Going to reuse my 1958 propane stove

[airdoxy]

Any tips on renovating these stoves. Can't remember the name of it, but it has a crown logo on it. It was very lightly used. What usually gives up first on these and can I get replacement parts or have it repaired If needed? Any comments on how to approach this before I put it back in let me know. I have not ever fired it up.

Jim

[wkerfoot]

Jim,

After I purchased the stove for our Liner, I took it to a vintage stove rebuilding store and had them check it out. They also replaced the insulation.

Check the yellow pages or google for such a company near you.

Bill

Originally Posted by airdoxy

Any tips on renovating these stoves. Can't remember the name of it, but it has a crown logo on it. It was very lightly used. What usually gives up first on these and can I get replacement parts or have it repaired If needed? Any comments on how to approach this before I put it back in let me know. I have not ever fired it up.

Jim

[SpaceEgg]

Originally Posted by airdoxy

Any tips on renovating these stoves. Can't remember the name of it, but it has a crown logo on it. It was very lightly used. What usually gives up first on these and can I get replacement parts or have it repaired If needed? Any comments on how to approach this before I put it back in let me know. I have not ever fired it up.

Jim

The brand should be Princess. The stove is fairly straight-forward: copper pipe carries gas to the burner, sort of like a typical propane BBQ grill. I'd start with the basics - do the pipes look sound, are the connectors firmly in place, and do the burners look clogged. If the stove/oven is out of your trailer, you should be able to get a good visual on all the rear workings.

If it's out of the trailer, you could hook a portable propane tank to the stove outdoors to see if it fires up. Propane must be over 50% saturated with ambient atmosphere to combust, so outdoors in a breeze, you're pretty safe. Plus if there's a heavy gas odor you know you have a leak. You could also try the soapy-water test on the pipes to check for bubbles if you prefer not to use flame.

These are just suggestions. If it were me, I would take it to the local propane tech just to be sure.

[nmbosa]

Originally Posted by SpaceEgg

The brand should be Princess. The stove is fairly straight-forward: copper pipe carries gas to the burner, sort of like a typical propane BBQ grill. I'd start with the basics - do the pipes look sound, are the connectors firmly in place, and do the burners look clogged. If the stove/oven is out of your trailer, you should be able to get a good visual on all the rear workings.

If it's out of the trailer, you could hook a portable propane tank to the stove outdoors to see if it fires up. Propane must be over 50% saturated with ambient atmosphere to combust, so outdoors in a breeze, you're pretty safe. Plus if there's a heavy gas odor you know you have a leak. You could also try the soapy-water test on the pipes to check for bubbles if you prefer not to use flame.

These are just suggestions. If it were me, I would take it to the local propane tech just to be sure.

These are good suggestions. If you have the Princess 4 burner stove, it's the same as mine. When I had mine out, I hooked it up to a portable propane tank, did a bubble test for leaks and then fired it up. Mine had been used pretty heavily, but worked great. After confirming it worked well, I promptly took it all apart (desparately hoping I didn't break anything in the process) and cleaned everything. It was very easy to take apart and put back together. It really is a very simple stove and unless a pipe is broken or covered in rust and leaking, it will probably work fine.

[mello mike]

Norm,
Your stove looks great. Where did you take it to get it worked on and repainted?

[nmbosa]

Mike,

I had the burner tray, burner cover, and front panel powder coated at Seattle Powder Coating. I had the brightwork re-chromed at Art Brass Plating here in Seattle. Seattle Powder Coating also sand blasted the burners for me. That took away some of the machined surfaces on the burners, but I think it was worth it overall. There is a gasket between the burners and the burner tubes that I left in place because I did not want to risk damging those. Fortunately, the sand blasting did not damage them.

I took the main supply tube (where all the valves are located) apart and cleaned it up myself. It was in fine working order. It just needed all the bacon grease and grime removed.

I spent about as much as I would have on buying a new unit, so it was not an economical approach. But I really like the look of these old stoves. It really goes a long way towards preserving the original look.

Norm

[mello mike]

Originally Posted by nmbosa

I spent about as much as I would have on buying a new unit, so it was not an economical approach. But I really like the look of these old stoves. It really goes a long way towards preserving the original look.

Norm

My sentiments, exactly.

[airdoxy]

Thanks all for the tips, i am going to do all you suggest... Eventually even norm's ultimate restore. Jim

[airdoxy]

Just a note to those interested....... I pulled out this stove, just cleaned it out, hooked it up. It fired up on all burners and the oven works as well. No major renovation at all. I am really pleased that I kept it. Jim

[mello mike]

Jim,
Glad to hear that your Princess Stove is in good working order. They really are cool looking stoves and will really help maintain the original classic look of your Airstream.

Having a '58 myself, I would love to see pics of your interior.