PATC (Potomac Appalachian Trail Club) has cabins for rent along the AT & 1 of those is Bear Spring in MD. It has an old woodstove w/no instructions & we need to replace many broken firebricks. But which model Fisher stove is it? Square door, 2 air intake knobs. I used the Mama Bear brick diagram but the guy who installed the new bricks said they didn't fit correctly. Unfortunately he also didn't LOOK at diagram but just installed "as he thought they should go" & we were some bricks short + some I'd cut didn't fit the spaces left over. Following directions is not his strong suit. The back of our stove did not look like the diagram for the Mama Bear. Our stove has 2 brackets bent over in U-shape to hold top of bricks. Sorry, I didn't think to measure the stove dimensions.
Fisher Mama Bear?
- Thread starter DanPATC
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Mama Bear it is.
Here is the printable manual;
https://www.hearth.com/images/uploads/Fisher_Manual.pdf
Can't say for sure if your brick layout would be any different than normal.
Always leave at least 1 inch of ashes on the bottom.
I can't tell by your photo if the heat shield behind stove has one inch of air space behind the shield or if it is contact with wall. There must also be an air space at floor level to allow air to enter and rise behind it carrying away heat.
The floor protection is not near enough if that is sheet metal directly over wood floor. The sheet metal needs to be covered with cement board, then a layer of solid brick. If using brick facing it should be double cement board under brick veneer or tile.
Here is the printable manual;
https://www.hearth.com/images/uploads/Fisher_Manual.pdf
Can't say for sure if your brick layout would be any different than normal.
Always leave at least 1 inch of ashes on the bottom.
I can't tell by your photo if the heat shield behind stove has one inch of air space behind the shield or if it is contact with wall. There must also be an air space at floor level to allow air to enter and rise behind it carrying away heat.
The floor protection is not near enough if that is sheet metal directly over wood floor. The sheet metal needs to be covered with cement board, then a layer of solid brick. If using brick facing it should be double cement board under brick veneer or tile.
Dan,
The bricks are actually called "splits" which is basically a firebrick but only half the thickness (1.25") of a regular firebrick. So if you're trying to put full sized bricks in there they won't fit. Order of installation is back bricks first, then left and right sides and finally install the bottom bricks. Side and bottom sections should be laid back to front. You may need to cut the final (most forward) bricks. Make sure the firebox is clean before installation since any ash between the bricks will make a tight fit.
Coaly's post https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/mama-bear-firebricks.88386/ has a schematic and cut schedule for a '77 Mama bear which should be what you need
I appreciate the great work on the PATC does. I thru-hiked the AT from Georgia to Maine in 2011.
The bricks are actually called "splits" which is basically a firebrick but only half the thickness (1.25") of a regular firebrick. So if you're trying to put full sized bricks in there they won't fit. Order of installation is back bricks first, then left and right sides and finally install the bottom bricks. Side and bottom sections should be laid back to front. You may need to cut the final (most forward) bricks. Make sure the firebox is clean before installation since any ash between the bricks will make a tight fit.
Coaly's post https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/mama-bear-firebricks.88386/ has a schematic and cut schedule for a '77 Mama bear which should be what you need
I appreciate the great work on the PATC does. I thru-hiked the AT from Georgia to Maine in 2011.
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