Raising a stove

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Limestone

New Member
Mar 25, 2024
3
Kingston
I'd like to lift my Fisher higher off the floor to make it easier to load. Mine has bolt on legs that I don't wish to disturb. So, I'm thinking maybe building a stand to set the whole stove on, still keeping the original legs and bear feet. Has anyone any ideas about this, and how high would you make it?
 
I only raise them with a solid brick. Retaining wall blocks are fine if you want it higher. They make the mini blocks for gardens and full size for higher wall building.
 
I had my All Nighter Big Moe (Papa Bear sized Fisher copy, basically) on an 18" stand made from pipe. It was very nice to have it up like that. All Nighters had spindly little 1" square tubing legs that fit inside the pipes of the stand that I made.
I was then able to tuck the blower under the stove.
These were some of the pictures I took after removing it from service, when I was selling it.

[Hearth.com] Raising a stove
[Hearth.com] Raising a stove
[Hearth.com] Raising a stove
 
I sure would not want that stand in a seismic zone unless it was bolted down to the floor. Top heavy is not good.
 
Obviously, it was more top heavy than without the stand but I really had to tip that stove over quite a ways on the stand before it wanted to "go". I stood on top of the stove (with the stove on the stand) every time I was cleaning the pipes.

The pictures make it look worse than it was. When I looked at them after posting I thought "somebody is going to mention something about it being top heavy..."

The closest we have had to seismic activity was the frost quakes we had this early winter.

I am not sure what those in seismic zones do... if I had an earthquake today maybe my Summit would go skittering across the concrete floor and dislodge the stove pipe. That would be exciting.

When I sold the stove it went without the stand, so everyone is safe.

Peakbagger makes a good point, and it would certainly be better if it was wider.
 
20 years ago seismic zones were not an issue in New England, now they are in some cases. I was working on building in Boston where the owner wanted to put some very heavy equipment on the roof. At one point the owner had added several stories to it. When I talked to the architect, he told me not only could we not add any weight to the roof but current seismic code would not have allowed the prior addition of several stories.

Out west hot water heaters need to be strapped to a structural wall and many houses need earthquake bracing that runs from the foundation to the roof with lots of diagonal bracing. The Red Hook Brewery at the former Pease Air Force base in Portsmouth NH is probably the safest place to be in earthquake in the region , its an exact copy of one of their buildings from the west coast designed for far high seismic loading that there is in New England.
 
[Hearth.com] Raising a stove