Mama Bear into Baby bear.

[checkthisout]

After doing some research

 

[Don H]

An old stove with 3 piece top and pipe cap draft controls.
I would have traded you the Baby Bear in my avatar for it and saved you all the trouble.

 

[coaly]

A flue damper is a chimney control, which affects the stove. It is not installed for the design of a stove model. It doesn't matter where a damper is installed, it is the same as a water valve in line which restricts flow. A flue damper slows velocity of flow. Normally installed where ever it is comfortable to reach.

If you are adding secondary burn tubes, you would not use a damper. You will need he lowest pressure obtainable that your chimney creates without slowing the flue gas velocity, which is what a flue damper does.

The outlet pipe needs to be inserted so it extends down below the top by 3 inches. Baby Bears did not have top outlets due to decreasing the already small cook top.
The baffle size and angle depends on chimney, connector pipe configuration and if this will use secondary burn tubes under it. I don't recommend adding tubes, but I don't recommend destroying a collector piece Mama Bear either.

Here's your pipe caps Todd.

I would say a 3 piece top Mama Bear was a bit more coveted than a common set of Bear Feet you can find for $150. I'm not sure about washing with acid. I hope you neutralized them after that washing. Use metal polish for precious metals ONLY. (such as for brass, silver, bronze, and gold)

 

[Todd67]

I agree with the above comments regarding the value of a Mama Bear with a 3 piece top being more coveted than those bear feet. I hope your stove works well for you. Trading for a Baby Bear would've been a lot less work, and much less destructive

As coaly mentioned above, I am restoring an old unusable Papa Bear and I am looking for pipe caps draft control knobs like the ones on your stove. I will gladly trade you my set of draft caps for yours as soon as I have the Papa Bear in my possession. My Papa Bear has the incorrect 5-fin caps that will stay cooler to the touch than your pipe caps, which will get very hot to the touch.

 

[Todd67]

I don't see how something that literally, someone with limited welding and fabrication skills could make in less than half a day, would be coveted. The feet I can understand, they are not easy to make and would also have sentimental value for kids that were younglings and had these stoves in their houses as kids and of course remember the cute little bear feet. I am fond of Hamm's beer for the same reason.

I will, without hesitation, trade you my commonly available threaded pipe caps, for your aluminum finned caps.

The stove sat outside for a few years. I will break them loose tommorrow and post photos for you.

On my end, my application essentially puts this in non-breathable structure so my plan is a to add air just behind through a pipe that runs outside the structure with the

There's no way to understand each other's passions and hobbies, or why we value different things in life. I guess that's why it's interesting to me to explore other people's hobbies that are of no interest to me.

You have the imagination, the tools, and knowledge to transform something unusable to you, into something you can use. You are creative enough to think outside the box and turn a vision into a reality. Thats what Bob Fisher did in 1973 when he built his first Fisher stove. Some of us appreciate how Bob Fisher impacted the wood stove industry. Some don't.

Some of us classic stove collectors are purists, with an appreciation for how things were made back then, and we try to preserve that originality as a piece of history. Just like some classic cars are restored to original condition, while other classic cars are turned into hot rods.

I hope your modified stove does everything you intend for it to do. I appreciate you trading draft caps so that I can return a classic Fisher Papa Bear to it's original condition. I hope your draft caps are salvageable, and there's no need to rush since my Papa Bear is being shipped from the west coast this week.

 

[Don H]

I don't see how something that literally, someone with limited welding and fabrication skills could make in less than half a day, would be coveted. The feet I can understand, they are not easy to make and would also have sentimental value for kids that were younglings and had these stoves in their houses as kids and of course remember the cute little bear feet. I am fond of Hamm's beer for the same reason.

Sort of like a '32 Ford 5 window coup. Simply made by today's standards, technically advanced for it's time, very few survive today and they don't make 'em anymore.

 

[Todd67]

This was posted on the wrong forum. Is there a website for "restomod" stoves?

You might find some YouTube channels for that stuff.

 

[Don H]

It's a metal box with two air holes in it. A wood or coal kitchen stove made 100 years prior contained more technology.

Some of us here have a certain affinity towards these stove. I've had one for 30 years at my house and have owned and restored probably a dozen others.

That "metal box with two air holes in it" was patented by Bob Fisher, and copied by many.

Good luck with your mini- Mama Bear, I hope it works well for you.

 

[coaly]

Good info. My thinking was that the higher it's installed in the chimney, the more radiative area you get as you're trapping the hot gases below the damper.



Perfect. My plan was to never use the front air inlets but instead to install a pipe with holes just inside the door and run to outside air which would be regulated by a ball valve. In my situation, pulling air from inside isn't a good idea as the structure is literally nearly air-tight.



Good info. I'll guess I'll figure out the baffle myself. What exactly about these stoves is collector-worthy? Yes there is some value in the door assembly but the rest is literally less than $100.00 in full-retail priced steel and about 20 minutes on a plasma table or lets say 1.5 hrs with a hand-held slicer and maybe 6 or so 75 cent grinding wheels. 1 hrs worth of welding? There is nothing to these these stoves other than the cast door and curved spark or spill pan or whatever you want to call it.



As you can see, the feet turned out fine. The stove was free which is a lot less than the $200.00 or so I could get off Ebay for the bear feet.

I dunno. I guess in my world, the feet would be really difficult to make (kind of) and the stove is nothing more than a few hours of plasma or hand cutting (even less with a CNC plasma table) and welding. They are just 1/4 or 3/16 weld plate steel.

I, or any other person with limited welding abilty could literally turn out no less 6 of these stoves per day but if one does not have the ability, then scarcity would overwhelm ingenuity.

I felt the same way about the temperature of exhaust gasses before the damper until I took temp measurements. It is the same before and after the damper. It doesn't hold the heat back since it is not an insulated plate. It is simply a variable resistance.

Making reproduction feet is not difficult. Over the years a few have tried to reproduce and sell fakes. Here is an extremely poor try with cast iron;



Pressing your feet into "green sand" for casting fine detail results in quality castings. This is solid brass;

Much nicer than the originals, but worthless to a collector.

Your stove should have had adjustable ball feet. Those white brass plated angled feet were an accessory sold much later that came with washers to set inside for leveling. They are not just for looks, they are levelers.
Cleaning with anything acidic can get under the plating setting up corrosion which bubbles the finish in time. The base material is Zamak.

Modifying stoves is not popular since any modification prevents their legal use.

Sounds like your tight structure needed a Convertible Honey Bear (removable pedestal) with an outside air intake that was also certified for mobile home use. Since your state isn't known, I can't tell you if it would be legal where you are. I know what you have is not legal to use and depending on state, not even legal to possess. It would have been the correct BTU capacity, with add on blower option still available. They have glass doors if you wanted to add secondary burn tubes and easy to do without damage or modification to the stove. Those feet could buy you one of these. You could have sold the stove for 3 X more. Us east coasters pay up to 300 for that stove and 300 to 400 to ship.

Double door Honey

A bit more rare, single door Honey.

 

[coaly]

Galvanized pipe is a no no.
That gets plenty hot enough in operation to be toxic.

The air dampers are 2 inch pipe caps with a 2 inch X 1/2 13 bolt "plug welded" to the cap. They are quick to make once you have a jig to hold the bolt centered and perpendicular to the cap end for a good seal on the door.
They got hot, and Bob's dad Baxter patented the aluminum air damper with fins to be able to use your foot to turn.

You're fine with the pipe centered on the upper top. With a baffle, it changes the hotter upper cook top to the front lower top. The front was simmer, and the back was cook. Baffle plate revereses it. The baffle thread explains it in detail.

 

[coaly]

These stoves were banned not too long ago around here. No grandfathering no nothing. If you have an uncertified wood stove you have to render it inoperable or junk it.

Yep, that is another reason these are getting scarce and worth more.

 

[coaly]

Legs were 6 inch. Taper was on the older stoves and a rod was welded inside the angle iron for the ball to push on. They had a set screw, not threaded. Later stoves after the ball were not tapered, so the angle iron sat in the 1 1/2 inch square hole of the feet. They are the wrong feet for the stove with tapered leg.

 

[Todd67]

This style of baffle plate works very well in my Mama Bear. I'm pretty sure coaly posted this pic on the forum.


You shouldn't need to add any secondary burn to this stove. My stove heats my poorly insulated 2.5 story house in northern NY without a furnace.

 

[SpaceBus]

Are you not at all interested in a smaller EPA stove? I understand if you aren't and don't blame you. I've been following your thread and dig your ingenuity, this is a cool project. We were considering an antique stove, but settled on an EPA version of an antique stove, the Morso 2B Classic. It has pretty good clearances and throws some heat for the size, very economical, especially coming from a busted 1975 Defiant that came with our house. The Morso 2B Standard or Jotul 602 would be great for your space. The pre EPA versions will have longer burn times, but obviously aren't as clean, which isn't a problem for you. I've seen old 602s and stuff like it pretty cheap on Craigslist and stuff. Might be a bit safer and you don't have to modify it if you get EPA version, but you are handy and could add secondary burn to the older versions.

Good luck, I'll be glad to read updates.

 

[coaly]

Expect 500 - 600* stove top temp depending on fuel and air. In your small area you're going to have to run it much lower.
I think you would need a insulated chimney if you were heating the approximate 1000 s.f. area this size stove was designed for. With your smaller area, you will probably be leaving more heat up than normal, so you may be able to keep the pipe hot enough. (250* to the top) It's still going to roast you out.

 

[Todd67]

These Fisher stoves weren't designed to have door gaskets. Only Fisher models with glass doors had gaskets. That being said, some older Fishers might need a simple flat gasket. A gasket that is too thick won't help the stove door seal any better.

My Mama Bear had a rope gasket in the door channel when I bought the stove. I removed the gasket when I restored the stove and it is air tight the way Bob Fisher designed it to be, without a gasket.

 

[Todd67]

I don't have a damper in my stove pipe. I figured I could always install one later if I felt the need for one. Its great to have in case you have a chimney fire though.

In your welded pipe it might be hard to reach it if you put a damper in at the first joint, which would be 6ft above the stove if I remember correctly.

 

[Todd67]

Welcome to the Fisher-induced hernia club

I'm sure we've all been there before. These stoves were built to last, and they are heavy without the firebrick in them too. I removed all the firebricks and cast iron parts from my coal bear and I still needed help getting it up four steps on a dolly. They weight about 550 all assembled.

I highly encourage you to read the Fisher Stove Story by Claudia Lynn. It's in PDF format on the main Fisher page. It won't win any awards but it's a good read.

 

[Todd67]

Here is a link to the Fisher Stove Story, in case you ever decide to read it. Just click on the "attachments" tab.

https://www.hearth.com/talk/wiki/bob-fisher/

 

[SpaceBus]

Here is a link to the Fisher Stove Story, in case you ever decide to read it. Just click on the "attachments" tab.

https://www.hearth.com/talk/wiki/bob-fisher/

I did read it, but is the book only 123 pages long? I can see why they recalled all of the existing copies!

 

[Todd67]

I did read it, but is the book only 123 pages long? I can see why they recalled all of the existing copies!

Apparently the book wasn't politically correct, so it was pulled. But I'm not 100% sure if that's the only reason.

 

[SpaceBus]

Apparently the book wasn't politically correct, so it was pulled. But I'm not 100% sure if that's the only reason.

Yeah, plus it includes the names of all of his family, licensees, customers, and many others. The book does seem to be very honest, but maybe too honest and I don't think the Fisher Stove company wanted all of those personal details out there. The book is basically a lawsuit waiting to happen! Not to mention all of the drinking on the job, threatened violence, and of course as previously stated it is not politically correct in any way. I dig the man's story and have a lot of respect for him and his wife. It took a lot of stones to do what he did, and in a small way we all owe Bob Fisher for putting wood stoves back in the public consciousness. Without Bob we wouldn't have these super efficient, reliable, and clean burning stoves.

 

[Todd67]

Yeah, plus it includes the names of all of his family, licensees, customers, and many others. The book does seem to be very honest, but maybe too honest and I don't think the Fisher Stove company wanted all of those personal details out there. The book is basically a lawsuit waiting to happen! Not to mention all of the drinking on the job, threatened violence, and of course as previously stated it is not politically correct in any way. I dig the man's story and have a lot of respect for him and his wife. It took a lot of stones to do what he did, and in a small way we all owe Bob Fisher for putting wood stoves back in the public consciousness. Without Bob we wouldn't have these super efficient, reliable, and clean burning stoves.

You hit the nail on the head in many regards! Woodstoves would not have evolved into what they are today without Bob Fisher's vision and determination, and of course, his wife's support and encouragement. The book does a good job of documenting the life and times of working class families in the early and mid 1970's. The Vietnam war was winding down at that time, & not the way we wanted it to.

I love my Fisher stoves because of the man that Bob Fisher was, and Carol Fisher deserves much credit as well.

 

[bholler]

You hit the nail on the head in many regards! Woodstoves would not have evolved into what they are today without Bob Fisher's vision and determination, and of course, his wife's support and encouragement. The book does a good job of documenting the life and times of working class families in the early and mid 1970's. The Vietnam war was winding down at that time, & not the way we wanted it to.

I love my Fisher stoves because of the man that Bob Fisher was, and Carol Fisher deserves much credit as well.

I think a bit to much credit is given to bob fisher by many. Yes he made good stoves for the time. But there were also many others working on stoves as well. And he didnt invent steel plate stoves either they were being made before him. He was just the first one who did it large scale.

 

[Todd67]

I think a bit to much credit is given to bob fisher by many. Yes he made good stoves for the time. But there were also many others working on stoves as well. And he didnt invent steel plate stoves either they were being made before him. He was just the first one who did it large scale.

He also did it without copying anyone else's stove. The Fisher stove is arguably the most copied woodstove design since.