Restoring a rusty Grand'pa bear

[wvboy]

To those who have brought back to life some old Fisher stoves how do think this one would turn out? I currently have a Fisher insert and would like to replace it with something like the Grand'pa bear. Found this one Craig's list, but i'm thinking it might be too rusted to get it back to a decent finish. any opinions?

thanks!

 

[coaly]

Not bad at all. Only needs a little wire wheel. Knotted cup brush is the most aggressive for bad spots. Buff the door seal and door sealing area as well. (Inside of doors don't get paint) Wipe with lacquer thinner before paint. It will go faster than you think. The draft caps get painted as well. Before final cure, buff off the edges by hand with Scotch-Brite pad. If you can, paint it outside and fire with a few pieces of pipe to smoke off and cure paint.

 

[wvboy]

Thanks for the reply Coaly. How would you compare the heat output of a Grandpa Bear to a direct connected Fisher insert w/ one side mounted blower? I've got a very open floor plan with the living room, kitchen and dining room under a cathedral ceiling and i need more heat output than the insert can provide. thanks again!

 

[kennyp2339]

There is just something so beautiful with those stoves, I have this attraction or nostalgic feeling towards them, my parents use to have one of those when I was real young, I remember helping my dad at age 5 or so load splits and crumpled up news paper in it. I always go for the newer tech but man that right there is a thing of beauty to me.

 

[coaly]

Is this an insulated liner inside a masonry flue, with Insert slid into the hearth as intended, or is Insert being used as a free standing stove? Both stoves should have baffles to increase heating area.

It's going to radiate more into the room outside a fireplace enclosure and if the hearth is on an exterior wall with masonry through the ceiling you have even more heat loss to the outside and through roof.

So a Grandpa is more efficient as far as installation and heat loss and radiates in all directions around it. It has a larger cooking surface with different stove top temperatures too. It doesn't have the convection air space capable of moving air out the front like an Insert. You're going to have more coals and charcoal in the rear of the Insert in the morning. I personally like a deep narrow firebox better then a shallow box loaded across. They are made for two different installation scenarios. One will do what the other can't. The stove pictured probably has no baffle or shields and is rated to heat up to 2000 s.f. Insert is rated "up to 2000 s.f." as well. The Grandpa III with shields and baffle was rated for 2250 s.f.

 

[coaly]

There is just something so beautiful with those stoves, I have this attraction or nostalgic feeling towards them, my parents use to have one of those when I was real young, I remember helping my dad at age 5 or so load splits and crumpled up news paper in it. I always go for the newer tech but man that right there is a thing of beauty to me.

Was that stove black, nickel or brass plated? I have pics of new and reconditioned. Grandma or Grandpa, flat doors or arched?

 

[wvboy]

The insert is slid into the hearth with an insulated 8" liner in a masonry flue. The hearth is on an outside wall and the heat loss to the outside is why I'm considering modifying the hearth to accommodate a freestanding stove. I've used this insert for 20 years in two different houses and only the last 3 winters in the new house have i wanted something with more heat output. Would i be better off going with a new model freestanding stove instead of the Fisher insert w/ blower?

 

[CamFan]

If you noticed this is a a Gpa with Gma doors. When I ran out of Gpa doors I made the front sides wider and mounted the doors this way. What state did you get this?