Tempwood users out there?

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my brother has one and also has a magic heat attached to it and it does him and his family very well.
 
Thanks for the input regarding the Tempwood!
Here's some of my input. I currently use a Tempwood 2 (late 1983) installed in our cellar for a power failure fall-back (no frozen pipes etc) Since I like the stove I've recently picked up another Tempwood 2 (1979) just because. The company went out of business in 1983 (Mowhawk Co.). There are three versions that I know of, the Tempwood 2 "large size" 55,000 BTU, Tempwood 5 smaller size 35,000 BTU, and a Tempcoal.
___ this stove is, as you know, a "downdraft" type load&light; from the top.
___ the heat is very quickly available after lighting.
___ very, very simple to use (even for me)
___ no hot coals/embers, logs etc. can spill out. (unless you personally scoop out hot coals)
___ a given would be a good drafted chimney
___ the stove is buttugly, but works very well.
___ any more info about the "newer" version The Patriot?

Thanks!
 
we are building tempwood prototype now the business is underthe same ownership just some testing before we produce
 
We sold them in Warrensburg back in the mid 80s, if we're talking about the black box with the two top holes in the top that were connected to short tubes that went into the stove. Was a neat little stove
 
I thought we bought them via a distributor, probably BAC sales as old Bobby Cohen and my Pop were pretty close back in the day. I remember likin the price, likin the idea. Keep up with the EPA stuff if your gonna get started up again. Feel free to contact me via email if you have more questions about the industry and its changed over the past 2+ decades. But be aware, asking your questions here will get you many more answers from folks much more informed than I. Also, for ease, here is a link to the group you should get cozy with

http://www.hpba.org/
 
Trying to find a Tempwood 2 manual for my son, so he can get stove certified for potential home buyer. Does anyone have a pdf version or know where one can be found? The last site I was directed to said I could only access it "by invitation only," whatever that means.

Any assistance would be most appreciated.

/Another Bob
 
I burn a tempwood II. I love it. I guess if I had a blazeking or something I might have different feelings. The tempwood is a great stove for me though. Huge firebox, overnight burns are easy. Safe, logs never roll out the door. It is kind of ugly but it doesn't bother me at all.
 
anotheroldbiker said:
Trying to find a Tempwood 2 manual for my son, so he can get stove certified for potential home buyer. Does anyone have a pdf version or know where one can be found? The last site I was directed to said I could only access it "by invitation only," whatever that means.

Any assistance would be most appreciated.

/Another Bob

It is on here somewhere (I think). Check the wiki.
 
I'm burning a tempwood II as a shop/garage heater. The quick heat is the best part. The lack of glass would be a big problem in the house (def veto by the little lady). I also don't think it is the best loading stove. The pipes on the inside get in the way of a solid load, so the stove acts much smaller than the size would indicate. You also can't get big splits in (relative to the size of the stove) because of the lack of a door.
 
Creekyphil said:
I'm burning a tempwood II as a shop/garage heater. The quick heat is the best part. The lack of glass would be a big problem in the house (def veto by the little lady). I also don't think it is the best loading stove. The pipes on the inside get in the way of a solid load, so the stove acts much smaller than the size would indicate. You also can't get big splits in (relative to the size of the stove) because of the lack of a door.

This is true, I cut my logs short. They do split easier and season faster that way though.
 
There are two small steel disks, one above each downdrafting tube. They lie flat on the stove top, and have 1 hinge point. They can rotate 360 degrees, from covering the entire top of the draft tube, to leaving it completely open. The head engineer on this stove was definitely a fan of KISS.
 
I did install a solid damper in the flue (6'') just incase some very high winds might cause an exceeded acceptable stove draft.
I have not used this additional installed flue damper. The Tempwood 2 works great as designed.
 
You'd be very correct damper use for your location, chimney height and maybe even some minor installation differences.
To this point, I've only used the two "discs" dampers.
Burning dry hardwood, more than 12 hrs (or more), I can stirr up significant available hot coals, drop some splits and have a heating stove in less than 15 minutes.
That is good performance from a 30+ year old woodstove. This does speak very well for the Tempwood original design.
 
we burn a largeer tempwood stove, and i agree with other posters, that split size has to be concidered due to only a 10 inch hole in the top of the stove. we use a lot of 6 inch unsplit rounds to obtain longer overnight burns . 12 -14 hours are not unusual. but understand this , these stoves are what they are, and won t cook you out of the house. they do keep the area warm but no excessive heat come from this stove. if i didn t have young teenagers tending to the fire in my absence a new stove would be in it s place. the safety feature is the real keeper reason it sits where it sits. a fan behind it works well to circulate the heat and a ceiling fan pushes heat into other parts of the house. Enjoy your stove , but don t close your mind to a new and improved stove for better burning and cleaner emmissions.
 
Any woodstove performance is tempered by design, then house insulation values, fuel used and finally the operator.
I would never say that the Tempwood is "better than sliced bread" or "sliced scones" if you will.
There are many better new design stoves on the market for $$$$.
My Tempwood 2 lives in the basement as a heavy lifter.
It's look to be kind is "Plain".
 
Hey everyone. I also just bought a Tempwood 2 after my neighbors raved about theirs for so long. I do have a question though. On the stove I got, there are fire bricks on the bottom half perimeter of the stove but there are no bricks on the bottom flat part of the stove. There is a separate steel plate that seems to be suspended a bit off the bottom and I was wondering if this is correct or if I should line the bottom with bricks as well?

We had a top loading downdraft copy of a Tempwood years and years ago I believe but about 15 years ago, we paid big bucks and bought an Avalon front loading glass door stove that we hated. I thought the venting on the Avalon was poor and it was nearly impossible to load the thing without letting smoke into the house. We sold the Avalon two years ago and decided to get this Tempwood for the size of the fire box, the top loading and no sparks or smoke coming in the house. I had a stainless chimney liner installed and our Avalon was hooked directly to it without a disc damper behind the stove. Now, should I install a damper in with this stove do you think?

Also, I live in the country and never hear people worry about the EPA but on these sites they mention it all the time. Is it because homeowners insurance wont cover a house fire if using the stove or just for smoke output? My neighbors Tempwood does not smoke much at all. Just wondering. Any help would be great. The only thing I think I would change on the stove is make the loading space on top a hinged door that could hold itself in the open position and make the door larger. Anyway, thanks so much. Neil V.
 
Can't help with the bricks. I took out the orignal bricks and put a layer of sand in the bottom of my Tempwood.

Yes on the damper. Only way to know if it helps is to have one.

Can't help with the EPA thing either.
 
As Pyro said, install about 1" to 1.5" of dry, clean (play sand) sand in the base. As it comes out with cleaning, just add more sand. It's a great stove!
 
Thanks for the help but I have one more question. I tried to email a member but I don't think I did it right so I thought I would ask here. On the back of my Tempwood, there is a 1/4" steel collar (6 inches) that gets hooked up to the stove pipe. My question is, does the stove pipe fit on the inside of that collar or does it go over the outside (or does it matter) when hooking it up? Now, this Tempwood is the same as our old one, but the house I bought this from (for $60) had it hooked up with the pipe on the OUTSIDE of the collar and it was held on by three screws.

Now, the Avalon we just got rid of was hooked up by a sweep after he put in our stainless liner that runs all the way up the chimney. He had the chimney liner itself attached DIRECTLY to the Avalon stove with no damper or anything and that was also attached OVER the collar on that stove too. But all the pics I have seen have the stove pipe that fits INTO and not around the collar and these use wood stove cement on the pipe joint / collar. I just want to make sure I dont screw up the draft and make it easier (or possible) for smoke to come back in the house. This never happened with our old Tempwood and I dont want to mess it up.

Thanks for all the help. This is a great site. Take care.
 
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