# Self Sufficiency/Living off the Land or Off the Grid > Cooking, Food Storage, & Preserving >  Coleman m-1950 and cooking a pumpkin and pears

## randyt

I went to a gun show yesterday and picked up a coleman m-1950. Sometimes a gun show isn't only about guns. 

anyhoo I fired it up today to make a cup of coffee. Not real sure how it is suppose to operate but when I lite it it flares up and seems to take a long time to warm up. I use unleaded rec gas as fuel. I follow the instructions on the stove, ten pumps, turn on for 3 seconds then off, then light and let warm up for a minute. it won't stay lit for a minute so I give it a little by opening up the knob a bit, finally it warms up.

here it is

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I cut this pumpkin open and cleaned it out and filled it with quartered pears. Set it on the fire, will see how it turns out

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## kyratshooter

I believe that Rick is our resident expert on Coleman use and repair.

That stove might do better if you use the actual Coleman fuel.  Most were set up for that back in the day.  I believe it has a lower octane rating and is filtered better than pump gas.  Mine always went goofy real quickly on unleaded pump gas.

That reminds me, I have two single burner stoves that need TLC.

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## Billofthenorth

Coleman or Crown fuel are best for it. Back in the day they ran them on leaded gas but the generators clog up real fast, thus they issued several with each stove. Did you look inside the pump tube yet to see if the spare parts are still there?

There is a preheat cup that can be filled with alcohol or white gas, light it and once that burns down you open the valve and should get  a nice blue flame.  A good procedure is to pump 5 - 10 times, open the valve, fill the pre-heat cup, close the valve then light. Not only are you pre-heating but you are testing the stove to make sure the valve shuts off (a rubber o-ring inside the fount)and the pump tube does not back out, (indicating a rubber spring held pip is deteriorating or isn't seated properly). If either fails, you'll need to replace some seals. If you don't know when the old seals and gaskets were last replaced you may want to investigate how to change them out and a source for parts.

http://www.oldcolemanparts.com/

https://www.oldcolemanparts.com/prod...productid=3256

http://www.colemancollectorsforum.com/categories

https://classiccampstoves.com/

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## randyt

thanks for the reply, There are two extra generators with it. One in the pump handle and one on a little bracket. There are parts in the pump handle but I picked up some new parts from oldcoleman parts. They came today. If I have time tomorrow, I'm going to replace the parts. I need a new sticker too. I came across your video on you-tube and that was helpful. Is there a way to clean the generators? I'll pick up some coleman fuel tomorrow.

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## Billofthenorth

Carb cleaner or anything that softens carbon should work, then scrub with a pipe cleaner. The brass mesh seems to be the hardest part to clean but is replaceable. Crown fuel is going for about half the price of Coleman at wally world BTW.

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## randyt

thanks for the info, I don't get to wally world much, maybe a couple times a year.

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## Rick

If you want to clean the inside of the tank just dump some BBs inside and shake the bejeesus out of it then dump the BBs out. If you have any crud inside the BBs will break it loose and polish the inside of your tank. You can tap the tank and listen for any rusty spots just like you would the body of a car. You'll hear the difference. If you find any then don't use the BBs. They will eat through the rust and you'll have a hole in the tank. 

I have a couple of those bad boys and always use Coleman fuel in them. I would think they've had everything run through them that a G.I. would think could burn and few things that wouldn't but Coleman will save your generators as Bill said. He gave you some good links. The guy at Old Coleman Parts worked for Coleman for years and retired then started his own parts shop. I guess he's still alive. He sure knew his stuff I'll give him that. 

The biggest thing on any of the Coleman stoves and lanterns is spiders. They love to build nests in the fuel tubes and generators. If they won't light or sputter when lit then take it apart and run something through them like a pipe cleaner, as Bill suggested, and 9 times out of 10 you'll wipe a spider nest out of it. Then they are good to go.

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## randyt

I got the parts the other day and put them in today. I put in a pip and a pump gasket. I had put in a new generator the other day. Gave it about 10 pumps, turned the knob for about 6 seconds and lit the priming cup. let it burn out and turned it back on and lit it off. it had a few yellow streaks but settled down right away. I'm going to pick up some coleman fuel to try.

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## randyt

well my new pip failed. It swelled up and the pump got real hard to operate. I put the old pip back in it and it worked a few times. Then it started leaking out the pump, not good. 
I made a new pip from some red rubber I got from do it best hardware. Punched it with my osborne leather punch. Perfect fit, works good but but will it stand up to the test of time. So I put a chunk of the red rubber in a little cup of crown fuel to soak. I'll see how it holds up

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## rubyatiy

> I went to a gun show yesterday and picked up a coleman m-1950. Sometimes a gun show isn't only about guns. 
> 
> anyhoo I fired it up today to make a cup of coffee. Not real sure how it is suppose to operate but when I lite it it flares up and seems to take a long time to warm up. I use unleaded rec gas as fuel. I follow the instructions on the stove, ten pumps, turn on for 3 seconds then off, then light and let warm up for a minute. it won't stay lit for a minute so I give it a little by opening up the knob a bit, finally it warms up.
> 
> here it is
> 
> Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.
> 
> Love how PhenQ Works
> ...


All of these are a real fun with those amateur things mate cheers

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