

jminer > Thomas Donohue 10/07/2020 at 13:51

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When I go camping and use my gas lantern it does the same triggering all the memories of my youth.

jminer > 415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) 10/07/2020 at 13:53

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I have a MSR that I use when backpacking and it is awesome, just one of those things that while it’s way lighter than this old coleman I doubt it’ll work in 50 years.

jminer > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever 10/07/2020 at 13:55

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MSR makes quality gear, I have one of their butane stoves that I use for backpacking.

It’s just the solidness of this old coleman that impresses me.

jminer > MonkeePuzzle 10/07/2020 at 13:56

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I grew up backpacking in an old pup tent and while it was light it was terrible in almost every other way.

Cash Rewards > jminer 10/07/2020 at 13:56

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I don't know, msr knows their shit

jminer > shop-teacher 10/07/2020 at 13:57

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Thanks! I was really excited when it popped up and I got to bring it home.  It just looks so damn cool.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > jminer 10/07/2020 at 13:58

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We still use my moms cole man two burner white gas camp stove. I think it’s >50 years old. Works great but the propane stoves are so much easier to start and modulate.

jminer > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever 10/07/2020 at 14:01

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Yeah propane stoves are definitely easier to use and find fuel for. Also no need to maybe burn yourself when pumping a device back up after a long burn .

I’ve got a coleman propane dual burner camp stove but I’d love to also get a white gas one.

user314 > Thomas Donohue 10/07/2020 at 14:21

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Oh god, does that take me back to going to Cooper’s Rock with my dad & his side of the family on weekends. We’d go down early on a September and/or October Sunday, bring food, grab a pavilion and spend the day there.

Miss doing that.  

MonkeePuzzle > jminer 10/07/2020 at 14:24

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When I got to my teens and started camping/hiking independent of my family, I always just carried a basic a-frame fly, and slung it over a rope between two trees.

Something you can do when you’re in Australia and it never gets cold at night.

Although I can attest to it being chilly enough for snakes, and awaking to a rather large (but lethargic ) one cozied up against me one night. A sealed tent certainly could have prevented that heart attack start to my day.

jminer > MonkeePuzzle 10/07/2020 at 14:33

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That’s nice, I’ve done camping under a tarp a few times.

In the midwest US a tent is in the summer about keeping the mosquitos , spring the rain and winter the cold out .

Man that would be a stark awakening with a snake cuddled up.  Oof!

SBA Thanks You For All The Fish > jminer 10/07/2020 at 14:33

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Sweet!

And now I wonder where MY Coleman camp stove got lost?  Because old White Gas is probably not a good thing in the crawlspace...

ClassicDatsunDebate > jminer 10/07/2020 at 14:42

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The hissing sound of that stove is indelibly etched into my brain.

ClassicDatsunDebate > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever 10/07/2020 at 14:43

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I’ve got the same stove but converted to a propane hose connected where the old white gas pump-tank was.

jminer > SBA Thanks You For All The Fish 10/07/2020 at 14:51

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Probably not. I mean it never goes bad, but still it's quite flammable.

jminer > ClassicDatsunDebate 10/07/2020 at 14:53

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Without a doubt!

barnie > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever 10/07/2020 at 15:33

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We got our SVEA 123 in ‘69. It worked for hiking through half the A T and other trail s with nary a failure. I took it on a cross country bike ride where it did fail to light while I nearly froze to death in a culvert outside Roanoke VA on the Blue Ridge Parkway in ~’80. Got an MSR (model?) multi-fuel and haven’t looked back. H aven’t replaced anything on it after hundreds of hours of use.

Sparrow uses propane stove/oven and furnace. Long ~20' hoses but there’s a solenoid just aft the regulator out on deck to keep fumes outside . Far easier, hotter, and more reliable these days. Sparrow also has a backup Force10 for boiling water in storms (cage over burner holds a tea kettle even upside down) and there’s a JetBoil in the abandon ship bag which uses GAZ bottles.

I’d keep your  stove around for emergencies. Put it in the evacuation kit. Everyone should have one...

barnie > jminer 10/07/2020 at 15:35

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Got my MSR in ~’80 and it still works with no replaced parts.

barnie > Thomas Donohue 10/07/2020 at 15:38

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And the sound! That thing hissing. Mom wanted to backpack but Dad didn’t due to Korea. Dad took us hunting where we did camp sometimes . The hiss of the Coleman stove and lanterns is forever etched into my brain. Pleasant memories.

jminer > barnie 10/07/2020 at 15:47

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Yeah, but that puts it closer in age to this stove than to today. A modern MSR stove while nice, has more plastic and while it definitely would perform better than this old coleman while also being lighter isn’t as bombproof.

barnie > jminer 10/07/2020 at 16:04

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Ah. Haven’t been in my local REI to look at them lately. Them old ones were overbuilt. I didn’t mind the extra few ounces for the reliability. T ain’t no plastic on mine.

jminer > barnie 10/07/2020 at 16:08

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Same with this old coleman, I do have an ultralight MSR with a butane cylinder I use when backpacking which is awesome compared to carrying one of these colemans plus a can of white gas.  It’s light and small, but don’t expect it to last forever.

Thomas Donohue > barnie 10/07/2020 at 21:18

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Holy crap.....YES....the hissing!!!!  lol I had forgotten about the noise