Ashley Circulator Users: Looking For Advice!!!

[recordyear]

Hello. I've just purchased a couple of Ashley Automatic wood stoves (C 60D & C 62D) and am looking for any positive advice or tips that you might be willing to share. I know there are plenty of Ashley haters out there but I have fond memories of sitting around my grandpa's old Ashley about to scorch! The stoves won't be a main heat source but will be used occasionally in an old farmhouse/hunting cabin so I'm not concerned with wood consumption. The C 62 is in good condition and the C 60 is fair. I haven't fired these stoves up yet but I have a couple of questions: As far as the bimetallic thermostat, when I turn the knob to high (with a cold stove) the damper is wide open but when I turn it to low, it moves a little but is still pretty much open. Should this spring function right when it gets hot or does it sound like it needs to be adjusted or replaced? Also, on most of these old stoves I've seen, the firebox is warped in places. It has cast liners and they don't fit snug at the top of the liner (there is a small gap in places between the top of the cast liner and the firebox). Is this a problem or is it pretty normal? The only thing I would know to do is stick some refractory cement in the top. I would appreciate any tips, advice, or information you can give me on the stove or how to operate it .

If anyone is interested, I also have an Ashley Automatic C-58 W that came with the house. It's interesting because I've searched all over the internet and could not find one piece of information or replacement parts except for a brochure on Ebay which dates it back to the late 1950's. It has cast liners but no grate or ash cleanout door. When I cleaned the 6 inches of soot out of the bottom, I found a hole about the size of a baseball in the bottom of the firebox. I might try to weld a piece underneath the firebox and line the bottom of the firebox with refractory cement. I assume they used sand back in the day. I've attached a couple of pictures of this stove in case anyone else is trying to ID or find information on it. I'll be glad to share a scan of the brochure if anyone would like.

 

[fbelec]

welcome to the forum. a friend had a stove like this. it cranked out the heat. but the stove had a big appetite for wood. his had a space also that was to protect the steel behind it. keep it clean back there or you'll crack the cast panels. that spring should work fine that is for the primary air in. start from med and work it from there. it will open and close on it's own to keep the stove at the temp selected. my friend used to put a cookie sheet on half the stove top and fill it with water. worked great.

good luck
frank