Decorative Stove id

  • Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.

    We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.

    We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.

D. Hermit

Feeling the Heat
Nov 21, 2020
396
NeK Vermont
A guy in my reddit sub posted this looking for an ID, and im at a lost, anyone seen anything like this before? Looks like someone got bored with a welder and an old Fireview to me. Ha

647DC384-F073-4137-B1C0-AEEAE4938898.jpeg C6724375-3D30-4527-B165-5DBDA0D90DDE.jpeg 893BA9E5-EA47-4495-95A2-8A71FB334158.jpeg 9652DBFC-0ADE-4345-8CA5-F481F716E4E6.jpeg 030EA667-C765-4E08-85F0-A806E2EACD4D.jpeg 56BBDCFF-6FBE-4743-B17A-9EB35DEFEC6C.jpeg
 
This is the Orley wood stove. It is a heavy steel barrel stove with a viewing glass. They were made in Oregon and were popular as fireplace inserts. There were also a couple of other brands that copied this style, but this one has clues to being an Orley. Note the draft control on the door and the scalloped lid. Orley Milligan made these during the 70s. He made them both simple and fancy. This is what the model R-335 Orley looks like.


I'm not sure if the decorative filigree was offered by Orley or if this is an aftermarket item. It looks like the original label on the base is intact. Is there a readable UL label on the stove?
 
Last edited:
Here is a little Orley history I found, though I am not sure they got the dates right. Orley won a patent in 1980 after filing in 1978.

"Orley Milligan designed two woodstoves in 1969 - one for his home and one for his chainsaw store - so that his electric bills wouldn't be so unbearable. Impressed by their design and incredible heat output, customers began requesting these wood stove from Orley. Within no time, the back of the store had been dedicated to manufacturing more of his "homemade" wood stoves! By 1973, the 22 and 24 inch long, round, tubular stove models were in mass production under the name Orley's Manufacturing, Inc. Unfortunately, the late 1970s recession brought demise to the company and these stoves are no longer made today."

The stove threw off some serious heat. There were several unique features to this stove. You could order it set up for outside air, the viewing glass stayed reasonably clean, air regulation was on both sides of the fire with a spark arrestor system on each inlet.
 
Interesting! I will ask him and see if the tag is viewable.
 
Thanks for the history begreen, I see these stoves all the time when looking for wood stoves. He must have made thousands to them. The stove in the above pictures are just a little over the top for me. But someone must have liked it. I have have seen this same stove before on Marketplace and my first impressions were the same as it does look like someone was bored or in a very creative mood.
 
There are a lot of Orleys in the northwest. It was a good heater for its day and one of the only ones with a big fire view.
 
He said no UL tag he sees, just the warning tag. Still, great info and thankyou! I see these stoves, or ones based off of them pretty often, so really cool to know some history behind them!
 
Is the Reddit poster from the Northwest?
 
Is the Reddit poster from the Northwest?
Not sure, he did not say. But I asked and its not his on CL, hes wondering if there are any manuals or copys of a manual around now.