Elmira Oval 1903 cook stove; water reservoir removal

[Ronintherockies]

We recently bought an Elmira Oval Model 1903 cookstove (circa 1990) from a friend who has had it sitting in his garage, crated, brand new, never been used (the cabin he intended to install it in was never built). It’s a beauty.

We are renovating our kitchen and replacing our very old, much used, and loved The Great Majestic cookstove with our new gorgeous Oval. The problem: it has a water reservoir attached to the right side that makes the stove about 10” too wide for the space we have. It appears that heavy duty screws attach this water reservoir to the stove body. There is a lever built into this water reservoir that appears to open or close a flap (flap not seen from the outside) in order to control the amount of heat going to the reservoir. If I remove the reservoir, I expect to see an opening in the cook stove that would need to be sealed. Could a welder patch this opening with steel or cast iron? Suggestions anyone?

 

[begreen]

Have you checked with these people?

Elmira Oval Videos - Cookstove Community

Welcome to our collection of Elmira Oval videos! We takes a look at the Elmira Oval wood cookstove and show you how it burns, loads, and more!

cookstoves.net

ELMIRA KITCHEN VISUALIZER

Bring your dream kitchen to life with our step-by-step kitchen creation experience. Choose your cabinets and flooring; then experiment with various appliance models, options, colours, and trims. Save your choices to view the appliances in your dream kitchen, along with full pricing details.

www.elmirastoveworks.com

 

[Ronintherockies]

Thanks, but apparently Elmira sold the company to Heartland approximately 1990, and don’t provide parts or info on the Oval or Sweetheart. Have contacted Heartland (who stopped manufacturing stuff in 2019, but indicate a support button on their website. Am waiting.

The way in which the bits and pieces of the water reservoir are attached together is a bit confusing. I realize that with a “schematic” or an exploded diagram, I may be able to figure out how it all fits together working backwards. I loosened one screw, and heard a nut drop inside the housing, so realized that was a mistake! Am reluctant to proceed without direction, so here’s hoping that the folks at Heartland still have an employee who actually assembled these cookstoves and can steer me true.

Am now going to watch the videos you refer to above. Thanks again.

 

[begreen]

The videos are on Obidiah's website. They specialize in cookstoves and have a lot of knowledge. Give them a call for suggestions.

 

[Ronintherockies]

Wonderful! Just finished watching the set of 7 videos. Very useful, and learned a lot. I will give Obadiah a call. Ironically they are located just south of where I live, across the US/Canada border, about a 4 hr drive.

 

[Max W]

I don’t have any suggestions and only can say that you got a wonderful stove and that I am envious. Our friends and neighbors heated and cooked almost exclusively on one for many years. I love the very large firebox and oven, both larger than our Waterford. When they replaced theirs with a newer Oval I had a chance to get the old one. Unfortunately it would take too more space than the Stanley. I have to pick something up over there so will ask them if they have any ideas.

 

[Ronintherockies]

Thanks for the moral support Max!

 

[Max W]

My friends didn’t have any experiencce with that and I was only able to take a very quick look but did take a pic.. Is it that the opening could it be for just ducted not flue heat? In any case if the the Oval was sold without a reservoir there is likely a cover plate. If nothing is available I would think drilling, tapping and screwing on a plate with some gasket cement, if needed, would be much better than welding.

Would removing the screws in the pic around the top frame allow the tank to be lifted out giving better access?

 

[Ronintherockies]

The actual copper water reservoir is bolted to the top plate in several different ways, and the sealed pipe at the bottom for the tap is located in such a way that it appears the entire top part of the assembly has to be removed in one piece. The glitch is that the slanted housing that contains the flap is somehow fastened to that reservoir assembly that appears to be a weld or adhesive. Will the whole works come out as one piece? To be determined.

I do appreciate your observation that a plate drilled, tapped and screwed is a MUCH better alternative to welding. You could be correct that an Oval without a reservoir might have such a (covered) plate installed that way; unless, of course, the manufacturer used a different end panel.

In any case I will ask Heartland if they have schematics, blueprints or a contact for a former employee who used to build the units. What an interesting experience!

 

[Mt Bob]

Interesting stoves,made me research them. Highly impractical for most,I am sure. But a beauty to behold. 3 different manufacturers/owners, long history. Out of all the pictures I saw on the net, there was only 1 with the tank removed, yet the shelf was still there. But it was a front view, so no help. Would be interesting to see a diagram of how the exhaust flows through those stoves, and are they prone to clogging up?
Anyway, if it is an exhaust opening,i agree with previous post, cover plate with gasket.

 

[Ronintherockies]

Thanks, Minister of Fire. Perhaps the gentleman from Obadiah, who made those instructive videos on the Oval, can further enlighten (haha) me, since his Demo is on a unit without the reservoir. The plot thickens….

 

[begreen]

For some good reading pick up a copy of "Woodstove Cookery: At Home On The Range" by Jane Cooper.

 

[Ronintherockies]

Yes, it IS a good read. We got a complimentary copy with the purchase of our Oval when we bought the Oval from our friend.