Attached is the operator's manual for our Coleman white gas backpacking stoves, but it's hard to read unless you print it out large. And it doesn't say much so here is my basic maintenance routine:
- Add a few drops of 3-in-1 oil into the oil hole on the pump, and pump it a few times. These gives you an initial feel for the state of the pump.
- Dump out old fuel (the last time we used these stoves was at Walls of Jericho in Dec 2008, so the fuel is stale and suspect).
- Close the tank, pump up and lite. I like to burn off all the old fuel before any new fuel goes into the tank. Even though you dumped out the old fuel, there is still some in there and it'll probably burn for about 10 minutes).
- After the stove goes out and cools, re-fill with fresh / filtered fuel. The filter helps screen out moisture that might've condensed in the white gas. Moisture in the gas tends to make the stoves sputter.
- Pump up and lite. After liting, pump the stove a few more times to replace the pressure. You should feel a smooth steady pressure when you pump. Allow the stove to burn on high for a few minutes to see how it performs. A nice bright Blue Flame is Good. If the stove doesn't hold pressure or if the pump feels jerky when you pump, you probably have to replace the pump.
- A new pump repair kit is about $10 bucks on Campmor, but I'm sure local stores have it in stock.
Based on what I've seen from a sample of stoves today, I suspect that we probably need several Pump Repair Kits in order to get our older stoves back into shape for our winter backpacking outing. I replaced one of the Pumps several years back and while they didn't have the right model number for our stoves, the replacement fit and worked fine. The pump handle just sticks out a little longer. From what I recall, replacing the pump is about a 15 minute job for the first one (because you've never done it before). Once you see how it's done, it's basically a 5 minute job.
 Exponent Stove Manual.pdf | [ ] | 252 Kb |
