Friday, 5 August 2011
Great Camp Stove
This stove works very well, with good wind protection. Most importantly, if you live in any area where a natural disaster could occur, such as earthquakes or hurricanes, this stove can really be a lifesaver! My sister used one after Hurricane Andrew and we have ours primarily because it is a valuable addition to our earthquake survival kit. The liquid fuel stores easily for years in a contained area, and it is very easy to use and control. Coleman 2-Burner Dual Fuel Powerhouse Liquid Fuel Stove
This stove is big, but well worth our money. It accommodates two full sized skillets at once. It boils water in a jiffy, lights easily and burns clean. We cooked under a canopy with ample overhead ventilation with no problems. No odor or discoloring our pans. I loved that the stove's bottom didn't get more than warm when cooking. We used it with a plastic table cover under it with no problem. It stayed lit in very windy conditions. As advertised, the auxiliary burner is less powerful than the main, but was still plenty hot enough to cook on its own. Downsides? Size if you're not car camping. It's the size and weight of a large briefcase, and even larger when in the box. Another issue: in broad daylight, it was difficult to tell if the burner was still lit -- quickly passing a hand over the burner was sufficient to answer that question. To light the auxiliary burner you must briefly turn the main burner up to medium or higher -- tricky if you're already cooking something on low over the main. Finally, it is difficult to empty the fuel tank of extra fuel when packing up, though it can be stored with fuel. We consider these minor detractions. Bottom line: the stove performs great and we love it and recommend it.
I have two of these stoves (one is over 20 years old and one is the model covered in this review and it's about 4 years old); they have seen a lot of use. Very easy to use and rugged, I take both of them along when car camping because my family loves to camp and this allows the ultimate in outdoor cooking flexibility for use with our drip coffee maker and griddle. The folded up stove encloses the fuel tank, cooking grate and windscreens and is about the size of a briefcase.
Liquid fuel is the most reliable and hottest way to do camp cookery because it's easy to start and keep running while requiring very little maintenance. The dual fuel model gives you the option of using unleaded gasoline which is cheaper and more universally available than the most common fuels: a. Coleman Fuel (naphtha) or b. propane.
You can depend on this appliance during the harshest conditions including those times when power goes out at the house; down through the years I haven't had to think twice about using it to melt snow, boil water or make coffee at home during a power outage.
Buy Coleman quality stoves with confidence and enjoy more of the great outdoors.
Once a renown brand with good products, now lacking any sense of quality.
We bought that oven for 2 reasons
1. It's a dual fuel (unleaded Gas & Coleman fuel)
2. To use it together with the Coleman foldable oven
Pro:
YES, it heats up what you put onto it
Cons:
1. The gas tank does not hold in its slots (front side of the stove) and slips away - meaning we have to put something in front or underneath the tank to keep it in it's designated position.
2. At the first use, one of the gaskets (underneath one of the burners) blew off. The authorized Coleman service in Bowling Green, Kentucky asked us to get in touch with Coleman directly because
a) we have not bought the product in his shop and
b) this gasket fails so seldom that he does not have any stock
....not to mention, that this gasket is not even listed in the original Coleman manual.
3. It's wet out there - Using an outdoor stove means that there is a certain chance, that it gets wet. But it DOES NOT mean, that the oven has to start rusting immediately.
4. The jet on the tip of the fuel injection pipe got loose after the first use and produced a yellow flame. As the pipe is made of steel and the jet of brass or bronze, it goes without saying that this did not happen only once but several times (according to the user manual one should contact the Coleman service and not to operate the stove any further as a yellow flame is an indicator for a leakage)
Compared to our 25 year old Coleman stove (from a yard sales) this one looks pretty much like a more than cheap copy on which someone tried to gain the profit margins to the limit ..... and we talk here about a stove with a MRSP of $ 129,99 !!!!
This is an excellent choice for other than those people needing or wanting to travel light. The somewhat large size is not a problem for those who drive to deer camp or similar scenario. It is not a burden to carry for a person of small stature. The dual fuel option offers great flexibility and economy of choice. I can not determine any particular special adantage to either fuel other than cost and ease of availability of unleaded gas. The wind screens are somewhat flimsy but adequate to the task. It lights reliably and burns cleanly. Fit and finish seem good. Gas supply to both burners seems very good and heat is pretty well evenly distributed. Returning unused fuel to a suitable storage container is a minor frustration that a funnel of proper size, and a few shakes and gentle turns of the fuel tank as it nears empty, seem to resolve pretty easily. A single full tank of fuel seems to be enough for a week-end or little longer trip unless virtual banquets are being prepared. Most of my use requires only a single burner at a time but it's nice to have that first pot of coffee (quickly) perking while breakfast sizzles alongside. Lots of good memories can be cooked up using this stove.'
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