Anybody Have Experience With a True Cooking Stove/Oven.

I see these things advertised all of the time on eBay and Craig's List. I did a search through the forums using the terms "cook", "stove", and "oven" and there were lots of hits but none that I found related directly to the topic.

Here is an example of what I am talking about in case anyone is curious.
I am wondering about the efficiency of these types of stoves as well as the fun factor and how well they heat.

I am not sure that this is something I want to do yet but I am loving coal and thinking that baking and cooking could be fun on a coal fired stove.

I there is a thread directly related to my post please feel free to point me to it and because these type of stoves don't seem to be available as stokers then hand fired must be the right place to post this.

John

I fired one up yesterday at my friend's restaurant, it's a fantastic stove for heat and cooking, trouble is you can not install one of hese with a standard kitchen dimensions anymore, you need lots of space around it, the top can really glow red, and once you figure out how to run it, you can have it always on, it puts out great amount of heat, and does a great job for cooking as well. there is a dampening feature to allow it to go all night without shaking or refilling.best of all, no electricity required.

They are still being made and look good like the old ones. I was in a store near kinzers pa. where the sell to the amish. They even had a ceiling fan, powered by compressed air.

DigicamLife wrote:I see these things advertised all of the time on eBay and Craig's List. I did a search through the forums using the terms "cook", "stove", and "oven" and there were lots of hits but none that I found related directly to the topic.

Here is an example of what I am talking about in case anyone is curious.

cookstove1.jpg

cookstove2.jpg

I am wondering about the efficiency of these types of stoves as well as the fun factor and how well they heat.

I am not sure that this is something I want to do yet but I am loving coal and thinking that baking and cooking could be fun on a coal fired stove.

I there is a thread directly related to my post please feel free to point me to it and because these type of stoves don't seem to be available as stokers then hand fired must be the right place to post this.

John

At one time everybody had and used one type or another before Oil or Gas was available Here in NEPA it was a Anthracite fire stove wood & soft coal fired stoves threw out the rest of the country later on when gas was available they used both wood coal gas here are a few nice links for the old ones some are very nice so are the prices. And around some parts of
this area there are some still being used to cook and heat with nothing taste better then when it is made on one of these old stoves my grandmother used one up until the late 80's

http://bryantstove.com/

http://www.barnstablestove.com/index.htm

http://www.goodtimestove.com/

http://stovehospital.com/

"Coal versus wood in ranges. I own a 7 acre wood lot but I burn coal. In places where wood is plentiful like Maine, wood makes lots of sense. In my area I have a choice and have tried both. Coal in a rebuilt range will burn for 8 - 12 hours at a time without any tending. There is no dust or odor if you are using it properly. It does take practice but once mastered is great to use.. If you just light the stove for cooking or special occasions then wood is your best bet but if you heat full time think a little about coal . "

"Fortress Crawford 8-20.
These are very unique stoves with wings on both
sides and the ashpit way down in the base. They are excellent coal ranges
and are pretty good with wood as well. I used one for many years and my
wife has suggested I put another one in the kitchen now. Having the ashpit
so far away from the grates help preserve the grates and in 10 years I
never had to replace mine. The stove also heated the entire home with
little maintaeance. A great stove for the serious coal person."

Both of these quotes come from http://www.stovehospital.com/ which was already refered to in an earlier post.

I have one, mine is a coal/gas combo. Installing it will require building another chimney, so it just sits waiting.

The "stoves " you see are mostly ranges. A true cook stove has the oven higher than the cook surface. I'm on my 6th in 30 years because of a number of factors. I've had a Gold Coin (beautiful but almost worn out), Prizer (good stove), Monarch (electric combo but missed sliding pots around the top), Columbia (local stove of choice, quite attractive) and a Monkey Ward model that was okay with wood but a pain with coal.
The best for burning coal is the Margin Gem I now have from Daniel's Farm Supply near Ephrata PA, although I bought it used in a private sale. It has a coal package. It is essentially the same "stove" as the Findley Oval now sold as a Heartland. Elmira Stove also made one. The Margin Gem is now slightly different, maybe not quite as attractive. Its great virtue is the size of the firebox and the very heavy top. It cooks like the finest frog stove although it is handy to have some dry wood at times to goose it especially when the weather is warmer. We baked bread in it last week and roast chicken is just better than in the electric. If you burn anthracite you will never need to clean the chimney. We burn a fair amount of wood (1-2 cords a year) and a 1 1/2-2 tons of nut anthracite and although I check it every year we just shovel out a bit of black stuff at the clean out. All the stoves make some dirt which honestly is a little worse with coal. As to efficiency, I only know I can rest my hand on the flue pipe for at least 30 seconds most of the time. Best guess is in cold weather the output is around 55,000 BTU as claimed. The draft changes with the outside temp and it self regulates to a large degree.

kitchen ranger

To get an expert opinion about that stove or any antique coal or wood stove.Contact the Antique stove Hospital in RI.There E-Mail address is [email protected] .Phone # 401-635-4896.Ask for Emery.
colt.

DigicamLife, to answer your question, I have 33+ years of experience with a Royal Charm Crawford built in 1901. I have it in my summer house in Acton, ME and use it mostly in the early spring and fall time. It's designed for wood and will run 3-4 hours on a load. Not airtight at all. In my new house in Wells, ME I have been using a new Margin Gem Cook Stove for 2 years now. See my signature for a picture. I burn both wood and coal,, nut and stove size. On wood she will run for 8 hours, on coal up to 20 hours although I shake/reload about every 10-12 hours. We cook/bake with it most of the time while keeping our 2500 sqft house warm until the temps here in southern Maine stay in the teens. PM me if you need any further information.

Eric

I cook and bake on a 1933 Home Comfort range.It is two tone gray enamel with the warming closets above the cooktop. It has an optional water backed cast iron panel as one side of the combustion chamber to make hot water.These operating antiques were not designed as air-tight units.For me it is not a real concern if I do not have a maximun efficiency range,it is all about the management of the range.For instance, I have learned that when you need to bake your bread or a cake and need tight temperature ranges,pick your pile of wood [this is a coal or wood unit] and select out your oak,apple,ironwood or locust.You need that long steady wood so you do not have to disturb the firebox too many times.We have done everything from the Thanksgiving turkey in the oven to those long simmering soups and chilis on the top.It is great fun to manage the fire and then slide the pot or kettle all over that big top cooksurface to find just the right heat that you need.Guaranteed it is there somewhere.I have only been using it for about 10 years but it is a part of the family and can't see myself without something like this.I'd have two or three of them if I had enough chimneys to use them.They are a special class of stove all by themselves. Mike

I have 2 of them in use. One is an antique Royal Charm Crawford in a camp,, very inefficient. It is a feather weight compared to my newer model the Margin Gem from Canada. See the picture in my signature. It heats my 2500 sqft house in Maine and we use it for top cooking and oven baking as well. I burn wood it it until mid December then switch over to nut/stove coal. The temperature on the cook top ranges between 600-700* when running coal and the oven temps are 450-550*.

We have an Amish-built Ashland cookstove. It is the "Deluxe" model. It burns wood, anthracite, or bit. 3.5 cubic foot firebox. It is the best stove I have ever used. It holds oven temps steady for 2.5 hours or more. The stove is self regulating--just set the temperature control knob. Overnight burns are no problem. The stove is designed to heat or cook. Airtight too. I looked at quite a few of those antiques and decided I didn't want to feed them constantly or try to get (make) parts for them. Thought you might want to know about a good stove you can really enjoy using.

I remember this as a kid at Grandmas house always nice and warm, they cooked on it all there life..Never had gas....AW! those were the Days.........Don't think the wife today could live with this........

We use one for cooking and heat at our camp. It does take some practice but we are able to get 4-5 hours of burn from coal without having to touch it.

I had an antique Glenwood outside. Used it for cooking everything that made a mess inside: lobsters, big pots of tomato sauce, bacon, etc. The most fun was baking bread because the oven was super and it heated for free when the stove was burning for something else. It was the ultimate self-cleaning oven.