Wood cook stove dilemma

[bluecarpenter22]

I've found a used kitchen Queen 480 in good shape. was wondering how I might install a thermostatically controlled air intake and where on the stove you put it and do I get the parts somewhere? Also I'm getting conflicting views on the way way the heat goes around the firebox. Which is better the kitchen Queen or one like the pioneer princess that goes over the top?
The kitchen Queen is a little bigger than I was hoping for but the price is decent even though I've got to drive a ways to get it. The guy that I talked to that sells stoves said he's had the kitchen. Queen but didn't like it due to having to heat up stove more to heat the oven more so than the kind that goes over the top of the oven. Just wanting you take on this. I grew up with mom using and old wood cook stove and it was hard to regulate the oven if I remember right.

I'm off of very strongly considering the Ashland deluxe would cook stove. The main house part is about 850 ft the other part of the house is heated by the other wood stove part of me is saying get the kitchen Queen and then just not stoked the firebox to full but it still might run us out I don't know. Thanks mark

 

[begreen]

Calling @coaly to the front desk, something cooking here.

 

[coaly]

The sideways burn under oven is much better than over the top, down the side, and condensing under it. Tried both. No comparison to cleanliness under oven. Ours in in the middle of kitchen with exposed clean out on rear. New models now have a large clean out on front. Huge improvement.

Our oven stays from 300 to 375 during normal operation heating the home. Simply close the bypass that forces exhaust around oven raises temp within minutes. If you want 400, I shut oven off about 50* before and let it coast up.

I added a thermostat on the rear of ash pan after a talk with the builder years ago. He was installing them for Amish families long before they were available on the UL tested model with them. I used a Hitzer t-stat with chain that has been working flawlessly for years.

Does the stove you found have the newer 6 inch outlet? Ours was the older design with 7 inch that the manual cautioned against reducing to 6. The newer models passed IL testing with 6. I reduced mine anyway with no issue straight up.

I wanted the Queen since it has the largest water tank available on any cookstove, and the older ones have stainless oven.

Found out the grate is perfect for building ash so it’s like burning in a wood stove on ash like you should. Raking some through allows air up through for super quick starts with thermostat air from below.

We have never filled firebox. 5 or 6 splits is about half, just right for 1880 sf.

The only thing better is the new Grand Comfort with secondary burn.

 

[bluecarpenter22]

The sideways burn under oven is much better than over the top, down the side, and condensing under it. Tried both. No comparison to cleanliness under oven. Ours in in the middle of kitchen with exposed clean out on rear. New models now have a large clean out on front. Huge improvement.

Our oven stays from 300 to 375 during normal operation heating the home. Simply close the bypass that forces exhaust around oven raises temp within minutes. If you want 400, I shut oven off about 50* before and let it coast up.

I added a thermostat on the rear of ash pan after a talk with the builder years ago. He was installing them for Amish families long before they were available on the UL tested model with them. I used a Hitzer t-stat with chain that has been working flawlessly for years.

Does the stove you found have the newer 6 inch outlet? Ours was the older design with 7 inch that the manual cautioned against reducing to 6. The newer models passed IL testing with 6. I reduced mine anyway with no issue straight up.

I wanted the Queen since it has the largest water tank available on any cookstove, and the older ones have stainless oven.

Found out the grate is perfect for building ash so it’s like burning in a wood stove on ash like you should. Raking some through allows air up through for super quick starts with thermostat air from below.

We have never filled firebox. 5 or 6 splits is about half, just right for 1880 sf.

The only thing better is the new Grand Comfort with secondary burn.

Yeah I was wanting to know where you got your t-stat at because I definitely want to put that in. I definitely like the idea of these because I can weld I have several welders and it's not a problem to go in and modify it if I need. I do not know if it's got the 6 or 7-in flu from the pictures he sent and he's tried to thoroughly look it over it looks to be in darn good shape no warpage at all it is dirty somebody well he bought the house and it was in the house so whomever hadn't left it left it still some ashes in the box plus a log unburnt. The surface of the stove top will need to be cleaned but that's not a big deal. I'm definitely liking the bigger reservoir water on the back side of it. Looking at the oven it does not look like it's stainless unless it's just discolored it almost has the appearance of enamel but I'm not sure there. Talked with Ed with the antique stoves web page and he seemed to think it would be a good deal he did mention about putting a hole in the front Ash door with a damper on it would go a long ways towards getting air coming in from underneath which I agree with him but I also like to t-stat idea off the back. I'm planning on getting up early in the morning and heading to it it's going to be a little bit of a trip but not a big deal. He's asking $1,000 and I was told that was a dang good price for it even if it is heavy I will figure out how to get it loaded. I got some dollies and some boards to ramp it on to my trailer. I figure to have a overnight burned and I can just throw in some extra logs even if I got to get up and add some more in it it was going to keep the house warmer because our little gravity fed pellet stove when it's four to five degrees outside is not keeping it much warmer than 60° in this part of the house. We're off grid so I don't like running the generator anymore and I have to to run my electric pellet stove that I'm going to be selling so that's kind of why I was asking you guys. I appreciate your help

 

[coaly]

Post #2 here is pics of my t-stat install;

Automatic Draft Control

Gentlemen, I seam to remember from times past about a automatic draft control available for Fisher stoves, This was a non Fisher part that was aftermarket. It fit on the front of the stove replacing one of the draft spinners. I was wondering if anyone knows about them and how they worked...

www.hearth.com

 

[coaly]

I didn’t weld anything. Simply drilled 4 holes to mark corners and cut with sawzall. Two angle brackets hold a piece of steel tubing tight to the surface with 2 bolts. Open inside, you don’t even have to tap it.

I was going to put a Fisher turn damper on the ash pan door. Decided on thermostat since around here in the morning it could be forgotten and left open too long. The thermostat can be opened and only needs to start the fire a couple minutes before closing back down to the loading door intake. If you get busy, it closes on its own, never overheating.

The stock intake has a plate on the inside of door to split the air to the top and bottom. It keeps the door cool, to be able to stand close in front of it.

We only load through top front lid. Dump waste paper basket right in, a few cardboard strips and kindling, open t-stat and chimney bypass, and open front stock intake slightly. That gives it a little air above fire at the top as well. It takes right off. Close bypass within minutes. That preheats chimney, and closing bypass adds some resistance to flow across stove top. Close t-stat as thermometer comes into burn zone. Set stock intake for desired heat output.

I winched ours onto tilt trailer. Had to cross some soft ground where I picked it up about 4 hours away. I used rollers between 2 x 6 boards. I jacked stove, one board on ground, one on top. With stove on double boards. Pry apart and slip rollers in between boards. I keep a bucket of 3/4 and 1 inch pipe cut offs about a foot long to move heavy stuff like boilers and steam engine stuff. Definitely the heaviest stove I’ve ever moved.

Price is good. They are easy to make like new again.

 

[bluecarpenter22]

I didn’t weld anything. Simply drilled 4 holes to mark corners and cut with sawzall. Two angle brackets hold a piece of steel tubing tight to the surface with 2 bolts. Open inside, you don’t even have to tap it.

I was going to put a Fisher turn damper on the ash pan door. Decided on thermostat since around here in the morning it could be forgotten and left open too long. The thermostat can be opened and only needs to start the fire a couple minutes before closing back down to the loading door intake. If you get busy, it closes on its own, never overheating.

The stock intake has a plate on the inside of door to split the air to the top and bottom. It keeps the door cool, to be able to stand close in front of it.

We only load through top front lid. Dump waste paper basket right in, a few cardboard strips and kindling, open t-stat and chimney bypass, and open front stock intake slightly. That gives it a little air above fire at the top as well. It takes right off. Close bypass within minutes. That preheats chimney, and closing bypass adds some resistance to flow across stove top. Close t-stat as thermometer comes into burn zone. Set stock intake for desired heat output.

I winched ours onto tilt trailer. Had to cross some soft ground where I picked it up about 4 hours away. I used rollers between 2 x 6 boards. I jacked stove, one board on ground, one on top. With stove on double boards. Pry apart and slip rollers in between boards. I keep a bucket of 3/4 and 1 inch pipe cut offs about a foot long to move heavy stuff like boilers and steam engine stuff. Definitely the heaviest stove I’ve ever moved.

Price is good. They are easy to make like new again.

Yeah all this is helping. I did find last night for I crawled into bed one of the bimetal thermostats so I've got that to get if I do go ahead and get it after looking at it. I'm on my way there now. I guess my main concern is is it going to be too much stove for the 800 square feet that we have to heat and then maintain the temperature with it. I know I want it to be able to hold a fire all night although if I've got to get up and once during the middle of night and put some more in it I can do that that's not a problem. I just want the house to be a little warmer when it's 5° outside like I said it was 61° in the house with the gravity-fed pellet stove running when I got in yesterday evening by 11 month old deals with it but her feet and hands do get a little cold. I know you don't have to put as much wood in it and it will still heat up but I also don't want to run us out of the house either when these stoves are purported to be able to heat upwards of 3,000 square feet. I got the stove going in the other part of the house as in what we call the addition over the basement and it's keeping that decent it's just that bottlenecks and hardly any gets over into the original part of the house it is well insulated and it's on concrete but still it's cold if you don't have a good heat source.
Yeah this will be the heaviest stove I've ever moved I had a soapstone stove before before and that was about 400 lb and I think the heavy steel stove that I have in now it's got about 5/16 or 3/8 top plate steel and it's it's around 500 lb but it should be doable. Now if it does have problems I will be going cuz it's not too far away to the Amish in Ohio to go look at one of the Ashton wood cook stoves. They're not quite as heavy and maybe not quite as durable but I do feel those would hold up pretty good because I don't abuse my stoves

 

[coaly]

Yeah all this is helping. I did find last night for I crawled into bed one of the bimetal thermostats so I've got that to get if I do go ahead and get it after looking at it. I'm on my way there now. I guess my main concern is is it going to be too much stove for the 800 square feet that we have to heat and then maintain the temperature with it. I know I want it to be able to hold a fire all night although if I've got to get up and once during the middle of night and put some more in it I can do that that's not a problem. I just want the house to be a little warmer when it's 5° outside like I said it was 61° in the house with the gravity-fed pellet stove running when I got in yesterday evening by 11 month old deals with it but her feet and hands do get a little cold. I know you don't have to put as much wood in it and it will still heat up but I also don't want to run us out of the house either when these stoves are purported to be able to heat upwards of 3,000 square feet. I got the stove going in the other part of the house as in what we call the addition over the basement and it's keeping that decent it's just that bottlenecks and hardly any gets over into the original part of the house it is well insulated and it's on concrete but still it's cold if you don't have a good heat source.
Yeah this will be the heaviest stove I've ever moved I had a soapstone stove before before and that was about 400 lb and I think the heavy steel stove that I have in now it's got about 5/16 or 3/8 top plate steel and it's it's around 500 lb but it should be doable. Now if it does have problems I will be going cuz it's not too far away to the Amish in Ohio to go look at one of the Ashton wood cook stoves. They're not quite as heavy and maybe not quite as durable but I do feel those would hold up pretty good because I don't abuse my stoves

Don’t let the 3000 sf scare you. More like 2000 sf max without opening oven door overnight. The 380 would be best for you, I’d like to find one for my off grid cabin your size.

With box 1/2 full overnight ours heats 1880 just right at freezing temps. Burning with oven door open creates more deposits around oven if not good and hot. Only had to do that below 0.

 

[bluecarpenter22]

Don’t let the 3000 sf scare you. More like 2000 sf max without opening oven door overnight. The 380 would be best for you, I’d like to find one for my off grid cabin your size.

With box 1/2 full overnight ours heats 1880 just right at freezing temps. Burning with oven door open creates more deposits around oven if not good and hot. Only had to do that below 0.

Yeah I kind of wondered about that so quite possibly the 480 will do just fine. For the price you can't beat that. They don't make the 380 anymore they make the 550 and Ed up at antique stoves told me the 550 would do better for me for a size wise but I'm not going to spend that much nor wait that long to get one as they're out probably 14 weeks or better making them. This one's available now and if it's not what the guy said it was then I will head on over and probably get one of the ash land wood stoves they're almost the same size not milk quite as heavy but still a decent stove from my understanding and that's what Ed said.

 

[bluecarpenter22]

Don’t let the 3000 sf scare you. More like 2000 sf max without opening oven door overnight. The 380 would be best for you, I’d like to find one for my off grid cabin your size.

With box 1/2 full overnight ours heats 1880 just right at freezing temps. Burning with oven door open creates more deposits around oven if not good and hot. Only had to do that below 0.

Well I went ahead and bought it. Needs a couple fire breaks and needs a complete cleaning because whomever had it before I don't think knew what they were doing but hey that's no problem the bypass door was stuck but I was able to get that loosened up the back wall has just a little bit of warpage to it but not too bad. I'm wondering if it would not hurt if I actually put some more fire brick on up the wall on it. Anyway the thermometer on it I don't know if it works or not I'm definitely going to have to see about getting another one cuz I can't hardly relax I can't see the needle in it at all but maybe once I get stuff cleaned up it'll help. Main thing I was wondering is I think it has a 7-inch flu on it but is it going to hurt if I drop it down to 6 in as 7-in we don't have a whole heck of a lot of that where I'm from not saying I can't get it cuz I'm sure I can but I figure if I can get away from it I will

 

[coaly]

Congrats!

Mine is reduced to 6 with straight up Dura-Vent triple wall chimney. The manual tells you not to, but the latest passed with 6 inch vent. I ran mine 7 inch single wall up to reducer at ceiling. That keeps the pipe closer to the water tank. If you don’t have chimney yet, go double wall. We open lid over firebox without opening bypass and inside air takes the smoke downward. Cool to watch like the smoke is against the top and is dropping like a waterfall all around the opening. If we are in the process of starting it with thermostat intake under grate open, it will allow smoke (and flames) in since it is like an open fire. My thermostat intake is 3x3 square.

I thought about more firebrick as well, but found we don’t load it any higher than that, so with your smaller area I’m sure you won’t be either. It could help make your firebox smaller, and decrease the heat radiated through sidewall which may be good for your smaller area too. I would probably do that in your case.

There was a discussion here about the strange smell you get sometimes when a good clean fire is going. Almost chemical like outside. Found out when you reach near perfect combustion you get that. Almost like paint burning off.

Using the search feature at top right and searching Kitchen Queen posts by me you will find lots more info.

If your thermometer is the bimetal spring type on the door that does not have a probe extending into the oven don’t use it. The older style sensed between the door skins! Reads almost half the actual inside oven temp. I had Duane the builder send me one with a summer grate right away. I had to drill a small hole through inside oven door skin, but what a huge difference. He told me they got away from the originals around 2010. He sent me a 2 1/2 inch dial Cooper for what it would have cost anywhere.



This is the probe type you want. (not the dirty oven door lol) It goes to 1000*f like original.
I changed all the zinc screws and side rail bolts to stainless, and added steel plant hangers on the back to support the water tank better. Probably not necessary, but I wanted a place to hang tools since ours is in the center of kitchen.


My tank support and homemade scraper for cleaning under top and around oven.

 

[bluecarpenter22]

Congrats!

Mine is reduced to 6 with straight up Dura-Vent triple wall chimney. The manual tells you not to, but the latest passed with 6 inch vent. I ran mine 7 inch single wall up to reducer at ceiling. That keeps the pipe closer to the water tank. If you don’t have chimney yet, go double wall. We open lid over firebox without opening bypass and inside air takes the smoke downward. Cool to watch like the smoke is against the top and is dropping like a waterfall all around the opening. If we are in the process of starting it with thermostat intake under grate open, it will allow smoke (and flames) in since it is like an open fire. My thermostat intake is 3x3 square.

I thought about more firebrick as well, but found we don’t load it any higher than that, so with your smaller area I’m sure you won’t be either. It could help make your firebox smaller, and decrease the heat radiated through sidewall which may be good for your smaller area too. I would probably do that in your case.

There was a discussion here about the strange smell you get sometimes when a good clean fire is going. Almost chemical like outside. Found out when you reach near perfect combustion you get that. Almost like paint burning off.

Using the search feature at top right and searching Kitchen Queen posts by me you will find lots more info.

If your thermometer is the bimetal spring type on the door that does not have a probe extending into the oven don’t use it. The older style sensed between the door skins! Reads almost half the actual inside oven temp. I had Duane the builder send me one with a summer grate right away. I had to drill a small hole through inside oven door skin, but what a huge difference. He told me they got away from the originals around 2010. He sent me a 2 1/2 inch dial Cooper for what it would have cost anywhere.

View attachment 289312

This is the probe type you want. (not the dirty oven door lol) It goes to 1000*f like original.
I changed all the zinc screws and side rail bolts to stainless, and added steel plant hangers on the back to support the water tank better. Probably not necessary, but I wanted a place to hang tools since ours is in the center of kitchen.

View attachment 289313
My tank support and homemade scraper for cleaning under top and around oven.

When you install the thermostat on the back did you just mount it to the shield that's on the back or did you mount it directly to the stove looks like you just mounted it to that real thin heat shield but I am not sure

 

[coaly]

On the shield. The Hitzer coal stove it’s used on has a similar shield.

 

[bluecarpenter22]

On the shield. The Hitzer coal stove it’s used on has a similar shield.

Okay thanks that's what I thought I saw and I did order one of those picture thermostats should be here by the first of next week. It's made I assume in Indiana if I'm understanding it right anyway

 

[coaly]

Berne Indiana. They are built well inside. Easy to adjust simply changing chain length. Put it on with a few links hanging for room to adjust.

Close to your first fire yet?

 

[bluecarpenter22]

Berne Indiana. They are built well inside. Easy to adjust simply changing chain length. Put it on with a few links hanging for room to adjust.

Close to your first fire yet?

Got home last nite and started putting the chimney in. Boxed in the rafters as it was going right thru one. Put in ceiling support and cut hole in metal roof and installed straight up. Cleaned up warming shelf and installed with new stainless steel bolts. It's already now. We are expecting a decent snow fall Tonite and some cold weather. If I make it home Tonite I will clean the water reservoir out and install it. But if I have to push snow at least my wife can fire it up the way it is and it will do fine. I will end up putting tile down under neath later but right now it's sitting on the concrete floor. It definitely looks nice.