Converting My Glenwood 208C Cookstove to Coal

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SteveZee
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Hand Fed Coal Stove: Glenwood Modern Oak 116 & Glenwood 208 C Range

Post by SteveZee » Tue. May. 17, 2011 8:08 am

Well, I've managed to hunt down the parts to complete the conversion of my Glenwood 208C cookstove (in my avatar) to coal from wood. These stoves came both ways but more were set up fo wood in my neck of the woods. (Maine) I have sorced a set of grates, the crank handle, and the original molds to do the refractory liners. (being cast for me) I've not taken out the wood grates or iron liners yet since it's still been unbelievably chilly around here! The stove was still going yesterday and I'm lighting it again this morning. Just about out of wood though and burning trash wood like a pile of tipping stick I had in the yard and scraps from my alaska saw milling this past summer when I made a pile of cedar planks for steps and decking. Can't wait to see how it does on coal as its quite a large hunk of cast iron and is in use from Oct -May heating and cooking. I'm wondering if anyone has experiance with coal in a cookstove like this? It doesn't have the headroom above the firebox like a well designed coal stove would, but when you pull the oven lever, it's almost like a baseburner as it draws the exhaust around the oven and out a bottom port into a half pipe on the back of the stove and up into the pipe. The firebox is 18"x9" and about 7"deep so it should hold a decent amount of coal for a 10-12hr cycle (according to Emery at The stove hospital). I probably will not use a baro damper on it since I may still use wood during these times, but it does have a MPD in there. Anybody ever used one of these on coal? I'm really looking forward to not having to light it every morning and load wood in every 2-3 hours.


 
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jimclo
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Post by jimclo » Tue. May. 17, 2011 10:37 pm

I bought a 207 Home Grand at a yard sale in 1977 and we burned coal in it until 2007. The lack of headroom over the fire and the rate I burned at caused the cooking surface over the firebox to warp over time. The lids stayed flat but the pieces they sat in distorted. The vertical support beside the fire box grew in length, or maybe the piece it sits on bend up. My firebox decreased in size over time as slag seemed to combine with the fire brick, and I was too chicken to hammer it hard enough to remove it. It came with a firebrick firebox lining, and I only had it restored once. It came with dogear combination grates. I swapped them out for triangular shaker grates, which could be rotated as they warped, so they would warp back to straight. It threw great heat, maybe more than it should have considering how it warped.

 
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SteveZee
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Post by SteveZee » Wed. May. 18, 2011 8:43 am

Thanks for the reply Jim,

I was told that the stove wouldn't last as long as it would on wood, but heck it's already 92 years old! I know what you mean though about those pieces that hold the lids. They always take abuse, but lucky for me, they are still quite available for my 208 C as it was one of the most popular stoves in New England for its run. Those are the grates I got too, the triangular jobs. I'm sure it will throw some heat no doubt, since it's such a huge hunk of iron and has quite a bit of surface size. What kind of burn times did you get out it? I guess it doesn't matter since anything is going to be a huge improvement over the 2 hrs wood time!

 
szmaine
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Post by szmaine » Thu. May. 19, 2011 2:32 pm

Boy, you are lucky to find them. We have been searching for coal grates for our Kineo C cook stove with no luck so far.
I talk to The Stove Hospital Guy too - he gave me the name of someone that might have some.
But he is 85 and hasn't been able to get out to his barn due to illness...eventually, I hope to talk him into letting me visit so I can help him look.
It would be nice because the kitchen L is frigid in the winter and as you know we only get 3 hrs or so out of a load.
Are you going to try them out now or wait til next winter??

 
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SteveZee
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Post by SteveZee » Thu. May. 19, 2011 5:50 pm

I'll try them out in fall I guess. Where are you in Maine? There's a few places that you might try for the grates http://auburnstovefoundry.com/products/ This guy makes grates for several stoves and might be able to help you out. Call the number and speak to him. Also http://www.woodmanspartsplus.com/68/catalogs/Wood ... rence.html might have them? E-mail Justin and ask him if you don't see any. Don't forget that you'll need to get refractory liners also as the iron liners will not stand up to coal. You can actually cast those yourself though if you can't find any. Oh and also you might try Bryants stove shop in Thordike Me and the Love Barn Antique stoves in Orland , Me. Good luck to you.

 
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Post by szmaine » Fri. May. 20, 2011 10:01 am

Thanks Steve...

We are in Winterport. I thought I had checked everywhere but have never heard of the foundry. They are going to look and see if they have anything.
Love barn doesn't have them - but I go to Bryants every year to look at all the eye candy.

Suzanne

 
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SteveZee
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Post by SteveZee » Fri. May. 20, 2011 11:01 am

Hopefully the foundry guys can help you. They can make pretty much any style grates if you have the correct dimensions. Best of luck.


 
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Post by SteveZee » Sun. May. 22, 2011 8:16 am

Glad I haven't started the conversion just yet. It was down in the 30s last night and quite chilly this morning. Sheesh this time last year I had my garden in! Burning scrap wood to get the chill off this beast of an old house.

I was down at my nephews house the other night and he has exactly the same Glenwood C cookstove as I do. He got his, (which had been converted to burn oil) and had to go back to wood. He couldn't find the iron liners so he used a refractory material to make his firebox liner. He showed me the stuff he used. It looked like a big hunk of grey clay wrapped in plastic. To the touch it was just like clay but had bits of silica and whatever else grit in it? He said that as you "pound" it, it becomes more malleable. Anyways, just wondered if anyones ever used this type material before? It hardens with fire by the way. Seems to be working well for him but thats with wood. I always thought you used the mix with water stuff?

 
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Post by szmaine » Sun. May. 22, 2011 8:43 am

Thats what the folks at Bryant's Stove Shop told me I should use on my Kineo C. Showed me what it looked like on in end heater. I wonder how you'd pound it in though...not alot of swing room in the firebox.
If you ever wanted to burn wood in there again it would be a tough job to get it out again.

 
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Post by SteveZee » Sun. May. 22, 2011 10:34 am

My Nephew lined the box with thin cardboard or paper first then put this stuff in. He said that it then burns off and creates a tiny space between the stove wall and firebox. Otherwise yes you would have to chisel the stuff out to replace it. I think that he pounded the stuff first, into the size/shape he would need for each of the sides. Then just installed each side and connected them up.

 
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Post by jimclo » Wed. May. 25, 2011 3:42 pm

We would get about 8 hours overnight, with minimal air, and would feed the fire about every 4 hours thru the day while we were there. We never really tried to have the fire last longer. It was easier to restart the fire than catch it from a few coals. We had it on an interior 3 story chimney which had a tremendous draft. Emptying ashes was a daily event. We would burn about 5 gallons of nut coal a day. Figure about 275 gallons to the ton. Large house, 9 foot ceilings. During the day we wanted a lot of heat>

 
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Post by jimclo » Wed. May. 25, 2011 4:37 pm

This is an effort to upload some pictures. While it is off topic, are there some truckers willing to deliver coal from Pennsylvania to Massachusetts? I'd be looking for 20 to 32 ton.

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Grates

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Ash Pan

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No. 107 Home Grand, Most of the castings 1898 / 1899. Not the correct Warming Shelf.

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Crack

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No. 107

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SteveZee
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Post by SteveZee » Wed. May. 25, 2011 6:35 pm

jimclo wrote:We would get about 8 hours overnight, with minimal air, and would feed the fire about every 4 hours thru the day while we were there. We never really tried to have the fire last longer. It was easier to restart the fire than catch it from a few coals. We had it on an interior 3 story chimney which had a tremendous draft. Emptying ashes was a daily event. We would burn about 5 gallons of nut coal a day. Figure about 275 gallons to the ton. Large house, 9 foot ceilings. During the day we wanted a lot of heat>
Thanks for the reply Jimclo,

Yep thats pretty close to the size of my 208 C although my firebox looks slightly larger? By the time I finish putting the liner in it should be about 19"x9 wide and 8" deep. As long as I can make it through the night I'll be happy. With wood it's light it fresh every morning, so anythings a big improvement. By the looks of yours, it threw out the heat! Mine gets up to 500 tops on wood so I imagine coal will do the same or better. At 400-500 though its heats really well almost half the house. It's a big piece of cast. When I combine it with my cylinder parlor stove, it should keep the oil furnace off in the worst of weather.

 
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SteveZee
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Hand Fed Coal Stove: Glenwood Modern Oak 116 & Glenwood 208 C Range

Post by SteveZee » Thu. May. 26, 2011 4:52 pm

Well I decided (since the weather finally warmed up) to remove the wood grates and iron liners from the Glenwood C. I've been stinking up the kitchen for the past few days with P B Blaster oil to loosen some of the stove bolts I thought were holding the grates and liners. As it turns out, the outside liner was held with a longish stove bolt through the body of the stove and a square cast iron washer that is molded to fit the contour of the side of the stove. It would not break loose so I took my small sawzall and cut the nut off.

After that, the outboard liner was only held by some hooks cast into it that went under the wood grate. Once removed the inboard liner was able to slip under the tab that held it flat and upright. To my surprize, after removing the liners, I realized that the grate itself was only sitting in a shelf like an oven rack in the oven. I had thought it bolted on the corners and through the oven on that side. Nope, those screws hold the shelf parts that the grate sits on! It was the weight of the cast liner (and the hooks on the bottom of the outboard liner) that held everythng inplace. All I need to get the grate out was to unscrew the shaker handle so that I could pull it out of the hole in the front of the stove behind the small front door.

I boxed up the grate and liners in case I ever go back to wood (yeah sure). Now I just need to get down to Mid Maine and pick up my coal grates and the material to shape my refractory liner. I sure hope the coal grates are in a frame that will fit onto that shelf and not just the grates themselves but we'll see. If not I'll have to fab up something to support the grates. Well thats it for now, stay tuned for the install.

 
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Hand Fed Coal Stove: Glenwood Modern Oak 116 & Glenwood 208 C Range

Post by SteveZee » Sat. May. 28, 2011 8:42 am

Cold here again! Almost sorry I removed those liners and grate. :? Yesterday I decided to clean up the Glenwood before I do the refractory liner and coal grates. I took off all the top bits and removed the access plated below the oven. Took my shop vac and started to vacume up the ash on top and in and around the top of the stove. I then noticed that it (the shop vac) was blowing it straight out the back! Not cool! After a few choice words I got an old canister bag vac that I keep in the summer kitchen and used that to finish. I have a long tool that was made to fit inside that access plate under the oven. I must have scraped out a kilo of creosote from under the oven! If only it sold by the gram! Just kidding.

After that was done, I took the Rutland stove black and gave it a good coat and polish. I'm thinking today I'll take the pipe apart from thimbal to the oblong 8"-6" that comes off top of the stove and clean that out too along with the MPD. That done, I'll be cleaned and ready for the transformation and won't start a chimney/pipe fire when I relight with coal. Thrilled that I'll never have to do that scrape job again. With wood, even well seasoned wood, it was every month or so. Now will probably be seasonal at most!

Don't ever want to do this again!

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