Hello, More of a general curiosity with this question. I love the looks of older stoves. Example link: Parlor I have to assume these chew through wood like mad, though. Does anyone have one similar? I'm familiar with the add-on catalysts some vendors sell for use right in the pipe directly after it exits the stove. I imagine they're one of the few ways to make one of these worth-while for regular use. Thoughts/comments on these things?
Very cool thread...Thanks for sharing! Although not as efficent as modern stoves, I bet they done a great job
Agreed on the personality. I can't help but feel modern stoves are all somewhat generic black boxes, my pellet stove included. These older stoves would very much be a center piece to a room. I expect you'd be looking at the full 36" clearance on all sides. If I had the space and the funds I would be getting one. I think the wife would even be on board with it. Maybe next house...
Probably about 6-7 years back, we stopped in a shop that had an old army barracks pot bellied wood stove form the mid 1800's; (1844). Only thing, it wasn't for sale, it was hooked up and being used on the cold mornings and then again in the fall before they closed for the season!! The stove came from Ft. Wilkins up in the tip of the Keweenaw of the U.P. Similar to this...?
I love the looks of the old stoves but I would rather just have one for looks and then burn the newer stoves.
One house that was up for auction had two parlor stoves in it...one in basement and one on main level. Would've been a great place....but..... Similar to this. One was large and one was medium and I bet both wee great to sit near!
As a person who has worked with metal/steels/aluminum and many more I can say this. They are beautiful and most were cast iron, after many burns they become brittle and can crack, especially if they were ever over heated. Modern stoves use steel plate which will expand and contract a bit better and can take more abuse than the old stoves. Not to mention the fact that they will eat wood. If you want a stove for viewing pleasure, by all means get you a old parlor stove or pot belly, they are really charming. You need to know what your purpose of use. Back when those stoves were made there was no welding and fabrication, it was all casting. In their day, they did the job and were the "Titanic" of the time!
I have a one similar to this sitting in my garage, it needs the Nickle replated but i think it would clean up real nice. I picked it up from a Amish farmer to heat my garage but it was a little too tall for the hole in the wall to attach to the chimney so I ended up buying a smaller stove.
I have a couple. Tried a Buckwalter Park Oak 15 Parlor with replaceable sheet metal cylinder (15 for inches across burn pot) on 6 inch Dura-Vent chimney. Atlanta Conestoga 1880 and a Base Burner similar to pictured above. They all leak air in and doors don't fit tight, so burning wood they burn fast. Wood doesn't care where the air comes from, so you have to damper your stack way down. Antique dampers have regulated holes that meter the velocity so you run them closed. You also have to be very careful of wood protruding towards door so you don't close the door on the wood breaking the isinglass. Touching it will go right through. It's very cheap and simple to replace, but when it's your only heat source you have to have extra and be ready. They are much better with coal. Any leaks with coal slow the fire by allowing indoor air up the chimney to cool it, slowing draft. Also the atmospheric pressure that leaks in raises the pressure in the firebox (opposite of what draft in flue does) slowing the air moving through coal bed. I actually heated one season with the Base Burner with coal when the house was about 1000 sf. I doubled it since then, and added a second chimney so one is used as the only heat source with wood and I experiment with the other that switches stoves out easily. Now the single metal chimney that was put in temporarily (for 18 years) is finally being replaced with a 3 flue masonry chimney from the basement up that I framed this place for, so I'll soon have a flue downstairs to play with.
Here is one picture of our Fisher. We have been using it for about 25 years. It was here when we bought the house. Only used a time or two. They had the 8" stove pipe going into the paneling. It was burned. We took care of that by removing the paneling. Behind the paneling were cinder blocks. We then had a brick layer line everything with brick. Will tell you more later on. Have to go.
Yeah, block with 6 inch round in center for coal upstairs, and two 8 inch down for downstairs stove and boiler if I ever need it for automatic heat. The Kitchen Queen heats the whole place now and is hooked to its own in the kitchen. The second upstairs is back up and the 2 downstairs are for play, for now. I designed this place with an open floor plan around the large center chimney, and progressed through stoves to the Queen which is the ultimate for us. It does more than any wood stove will do. 3 clean out doors will be in boiler room. Floor level now. That would be me NOT showing the world my butt crack. That is a Sears Roebuck coal 2 burner cook stove / cabin heater from the 20's on the left. Can't really take a picture in my house without getting at least one stove in it. And the back of a hopper fed Hitzer parked next to the chimney hole...........