Restoring a Coleman 3-Burner Stove
Restored Coleman 3-Burner Stove
Coleman Logo
In keeping with my plans to renovate the '52 Clipper in a manner that would look a lot like the original, I decided to install a stove that is appropriate to period. Originally I thought this would mean a 20" free standing "apartment" type stove. In fact I picked one up with the intent to restore it. However after looking at the cabinets and stove vent location (street-side above the wheel well) in the Clipper I realized my layout was more similar to the image below.
Image of Restored Clipper from the web
This image shows a small stove located above the wheel well. There aren't better pictures of this stove, but you can see a logo at the center between the two inner burner knobs. I realized that I might have this stove already! I'd pulled a similar stove from the 1948 Boles Aero Model 14 that I finished renovating in Feb 2022. Mine had a different top (a metal heat shield arrangement that protects people sitting in the dinette).
Further investigation and measurement convinced me that the stove in the image and the one I already had are the same model. I scoured the internet and found other images of Clippers with this same stove. I tried to get historical information on the Coleman stove but there is scant information.
In any case I decide to restore the stove I had and use it in the Clipper.
Coleman Stove as found in my 1948 Boles Aero
The stove is simple enough. There are two large cast iron grates that cover three burners. And there is a small over that is controlled by a Wilcolator Type-C thermostat. The burner need to be lit each time they are used (ie no pilot). The oven has a pilot light that needs to be lit via the oven chamber each time it's used.
Becky and I hardly use the oven in our house and the thought of using an oven in such a small trailer seemed unlikely. In addition the whole pilot light and 70 year old thermostat situation made me decide to disable the oven section. I wanted to leave the oven knob arrangement in place so I decided to leave the Wilcolater on the propane manifold but cap the propane outlets (pilot and burner) that lead to the oven. However I also decided to leave them intact (but disconnected) so a future owner could decide to activate the oven again.
Wilcolator Oven Thermostat Knob
Wilcolater Type-C Oven Thermostat
The oven is basically a bunch of sheet metal pieces held together with #10-24 machine screws. The oven section consists of three side boxes (back, left & right) filled with ceramic fiber high temperature insulation. The top is not insulated (the burners are just above). And the base is a 1/4" metal plate above the burner to distribute heat more evenly.
It took me about 2 hours to disassemble it, most of the time consummed by carefully photo-documenting and keeping track of parts so that I could reassemble it.
Coleman Stove torn down
For the body parts I thoroughly degreased and scrubbed them with abrasive pads. I also used some CLR to get rid of the rust stains on the white body panels.
After cleaning and prepping for paint I used a spray can version of Rustoleum Appliance Epoxy paint on the main body. The knobs and oven handle were sprayed with a gloss enamel that claimed to adhere well to plastic (I think these may be bakelite).
The back, the tray below the burners, the propane manifold, and the rear crossmember (holds up the burner grates in the back) were painted with Rustoleum High Temperature BBQ semigloss black paint. It's supposed to withstand up to 1300F and the these parts won't experience anything near that.
The grates and the burners were another story.
The grates are cast iron. I really wanted to get them coated with porcelain but the quote I received was $250 per grate. That's $500 I didn't want to spend and it's a decision I can consider again in the future. Instead I used a great deal of effort to clean them using several applications and overnight soaking in heavy duty oven cleaner followed by scrubbing with steel wool and scotchbrite pads. Eventually I seasoned them using vegetable oil and baked them on my BBQ grill. They look better than they did but, I'm still not 100% happy. Maybe when I get further down the Clipper restoration path I might reconsider porcelain coating.
The burners are also cast iron. They were originally painted with an aluminum colored paint (originally I thought they might be cast aluminum but they are magnetic so that rules out cast aluminum). The tops of the burners had rusted a bit.
I also considered porcelain coating the burners but as with the grates the quote I received was too high to consider right now ($95 per burner). So I searched for alternatives. Several sources said they'd used spray ceramic paint that's made for extreme heat (up to 2000F). It's made for things like headers on cars, but it requires a curing process. The curing process is essentially baking it at progressively higher temperatures. While it cures it can emit toxic fumes.
I decide to give it a try. I cleaned up the burners similar to the grates and then sprayed them with an extreme temperature ceramic paint from Rustoleum. Based on lessons learned and documented in posts on the internet I accomplished the first two curing phases (250F and 400F for 30 min each) on a BBQ. Only the first (250F) seemed to emit much smoke. I tried to use the BBQ for the third and final curing phase (600F) but it wouldn't get that hot (maxed out at 450F) so after another session at the max temp I could accomplish in the BBQ I decided to use the oven in our home. I turned on the whole house fan and other vent fans and set the oven to the max temp it allows (575F). It did put off a nasty odor but it cleared out quickly. I tested the results by exposing a burner to a MAP propane torch and I saw no impact from the MAP torch so I'm calling it good enough.
I reassembled the stove and replaced the rusted out #10-24 machine screws with truss-head stainless #10-24 machine screws, washers and nuts. I couldn't find slot head truss-head screws so the replacements are Phillips head. I'm okay with this since they won't be visible except when cleaning below the top burners.
My plan to cap off the oven propane turned out to be a little more challenging than anticipated.
There are three lines that leave the Wilcolater thermostat: 1) pilot lite propane supply; 2) oven burner supply; and 3) a mechanical thermostat line. I needed to close off 1 and 2, the thermostat line could stay.
I queried a vintage stove group on Facebook for info on the Wilcolater and quickly received the two images below and a note that each Wilcolater may be configured slightly differently depending on oven manufacturer specifications.
Wilcolater description
Wilcolater Type-C breakout (deviations circled)
I found that my Type-C Wilcolater was configured differently. Specifically the pilot output is a female flared connection with 5/16-24 threads. And the main propane feed to the oven is a male 3/8" tube OD compression fitting (9/16-24 OD straight thread).
A couple things confused me: the pilot was originally connected with 3/16" OD tube using a female flare connection (ie a female to female flare!) And I was surprised to see a compression fitting (vs flare) for the main line to the oven.
I hunted for a flare plug with 5/16-24 threads and all I could find was one from Midland Industries (part number 10062) that was indicated for 1/8" OD tube. The catalog said it was 5/16"-24 thread so I found someplace that would ship me one (via Walmart.com believe it or not).
Midland Industries part 10062 1/8" flare plug
For the main oven propane line I used a simple compression cap. I'd prefer a flare vs compression fitting but I'm not how to accomplish that in this situation. I'll run a leak check before I install the unit and if it's leaking I'll figure something else out.
Front View, Restored Coleman 3-Burner Stove
Back View, Restored Coleman 3-Burner Stove
