I'm getting SAD again...

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precaud

Minister of Fire
Jan 20, 2006
2,307
Sunny New Mexico
www.linearz.com
On Arboristsite.com, CAD = Chainsaw Acquisition Disease
So I guess here, we get SAD = Stove Acquisition Disease

There's a Kent Tile Fire that just came up for sale locally for pretty reasonable money. This, and it's sister model the Sherwood, is one stove that I have nothing but positive memories of. I burned a Sherwood in 1987-88. It was a game-changer in the world of woodstoves. Simple design. Glass door. Well built. Easy to light. Warmed up quickly. Burned clean. A joy to use. Easily kept coals overnight.

Might be fun to play with one again.
 
Yep, that just about sounds like my Sherwood. Ain't ever gonna get rid of that stove. Ever.

There may not be one of those fancy government EPA labels on it, but lookin out side at the stack you can't even tell it's running, unless you happen to notice the heat ripples.

If you've got a line on a tilefire local, cheap, and in good shape, jump on that sucker quick!
 
Nice to see yours is still serving you well. I wish this one was a Sherwood, but one can't be choosey with such things. I'm going to look at it tomorrow (if it doesn't snow again overnight), it's up in Los Alamos. Maybe I should take a Geiger counter with me. :)
 
Yeah, I have Seasonal Affective Disorder too, I am just starting to feel normal again. Wait, Stove Aquisition Disease, nah, only get those symptoms when I see a Glenwood Oak or a Crawford kitchen range for sale.
 
From what I understand, the Sherwood and TileFire are the exact same design as far as the innards go. You just were able to 'dress up' the tilefire with 12" tiles on the sides, and I think the top was a bit snazzier too.

TileFire did have an "EPA" model - I believe it's easy to spot - that magic bypass lever that kicked the stove into "direct vent" (aka smoke dragon) mode ain't there. There are other subtle differences, I think the EPA drew it's air from the bottom of the door, channeling it up to the top to get it preheated, whereas the Sherwood and non-epa TF drew the air in above the door and directly into the box.

Just something to keep in mind when you go lookin. Let us know how you made out.
 
OK, now I'm really SAD. I have a Kent Tile Fire in the back of my pickup, waiting for my son to come give me a hand with it.

Bought from the original owner, a chemist at Los Alamos Labs. They haven't used it for quite a few years, so they decided to sell it, tear down the massive hearth they had built for it, and remodel the room. It's been gently used (less than 1/2 cord per year for 10 or so years), well cared for, and in excellent condition. The guts look good, including the secondary chamber, no warps or cracks. The startup damper operates smoothly. All hardware is there, except two of the tiles are broken, no biggy. In a plastic baggie are the installation and operating manual, Tile Selector Guide (very 80's-looking stuff!), two promotional brochures, a "Knowing your Kent" manual, warranty registration card, and a receipt showing they paid $859 for it in August 1985 from the local dealer. I love buying used stuff from conscientious owners. For $125 I consider it an absolute bargain.

More pics will follow at some point.
 

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Damn, you nailed this one. Can't wait to see the rest of the pics!
 
More pics will have to wait - said son flaked out (again).

I think I'm going to line the firebox (sides, back, bottom) before burning this. I have a bunch of 2800ºF IFB's just sitting around, waiting for an assignment, though they need to be sliced in half first. I just measured the Kent's firebox, and it is identical to my Quad 2100M without its bricks. So the same brick layout will work.
 
My name is precaud. I am a stoveaholic. (But having fun while at it! :))

Congrats on what sounds like a great deal. Have you run a geiger counter near the stove?
 
BeGreen said:
My name is precaud. I am a stoveaholic. (But having fun while at it! :))

Absolutely it's true, I confess. But as I told a friend earlier, I don't have any other bad habits - I don't drink, smoke, do drugs, eat junk food - so this one addiction should be ok, no? :) Besides, the way I've done it, it's a hobby that pays for itself!

Congrats on what sounds like a great deal. Have you run a geiger counter near the stove?

Nah, this guy was in one of the chem labs, so I think he went home pretty clean.
 
OK, the Tile Fire is in the living room now. Here's a pic of it - dusted off, wiped clean, and door latch adjusted was all it needed on the outside. The enamel is in excellent shape. The tiles won't be put in place until after it's installed, for obvious reasons.

It turns out, none of the tiles are missing - the guy must have miscounted.

Next up is to cut the bricks, clean the secondary chamber, and then I can install and fire it up. I may start a new thread for that - I'd like to take pics of things inside so other folks buying used Tile Fires/Sherwoods know what to look for to assess their condition.
 

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Precaud, My first experience of using an air tight stove to heat my home with is with a brown kent tile fire. We used to sell them in our shop back in the 80s and after burning it in our showroom, it just made sense to have one in our little single wide. I remember, the first few weeks of having that stove, with that nice glass and groovy burn, I slept on the couch just to fall asleep in front of that stove. Thanks for bringing up the memories.
 
Thanks for the story Franks. I think these stoves made for many pleasant memories. I went from a Jotul 201 Turbo to the Sherwood. My ex didn't like using the 201 at all. But when I got the Sherwood, she loved it, and bought a huge sheepskin so we could spend more time in front of the fire...
 
Wow, those folks at Los Alamos really did take care of it. From the picture, it looks almost showroom new.
 
Nice find, Precaud! I may be suffering from both CAD (went from one saw to six saws in six months) and SAD. I have my eye on a sweet Jotul 404 cook stove in great condition. The owner said to come by and "we can talk", but since he wants $500 for it, they'll have to be an awful lot of talking on my part to get it down to where I'll jump.
 
precaud said:
On Arboristsite.com, CAD = Chainsaw Acquisition Disease
So I guess here, we get SAD = Stove Acquisition Disease

There's a Kent Tile Fire that just came up for sale locally for pretty reasonable money. This, and it's sister model the Sherwood, is one stove that I have nothing but positive memories of. I burned a Sherwood in 1987-88. It was a game-changer in the world of woodstoves. Simple design. Glass door. Well built. Easy to light. Warmed up quickly. Burned clean. A joy to use. Easily kept coals overnight.

Might be fun to play with one again.


Is there a membership fee to this club? Can it be defined as an illness? Will Medicare cover this?
 
From the picture, it looks almost showroom new.
Except for a couple scuffs on the bottom rear corner, it certainly looks like new. And more importantly, the internals are excellent. It wasn't their primary heater - only used for ambiance.

Is there a membership fee to this club?
It's pay as you go :)

Can it be defined as an illness?
Yep. And may be communicable. So beware!

Will Medicare cover this?
Dunno, I have a few years before I'll find that out...
 
Super find, precaud. I just acquired an '86 Kent Tile Fire but half the tile brackets and all tiles are missing. You got a jewel of a deal.
 
dougand3 said:
Super find, precaud. I just acquired an '86 Kent Tile Fire but half the tile brackets and all tiles are missing. You got a jewel of a deal.

Congrats on yours, Doug, I'm sure you'll be able to get the tile situation solved.

In response to several requests for copies of the manual: I'm going to be scanning it, sending the JPG's to Craig, and he is going to make them into a PDF and put it in the Wiki, so it will be available to everyone. It may be a week or so before I get to the scans.
 
tickbitty said:
What are you going to do with it?

I was thinking of having it for dinner, but all that iron... I don't know.

I'm going to line it with IFB's, ask the Quad to step aside for a while, and burn it! Should be fun!
 
A great find mate.
 
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