Mama Bear Questions

[RLJ]

Hi All
Just picked up my new to me Mama Bear . It is fairly good shape except at the rear outlet the back plate has cracks in both sides coming out from the pipe to the outside of the leg angle piece. I am guessing that it go too hot for it to cause this. It is not crazy important since I am taking the rear pipe out and replacing it with a new top mount that Coaly advised me on. My questions are this

When I get the back pipe out, Do I need to cover the entire back of the stove with 1/4" plate? or just the area around the 6" hole that will be left and cover the cracks up?

Also what should the thickness of the 6" ID top pipe be? 1/4" or so?And is welding it on the top only OK?

And Is 1" high OK for the top pipe to stick up above the top of the stove,or do I need the full 2" that the back pipe is sticking out? I am a little cramped for room in my fireplace spot.

Since the ash shield is sticking down below the bottom of the stove I cannot cut the legs off flush. I was thinking of having the welder weld some 2" angle along the bottom flush with the ash shield so I could slide it into the fireplace.
Thanks for any and all advice. I cannot wait to get her warming my living room.
Rick

 

[coaly]

If you can cover the cracks and have him weld the plate all the way around, that is fine. It will not see the heat and cooling it did with the rear vent.

1 inch is fine, the connector pipe should go down inside it anyway. Weld all the way around the vent pip on the outside of the top plate only.

Pipe thickness on the older stoves was thinner 12 ga. and 6 inch OD. They were a very tight fit and required over crimping for 6 inch stove pipe. Later stoves use 6 inch ID with up to 1/4 inch thick wall. It's important to extend the pipe down inside the stove 3 inches.

 

[coaly]

How much clearance are you going to have around stove back and sides, installing it into a fireplace? It's not an Insert, and needs to radiate in all directions.

 

[RLJ]

How much clearance are you going to have around stove back and sides, installing it into a fireplace? It's not an Insert, and needs to radiate in all directions.

Thanks for the reply, it looks like I will have 12" on the sides and 6-8" on the back. Is this going to work?
Thanks
Rick

 

[coaly]

That is OK, I wanted to make sure it wasn't going to warp the stove from over heating. They work best in the middle of a room radiating in all directions. You can always position some sort of fan under the front blowing under it so it drives the heated air towards the back and moves it out the front. An Insert is a convection heater with an air space around the firebox that blowers move the heated air into the room. You have a stove that works by radiation and your area is more suited for convection. You will be heating the mass of the hearth, as well as more loss radiating heat up through the roof with the masonry. It would be more critical in the north where we don't break the freezing mark for a month or more.

 

[RLJ]

That is OK, I wanted to make sure it wasn't going to warp the stove from over heating. They work best in the middle of a room radiating in all directions. You can always position some sort of fan under the front blowing under it so it drives the heated air towards the back and moves it out the front. An Insert is a convection heater with an air space around the firebox that blowers move the heated air into the room. You have a stove that works by radiation and your area is more suited for convection. You will be heating the mass of the hearth, as well as more loss radiating heat up through the roof with the masonry. It would be more critical in the north where we don't break the freezing mark for a month or more.

Thank you for all the great advice. I will post of picture of stove when we get the welding done.
Thanks again.
Rick