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anitque parlor stoves

Started by ryguy777, August 07, 2013, 11:51:34 PM

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ryguy777

we've got this old woodstove sitting in my grandparents barn and my grandpas offered to give it to me... I was wondering if anyone's ever restored one of these and made modifications to make them more efficient and safer to use. my grandpa said he had it in the house for a little while and it heated good but he was afraid it'd burn the house down. its a nice little stove, im not sure of the brand (probably sear and roebuck) its slightly different then most parlor stoves you see.

beenthere

Going to post a pic of the old stove?

We like pics, and hard to make a comment without seeing what it is and what it looks like.

What year(s) was it new, and when was it last used? 
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

Axe Handle Hound

The real issue is that unless it's UL listed the insurance company won't like it.  Some refuse to insure non-UL listed stoves, but some may provided you've got enough clearance around it.  When I last looked into it the clearance requirements were so big I would have had to put the stove in the middle of my living room on a concrete slab.  I decided just to buy a newer stove.  If it's for an outbuilding just make sure you've got non-combustible materials surrounding it.  A double layer of cement board on the walls and floor with a 1" air gap behind & underneath them will give a really high R-value so you don't have to worry about burning anything down.   

BradMarks

AxeHandle is on track.  Not only is it a UL - Insurance issue but more so an EPA air quality issue. In our area, you cannot install in a house an old stove regardless.  Only newer ones that have been certified as cleaner.  You can be "grandfathered" using an old one, but it cannot be replaced by an old one, only a new stove. 

ryguy777

 

  I ant get a picture of the actual one ive got, but this one is the same as it. im missing the fancy thing that goes on top, mines just dusty and dirty cause is been sitting in a barn for 30 years

ryguy777

the other problem with it, was you couldent control the fire so I thought I'd figure out how to stick a damper in the pipe (its got an old fashion oval opening for the stove pipe) and it needs a grate but I could build one.  do you guys think it'dbe a good idea to line it with firebrick? im not sure if those old stoves ever came with firebrick

Al_Smith

That's what they called a "base burner" I believe .It will put out the heat allright .

It's not an air tight by any means but on the other hand it's unlikely it will produce much creosote either .It will go through the wood though .

ryguy777

i shouldn't have any problem filling it up though, you can add wood from the front, side and top. are there ways to make this stove more controllable and make it burn slower?

beenthere

Controlling the air supply will control the burn rate.
Having a fail-safe control of the air supply is important too.  Just manual control, isn't very "fail-safe".

For good air supply control, then the places you add wood should be very close fit or sealed doors. Less than that, will make it difficult to control the air.

Heat output can also be controlled by the amount of wood put in the stove to burn.
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

Al_Smith

They aren't air tight so obviously they don't seal that good .None the less you can control the fire in them .

There's a lot of hoopla about old stoves but you know they still heat good .If that thing has good metal in it and a good flue I wouldn't be real concerned about .

My grandmother ,tough old country woman she was heated a big old 2500 sq foot farm house for decades with two none air tight stoves and her still swinging an axe at over 80 years of ago .She never had a creosote problem,never a chimeney fire and never the blessings of the all and powerfull EPA . ;)She cashed it in at 96 .

thecfarm

We used this for 3-4 years to heat our home



 

Not air tight by a long ways,but did OK. Saved on the oil.

Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

DR Buck

Our old stove isn't a parlor stove.  It's a kitchen cook stove and goes unused.   It's a family heirloom and sits in our entryway.  It was made by my great grandfathers company around 1914.   This particular one belonged to friends of mine and was in their hunting camp in central PA.  I used to go there deer hunting as a kid and always admired the stove because it was made by my ancestors.  When my friends dad passed away about 25 years ago and the cabin was put up for sale the stove was given to me.  It was the deluxe model made by the company and even included a hot water loop coil in the firebox so you could have running hot water from the kitchen sink.

This is it sitting in out entry when we first moved here.




Here is the catalog advertising picture of it.   Unfortunately we don't have the top warming canopy.




This is the factory where it was built




This was the last remaining part of the factory and was taken down a few years ago.





Here are a few close up of details on the stove.




Been there, done that.   Never got caught [/b]
Retired and not doing much anymore and still not getting caught

beenthere

That is a sharp looking entry piece.

I recall my Aunt and Uncle having such a wood cook stove in the kitchen and the most amazing good meals came from that stove.  8)
There was a second one in the "summer" kitchen likely to keep from heating the main house during hot weather.
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

thecfarm

Dr Buck that looks nice. I really like the enamel finish. That looks like a pricey stove.Kinda looks like thier is more than one stove pipe? Looks like there is the main one and than maybe 2 smaller ones?
We could of got the hotwater with ours too. The threads are in the back. But we did not have a need for it. There is another one just like this one in the old farm house. The oven is cracked and a few others things are cracked too.
Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

Axe Handle Hound

thecfarm, that's a sharp looking stove. I've been searching for one like that to convert to a modern electric or gas range top for quite a while.   It's an expensive process, but it would look perfect in our old log home. 

DR_Buck, that thing looks like the Cadillac of woodstoves!  Look at all that shiny enamel!

ryguy777

my grandma has a "happy thought" cook stove (it says that on the oven door) its sort of cream colored and green with an enamel finish. they use it and a coal stove to heat there house, they usually only light it up if the coal stove isn't enough though.
I was thinking about taking the old parlor stove apart and trying to make it more air tight by adding some of that rope that goes in the doors of woodstoves in the joints, or it some sort of fire proof silicone in the joints

Al_Smith

Many of those old parlor stoves had a cast iron base and top with sheet metal sides .Usually they were rivited together .They never that I saw had a gasketed ash pan or feed door .I've seen a lot of them,Warm Morning ,Round Oak etc .

Now not to step on anyones toes or sound like a wise guy they didn't hold enough wood to worry about having a "run away" .They all had stack dampers and unless you filled one with kindling wood you could controll the fire about as well as an air tight .

Now having said that remember I grew up around the things .This wood burning is not a new thing with me .However as has been mentioned some areas of the country are anally "green " with more regulations than Carters have little liver pills .Plus insurance companies are equally as pessimistic about wood burners .So before a person might get the bright idea to fire up grand dads old parlor stove it might be a good idea to see if you can legally .

thecfarm

Al,how right you are on the firebox size. The one I have is just about the size of a shoe box. There was an option for an add on of about 6 inches on the end. So my firebox is about as big as shoe box,plus 6 inches.
Axe Handle Hound,how about Elmira? This will take 2 pictures.
This is the top part. 4 gas burners with 2 electric suface burners. Don't use the surface burners much,but it's a work area when not in use.


 

This is the bottom,electric oven with a warming oven on the right side. That warming oven is worth it's weight in gold when we have alot over for a meal. These can be made anyway you want.



  
Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

Al_Smith

I think a lot of those old folks burned lump coal at night in those parlor stoves .I know my dear old granny did .Otherwise you had to stoke them about every two hours .That said though they worked .

In a former life with a former wife we had a larger "Round Oak " stove .If you let it burn down with a large bed of coals and fired it right you could get 6 hours out of it .It really wasn't a problem in those days because one of us would be up in the wee hours to stoke it .You can only "rent " beer thusly the "wee" hours were that indeed . ;)

ryguy777

yeah I would most likely shovel coal on the fire at night.....

im in upstate new York, so I wouldn't be surprised if they decide I cant use a woodstove that's prolly better then a lot of them sold today. oh well, just don't tell al gore

DR Buck

I spent some time online a few weeks back and stumbled onto some historical documents in the archives at the Philidelphia Free Library.  One of them was the architectural drawing for the factory where my stove was made.   I ordered a high res scanned file from them (it wasn't free   :D )and had a couple of prints made.   Last night I matted and framed one to hang over my stove.   I'm going to send the other print I had made to my aunt.

Here it is hanging over the stove in our front entry.





This is a close-up of the framed drawing.


Been there, done that.   Never got caught [/b]
Retired and not doing much anymore and still not getting caught

Al_Smith

It took a lot of know how to cook on those old wood fired ranges but some of those old gals could do it in grand style .
You can still buy a brand new one at Leamans none electric in Kidron Ohio .They are in the heart of Amish country but they have a web site .Interesting place ,like stepping back in time to about 1910 .

SwampDonkey

That's pretty cool about your stove Dave and the history behind it. I'd be real proud to.  :)

Wood fired kitchen stoves are still used by some up this way. My grandmother of course used one all her life, and she had an electric as well. But that cook stove was used all winter to cook one thing or another since it was fired all winter. Makes no sense to turn on an electric burner or oven when the dang wood stove is going. ;D They were most always stoves made by Enterprise up here because the foundry was here in NB in Sackville. It burned down recently, and I think they closed the business as I don't see a website anymore. We also had furnaces they built over the years. We found their cheaper model wood furnace wasn't heavy enough gauge. Seen a lot of warped chambers above the firebox. And even when they was warped people used them for years after.

At dad's father's place they had more stove pipe snaked through that place than you could imagine. It would cause an insurance agent to go into convulsions these days. :D
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

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