Old stove - new owner - any guesses?

[gladesteen]

Hi all,

I purchased a small cottage in southern NH that was moved here from MA in 1940. Nobody actually knows when this house was originally built!

The elderly lady i bought the house from said her deceased husband had used this stove for decades.
I've had some people tell me it was a home built stove, but i am not sure. There are zero markings anywhere on it. Prior to me purchasing, the stove had not been burning for over 10 yrs. I did a LOT of cleanup, changed out the firebricks and .........wammo........no leaks, and burns like a beast!


The burn box is H U G E (to me anyway) at 30". It puts out a ton of heat.
The seams are all welded.........thats all i've got for ya.


Any guesses?

Thanks,
Mark

 

[coaly]

The original design started with Bob Fisher in Springfield OR 1973. He was a laid off welder that is credited with building the first steel plate stove also being "airtight". Before that cast iron was the material of choice. His step top idea was to make the outlet higher than the door to prevent smoke roll in when opening the door. The tops of the early stoves were a 3 piece design like yours without the step on the back. For ease of production and speed they went to a one piece bent top, but those in private shops without a bending brake welded the tops in pieces like yours. I'd guess it to be a homemade copy. The front of yours is shaped like Calvin Cotton's idea who was a Fisher licensee that lost his license building similar stoves to the Fisher and became Timberline. The Fisher Forum gives lots of tips for operation and the Fisher Stove Story in the Sticky section at top gives you a good idea of the competition and the beginning of the modern day stove industry.
The legs look a little short to be the 6 inch minimum for unlisted stove floor protection standards, so it should only be used on a non-combustible surface such as the cement it's on.
The T on the intake is to be able to use your foot to adjust without burning your hand, and you can get a spring to keep the door handle cool.
Papa Bear takes a 30 inch log and heated approx. 2000 sf and Mama Bear takes 24 inch and heats approx. 1500 sf. That was calculated for insulation and windows made back then along with 8 foot ceilings, for Seattle Washington climate. That gives you an idea of heating capacity.
If it doesn't have a baffle inside, (if you can see out the pipe from the front door) any type of baffle plate inside is a huge improvement for efficiency and smoke reduction.

 

[gladesteen]

The original design started with Bob Fisher in Springfield OR 1973. He was a laid off welder that is credited with building the first steel plate stove also being "airtight". Before that cast iron was the material of choice. His step top idea was to make the outlet higher than the door to prevent smoke roll in when opening the door. The tops of the early stoves were a 3 piece design like yours without the step on the back. For ease of production and speed they went to a one piece bent top, but those in private shops without a bending brake welded the tops in pieces like yours. I'd guess it to be a homemade copy. The front of yours is shaped like Calvin Cotton's idea who was a Fisher licensee that lost his license building similar stoves to the Fisher and became Timberline. The Fisher Forum gives lots of tips for operation and the Fisher Stove Story in the Sticky section at top gives you a good idea of the competition and the beginning of the modern day stove industry.
The legs look a little short to be the 6 inch minimum for unlisted stove floor protection standards, so it should only be used on a non-combustible surface such as the cement it's on.
The T on the intake is to be able to use your foot to adjust without burning your hand, and you can get a spring to keep the door handle cool.
Papa Bear takes a 30 inch log and heated approx. 2000 sf and Mama Bear takes 24 inch and heats approx. 1500 sf. That was calculated for insulation and windows made back then along with 8 foot ceilings, for Seattle Washington climate. That gives you an idea of heating capacity.
If it doesn't have a baffle inside, (if you can see out the pipe from the front door) any type of baffle plate inside is a huge improvement for efficiency and smoke reduction.

WOW !!

thank you for the in depth review!

This stove is a little tricky to run and i'm sure its not even close to the efficiency of newer stoves.
It does have the baffle plate. I can run the stove overnight if i stuff it full, but thats quite a bit of wood/fuel used also.

I plan to replace it with the Englander NCH 30 from Home Depot in 2017.
I am finishing off my basement and the NC30's smaller footprint, looks and proven performance would be a better choice IMO.

Thanks again!
Mark

 

[coaly]

Sounds like it doesn't have a baffle and likes to run away with stack temps?
A baffle cures that for less than 30 bucks.
New stove depends on the fuel you have available and burn cycles you need for the way you heat. Other factors can make it a better or worse choice.

 

[gladesteen]

Hi Coaly,

It does have the baffle up top on the inside.
The main reason to switch it out is because the NC30 can go closer to the wall (more free space in basement), is significantly smaller and will more than likely be more efficient than this 40 year old stove........just my guesses. The Englander will also look nicer and i really enjoy glass viewing to see exactly whats going on in there too.

Thanks for your input!

Mark

 

[bholler]

.just my guesses

All are very true.

New stove depends on the fuel you have available and burn cycles you need for the way you heat. Other factors can make it a better or worse choice.

I am sorry but what factors other than cost could possibly make this stove a better choice than a 30 nc? Yes the 30 will need dry wood but you should only be burning dry wood in whatever stove you have regardless. Yes with an old stove you can shut it way down and smoulder away making tons of creosote and no heat. Doing that you get long burn times but burning correctly you will not get anywhere near the burn times with that old stove. And with a new stove you will get much more heat out of each piece of wood than with an old one.

 

[coaly]

An 8 inch chimney or the need to cook on top are two factors that would stop me from using a new stove.

 

[bholler]

An 8 inch chimney or the need to cook on top are two factors that would stop me from using a new stove.

You can cook on top of most new stoves just fine. You certainly can on the 30. And many new stoves will work ok on an 8" chimney as well. Not as good as they could but still better than an old stove like that.