Why Do Several Brands of Stoves Have the Word Oak on Them?

is it because they are wood burners, so they burn oak wood? can anyone tell me if a Smith & Anthony Hub Oak is a coal burner? I need lots of info, please. I don't even know where to post messages for help!!!
thanks!

It's a wood thing Not known here in the world of black rocks

An Oak Stove is a type of stove design. It is a cylinder stove that is direct draft versus a Base Burner or Base Heater. Direct draft means that the combustion air comes up from under the fire through the grate and then out of the top of the stove. Oaks are designed for dual fuel use with the design emphasis on coal combustion.
The height of stove making was during the turn of the 20th Century. Stoves reached their pinnacle in efficiency, art and design. After Central Heating came into the forefront during the 20's, the stove industry slowly, then more rapidly declined, in numbers, quality and efficiency.

Now during this Period, there were literally thousands of Stove Foundries in the East and Mid West. They all made Oak stoves of infinite sizes, varieties and quality. That's why there are so many left today.
There are variations in details in Oak Stove design. Hotblasts were made for Bituminous, Round Oaks with a solid wood grate were made for wood, Oak stoves with indirect back pipes were made by several Northeasten Foundries for the use of Anthracite Coal as their fuel.
Here are a few pictures of some Oak Stoves. A good quality Oak Stove is a good investment if you want a durable, well designed solid stove for mixed fuel use.

OOPS I will not say any more

nikonmom wrote:is it because they are wood burners, so they burn oak wood? can anyone tell me if a Smith & Anthony Hub Oak is a coal burner? I need lots of info, please. I don't even know where to post messages for help!!!
thanks!

A Hub Oak is an excellent coal burner. If it has the back pipe on it in the rear, then you can't get a better coal burner unless you get a base heater.

wsherrick wrote:

nikonmom wrote:is it because they are wood burners, so they burn oak wood? can anyone tell me if a Smith & Anthony Hub Oak is a coal burner? I need lots of info, please. I don't even know where to post messages for help!!!
thanks!

A Hub Oak is an excellent coal burner. If it has the back pipe on it in the rear, then you can't get a better coal burner unless you get a base heater.

You cant get a better coal burner then a base burner... but can you get a better heater would be a fair and debatable question?

Hi Nikonmom and welcome to the forum.
You will find all the infos you can get here on the forum. Take the time to ask all the questions you want to about stoves. I did and cant be more happy with the results I have now
Very nice photos Will, plus one from a forum member, great.

I have a Smith & Anthony Hub Heater. Burns coal and wood (although emphasis is on coal). I imagine it is similar to a Hub Oak. I haven't found alot of info on the Smith & Anthony stoves. Mine is from 1912, has prismatic grates, and a backpipe, but is not a baseburner.

I think the Smith & Anthony was a mid grade stove in it's day. Still works very well and looks good. Not quite as fancy as some of the Glenwoods, but heats just as well.

Very nice set up oros35, your stove looks like a Glenwood, what fire pot size is it?

nortcan wrote: what fire pot size is it?

About 11-12" diameter and 12" or so deep. Maybe a touch bigger, it's been a while since I put a rule on it.

Pierre is right, it does look just like my Glenwood 116 which is the third stove in the pix William posted. Smith & Anthony were cast in Boston and are a very nice quality stove. Your's looks like the model size just below mine the Glenwood Modern Oak 114 (or a 112/12") which was a 14" diameter pot. At the time Weir in Taunton, Mass that produced the Glenwood line were big players in the New England market. Many of the others copied the look because it was a top seller and worked well.

Thank you all for your kind responses. "My" stove which I currently have the lovely nickel finial and the squarish base being the only parts I could get in my old Explorer since the hatch handle rusted and wont open....looks mostly like the 3rd picture that Mr. herrick posted. Someone was right about not a lot of info on Smith & Anthony, but Emery at the Stove Hospital said that if a stove was made in new england, then it is a good'ern. My dialect, not his. I can't wait to get it home, but another question, should I move it upright or can it lay down in the back seat without damaging it? Also, if I need a new ash pan, which was square but has a hole in the back of it (what does this mean?) where can I find one, and also, what is the best way to repair the ash door? It is completely broken off about 2 inches from the hinges and looks like it was "welded" together but has broken off again. I posted for the first time as a reply to someone, not knowing what I was doing, under the topic of "what got you started burning coal?" I had my heart set on a Glenwood esp. after reading the stove hospital's info on his website and after seeing mr. Herrick's youtube....but just happen to fall into this deal that I could not refuse. Maybe I can learn with it and move on at a later date. It's BEAUTIFUL, but I know nothing but woodstove burning, which for me, is pretty good. Did they make coal burning cookstoves in the early 1900's, I hope? What do you recommend out there in black rock lands? I frequent antique shops and found a Glenwood parlor stove yesterday, square with lots of scrollwork on it for $500 if anyone is interested. The finial was incomplete but the sign said that it was taken from the oldest home in.....now I forget, but not in Maine. But somewhere in NE, like Mass. I can get more info if anyone wants. Thank you all for being there, blessings and keep the info coming. I appreciate any help I can get and I need a lot!

dcrane wrote:

wsherrick wrote: A Hub Oak is an excellent coal burner. If it has the back pipe on it in the rear, then you can't get a better coal burner unless you get a base heater.

You cant get a better coal burner then a base burner... but can you get a better heater would be a fair and debatable question?

It has been debated here, ad nausem. When I first started posting here about the characteristics of Base Burners, there was not only skepticism, but sometimes outright hostility. When it comes to coal stoves, my answer is no.
There is a growing number of people who have these stoves and have found out for themselves that it is the case in fact. Now the stove restorers in the Northeastern US can't find, restore and sell them fast enough to meet the demand.
They have been rediscovered.
The thing I'm afraid of is that these stoves, like anything else that is demanded and there is a short supply of, is the prices for these masterpieces will inevitably go up.

some at a restorer place in maine are RIDICULOUSLY priced! Thanks again.

nikonmom wrote:some at a restorer place in maine are RIDICULOUSLY priced! Thanks again.

Some are probably exagerating on the price they ask for an antique stoves, and worst if the restoration is badly done...
But restoring an antique stove, like it was on Day one is an art. Many can DIY and have good results and some can't. That is correct but some antique stoves may ask much more work and knowledge than some other more simpler stoves. The most important if someone needs to have an antique stove restored is to have the or one of the best guy for that job, then you will pay for it but you will pay for what you asked for. Having good refferals for an honest stove restorer can save you a lot of and $$$
A stove is not a toy