Father-in-law's Wood Burner

[Hilly Acres]

My husband inherited his dad's house. We recently moved in after all the remodeling was finished. The house sat empty for a little over a year.

My question is does anyone know what brand of wood burner this might be? It has a working blower motor. It also has a small peek-a-boo window to check on your fire.


The more I clean it, the more the brass appears. I would love to have it back to the original appearance.

The house was built in 1940. Blowers I believe weren't available until the 70's.

My kitchen is original with a 1951 Crane Sink and metal cabinets.

Thank you in advance! Any information is greatly appreciated!

 

[Hilly Acres]

It is approximately 24"L x 28"W x 21" D

 

[stoveliker]

Seems like a treemont insert.

 

[Hilly Acres]

Ok, would you happen to know approximately what year?

I'm sorry, but, I know nothing about these.

Thank you!

 

[bholler]

Ok, would you happen to know approximately what year?

I'm sorry, but, I know nothing about these.

Thank you!

I would say late 80s early 90s. Have you had the system inspected?

 

[Hilly Acres]

Actually, no! All I know about it is that Buddy, my father in law, used it until he passed away a year and a half ago.

I was looking online for models and the only thing I found with this exact stove was a manual with the TAC model numbers and pics of them.

My husband used some Duraflame in it before we ever used it.

 

[Hilly Acres]

I had to scrape the soot off from the inner window before we lit it. It looked baked on!

 

[Hilly Acres]

We have new seals for the doors and brass window plate.

 

[Ctwoodtick]

Like mentioned above, definitely have it inspected. Especially with older setups, there’s a greater chance that that insert was installed with no stainless steel liner for a flue. Or, it may have been installed with a stainless liner that only connects to the first clay liner of the existing chimney, which would require a more specialized and extensive cleaning than that of the an insulated stainless liner that was installed from top of chimney all the way down to connection to stove. That, and it’s always a good idea to have a “new-to-you” set up looked at for potential issues.

 

[Hilly Acres]

Ok. I will definitely mention this to my husband! Thank you!

I found a picture of our Treemont on a Catalog online dated 1985 but not sure of which TAC model it is.

Also, did ALL models have a glass door insert? This one appears to be just brass.

 

[DBoon]

There is a lot that can go wrong with burning wood, including your entire house burning down. Please take seriously the advice to have the wood stove and chimney pipe inspected. If your father-in-law was anything like mine, the installation will be subpar and the equipment will have been used long after it should have been scrapped. Baked on soot on the window of the wood stove is indication that he burned in a way that would lead to excessive creosote formation in the chimney, which will lead to a chimney fire (eventually).

Also, if you are serious about becoming a wood burner, please be sure to obtain a supply of at least 2-year dried wood with a moisture content of <20% on a newly split face. No wood supplier will have this type of wood, although they will all tell you their wood is "seasoned" and ready to burn (it is not ready to burn in a modern wood stove).

 

[Hilly Acres]

Yes, I am taking everything your members are telling me very serious! My father-in-law was a do-it-yourselfer. My husband had to repipe some of the water lines in here because they were rigged up! Rewire some of the outlets and switches. Please trust me when I say I'm taking this very seriously!

As for wood burning, we have been cutting fallen trees for firewood. We have 64 acres of mostly hills and trees we are surrounded by. We've been letting the ones that have been in the rain or snow dry out before ever using them.

I am taking all information I am given very serious!

Thank you!

 

[Ctwoodtick]

Yes, I am taking everything your members are telling me very serious! My father-in-law was a do-it-yourselfer. My husband had to repipe some of the water lines in here because they were rigged up! Rewire some of the outlets and switches. Please trust me when I say I'm taking this very seriously!

As for wood burning, we have been cutting fallen trees for firewood. We have 64 acres of mostly hills and trees we are surrounded by. We've been letting the ones that have been in the rain or snow dry out before ever using them.

I am taking all information I am given very serious!

Thank you!

That’s good to take this seriously. Wood burning for heat is a learning curve that we all had to struggle with at first.
A quick note about drying firewood- the drying time clock, so to speak, starts only when the wood is cut to size, split and stacked. Wood in log form will take a lifetime to dry out, if at all. So figure a year after that point for most woods. Dense hardwoods like oak, hickory, etc will take a bit longer to come into their own.
You might consider using softwoods like pine when first starting out. Perfectly safe to use and they dry in more like 6 months. I’ve been using pine mostly this season so far and like it very much.

 

[Hilly Acres]

We have no pine trees. We mostly have Oak, Hickory, Sycamore, Walnut and Buckeye. We have a few dead Apple and Pear trees we've been using for kindling.

 

[Burnin Since 1991]

We have no pine trees. We mostly have Oak, Hickory, Sycamore, Walnut and Buckeye. We have a few dead Apple and Pear trees we've been using for kindling.

Maple? or other softer woods like poplar etc. Here's a reasonable chart of various firewood. Standing down or dead that can be split stacked and top covered will help.

Firewood Seasoning Time Chart: Softwood & Hardwood

Seasoning is simply the drying process of firewood. After a tree is cut down, its wood is loaded with internal moisture. That water content needs to evaporate

fireplaceadviser.com

I'd recommend an inexpensive moisture meter. They can be found online for around $20- All you need to do is split a piece of wood. Bring it in and let it warm up to indoor temps and check the Moisture Content (MC) of the wood. It needs to be under 20% no matter what species it is.

I know we are throwing a lot at you, put give it some time to marinate and it is all pretty simple. Like the folks above said, Safety First!

When you described the creosote buildup inside the door. My first thought was how much creosote there most likely is in the chimney.

 

[Hilly Acres]

Exactly! My husband burnt a couple of the creosote logs before we ever used this! I understand that we need a chimney sweep in a serious way.

As for poplar, I don't think I've ever seen any here.

I will check out the chart above that you recommended and see if it's in my neck of the woods!

Thanks again for all the help and input!

 

[DBoon]

We mostly have Oak, Hickory, Sycamore, Walnut and Buckeye. We have a few dead Apple and Pear trees we've been using for kindling.

The Sycamore and Walnut will dry quickest. Oak and Hickory probably will take 3 years to really dry enough to burn really well in a modern EPA wood stove. Apple and Pear are pretty hard and dense also and will take longer to dry. Smaller splits will dry fastest. Be sure to cover your wood piles on top to keep rain and snow off the stacks, but don't let the cover drape over the side. A sunny and windy drying location is best.

 

[Hilly Acres]

Thank you guys for everything!

My husband is using a platform his dad made. It's about 8' long and 15" wide and 3" from the ground with fence posts and chicken wire on both sides and a piece of slanted sheet metal for a cover. He's also using a crisscross pattern with a small gap in between the pieces.

Does that sound about right for keeping it dry?

 

[Burnin Since 1991]

Thank you guys for everything!

My husband is using a platform his dad made. It's about 8' long and 15" wide and 3" from the ground with fence posts and chicken wire on both sides and a piece of slanted sheet metal for a cover. He's also using a crisscross pattern with a small gap in between the pieces.

Does that sound about right for keeping it dry?

It does, but a picture would be nice! crisscrossing the wood is called cribbing.

 

[bigealta]

It does, but a picture would be nice! crisscrossing the wood is called cribbing.

And "Speed Drying"

 

[Burnin Since 1991]

And "Speed Drying"

I noticed with wood 16-18 in length I was stacking the pieces 2x2. Which on every row, I was losing a piece. I was cribbing/ speed drying in 3 places over 12 feet. Each end and in the middle, to help support the pile in case of uneven unloading to the house. That's 3 pieces per row and my stacks were 6 feet tall. This year I'm using 3 per row. The piles are more stable and now I'm not losing any wood from my stacks. I suppose if you needed to speed up the drying, doing the whole stack that way could be very beneficial.

 

[bigealta]

I noticed with wood 16-18 in length I was stacking the pieces 2x2. Which on every row, I was losing a piece. I was cribbing/ speed drying in 3 places over 12 feet. Each end and in the middle, to help support the pile in case of uneven unloading to the house. That's 3 pieces per row and my stacks were 6 feet tall. This year I'm using 3 per row. The piles are more stable and now I'm not losing any wood from my stacks. I suppose if you needed to speed up the drying, doing the whole stack that way could be very beneficial.

Yeah you loose a lot of space, but gain dry splits faster.
All depends on your needs.

 

[Rebarn]

Hi.
Did you get the manual? I have a1985 manual with a picture of that insert. It has the installation and burning instructions also. I can photograph those and send if you like. I have a Treemont TAC 380 freestanding stove I recently set up in my workshop.
Ron B

 

[Hilly Acres]

No I did not get the manual. I only saw a picture of one online.

If you would do that for me, I would greatly appreciate it!

That is so nice of you! 😊

Thank you!

 

[Rebarn]

I now have the manual in pdf. Trying to figure out how to get it to you. It's too big to upload here.
Ron