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Coleman Portable Butane Stove Review - With Carrying Case
If you’re looking for a single burner, low cost, easy to operate camping stove then stick around to read my Coleman portable butane stove review.
What makes this review unique compared to any other you’ll find on the internet is that I’ve had my own personal stove for nearly 3 years now.
In that time my stove has been used hundreds of times from car camping trips to the arctic circle in Norway and Sweden to touring the Alps in autumn.
For those who are in a hurry, should you buy this stove? The short answer is yes if you’re planning on car camping. This stove will serve up to two people with ease.
If you’d like to know more about all the features and what it’s actually like to use on a daily camping basis then read on.
Last update on 2024-04-25 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Features
Depending on what part of the world you live. In North America the stove is known as Coleman, in Europe and other parts of the world the brand is Campingaz. I just thought I’d mention this point to stop any confusion.
In terms of design the stove is what’s called a tabletop design, meaning it will sit happily on any fairly flat surface. All the heat is directed upwards from the burner so you don’t have to place the stove on a heat proof base for safety.
Specification
- Fuel Type – CP 250 butane gas cartridge
- Dimensions – 20 x 12 x 4 inches
- 7,650 total BTUs of cooking power
- 5 minutes (approx) boiling time for 1 litre of water
- Maximum pot size – 10 inches
- Rust proof aluminium burner
- Piezo lighting ignition
Ease of Cleaning
The outer case is enamel coated for ease of cleaning. All it takes to clean the stove after use is a damp cloth. You don’t even need to scrub the surface clean. Doing so would eventually damage the enamel surface.
Pan Supports
What I like about the Coleman portable stove mostly are the large pan supports which allow the use of both large and small size pots and pans.
The pan supports are enamel coated too for ease of cleaning after use. Just allow 5 minutes or more to let them cool down although the supports don’t retain much heat immediately after cooking.
Flame Adjustment
The control panel on the far right on the front of the stove has a simple anticlockwise to ignite dial.
Once lit it’s just a matter of moving the heating dial to suit your cooking requirement.
Setting Up
On the right hand side of the stove is a hinged door that opens to reveal the gas cartridge compartment. Place the nozzle of the cartridge underneath the locking mechanism and lay the cartridge flat inside the compartment.
Changing the gas cartridge is very quick and easy. If you are unsure there is a small instruction booklet supplied with the stove with easy to follow steps.
With the cartridge installed, turn the main heating control dial anticlockwise and you’ll hear quite a loud click followed by the burner lighting at full flame.
Turn the heating dial clockwise from full flame down to the desired flame level and you’re ready to start cooking your first camping meal with the stove.
Ignition
As mentioned above, when turning the heating control you’ll hear a clicking sound, this is the automatic ignition system which means there’s no need to carry any other form of stove lighting.
The ignition system is what’s called a piezo ignition which works every time from my experience and after literally hundreds of uses is still lighting my stove as easily as the day I first bought the stove almost 3 years ago.
Gas Cartridges
The Coleman portable stoves use what’s known as CP 250 gas cartridges as fuel. The fuel inside the cartridges is butane or some have a mixture of isobutane.
Butane gas doesn’t burn very efficiently in extreme cold temperatures so I’d suggest a cold weather stove for cooking if you are planning on camping in winter.
I try to keep my cartridges in a warm, safe storage place while camping so I have as efficient as possible burn time when cooking.
In regards to the brand of cartridge to buy, I’d suggest going with a known brand such as Coleman or Campingaz for your stove.
Another major tip is to stock up on cartridges before you head out camping as the cartridges can be hard to source in certains parts of the world.
One of the most asked questions is “how much fuel do I need?” for a camping trip. Well I’m now going to answer that question below when I talk about actually cooking with the stove in real life conditions.
Cooking
So what’s it like to cook on the Coleman stove? Overall I’d say very good. I’ve cooked many tasty meals on my stove.
My suggestion is to have 3 pot sizes, small, medium and large. My largest pot is 10 inches diameter by 8 inches in height which is quite bulky, but remember this is a car camping setup not hiking on a trail style cooking.
With a large pot like the one I’ve mentioned above you can fit a small whole chicken inside, place a lid on top and pot roast the chicken in around an hour 20 minutes.
Put some vegetables, onions and potatoes at the base of the pot with around an inch of chicken stock and let the chicken simmer on the lowest heat setting with the lid on the pot. Trust me, it is absolutely delicious.
Having a small pot is ideal for making coffee in the morning. My small pot will hold 750 ml of water which is ideal for 2 people.
Real World Cooking Times
I tend to camp mostly in the warmer temperatures from say 15 Celsius, 59 degrees Fahrenheit to temperatures in the height of summer.
Gas Boiling Time Efficiency
The biggest effect on cooking times and how long a single CP 250 gas cartridge lasts is exposure to wind.
If you have the burner exposed to windy conditions it will affect the burn times dramatically from my experience. I’d say you’ll see 50% less efficient boiling times if the burner is not shielded from the wind.
I’ve used the stove inside a tent with no safety issues with carbon monoxide build up, although I would always strongly suggest making sure the tent is well ventilated and the stove is set on a flat surface away from the tent fabric sides.
Transporting
The Coleman does come inside a hard plastic carry case. A nice feature of the case is that it engages the safety locking system of the CP 250 cartridge as you place the stove inside the case.
This means you can store the stove with a cartridge inside with peace of mind that there will be no leakage from the gas cartridge in transit.
My only slight criticism is that the case is quite bulky, so I sometimes use a large drawstring bag to carry my stove if I’m looking to save on space in the trunk of the car.
Final Thoughts
So there you have it. A comprehensive look at the Coleman single burner stove which makes a great choice stove for car camping or even kayak camping if you have enough storage inside the hull of a kayak.
The stove is great for simmering stews and fresh made soups. Making coffee for two in the morning to fry up a full cooked breakfast.
I’ve used the stove inside well ventilated tents such a Baker Style tent, plus a modern 4 man tunnel tent configuration. Just ensure you keep the stove well away from any of the tent material (side walls).
The gas cartridges can become a little expensive and are difficult to find in some parts of the world so it’s best to buy in bulk before going on your camping trip.
As mentioned earlier, try and keep the stove out of the wind and you should see 3 days of full use out of one cartridge. That’s 2 rounds of coffee in the morning, along with some fried bacon and eggs, plus a decent evening meal for 2 people for 3 nights.
My stove is still going strong after almost 3 years of heavy use. Hopefully I’ll see at least one more season out of her before I have to look at replacing my stove.
Alternative Stove Options
Last update on 2024-04-21 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
