I think I have two Grandpa Bears

[OTR]

Hey all, love the forum, been lurking here ever since I bought my first Fisher. A little background:

I grew up with wood heat, hated the work but loved the feeling of dry heat. I moved into my first house back in 2007 - I was stoked when I saw it had a wood stove. We used the stove as our primary source of heat, which worked moderately well. The problem was, it was more of an ornamental stove than a house heater. For example, there was absolutely no way to control the air going in, just the damper up top. It took me a while to figure this out, but it became crystal clear when the glass in the front doors blew out (scary!). I replaced the glass with steel, but I knew that stove's days were numbered.

So I was in the market for a new stove, but new stoves all seem like the one I already had: more for decoration and pretty flames than for actual utility. Not to mention, I'd decided that I was not going to accept glass of any sort, as my house would have burned down had I not been home when that glass blew out.

At hunting camp, we have this stove that damn near burns us out of the camp every night. Camp is old, rickety, and poorly insulated, yet we're sweating in sub-zero with open windows. I figure this is the kind of stove I need. It was Fisher-like (same basic two-tier shape, but not a Fisher). It took me a year before I found one reasonably close, reasonably priced, and the right size (I wanted BIG). Here's the picture from the Craigslist posting:

I brought that bad boy home and was ridiculously excited. My wife came outside with a look of "you're not planning on bringing that INSIDE, right?" I told her that I'd clean it up, but it was clear that she didn't think I would/could.

Around that time, I found this forum and started reading... and reading... and reading...

Here she is just before I brought her inside:

My wife was pleased. And booooooooy was I happy. THIS was the stove I'd been wanting! Winter was so toasty last year.

Anyway, I think this stove is obviously a Grandpa Bear. 8" outlet, 29.5" across the top plate, 24" wide box and 22" depth (both measured with brick in). Am I right, Coaly?

So this weekend, I was scanning Craigslist to look at stoves (a habit I picked up last year) and saw another one:

Now here's where I got a little confused. 8" outlet, 28" across the top plate, and I think it is 19" deep/22" wide (both measured brick out). There's no baffle or anything. It's noticeably smaller than my other stove, but I think size-wise it's still a Grandpa?

I'll get to work prettying this thing up later this fall, will post some pics when I'm done.

As to why I bought this stove, well, you'll laugh, but I love my other one so much that I fear the idea of selling the house. This one will be my swap-out if I ever need to sell the place. The big stove goes where I go. Another possibility is that I've been considering jacking the house and pouring a foundation. If I did that, surely I'd need another stove for the basement

 

[WeldrDave]

As to why I bought this stove, well, you'll laugh,

No we won't, I have 4......... two Grandma's a mama, and a "baby bear..... will be cooking in a few weeks" recent install.

 

[coaly]

Welcome to the Forum OTR; The first one below is a Grandma. Notice how close the trees are at the center door seam? They look like your doors.
Here's comparison pictures to show the difference with the same style doors from the same year;

Close trees like your doors (Grandma)

Wider space between trees (Grandpa)

The newer doors usually have GM (L and R) or GP (L and R) on the inside as well. Not always, depends on foundry pattern.
The measurements I gave are from original prints. Many stoves vary and each fabricator had favorite ways of doing things, so details vary as well.

If I had to Guess, I'd say your Grandma may be from the Dunn Brothers Virginia or West Virginia?? They seem to have a habit of wider stoves.

 

[OTR]

Welcome to the Forum OTR; The first one below is a Grandma. Notice how close the trees are at the center door seam? They look like your doors.

Thanks for the reply, Coaly!

I assume your comments only apply to the second stove... that first one is clearly a Grandpa, right?

Thanks for the help identifying, I was rather confused given its width. I'll poke around looking for markings.

 

[coaly]

Yes, your first stove was the first year for the double door and is a Grandpa. The doors won't be marked on that one, but you'll notice the door seal is not the 1 inch flat U channel like on the newer one. It's a round 1/2" rod welded to the stove face and the doors will have a round recess to make contact on it. Only the Bicentenial '76 doors were cast with round recess. The top plate width is correct at 29 1/2". The later Grandpa with arched top doors and the Grandpa III went to 30".
All Grandmas (pre UL before 1980 - and after 1980 Grandma III) were normally 25 1/2" wide top plate. The height and depth were different, but the width was supposed to be the same 25 1/2".
Door opening on all the Grandmas will be 17" wide X 10 1/2" high. That's another way to tell.