# coleman stoves and lanterns



## someguyincanada (28 Nov 2004)

has anyone had any horror stories with these pieces of kit.


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## primer (28 Nov 2004)

They work well if maintained but if they are not thats another story . Had to put one out with a 5 pounder last week


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## kyleg (28 Nov 2004)

oh man, do i!
this one private in my platoon was trying to refuel a lantern when a spark flew outta nowhere and ignited the nozzle on the jerry (sp?) can. He threw the can across the room (they were in a fibua basement) where a Cpl tossed it into the "closet" a few seconds before it exploded into flames. The lanterm was on fire, so that same Cpl tried to put it out, only catching his own hands on fire too. Meanwhile the private's hand and chest were on fire. Luckily everyone was ok. But holy shit it was hilarious.

P.S. I typed that really fast, and I'm dead tired, please excuse my lack of proper punctuation and/or spelling.


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## Armymedic (28 Nov 2004)

In 16 yrs of service I have never seen a properly maintained stove or lantern fail. Parts are easily changed and I have fixed both stoves and lanterns with my leatherman as the only tool I had.


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## Fishbone Jones (28 Nov 2004)

Armymedic said:
			
		

> In 16 yrs of service I have never seen a properly maintained stove or lantern fail. Parts are easily changed and I have fixed both stoves and lanterns with my leatherman as the only tool I had.



Yup. I'll go with that. I have numerous Coleman products at home, some well over 30 years old. Never had a bit of problem with any of them. Hell, my daughter used the same ones by herself in Guides, after a simple instruction period from me, with no problem and is still borrowing them from me 12 years later. Guess people that can't operate them aren't as smart as Girl Guides?  ;D


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## Michael Dorosh (29 Nov 2004)

The Army fuel sometimes sucks; best to use Coleman brand right out of the tin.  My CSM and I spent an hour one ex trying to get a lantern going with the fuel in the little orange jerries.  The fuel had become so diluted that we found putting a naked match directly onto a capful of the fuel wouldn't get it to ignite!!  It actually put the match out.   We had a little bit of the "commercial, off the shelf" stuff but not enough for the weekend.

We presumed the stuff from the jerries came from some large drum of naptha somewhere in the brigade POL shed...


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## Art Johnson (29 Nov 2004)

Michael, or maybe the storeman was flogging it and diluting what was left. I remember at Pet we had to fill up our vehicles every night. I was riding a motorcycle at the time and got pegged for a gallon every night. The POL people were laughing all the way to the nearest pub.


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## NavalGent (29 Nov 2004)

one night in Farnham this past summer, me and my fire buddy were responsible for gettin some water hot and breakfast goin for when the rest of the platoon got up. We had three stoves, all fully fueled. We couldn't build up any pressure in one, and the other two would not light no matter what. a whole bunch of folks tried to light'em, so it wasn't just my lack of experience with the things. But either way, it sucked goat :-\


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## Arctic Acorn (29 Nov 2004)

I used to really hate lighting them, but after getting used to firing up Coleman stoves and lanterns in extreme cold conditions for a year, doing it down south in more temperate is a breeze. 

They really suck to light in extreme cold (as anyone with winter warfare experience can attest). But, a little stove paste can work wonders. 

 :dontpanic:
A.A.


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## axeman (29 Nov 2004)

Did a SOV OP way up north the bottom dropped out of the thermometer down to  -85 and we had no problems with these . all it is , is the knowledge that  are simple to maintain and will always work with a little knowledge.


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## brin11 (29 Nov 2004)

I've never had a problem with anything Coleman although I have many funny stories about the immersion heaters.  Now those things are dangerous!


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## aesop081 (29 Nov 2004)

Arctic Acorn said:
			
		

> I used to really hate lighting them, but after getting used to firing up Coleman stoves and lanterns in extreme cold conditions for a year, doing it down south in more temperate is a breeze.
> 
> They really suck to light in extreme cold (as anyone with winter warfare experience can attest). But, a little stove paste can work wonders.
> 
> ...



Yeah, pouring fuel on the burners and lighting it for a second or 2 works good as well.


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## bossi (29 Nov 2004)

This almost belongs in "So there I was" ... but, here goes ...

Once upon a time I was on Winter Indoc - we had guests from the 107 Armd Cav (US), and I ended up in the CO's tent (probably to amuse the guests, more than anything else ...)

Anyway, in the middle of the night I'm rudely awakened by the sound of somebody struggling with the stove ...
Sitting up in my sleeping bag, I see somebody kneeling by a ball of flames that once was the stove ...
(turns out he'd refuelled the stove and tried to relight it ... inside the tent ... which can be a bad thing ... as you'll soon see ...)

He turns around and hands me the fuel tank (which is still hissing fuel ...)
I immediately start doing my best imitation of a green caterpillar, humping my way backwards away from the flames that are now consuming the liner of the Artic tent, and then trying to burrow my way out the opposite side of the tent (... but, of course, the sides are all dug in and buried with snow on the outside ...)

Anyway, I obviously survived ...
Later than same night, when an OCdt was on stove watch and trying to disconnect the fuel tank again so he could go outside and refill it ... I wasn't sleeping as well, so the noise woke me again ... and apparently I hissed at him something like "TAKE THAT OUTSIDE OR I'LL LIGHT YOU UP!!" ...

Moral of our story:   Don't burn your tent down, especially not from the inside out ...


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## Cooper (29 Nov 2004)

One day my sectionmates and I were trying to light a coleman stove, and for the life of us we couldnt figure out why it refused to light. Then with about the 12th attempt, the stove suddenly exploded into flames, the entire stove was consumed by flames which reached about 6 or 7 feet into the air. Luckily one of the guys managed to pull the tank (which was spurting flaming naptha out the nozzle) away from the stove. After a few minutes the fire just burned itself out leaving the stove completly charred and ruined. Near as we could figure, the piece where the fuel tank nozzle and the stove connect was broken or clogged and the naptha was just pooling in the bottom of the sotve, awaiting our match.


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## Michael Dorosh (29 Nov 2004)

Our regiment tells a similar story of a certain "M---- the Torch" (who has since passed away tragically) who, so the story goes, managed to burn down his 10 man (?) tent while on exercise in Norway.   We have a pretty strict SOP about refuelling OUTSIDE the tent, which I believe is common across the Army, but we still have senior NCOs who remember the incident in question and the immediate rationale for same.

Apparently, northern Norway is a sucky place to be in winter without a tent.


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## sdimock (29 Nov 2004)

The most serious problem I've seen is flooding, where the fuel builds up in the delivery system then flows out into the bottom of the stove.

When the third, forth, or fifth match is struck â Å“because the damn thing won't lightâ ? the stuff on the bottom goes up.   :evil:

Filling up out side is a no brainer but even lighting lanterns and stoves (a fire) in your tent should still be done with caution.

I think every unit has someone (or two) who is best closely supervised when operating these things. 

I was told by a WO with the experience to know, that the cloth liner of your sleeping bag is fire proof enough that should you find yourself in a burning tent and your in your sleeping bag you can hunker down and ride it out.

I doubt the official policy is take cover in your liner but you never know. 

Chimo


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## aesop081 (29 Nov 2004)

I highly doubt that...i saw a liner go in flames once and it wasn't pretty.

sdimock:

Is Jen Hartmann still in 44 ?


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## sdimock (29 Nov 2004)

Hi Aesop081,

Yes Jen is still here, I saw her this weekend.

The WO wasn't saying it was fire-proof just that when you're in your bag it would last the 45 or so seconds until your tent was done burning down, the bag itself from what I understand, melts.

Chimo


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## sdimock (29 Nov 2004)

It might be like the fire shelter in forest fire fighting, you don't want to have to rely on it, but when push comes to shove it's better than nothing.

Chimo


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## chrisf (29 Nov 2004)

Push comes to shove, I'm going out through the side of the tent if I've got to crawl under, or if I've got to slice my way through...

We had a fellow on my basic, the poor boy was a good fellow, just lacked common sense to the point of being a safety hazard... should have been removed from the course, but he managed to graduate... that's another story though...

While on our field ex, he decided that he wasn't going to go outside to light the stove in the morning, because it was cold out, so he lit it inside... the thing turned into a large fireball, as sometimes happens... I was in the tent next to theirs, and just happened to be outside retrieving dry clothes from my ruck at the time...

Anyway, there was much cursing, as the zipper was jammed, and the stove wouldn't shut off... I was just on my way over to help when the zipper managed to open, and the stove, engulfed in flames, flew out the door, catching the bug screen on fire on the way out... end result was a good chewing out for the numpty, and no one injured, thank god.


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## sdimock (29 Nov 2004)

BTW when the WO was talking, it was about while being in the arctic tents not the MODs


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## Matt_Fisher (29 Nov 2004)

I thnk that this thread should take an 'immersion heater' turn to get the really good fireball/cinged eyebrow stories going.

 ;D


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## brin11 (29 Nov 2004)

Absolutely Matt, you start 'er off.


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## Bruce Monkhouse (29 Nov 2004)

Norway?...Hmmm maybe its the place.
I remember being there when our Brit exchange officer went to shut off the lantern, ....well after the M/bdr had thrown it outside in flames,  the exchange officer explained that relieving the pressure was the way they shut off thier lanterns.


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## Inch (29 Nov 2004)

Don't want to step on your toes Matt, but I had a near death experience with an immersion heater once.

I was on my QL2 in Borden during the summer of 96, I was the last sentry of the night, so besides the ultra fun duty of waking everyone up, I also had to light the immersion heaters. I got them lit and then went about getting stoves and breakfast on, then went back to check on the heaters since they had a tendency to go out (especially one of the two that we had).   I looked into the burner and to no surprise it was out. Me being sleep f***ed, I thought that just tossing a match down into the burner would solve the problem. As the match hit the pool of gas at the bottom it exploded, I was thrown backwards onto my butt. I thought for sure I was dead, I saw a blinding bright light and heard this loud bang.   After I realized I was alright, I set out to find the top 4ft of stove pipe that had been blown off. I found it about 10m away. I didn't singe eyebrows or anything like that, but when I went to wake the course Warrant up, I was answered with "F*** Inch, did you get the immersion heater lit or what?"

It made for some good mess banter and I learned the all important lesson: If the immersion heater goes out, don't throw a match into a 1 inch deep pool of gasoline.

Cheers


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## Jinxed (29 Nov 2004)

A couple months ago during an ex with 74 Comm Group, I was responsible for cooking IMPs for the CP people, namely really high ranking officers and NCMs.  So I grabbed a stove and brought it outside, lit it, and just as I turn around to grab the pot, somehow the flame boils out of the connector where the naptha tank connects to the burner, runs down that connector, and sets the naptha tank on fire.  That wasn't fun.  Had to put it out by using my size 11 and kicking it over onto the wet sand.

Put it out, cooled it, tagged it, and tried the second stove.  The thing nearly blows my hand off the second the match goes near the burner and a MCpl had to put it out with a jerry of grey water (yum).  

Finally went to the third stove and got it working.  Mind you that when I was lightin the third one, I was in the sprinter's position ready to run away.

There's a reason why I have my nickname  ;D

Pte Jinxed


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## Armymedic (29 Nov 2004)

NO good stove stories, but the immersion heaters...

When I was just an skinny young newbie Trooper (buzz off Franko),

My first night picket with Recce Sqn RCD....

Went around to light the Sqn immersion heaters at 0500 hrs before going to bed for that last hour of sleep before reveille....

got outside the OC and SSM tent to light the SHQ heater....

Some left the fuel drip to the point the tank was empty.....

Keen young trooper refuels tank and procedes to light the cup to preheat the stack.....

unknown to keen young trooper about to get a no shave chit for facial burns, that the base of Immersion heater was full of gasoline....

SSM being a good man, held his laughter until the medic brought me back out to the biv....

I still haven't found that bastard who can't shut off a simple valve.


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## Matt_Fisher (29 Nov 2004)

Ha...

It's Cougar Salvo '93 for BC Military District (Pre-39 Brigade days) at the Yakima Firing Centre in Washington State.

I'm a brand new (Sworn-in that Thursday night and on the road to Yakima on Saturday brand new) Private in the BC Dragoons and as such I get pegged for a couple days of General Duties scrubbing pots and pans for the flying kitchen.

From my vantage point over some very greasy pots I was watching a couple other recruits who were from the 15th Field launch the stovepipe of one Immersion Heater go flipping into the air with flames coming out both ends only to have a second Immersion Heater explode in the face of one of them like something out of a Warner Bros. cartoon.   This guy looked down into the burner to see if it had lit, and as he was doing so, the burner had built up enough heat to vaporize the excess fuel that had dripped down and immediately caught fire resulting in a large dirty fireball come roaring up from the burner onto this guys face.   Luckily he wasn't burnt other than having his eyebrows and bangs cinged, but his face was completely covered in black soot, save two very frightened eyeballs that were wide open.


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## Inch (29 Nov 2004)

Matt_Fisher said:
			
		

> Luckily he wasn't burnt other than having his eyebrows and bangs cinged, but his face was completely covered in black soot, save two very frightened eyeballs that were wide open.



BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Holy shit! That has got to be the funniest thing I've ever heard.


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## RCEME421 (2 Dec 2004)

Gents,

On having read this email thread and getting my fair share of chuckles, I can relate on the trials and tribulations with both the immersion heater & coleman products and have many stories myself.  However being a Wpns Tech and have worked on these items for most of my career, the biggest problems I have seen is the lack of education on how these items work and people's panic factors.  Alot of the time if people would think before acting, this would alleviate most of the potential accidents that happen.  I know that I'm probably preaching to the choir, however keep this in mind the next time you see some young troop struggling to light one of these items and take time to show him the tricks that you have learned from other peoples mistakes.

Cheers


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## garb811 (4 Dec 2004)

sdimock said:
			
		

> The WO wasn't saying it was fire-proof just that when you're in your bag it would last the 45 or so seconds until your tent was done burning down, the bag itself from what I understand, melts.



Forgive me, but this is the worst advice I've ever seen given.   Take a lighter, which generates much less heat than a burning tent, and see how long it takes for the sleeping bag to melt.   All you're really accomplishing is shrink wrapping your corpse so its easier to recover.

It never failed to amaze me the number of people who gave instruction on how to light an immersion heater didn't know how to safely light it themselves.   Competitions on who could fire the old water scoop made out of a tomato can into the air sure did pass the time though.

Further hijacking of the thread: Yukon stoves, now that was a piece of kit to fear in the hands of an uneducated user.


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## WPN TECH (4 Dec 2004)

As the ones who fix them, WPN techs always have the best and the worst coleman stories. I for one have both. Like stated before they are very good pieces of kit. They have been around for ever and are proven. 90% of the problems are from missuse. I have seen lanterns with broken glass, and totaly rusted out every thing run like a brand new one. on the other hand i have seen them blow up from over pressure and people not putting the generator back on properly.

As for the stoved. They too are perfect pieces of kit. Although that are known for flaming up and catching things that are not suppose to burn on fire like loose generators, and valves. I saw one get run over by a track and even thought i was just a bout flat, it was still running nice and blue. And when we put it out, it started right back up when re-lit.


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## sdimock (6 Dec 2004)

Hi garb811,

The WO who told me this is a winter warfare instructor who over the years had been in at least 4 tents (that I was told of) that went up in flames.

He had followed the same practice each time and had not suffered any burns.

I expect that since winter is again upon us I will be seeing him within the next couple of months.

I'll ask him if he would like to respond on this board and will post the results of our conversation.

I will also check and see if it was the liner that went up or the complete tent.

Chimo


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## Matt_Fisher (6 Dec 2004)

I think one of the funniest stories about a Coleman stove was told to me by a Weapons Tech. with 3 PPCLI.  Anyone who's been with 3PPCLI during the late 80's or early 90's and then with the LdSH (RC) during the mid-90's will know who I am talking about...really super guy but his last name is quite the oxymoron seeing as how he's an NCM, not an "Officer".   

Someone had turned in the multi-fuel version of the one burner Coleman stove with the maintenance request tag on it.  Normally normally the tags had some generic problem described: "Stove Broke", "Busted",  "Doesn't work", etc.

This one had a very meticulous description of the problem:  "Stove runs for 1 minute and 43 seconds and then shuts off, even though the tank is full and the stove's throttle is turned on. Stove will not relight until fully cooled.  Process continues as described when stove is relit and will only run for another minute and 43 seconds before process repeats."

It turns out that the stove had a small kink in the generator to the point where after running for that 1 minute and 43 seconds, the metal would expand to the point where the fuel supply would cut off and only after the metal had cooled and contracted that it would allow the fuel to flow again.  He did it several times and timed it with his watch and suprisingly enough the process took 1 minute and 43 seconds each time.

He was amazed (and delighted) that someone had gone to so much detail with this to the point where they clearly had timed the process down to the second.


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## Bomber (7 Dec 2004)

Do not allow a person to warm a one burner Peak Stove on top of a lit 2 burner Coleman.  Especially when the peak has a "snow cone" of frozen Naphtha about 3 inch's tall that said soldier was trying to melt off before he could light it.  And he left the peak in the on position.  Someone had to sleep in the Artic without a liner in the ten man for about 9 days.  And this happened on the second day on the ice.


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## aesop081 (10 Dec 2004)

garb811 said:
			
		

> Forgive me, but this is the worst advice I've ever seen given.   Take a lighter, which generates much less heat than a burning tent, and see how long it takes for the sleeping bag to melt.   All you're really accomplishing is shrink wrapping your corpse so its easier to recover.
> 
> It never failed to amaze me the number of people who gave instruction on how to light an immersion heater didn't know how to safely light it themselves.   Competitions on who could fire the old water scoop made out of a tomato can into the air sure did pass the time though.
> 
> Further hijacking of the thread: Yukon stoves, now that was a piece of kit to fear in the hands of an uneducated user.



Yukon stoves...........shit..don't mention those , you are making me feel old !


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## 1feral1 (10 Dec 2004)

Horror stories? Man, I have lived it. 

However at the end of the day, if mantained, and the user knows what they are doing, they are not that mad of a thing. Just never, ever, ever fill light one in a tent   ;D.

Oh, oh, my turn to pass the helmet. War story incoming.......   

:warstory: Mind you, there was one thing worse, those old American emmersion heaters. We had this guy CPL J.F. Holt of the Regina Rifles, and on one ex, he flooded this thing in a very big way, and had his whole face burried in it, when he lit it, and "choof" the sectionalised smoke stack blew off, whith a thunderous bang, with a small fireball to boot, and we all came running to see if Holt was, well still with us, but like a frazzled junkyard rat he appeared, with his eye brows gone, his moustache nothing but a black scar, and the most perplexed look, I have ever seen on ones face. 

He looked as if he was off some old B&W movie, with a dirty blackend face, and yes the heater choofed on and got the water warm for us to wash. 

Holt was one of those types of Blokes who you could give 2 litres of antifreeze to drink, and the only outcome would have been a burp heard in downtown Saskatoon from Dundurn. Holt was unhurt, and after he left the Johns in the 90's he became a Commissionaire at the RCMP training facility in Regina. I don't know what happened to him after that. Now that was a war story that needed to be told!   ;D   :warstory:.


Cheers,

Wes


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## my72jeep (19 Dec 2004)

brin11 said:
			
		

> I've never had a problem with anything Coleman although I have many funny stories about the immersion heaters.   Now those things are dangerous!


only to the unit down range or the guy who just must look down the hole

Coleman makes some good kit best beer coolers out there and in my experience a well maintained stove works great but i have 5 rules of susurvival and #1 is never turn your back on a Coleman stove!


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## gun plumber (20 Dec 2004)

Not to hijack this thread,but this is kinda related.
The wife just got me the best coleman product thet ever produced besides the stove,it's an actual,honest to goodness coffee perk that is designed to be used on the stove.It's not the old kind of drip perculator,but the exact same style as the one we all have in our house.
Can't wait to try it out!


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## someguyincanada (20 Dec 2004)

my72jeep said:
			
		

> only to the unit down range or the guy who just must look down the hole
> 
> Coleman makes some good kit best beer coolers out there and in my experience a well maintained stove works great but i have 5 rules of susurvival and #1 is never turn your back on a Coleman stove!



Sir 
What are the other four rules?


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## my72jeep (20 Dec 2004)

Saw that coffee pot at Canadian tire hoping Santa brings it for Xmas.

2 of the 5 rules are not for mixed company.


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## squealiox (2 Jan 2005)

i recall there was one (not too bright) guy on a winter ex up north who fired up the coleman without bothering to place it on the handy plywood board that it travels with on the toboggan. he turned his back for a couple of minutes, and when he came back to find the stove, it had magically disappeared. it had had melthed the snow and dug itself in a couple feet down.


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## Navalsnpr (2 Jan 2005)

Coleman definitely puts out a good product and I've been using the stoves and lanterns for around 20 years with no problems. As others have mentioned, as long as they are properly maintained, they should last a lifetime with no problems.

A friend of mine bought an old DND stove from a surplus store that was listed as BER (Beyond Economical Repair). He initially bought it for spare parts for his other stove which wasn't 100% when he bought it used. Well, he removed the burner rings and bowl and noticed they were installed incorrectly. He remedied the faulty install and ended up with a fully functional stove for $10.00  Not a bad deal.

The Coleman web site has some tips on maintaining their gear:

     http://www.coleman.com/coleman/gearcare.asp


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## sdimock (31 Jan 2005)

sdimock said:
			
		

> I expect that since winter is again upon us I will be seeing him within the next couple of months.



I talked to the WO this weekend, he is instructing our BMO course, and he said;

If you can't get out, tuck yourself down into your liner and you'll be alright, I've been in two tents that went up
completely and don't have a scar.

He said that after the fires he was looking up at the stars and the pole fell down and hit the person laying beside
him.

A rush to get out the door or cut your way through the tent wall and liner are not the only possable responses.

Keep in mind "the situation dictates" and this is just another option.

Chimo


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## garb811 (31 Jan 2005)

Thanks for the clarification that it was the liner he was refering to.   Unfortunately many of our soldiers don't carry the liner as they don't realize the benefits of it.


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