Vintage Morso 6b Wood Stove

[Mtnjumper]

Hi all, this will be my first post on this site, so hope all goes well. I've been in the wood heating game since I was born. My family heated (and still do) with wood as our primary and only source of heat, no backup. So, naturally I've decided to heat with wood myself and I have a wood working business, so I think wood is good ....

Anyways, my girlfriend and I just acquired a Vintage Morso 6b Wood stove, for a fantastic deal too good to pass up. This is an awesome little stove and seems to be pretty obscure model. It is top loading and burns wood like a cigar, front to back. The baffles inside are all in great shape, and the rest is good, but...The back cast plate has 1 crack on each side right along/parallel to the corners. My questions are:

Can anyone shed some light on this stove? It looks to be a discontinued model produced from 1957-1986.
What should I do about the cracks? We really like this stove. I'm going to do what I can to get it into ship shape. If we could find a replacement plate, we'd buy it, but I'm having trouble finding ANY info on this gem. I can't weld myself and am not convinced that's the right fix. It looks like cast iron is tricky to weld, what with pre/post heating the cracked area.

Any help would be greatly appreciated as it's getting cold here in upstate NY!

 

[begreen]

Never seen a 6b. Is this what it looks like? Can you post a picture of the crack?

 

[Mtnjumper]

Never seen a 6b. Is this what it looks like? Can you post a picture of the crack?

View attachment 190746

Yes that is the exact stove that I have. I will definitely upload pics tomorrow. That's the only picture online that I could find other than the one on the Morso website:
(broken link removed to http://morsoe.com/us/about-morsoe/about-morsoe/discontinued-stoves)

 

[defiant3]

Cast is a problem to weld, but it CAN be done if it's th only option. If you're not familiar then perhaps find someone who has done it successfully.

Alternatively, It would be possible to make a mold from the old part and have a new one cast. It would shrink and be slightly smaller than original but may work. Better still would be to make a wood or plastic one 10% bigger than original OR create a 10% larger piece in a 3D printer and use THAT to make a mold. Surely that software must exist already, perhaps you might find a foundry who's got that goin on!

 

[defiant3]

This presumes that the original is straight not warped, and of course you'd want to confirm with an expert the 10% shrinkage figure, I kinda pulled that out of somewhere, not sure if it's right on.

 

[Mtnjumper]

Cast is a problem to weld, but it CAN be done if it's th only option. If you're not familiar then perhaps find someone who has done it successfully.

Alternatively, It would be possible to make a mold from the old part and have a new one cast. It would shrink and be slightly smaller than original but may work. Better still would be to make a wood or plastic one 10% bigger than original OR create a 10% larger piece in a 3D printer and use THAT to make a mold. Surely that software must exist already, perhaps you might find a foundry who's got that goin on!

Gotcha, thanks for the info. I'm thinking it might be easier to either fabricate one myself out of steel or have one made. I might have a lead on a guy who does this sort of stuff. I could make a mold out of wood, but if it needs to be slightly larger with a tight tolderance, that may be out of my expertise. I definitely do want to make it work with this stove though. I sent an email to a guy in Vermont listed on Morso's website and he sent me back a parts diagram of the stove and a link to (broken link removed).

Thanks for any and all info, this site has been a great learning experience!

 

[Mtnjumper]

Here are some pics

 

[Mtnjumper]

I think it's similar in size to a Morso 2b stove

 

[begreen]

Is the crack right at the corner seam? What is that white stuff? Did something spill off the top?

 

[Mtnjumper]

Is the crack right at the corner seam? What is that white stuff? Did something spill off the top?

It looks like someone tried to repair the crack with putty on both sides

 

[Mtnjumper]

It looks like someone tried to repair the crack with putty on both sides

Yes each corner seam on the rear plate has a crack running parallel. Then a repair (bandaid) was made, I'm assuming but i am unsure of its history. I am planning a full rebuild with this stove. Exciting yet daunting...

 

[begreen]

Looks like there may have been an air leak at the seams that overheated the backside edges. Is there a rear burn plate in the stove protecting the back?

For replacement parts you may need to look to the UK or Denmark. This stove is a rare bird here.

Fixing this stove could get costly if more problems are discovered when it's taken apart, especially with custom parts. Personally I think I would pass and try to get a Lange which is another nice Danish heater.

 

[Mtnjumper]

Looks like there may have been an air leak at the seams that overheated the backside edges. Is there a rear burn plate in the stove protecting the back?

For replacement parts you may need to look to the UK or Denmark. This stove is a rare bird here.

Fixing this stove could get costly if more problems are discovered when it's taken apart, especially with custom parts. Personally I think I would pass and try to get a Lange which is another nice Danish heater.

No there is no rear burn plate.

 

[begreen]

No there is no rear burn plate.

That may be part of the problem if the stove is more prone to overheating in back.

 

[Mtnjumper]

That may be part of the problem if the stove is more prone to overheating in back.

It'd certainly be a shame if we just gave up on it. I think it could be fixed especially since the cracks are right on the edges and not cracked through the middle of the plate. I was also thinking firebrick could be used where the rear baffle was...

 

[begreen]

It is a unique stove for here in the US. You'll have to decide how much effort and money you are willing to put into it.

It would be easier to see how well it can be repaired with the stove apart. Perhaps the cracked edges are more cosmetic corners and not where the actual sealing is taking place? If that is the case then the stove could be reassembled with a high quality refractory cement generously filling the back corner seams. Hearthstone sells the kind of stove cement.

On our Jotul 602 I added a burn plate to the back of the stove. It has a similar weakness. I made a cardboard template and then had thick steel plate cut up to fit. I drilled the back so that I could thru bolt the plate to the back of the stove used a nut as a spacer between the back and the burn plate. It turned out quite effective in protecting the back from overheating.

 

[Mtnjumper]

It is a unique stove for here in the US. You'll have to decide how much effort and money you are willing to put into it.

It would be easier to see how well it can be repaired with the stove apart. Perhaps the cracked edges are more cosmetic corners and not where the actual sealing is taking place? If that is the case then the stove could be reassembled with a high quality refractory cement generously filling the back corner seams. Hearthstone sells the kind of stove cement.

On our Jotul 602 I added a burn plate to the back of the stove. It has a similar weakness. I made a cardboard template and then had thick steel plate cut up to fit. I drilled the back so that I could thru bolt the plate to the back of the stove used a nut as a spacer between the back and the burn plate. It turned out quite effective in protecting the back from overheating.

I'll have to see what I'm dealing with once I get the thing apart. Hopefully then I can assess it. I tested it with a bright flashlight in a dark room and could not find any light shining through. So it COULD just be cosmetic. The firebox is actually quite large, I'd say it can fit a 16-18" split. There is no door on the front too, which is interesting. I'll take pics of my progress.

The nut as a spacer is brilliant. I've got plenty of stainless hardware at my disposal. I looked at the Jotul 602 as there are a lot available, but this one popped up and decided to jump on it. Other than the cracks on the back it's in nice shape. Thanks again tor all the info and help!

 

[begreen]

There is no door on the front too, which is interesting.

?? Pics show a door.

 

[rwhite]

?? Pics show a door.

Looks like a top loader.

 

[begreen]

Yup. So it is. Wonder if this is Morso's only one?

Now I want to see the inside.

 

[rwhite]

I think that tearing it apart, cleaning up the gasket mess and having someone try and weld the inside may be your best bet. I would consider the back plate like begreen mentioned as you may be able to keep it from cracking through it a plate was bolted to the cast. As I understand cast can be tig welded but it has to be heated very hot. I've always been curious if you could tig weld a stove when you had a fire burning in it. Outside the house of course.

 

[Niels Brock]

Hi all, this will be my first post on this site, so hope all goes well. I've been in the wood heating game since I was born. My family heated (and still do) with wood as our primary and only source of heat, no backup. So, naturally I've decided to heat with wood myself and I have a wood working business, so I think wood is good ....

Anyways, my girlfriend and I just acquired a Vintage Morso 6b Wood stove, for a fantastic deal too good to pass up. This is an awesome little stove and seems to be pretty obscure model. It is top loading and burns wood like a cigar, front to back. The baffles inside are all in great shape, and the rest is good, but...The back cast plate has 1 crack on each side right along/parallel to the corners. My questions are:

Can anyone shed some light on this stove? It looks to be a discontinued model produced from 1957-1986.
What should I do about the cracks? We really like this stove. I'm going to do what I can to get it into ship shape. If we could find a replacement plate, we'd buy it, but I'm having trouble finding ANY info on this gem. I can't weld myself and am not convinced that's the right fix. It looks like cast iron is tricky to weld, what with pre/post heating the cracked area.

Any help would be greatly appreciated as it's getting cold here in upstate NY!

Maybe I can help you. I have a Morsø 6B that I probably could sell you? Best regards. niels