Fisher Grandma Bear Restore

This stove has been sitting in my garage for a couple years now. I got it for free from my dad, who also paid basically $0. He was looking for some double and triple wall pipe to hook up a VC Defiant for his new pole barn. He found the pipe he needed on CL but it came with this stove. Lucky for me because pretty soon I’m going to have a new pole barn I want to heat too.

The place he got it from was in the business of cutting stone countertops with water jet CNC’s. It was in pretty rough shape.



I hired my buddy Adam to help me with the metal working parts, but neither one of us is really a stove expert by any means so I wanted to seek out some advice. He started work on cleaning the rust off of it yesterday.

 

So one of the first things I wanted to ask about is the air controls. The left knob seems to have been replaced by some oddball contraption and I’m not quite sure how it works.

Anybody have a spare knobs kicking around? I think they’re aluminum? Or do you know where I could find one?

 

Looks like he got a heck of a start on it... just wipe it down with paint thinner or the like and then lay some Stove Bright on 'er.

 

The air intake is called an air damper and the left side was replaced with a bi-metal thermostat that was made by a few companies. They work very well. Looks like a Sotz Auto-draft, the same company that made the Monster Maul, or Condar that makes the magnetic pipe thermometers. Need close up pics of it to tell for sure.

Intake dampers are available from Barr Castings in Oregon. They have the original patterns patented as EZ Spin. They were available in a few styles of aluminum or solid brass. They are cheaper cast new from Barr than eBay, and they now have an online store. I suggest using the thermostat if the spring is intact.

Your stove is a Grandma III and should have a Smoke Shelf Baffle on angle iron supports inside.

Here are pics of what it may be showing temp adjustment if your paint is worn off a Condar. Both are very good.




If you need the fire brick layout or other information it is in the owners manual here;
https://www.hearth.com/images/uploads/fischermanual.pdf

 

Thanks for all the info Coaly ! I’m thinking the air control may be that first one, as there was no embossed logo on it. I grew up running VC Defiants, which also use a bi-metal thermostat; so I could see the advantage of having one. But given the condition of everything else I’d be shocked if it still worked.

It does have a baffle, but it looks like it melted a bit at some point. Guessing it must have happened when the previous owner was cleaning the chimney...



Adam thinks we could probably get it somewhat back to shape using a block of wood and a bottle jack.

 

It looks like there may have been some cold beverages involved in the chimney cleaning process

 

Wow, that takes some abuse for a melt down like that. That baffle should be 5/16 plate which is the same material as the top. The rest of the stove is 1/4".
Here's the same baffle in my Goldilocks (same width stove with a pedestal base approved for mobile home use) that was my only heat source for many years and my first Fisher product brand new. Still flat and never cleaned inside! The 2 inch X 3 inch notches cut out on the ends are designed to prevent stagnation in the front upper corners. The baffle was added in 1980 to reduce smoke particulate and actually reduced particulate from 60 grams of particles down to 6 for every kg of wood burned. It still wasn't enough for the stricter epa regs that went into effect in stages and they ceased production in 1988.

 

Good work on that stove.
Travis Industries (Avalon, Lopi) must have really liked that style Fisher.

 

The Liberty is pretty darn close to a match.

 

That's a beauty! We had one in Alaska.
Spent many an hour parked infront of it....toasting my toes.
We would take the water bath canner and another large pot,
filled w/the ice cold water from the well, set them on the top in
the morning and have water for a bath that night.
Used it as a slow cooker, also. I knew exactly where to contact the
draft knobs. With the flick of the wrist, spin them all in or out in
one motion. Thanks! for pics. Brings back great memories.

 

Shawn Curry correct me if I'm wrong but it does not look as though you painted the inside of the stove. I am cleaning and applying a fresh coat to the used Osburn 2200 I bought and was wondering if the inside should be painted. I thought it wouldn't because it will burn off anyway but figured I would ask. Any of the other restoration sages here feel free to chime in.

 

Painting inside won't hurt...what is behind firebrick or insulation might last a while...any area that is not "protected" will burn off pretty quick since high temp paint is only good to 1200*F.

 

Just got home with a gramma bear with glass doors . It too will need paint and a new baffle plate. Is a picture available of the baffle. Ide like to know if the one in this stove is origanal