Hi folks I picked up a fairly tidy Coleman Powerhouse 295 dual mantle lamp. Hood is not bad and generator and needle/jet are in excellent condition. The pump requires a new leather and I shall fit a new seal to the filler cap. All in all a good little user. The tank came with old fuel in it and I decided to flush it out. Here come the extras: After swilling the tank out for the last hour and a half I’m still getting crud out although this is lessening, however I am mystified. The tank does not appear to be rusted inside but I have removed no end of the black crud and also a fair bit of what looks like emulsified paint. There is still a fair amount of “paint skin” still inside which has defied all attempts so far to remove it. Does anyone have any ideas as to what it may be and the best way to break it up or dissolve it? I wait with baited breath. Regards Jeremy
Most likely the coating applied by Coleman to protect the tank. There must be something in that fuel that has attacked the coating.....you will need to remove the rest of the lining with an appropriate solvent.
Sounds like you need the " Chain gang " + 6 " bicycle chain .. and about 10 stainless steel nuts + few bolts .. to finish your swirl about....the tank .. practice rotary yo/yo movements until fed up ..then see ... hey only joking ..go fer it good luck Alb
Hi Jeremy, Great score on the 295. The Coleman 295 is a dual fuel but for me I'd never use unleaded fuel due to the additives which can and will plug up the vaporizer and the unleaded fuel may be the cause of the crud but I may be wrong. If you can find some Acetone it works pretty good at cleaning out the fount. Some are also using steel balls and nuts to help with the cleaning and to get the steel parts out of the fount you can use a magnet. The 295 can be converted to run on kerosene/paraffin. The 639 vaporizer is a direct fit for the 295. If you decide to do the conversion the kerosene/paraffin should work as a rust preventative or at least slow the rust process. Cheers, Norman
Hi folks @Norman the acetone seems to be dissolving the pink stuff. @peterthevet It does appear to be a liner installed by Coleman so gods only know what had been used as fuel to degrade it so badly. The pump washer was also affected in the same way, ie softened and distended. @Alby still swilling out and nuts and bolts to follow, as I progress I will post updates. Regards Jeremy
Hi Jeremy I once got hold of a second hand Tilley that was so clogged up that you couldn’t get a wire down the tube. I couldn’t shift it at all. In desperation I poured in boiling water and it did the trick. Now works fine. Also had matches, grass, insects even a ball pen inside fonts. Why would you?
If acetone is still not removing all the crud inside, you can fill full the fount with a strong alkaline engine degreasser that contains potassium hydroxide and some non-ionic surfactants. Leave it in for a couple of days. That'll saponify all the organics inside and turn them into some forns of soap. Pour it out and rinse with water follow by the usual BB, nuts shake. Fill it up with citric acid and allow another couple of days if you want to remove any possible rust inside.
Hi Jeremy, Here is my 295 and 290 running on kerosene. There is hope so don't give up. Cheers, Norman
Meths usually works to dissolve the red/pink Coleman tank coating. any chance the pump gas they used in it had some ethanol in it, or is that our particular problem on this side of the pond?
