Coleman Single Burner Dual Fuel Stove.

[CamoWhamo]

Has anyone ever used a one of the small Coleman single burner Duel Fuel camping stoves to melt lead with?

I see a lot of mentions here about the dual burner stove being used successfully.
The spec's say the duel burner unit has a 9,000 and and an 8,000 btu burner(s).

The portable single burner unit (#533) supposedly has a 10,500btu burner.
Just wondering if that is wishful marketing speak or if it actually is powerful enough.

I'm looking at one for a portable setup for use away from home with one of the small RCBS or Lyman cast iron pots.

251518

[FLINTNFIRE]

I have 2 of those , but have not tried to melt lead , but I do not see why they would not , they get as good a flame as the camp stove that uses same fuel and I have melted and cast with those and the propane coleman cook stove. I like those little one burners for a heater and for the compact cooking stove they are with cheaper fuel then the primus and other back packing stoves.

[Winger Ed.]

Of course it'd work, but I worry about it tipping over since it has such a small base if it had more than just a few pounds in it.

I'd keep a eye out for one of their 2 burner stoves. It'd be a lot more stable.

[nicholst55]

Of course it'd work, but I worry about it tipping over since it has such a small base if it had more than just a few pounds in it.

I'd keep a eye out for one of their 2 burner stoves. It'd be a lot more stable.

The grills on their camp stoves are really NOT adequate for melting large quantities of lead. It takes forever, and the grill gets hot enough to lose it's strength and sag. You really DON'T want a 5-QT Dutch Oven full of molten lead to spill all over your smelting area. A lot of people - including me - have done it and gotten away with it, but you've got to ask yourself - do I feel lucky?

[Walks]

I've been using a Coleman single burner PROPANE Stove for 45 years. They don't make this style anymore.
Before that I learned to cast on a small Coleman white gas stove.
I bought all my White Gas stuff before the Dual Fuel came out. Otherwise I'd have bought that.
Then I had to buy all new Propane stuff to make My Wife Happy.

But I still fire up the little propane stove for casting Pure Lead. It has 2 fold out legs for balance. And the weight is supported Directly on the burner. No little extended shaft.

Major advantage to the white gas/ Dual Fuel, you can shake the tank to find out how much is left.

Wish I could post a picture.

[Winger Ed.]

I bought all my White Gas stuff before the Dual Fuel came out. .

They only changed the paint color, and decals when 'dual fuel' came out.

Use the cheapest no lead gas you can find, it'll do fine.
The alcohol added fuel does fine too, it might burn a little cooler than pure gas, but its hard to tell the difference.

I'd heard no lead gas & Coleman fuel were the same years ago, and it was confirmed when I rebuild a couple of lanterns .
The generator/needle valve thing was the same part number for both an old green one from the 50's,
and a gray 'dual fuel' from the 80's.

The stoves can't be much different.

[Winger Ed.]

The grills on their camp stoves are really NOT adequate for melting large quantities of lead.


I've been around them some, but never owned one.
Yeah, from the looks of 'em, I wouldn't want to put more than about 10 pounds on one,
and have it on a sturdy surface then, and without using the rickety looking legs.

[CamoWhamo]

I'd heard no lead gas & Coleman fuel were the same years ago, and it was confirmed when I rebuild a couple of lanterns .


Coleman fuel is just Naphthalene which is gasoline before they add all the additives to cater for weather/emissions/octane in pump gas.

Here in Australia it's sold as Shellite.

[Petrol & Powder]

I have used that exact stove many times.

It does create enough heat to melt a small pot of lead but the burner supports are not very strong so you're limited by the weight.
One of the small RCBS or Lyman pots will fit but I wouldn't fill it all the way. So to answer the OP's questions: yes it makes enough heat and yes the small RCBS pot will fit.
The stove works just fine on unleaded gasoline. I prefer the non-ethanol unleaded. I've fueled Coleman stoves with unleaded gasoline for years without issues. Even if there was a problem with the gas generator on the stove (which I've not experienced) it would still be cheaper to buy another gas generator than to buy that over-priced Coleman fuel.

That's the good news. Here's the bad news - when you stack the pot on top of the burner, you end up with a fairly tall, skinny set-up. So for safety, I would recommend keeping the entire set-up close to the ground or on the ground. The supports that hold the pot off the burner aren't the best design for a lot of weight. And if there's some wind, a shield is helpful.

If you're not familiar with gasoline powered stoves, there's a small learning curve. The stove requires pre-heating during the lighting process (like most liquid fueled stoves). I use alcohol to pre-heat the gas generator and that works well.
I prefer to run the stove dry with each use but at the very least, drain the tank after the stove cools. Even non-ethanol gasoline will form varnish if stored for long periods of time.

[nueces5]

I have an equal one, but mine is not dual, it only works with gasoline.
works great to melt lead

[MostlyLeverGuns]

Mine is a green single burner, but not dual fuel, much like the one shown. Cast many bullets using a Lyman 10 lb lead pot, Lyman ladle in the 60's, early 70's. Even used it in dorm room to cast - single cavity Lyman mold back then - 454424, 31141 and 225415. Worked very well. Would use again if portability required. Always used gasoline, provided more heat. Still have the stove, stove still works. Generators last longer with 'modern' unleaded gas.

[Bird]

I have used the same model coleman stove many times to melt lead and also to melt my lube. The generator tube will block up if pump gas is continually used, then you will have to pre heat the tube with a propane torch to get the gas flowing again. Just use the coleman or similar fuel and it will save the cost of a replacement tube. I managed to burn about 2.5 gallons of gasoline before the tube started to block up.....never found a way to clean it out.

[Winger Ed.]

...never found a way to clean it out.

Someone gave me a old Coleman lantern years ago that had been clogged with deposits
from leaded gas that had been left in it for a few years.

If they'll spit & sputter, this will usually work without taking the needle out:

I ran pure carberator/fuel injection cleaner through it for awhile and that cleaned it out.
I didn't light it off, just sat it out side and pumped it up, turned the on/off valve several times every few minutes,
and let it push the cleaner through it until it flowed again.

If you take the needle out to blow carb. cleaner through it and the orifice it runs in, be careful-
its about the size of a human hair, and doesn't like being bent.

[Butler Ford]

It works like a champ if you will use the Lyman or RCBS #10 pots. It is what I use to cast pure lead round ball and bullets. You'd have to be careless to tip it over with those pots.

[Bird]

Someone gave me a old Coleman lantern years ago that had been clogged with deposits
from leaded gas that had been left in it for a few years.

If they'll spit & sputter, this will usually work without taking the needle out:

I ran pure carberator/fuel injection cleaner through it for awhile and that cleaned it out.
I didn't light it off, just sat it out side and pumped it up, turned the on/off valve several times every few minutes,
and let it push the cleaner through it until it flowed again.

If you take the needle out to blow carb. cleaner through it and the orifice it runs in, be careful-
its about the size of a human hair, and doesn't like being bent.

I tried Berrymans carb cleaner, the older stronger stuff, a strong solution of caustic soda (drano), heating the tube to cherry red to dislodge deposits, and none of them worked. The way to get the stove to operate is to pre heat the tube to cherry red, then turn the gas on and off a few times.

[Green Frog]

The last line in the OP is vital... he says he wants to melt lead in”one of the small RCBS or Lyman cast iron pots.” The stove as shown should be OK for that, but if I planned on anything heavier, as most posters seem to imply, I would fab up a frame and legs of angle iron to support the pot over the stove and take all the weight off of the burner frame. Safety first and molten lead is unforgiving stuff when it’s on the loose!

Froggie

[Walks]

I surround my Propane burner/pot with red clay bricks.

[jaguarxk120]

I have the two burner stove. Every so often I take the gas generator apart. It has a long coiled spring like wire inside.
Wiring brushing that removes any carbon/varnish/crud, then the generator works OK.

[Bird]

Stand 2 common house bricks on edge each side of the stove, and place a pot support ring from a gas stove on top. This keeps the weight off the stove and makes for a more stable set up. I use an old cast iron cook pot with lid, and melt about 30lbs of lead at a time.

[CamoWhamo]

I'm going to answer my own post.

There were enough positive replies in this thread saying it would work so i bought one in an on-line sale and it arrived today.

I thought i had more white gas at home but i only had enough for about 1/8th of a tank.

I set it up and it lit first go. I put 2 ingots in the pot and it took quite a while to melt the alloy, then i added another 2 ingots which took a while to bring back up to temp. The alloy got to around 650 before it ran out of fuel.

After it cooled i put a half tank of unleaded gas in it and tried again. The difference was night and day. The unleaded gas burned a lot hotter. The 4 pounds in the pot heated up fast and adding 3 more ingots 1 at a time was faster to recover than if i'd have done the same in my Lee electric pot. When the alloy was about 710f i turned the heat down some and it maintained the temp well while i did a few casts.

I'm wondering if the lack of performance with white gas was due to the near empty tank or if it just doesn't have the energy of unleaded.

Anyways, to answer my own question.
The single burner stove does work with an emphatic yes when using unleaded gas.
More testing required with white gas.

And the stove was very stable with the small RCBS pot and about 7-8 pounds in it but i probably wouldn't want to take it much over that.

[Winger Ed.]

The level in the tank doesn't matter. Like how much gas in in your car's tank doesn't effect how it runs.
The quality of it is what's important.

Just a wild guess, but if that gas is old, it'll go bad, or the 'goodies' evaporate out over time.

I've only had lanterns, but they pretty much work the same as a stove.
I've had better luck running them totally empty to store them very long.

[Petrol & Powder]

Excellent.

[Green Frog]

I'm going to answer my own post.

There were enough positive replies in this thread saying it would work so i bought one in an on-line sale and it arrived today.

I thought i had more white gas at home but i only had enough for about 1/8th of a tank.

I set it up and it lit first go. I put 2 ingots in the pot and it took quite a while to melt the alloy, then i added another 2 ingots which took a while to bring back up to temp. The alloy got to around 650 before it ran out of fuel.

After it cooled i put a half tank of unleaded gas in it and tried again. The difference was night and day. The unleaded gas burned a lot hotter. The 4 pounds in the pot heated up fast and adding 3 more ingots 1 at a time was faster to recover than if i'd have done the same in my Lee electric pot. When the alloy was about 710f i turned the heat down some and it maintained the temp well while i did a few casts.

I'm wondering if the lack of performance with white gas was due to the near empty tank or if it just doesn't have the energy of unleaded.

Anyways, to answer my own question.
The single burner stove does work with an emphatic yes when using unleaded gas.
More testing required with white gas.

And the stove was very stable with the small RCBS pot and about 7-8 pounds in it but i probably wouldn't want to take it much over that.

Excellent post, CW. Great example of “This is what happened when I...” instead of “What would happen if I...” We need a lot more posts like this. Of course I enjoy seeing my calculations and ruminations confirmed in real time... but there’s just no substitute for direct observation. Thanks for taking the time and effort to report back, and I hope you will enjoy your new setup. The way you’ve got it arranged gets you back to the old days of the buffalo hunters casting bullets at the campfire. Way cool! 8-)

Froggie

[Walks]

I remember my Dad had us empty the white gas back into the Coleman gas can, at the end of each season.
A New can was purchased in the Spring. The old can was used for starting campfires, charcoal grills and for His Boys to blow up stuff with. I can't remember how my older Brothers did blow stuff up with. Probably a good thing.

[tunnug]

I have the two burner stove. Every so often I take the gas generator apart. It has a long coiled spring like wire inside.
Wiring brushing that removes any carbon/varnish/crud, then the generator works OK.
I've learned to refurbish, fix these old lanterns/stoves, I use a nylon or brass brush with carb cleaner, the crud comes right off, gotta use plenty of the carb cleaner since it evaporates so quick, like someone said earlier be careful with the hair like wire at the end of the generator, also don't forget to shoot some carb cleaner into the tube the generator goes in.