Info needed on WOOD KING wood stove.

[smitty6398]

About 3 yr ago,I was given a stove manufactured by King Range and Stove Co.;Sheffield,AL. Have no idea of the age ,but was told by the grandson of the original owner that his grandfather was one of the pioneers in the area;his widow is still living,aged in the early '90s. I am led to believe this stove may well date from the WWII era.
DESCRIPTION: The base and top are oval shaped,appx. 30" front-rear/20"wide, cast iron. The top has the outlet at the extreme rear,6",with a swingout door covering the front 2/3s of the top. A crown shape is loose on the swingout,held in place by a hook-shaped protrusion on the lower edge which protrudes thru a hole in the swingout. The crown appears to be galvanized.The base is supported on four bolt-on cast legs appx. 9" high. There is a bolted-on "boot-rest ??"on each side of the base. They appear to be nickel-plated.There is 2 doors in front,1 for ash removal;1 for adding wood.The ash door has a round air vent on a center screw adjuster with a T-shaped handle.This door is 5-6 inches tall,9-10" wide. The upper door is same width,appx 18-20"high.These doors are mounted in a cast plate attached to both the top and base with a single stove-bolt and a row of bolts up each side attaching the ends of the firebox?(sheetmetal surround).The door plate is curved to conform to the small radius of the oval-shaped bottom and top. Inside the firebox is a 4-piece interlocking grate appx. 9"tall around the bottom,resting on the base.There is no log rack or grate ;however there are 4 small protrusions on the interlocking grate which I believe may have been supports for an oval-shaped log grate.
The biggest problem I have is the fire box. It has finally rusted thru about 75% of the way around at the base. Looks like it was made of 16ga.rolled steel.I've had roof leaks onto the stove and I believe the water/ash mixture just ate it up.This stove burns cut-up wood pallets predominately as I need a fast hot fire when I light it up,and I heat a 8,000 cu.ft. well-insulated building(20'x40'w10'ceiling).
***If anyone has any information regarding the identification,dating,repairing,parts availability,etc. for this "treasure" I would greatly appreciate hearing from you. My intention is to repair this stove and put it to good use.
##I've been to the Martin site and found the history of the King Company.

THANKS,, SMITTY

 

[webbie]

This type of oval stove was very popular, and for good reason. I had a number of them in my time, including Kings...although the newer models did not have boot rests. Also, the early Ashleys were similar with the main difference being a bimetal thermostat instead of "spinners".

I will scan some pics of mine and post when I get a chance.....

You can get some honking-bug logs into those oval top loaders....eat your heart out VC - a STUMP will fit in some of these!

Being dirt poor (on purpose) in TN in the early 70's, we bought a used on of these for about $20. It was rusted out like yours. So we went down and visited the scrapyard and found a nice piece of sheet steel - I think it might have been lighter than 16 ga, as 16ga might be difficult to bend. But we (and at the time I was not 1/10 of the mechanic I am today, which is still not much) - anyway, we fixed it 100%. Removed the old sheet metal and replaced it with new.

Let me see what I can find in pics...but for you, removing all the stove bolts, getting the metal out, and perhaps having a local sheet metal shop fab something, might be the best bet. A few hints...

Galvanized is bad because it will burn off the zinc at high temps - use regular steel, or better yet, aluminized steel (if they have it).

A second oval firebox liner in the bottom 8 to 12" (more or less) inside the unit was in some of these unit. That was maybe 1/4" inside the outside shell.....held there with little or nothing as I remember. This takes a lot of the heat abuse from the ember bed. If I was doing it today, I'd use 26 gas or stainless for that inside line (you can get it on eBay if not local).

In fact, you could have the entire body made out of stainless if you like, but it won't paint as easily. You could get by with a thinner ga. though.

Hopefully I can find some pics.

 

[webbie]

Here are pics of similar kings:
https://www.hearth.com/gallery/pics/ads/source/kingad.html
(second from left) - this one has automatic control (bimetal)

and the enclosed pic of ours, which looks like it had both bimetal and turn controls.

 

[iceman]

Here are pics of similar kings:
https://www.hearth.com/gallery/pics/ads/source/kingad.html
(second from left) - this one has automatic control (bimetal)

and the enclosed pic of ours, which looks like it had both bimetal and turn controls.

thats a pic of you as a bay isn't it.......lol

 

[smitty6398]

Thanks for the pics.The stove in the King ad looks much like mine,the curved feet,the pipe opening,top are all real close. Noted the "75 years" in the print. King stoves co. founded 1905.Would date this ad in ~1980 .
I've thought about replacing the liner myself.Had several friends recommend a 55gal barrel as material. I think I will consider a sheet of stainless between the liner and the grate to protect the lower end of the liner;something light like 20 or 24 ga. Got a local lead on a nearby sheet-metal "wizard"(30+ years of heat & air ductwork)who may be able to roll me a liner in an oval shape;if he can I'm thinking a 14ga cold-rolled would give better heat transfer than anything in stainless. Sorry I can't do pics ,at 65 I've only been around computers about 30 years and I'm definitely a slow learner. My son should be in over the Holidays,maybe I can get him to help the ol' man. I do lawnmower repair in my spare time and belong to www.perr.com forum on lawn eq. Drop by as a guest, some one will be glad to help. SMITTY