Everything Fisher

UM, I mentioned a left hand door two posts above. They are not common, but they aren't rare either. Here's a little more rare early lefty with pipe cap dampers.

The Owners Manual is at Hearth Wiki on this website. Under Fisher Stoves. Make sure you get the right manual. There is an older one there for the stoves like the one you have pictured. It covers all the single door stoves as well as the double doors. The second manual is for the later Model III (arched top doors) Grandma and Grandpa only.

A dab of high temperature grease at the beginning of the season on all moving parts is the answer!

Once it's too late, not a big deal;

If the door is the later type with removable pin, pull the pin to see if the pin is also worn thinner than it's supposed to be. Replacing the pin (or all the pins) will take up some slack. If the hole is worn out of round causing the loose fit, drill the hole out larger to make it round again. Drill both, the door and the hinge on the stove. Be careful to center the hole where the center of the hole had been. Find a bolt of the larger diameter that will work in the new larger hole. Preferably with threads starting lower on the bolt, so you have a smooth shank long enough from under the head to the start of the threads. Cut it off, the same length as the old pins. Grind the head round to match a hinge pin. This is easier than finding a replacement rivet of the larger size for the new oversize hole. I grind them by hand and when the hex points are gone, chuck it in a hand drill, and run the drill slowly while forming the head to match the original pin on a bench grinder. There are the normal 3/8 rivets and larger size rivets on eBay found by searching "fisher stove" that will work without making your own from a bolt. Old hardware store somtimes have these solid rivets as well. I use an old bolt the correct diameter, and you can't tell the difference when I'm done. If you would need an oversize pin made, let me know what size drill bit you drilled both the door and hinge plate with. Not a problem to make you one.

If the doors are the early type with pressed in pins, you need to make a pin with a shoulder, being the correct size for the door, and the correct size for the new oversize hole in the hinge welded on the stove.

I have a lathe to turn a bolt into a stepped pin if need be. Most doors have the removable pins that are simply solid rivets that were made to be heated and the straight end formed by peening it round while red hot. If it's a collector type door, like a 76 Star with pressed pins that you don't want to chance removing and driving a new pin, you drill the bottom hinge plate only, and make a bushing for the hinge plate to fit the old pin.

Grease the hinges where they support the weight of the door, and grease the pin as well!
No more wear.

It's important to try to get grease on the handle shaft where it goes through the door as well. You don't want wear of the door hole causing the handle to be loose and leak around the shaft. Once this happens, I need the door to remove the handle by grinding off the welded washer inside on the handle. I drill the door hole back round again, and make a bushing to fit the new hole, and the handle shaft. Once together, a new washer is welded on the handle shaft. Not a big deal, but a lathe is required unless you can find a bushing locally the correct size.

Welcome to the Forums;
Yes, you need a damper in the flue. This thread covers operation of the damper with screen in place. No gasket is required, clean it off as well as possible. Sometimes they are added to make up for door hinge looseness, if they don't seal well, other factors could be the problem. A loose fit is easily cured with a THIN flat gasket material if necessary. It does make it quieter closing the doors. Most seal very well without.
The rear outlet was designed, and best used in a hearth front installation with the pipe going back through a hearth block off plate, and up the flue.
All unlisted stoves would have a clearance of 36 inches to a combustible. The manuals for your stove are in the Hearth Wiki section under Fisher Stoves. Read up on the Solid Fuel Codes (NFPA 211) for reduced clearances and shields. When the minimum pipe clearance isn't possible, double wall pipe is required. Heat shields can be added as well. Mounting location of spacers and minimum air space at the bottom of shields are also covered in the codes. Not really Fisher "only" related, so you may be better off searching the forum for clearance and codes for connecting pipes and chimneys.

Yes, the shield needs to be above the slab or hearth surface. That would be the minimum required spacing at floor. This space at the bottom allows the heated air behind the shield to naturally rise from behind it, allowing the cooler air at floor level to go into the air space behind the shield. This creates a natural chimney effect keeping the wall behind it cool. Keep the cob webs clean in this airspace behind the shield for good air flow as well.
A damper in the stack is required with or without open door / screen burning. Otherwise most of the heat is going right up the chimney. Especially if you don't have a stove with a smoke shelf baffle inside. You will find, depending on the draft of the chimney, that the open hole in the damper center when closed is about right for a normal draft once the fire is established and the front intakes are cracked open for the night. Insulated chimneys draft very well, so you will probably find as soon as the fire is started, you can close it partially, and close it fully once the fire is fully engulfed. The colder outside, the stronger the draft, so you will find the stove burns harder naturally even with the damper fully closed on very cold nights. Not a bad thing. I only burn Fishers with the inside smoke shelf baffle, something not found on all models, and I use a stack damper with them as well. The owners manual instructs to control the burn with the air intake dampers, leaving the stack damper open. It only mentions the use of the damper during screen use. However, I have a Simpson Dura Vent Insulated straight up chimney that drafts very well, so closing the damper fully still drafts well enough to keep the stack temperatures from creating a creosote problem. All installations are different, so I assume the manuals are written to cover the worst case drafting scenario.

People add door gaskets to these stoves since most stove doors require them to seal. They never saw a stove door without one, so they think they are missing one.

The main reason for using the double door fireplace model is allowing you the view of the fire. That is the reason for the larger 8 inch chimney. If you only need occasional heat from it, you would be much better off with a single door stove and 6 inch chimney. Depending on the heating area, hopefully more than 2000 square feet, you have a lot of stove there for being that far south. A Papa Bear would probably drive you out. Depending on insulation, a Mama or even Baby might be just right for your heating needs. I heat 1848 s.f. in NE PA with half the stove you've got there. It stays below freezing normally for a week at a time. With abnormal cold it can stay below freezing for a month at a time. I'm comfortable with a 6 inch chimney. You may be able to roast peanuts in the room with that stove.

Welcome to the forum,
I don't know what the 006 is, could be employee number or foundry number? Fisher had the doors cast by a number of foundries. Is the 006 between the GM & L or is it somewhere else on the door?
GM is for Grandma. L for Left door. The right door will be marked GM R. Anything else is foundry markings.
I'd guess yours to be a 1977. The doors are drilled completely through with rivet heads at the top. The early ones had pins pressed into the doors and the door hinges on top were not drilled through. 1976 had a 76 in the star. Yours is just after that, but before the stars were removed.

He's "Makin' hay when the sun shines", literally. Collects tractors too. My old hobby!

Gotta be careful around me using the word "original".

The first single door stoves were all welded with three piece tops. Later, a bending brake was used to bend the tops from a single sheet of 5/16 steel plate. When the Fisher's decided to start making the double door stoves in 76, the "original" was made with 3 pieces since a larger bending brake was probably needed for a much wider piece of steel. Once the double door series went into production, they all had bent one piece tops. So here's my latest acquisition for my collection; A true "original" Grandpa Bear. Notice the 3 piece welded top, solid ball handles, (the patent was written to use gravity to keep the door handles tight) Baxter's 4 finned dampers, 76 "lift off" doors with pressed pins.

My sig line should be "My Grandpa's older than your Grandpa" :cheese:

As long as the chimney is clean, the clearances to combustibles are correct, and the installation is up to code;

1.) You should have a damper installed in the flue pipe. Close it to slow down the fire.

2.) By controlling the air going in the intake dampers, you control the fire. You can close them fully, putting the fire out. The size of the fuel load doesn't matter, it's how much air you give it to overheat it.

Did you find the owners manual for your stove in Hearth Wiki and read it first? This should answer any questions or fears.

Light it in the morning so you can be with it all day to know where to set the air dampers overnight. Just cracked usually is enough to burn all night without getting too hot, and you should have enough coals or glowing wood to rake around and reload in the morning.

Welcome to the forums!
First, you have an Insert. Fisher Fireplace Insert is the model name.

They are normally 24 3/4 across the top plate, however since many welding shops were licensed to fabricate and sell them, you will find small variances from one builder to another. Most of them are that exact measurement.

Doors were available in black cast iron as standard, brass plated or nickle plated was $50 more. Later brass plated doors with glass became the "Honey Bear Insert"

They only use the same size doors as Grandma Bear Fireplace Series stoves.

If you send your email address to [email protected], I'll send you the owners manual in pdf format. It gives operation instructions as well. 1/2 to 3/4 load of wood with the air dampers just cracked give you the longest burn. As you need more heat, give it more air. No one can give you the exact number of turns since all chimneys will draw differently.

Below are the measurements of the Insert. The only dimension missing is the angle of the top back corner. The back of the stove has a slope from 22" high down to 12" high over 4 1/2" to fit most fireplace hearths.

They look even bigger when you move them.

Notice the three rectangular holes in the surround. A blower can be hung on each side, and this blows out across the front at top. 3/4 of the stove is hidded in the fireplace. Their size is deceiving.

I've thought of that. My legs wouldn't have to be broken.

Thanks for posting your Insert pictures. The chain controlled damper makes it an early one. 1980 started the UL listing tag and lever type damper control.

I can't tell from the pics if the insert is raised 1 1/2 inches off the masonry floor of the hearth. This is where the circulating intake air comes from to convect around the back of the box and out the front air slot. Any small fan blowing in there forces the heat out at the top and makes a huge difference. Your older style is shown on page 11, post #222 in this thread. It's almost impossible to find the old style blower that forces air into the entire air space under the older inserts. Photos below are the "box fan" that was sold to mount on the front of newer face cover with rectangular holes on each side. They were variable speed controlled too.
The third photo in previous post above shows the slots cut into the surround face for the blower. They are on each side, so dual blowers could be used. In a power failure they convect fairly well naturally. Much more efficient with a blower.

You have a nickel plated door. They were $50 more when new for the option. The discoloration will clean up with metal polish for brass or nickel. I prefer Maas Metal Polish since it's good for ALL metals. I think the contaminents in the air burn onto the surface and make it look like it's been in a smokers home. (or it was) They get a golden residue cooked on. No doubt dust and smoke particles from itself when the doors are opened and closed ?

The angled sheet metal deflector is to prevent heat from rising under a combustible mantle.

Fire bricks are cheap, available at masonry supply stores around here. Maybe different in other parts of the country.

For glass Honey Bear doors you would need to find a Honey Bear Insert for sale. Different air intakes under the doors for an air wash over the glass. No intakes on glass doors. Different stove.