Federal Airtight Stove

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Blazzinghot

Feeling the Heat
Dec 5, 2019
293
New Plymouth, Idaho
I had a chance to pick up this little stove so thought it would be fun to fix up. Yes it is made in Taiwan but also has mentions Canada on the back of the stove. I have read the older comments on these stoves on this forum. This stove for being older was hardly ever used. After tearing it down and putting it back together I am not so sure that is all that bad of a stove as any other during the 70 and 80's. On the inside it has cast iron plates bolted to the back and side walls which protects the exterior walls from excess heat. It also has a curved top piece that keeps the heat from going directly up the flue. As far as the cast iron being inferior I could not find out anything about it online. I took this stove outside got a good fire going to burn in the paint. The stove put out a very nice even warm heat. I was impressed how much heat this cast iron can radiate. I am sending the attached pictures so you can get a good look at it so you can see what it looks like. The grate is also like new as it still has the overflow slag between the bars. The top down picture shows how the plates are attached inside. The stove was put back together with stove casket cement except for the top which has new gasket rope and along with the doors. The fire box is 21 inches across and 13 inches deep and about 17 inches in height. The total height with the legs is 26 inches.
 

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I had a chance to pick up this little stove so thought it would be fun to fix up. Yes it is made in Taiwan but also has mentions Canada on the back of the stove. I have read the older comments on these stoves on this forum. This stove for being older was hardly ever used. After tearing it down and putting it back together I am not so sure that is all that bad of a stove as any other during the 70 and 80's. On the inside it has cast iron plates bolted to the back and side walls which protects the exterior walls from excess heat. It also has a curved top piece that keeps the heat from going directly up the flue. As far as the cast iron being inferior I could not find out anything about it online. I took this stove outside got a good fire going to burn in the paint. The stove put out a very nice even warm heat. I was impressed how much heat this cast iron can radiate. I am sending the attached pictures so you can get a good look at it so you can see what it looks like. The grate is also like new as it still has the overflow slag between the bars. The top down picture shows how the plates are attached inside. The stove was put back together with stove casket cement except for the top which has new gasket rope and along with the doors. The fire box is 21 inches across and 13 inches deep and about 17 inches in height. The total height with the legs is 26 inches.
They were great stoves in their day. And their castings were top quality.
 
is it supposed to have that grate inside? looks like a fireplace grate.
 
Take another look at the top down picture and you will see that walls of the stove have holders for the grate on both sides. The inside panels even had slots to accommodate the grate. Then look at the picture with the doors open and you will see the grate has a thumb size lip on the front. It is designed for lifting to shake out the ashes. The back rounded holders act as a hinge so you can shake the grate. The stove even has cast iron extrusions on the inside front to hit the grate against. I thought the same as you did when I first saw the stove but when I rebuilt it I could see that the grate was part of the design. I just blew up this picture for you to look at.
 

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  • [Hearth.com] Federal Airtight Stove
    Grate Holder .webp
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I found more info on this stove and discovered some models were made for coal but this does not seem to be one of them but that is not saying it won't. Hard to find this stove on the internet. I found one identical to it with a sticker on the back that says Dutchwest India Model Number FA 224L
 
I found more info on this stove and discovered some models were made for coal but this does not seem to be one of them but that is not saying it won't. Hard to find this stove on the internet. I found one identical to it with a sticker on the back that says Dutchwest India Model Number FA 224L
This must be a pretty early one. It honestly doesn't look like one of their better designs
 
bholler, I agree I wished this had a catalytic cumbustor and glass windows. It was a nice stove during its time and was made for a small room not a whole house. I posted it because I figure there are others who like to see how some of these older stoves are made. I still like how it puts out a nice even heat and still will work well for someone who has a small shop who is a weekend warrior.

I am more interested in what I can learn from looking at these different stoves. When I can pick up a odd and different stove to fix up it is like Christmas time. I like to see what is under the hood. And at the same time still make a little profit to boot.