Blast from the past: Estate Heatrola

[privatejoker75]

We just moved to this house last year. I'm a former city slicker that always just flipped the heat on and off for heat. So when we moved here I had no idea what was going on.

This looks cool I guess, but mother of god it's a pain in the butt. I'm reading these forums now about people getting 20 hour long burns. I'm lucky if i get 1 hour with fir on this thing. Looking to get a new one this summer, since this is probably considered dangerous by today's standards. Anyway, here she is...

It burns coal too, but the only time I tried it, the CO2 detector went off so never again.

 

[Jags]

Ahhh....yes. There were several MFG's of units like that back in the day. Pretty rare that you will still see one in use. Your idea of replacement -- is a good idea.

 

[privatejoker75]

My wife's parents bought it in the 70s. I think they got it because they were running a lumber mill here and i guess assumed they'd rather sell their wood and burn coal...that's my guess anyway

 

[Jags]

My wife's parents bought it in the 70s. I think they got it because they were running a lumber mill here and i guess assumed they'd rather sell their wood and burn coal...that's my guess anyway

Many of those units simply performed much better with coal than they ever did with wood. One of the major design differences in coal units is that the air is brought in from underneath the fire. When you do this with wood it will simply burn up in a flash. I am unfamiliar with any unit that makes both a good coal stove and a good wood stove. Most that were designed to burn both never did either one well.

 

[privatejoker75]

Many of those units simply performed much better with coal than they ever did with wood. One of the major design differences in coal units is that the air is brought in from underneath the fire. When you do this with wood it will simply burn up in a flash. I am unfamiliar with any unit that makes both a good coal stove and a good wood stove. Most that were designed to burn both never did either one well.

That makes a lot of sense, thanks

 

[Jags]

That makes a lot of sense, thanks

Dat's what we're here for.

 

[privatejoker75]

Well now I'm excited to get something new and not spend hours a day tending this thing

 

[Jags]

Get on over to the hearth room. Supply the folks with info.
Size of house (area to be heated)
Pipe or flue setup
placement.
etc.
Peeps will be more than happy to flood you with good ideas.

Oh - and if don't already have a bunch of wood that is cut/split/stacked expect about half the posts to direct you to do so. (and it IS a good thing)

 

[privatejoker75]

Already on that...I have it narrowed down

And yeah, winter broke early here this year so i've been cutting/stacking for the last few weeks. I won't rest until I have a few years supply on hand

 

[BrotherBart]

I want one of them.

 

[Jags]

You gonna burn coal?

 

[privatejoker75]

I want one of them.

It looks nice, it's just not very fun to use to provide warmth for your house lol

 

[Jags]

It looks nice, it's just not very fun to use to provide warmth for your house lol

If you have never used coal in it, don't underestimate its heating capabilities. Growing up, we had an old timer in town that was also our blacksmith. He got coal for his forge and also used it in a setup somewhat like yours (I was too young to care what brand it was). I remember that thing pouring out heat.

 

[privatejoker75]

We tried coal a few times. It did get HOT...almost too hot but i'm guessing it was windy or the seals need replacing because the CO2 detector went off every time we tried.

 

[begreen]

Ya, there appears to be some blowback thru the front vents.

 

[oldspark]

Flower planter, it is neat though.

 

[begreen]

Hard to tell from the picture whether it is being run improperly or if it has defects. Inspect the interior closely with a bright light for cracks or gaps between castings. Is there mica (isenglass) windows on the inside door? Are they in good condition or damaged?

 

[privatejoker75]

We're just going to replace it with something much more modern and store this in the shed

 

[begreen]

Good plan.

 

[privatejoker75]

I had no idea what I was missing out on before signing up to this forum a few days ago

 

[Jags]

I had no idea what I was missing out on before signing up to this forum a few days ago

Wait till you get enough posts that you are entitled to the free lunch buffet.

 

[begreen]

Hrmph, I'm still waiting...

 

[denn]

If that stove has a donut heat exchanger at the top, there's not many coal stoves built as efficent today.
It's not as efficent as a coal baseburner.
But for wood there is better choices

 

[SMPRFI33]

Looking at the dates of all these messages I suppose this reply comes too late to do any good but it might help somebody in the future from taking any advice to replace this stove with a modern one. I have this exact stove and have used it for thirty some years. This beautiful art deco stove represented the pinnacle of American stove technology and manufacturing in its day. Seldom, no never, have I seen a modern stove to compare with it over all. Yes some might get a longer burn, but many don't. Absolutely none have all its features.

I have burned both wood and coal in it. I found the coal got so hot it damaged the grates over the course of two seasons and while it gave off more heat it did not actually burn longer than wood. For all these years I have used about three cords per season and an overnight burn is easily achieved assuming you're using good wood. Being a lifelong city dweller maybe you are not yet able to distinguish the type and quality of firewood. If you're only getting a one hour burn your problem is probably that you have the air intake located the the cleanout door open too much. It should pretty much never be open more that one turn and as little as one quarter turn for a long burn.

I get twelve hour burns with high test wood - hickory, white oak, black locust. Mid grade red oak always get s 8 hours. Regular low grade like hard maple or ash will not go as long so use it during the day when you're around. Nothing less than these should be brought home. Oh yeah, there is another small air intake on the inside of the upper door. It is a small round flap which should always be kept closed when burning wood since its purpose
was to give a shot of fresh air over top of the coal to burn off all remaining gasses. There is a crank on the lower right which dumps the ashes into the cleanout tray. There is a pedal at the lower left front which opens the feed door if you come in with an armload of wood. The stove can be burning while you remove the ash tray so I typically have the stove going for a month non stop in the winter. Because the outer jacket is enameled steel with a
space between it and the inner cast iron firebox, you can always touch the stove without getting burned. Room air goes in the louvres all around the bottom. moves by convection up between the outer steel and inner firebox and gushes out the top. This stove is truly a marvel of design. One more benefit is that it takes wood 12-13 inches long, no 18-24 inch pieces to split and carry.

 

[begreen]

Good information, thanks. And welcome to hearth.com.