Cook Stove Code- Is It Different?

I keep seeing photos of cook stoves put in between counter tops and other appliances and right against walls and so on.

Do coal/wood cook stoves fall under a different code? I would imagine a lot of them were built like modern stoves, insulation wise. This could mean that it would be easier for me to fit a cook stove in my kitchen rather than a hand fed heating stove code wise at least.

Hello! I have an old cookstove hooked up in my house and according to my insurance agent, they should be installed with the same clearances as a normal stove. I grew up with a cookstove and many poeple I know still have them and I know most of them are not installed to code. I've seen many of them huddled up next to a cabinet or wall. They have been burning these stoves for years this way. The side opposite of the firebox doesn't get very hot on the cookstoves I've been around, but the firebox side and the back where the pipe connects can get pretty warm. In my opinion, its like anything, you use your head and you'll be fine. My stove is not installed to code as far as clearnaces go. My stove is too close to the wall behind the stove. I put up a sheetmetal shield with an airspace to be on the safe side. I've burned the stove really hot a couple of times to see how hot it got behind the shield and the wall was fine. It wasn't hot at all. Now if a person had a chimney that was creosoted up from burning wet wood and you got a good chimney fire going, I could see where you could maybe get something hot enough to cause a problem, but with normal burning I don't think anything would ever happen. These stoves usually are not airtight enough to not burn clean. When I've cleaned my parents cookstove chimney, "which they've had ever since I can remember" , and my chimney, they've always been really clean. All I've ever cleaned out of them is some soot. We've always burned dry wood also. Just my 2 cents..
Ben

Thanks Ben I appreciate your take on cook stoves. I guess as far as insurence goes some things could be grandfathered, if the stove was "already there" . I see that they still make wood burning stoves and they seem to be more popular over seas still than here. I am still debating on what to do in my kitchen because I don't want to waste space by just putting a heater in there. In my mind a cook stove, whether it be coal or wood, is more practical. Can't say my wife thinks the same, but I'll win this argument in the end . I may be worrying to much but I do worry about safety. When I first started burning my coal stove, I was afraid to leave the house and I worried all night. Now I am more at ease with it but I still keep my caution up.

When I first started burning my coal stove, I was afraid to leave the house and I worried all night. Now I am more at ease with it but I still keep my caution up.

I used to do the same.. came home from work expecting to see a pile of smoking half burned wood rather then my house. I've gotten over it though and just consider the stove just like my (now unused) furnace; perfectly safe to leave along if you've taken all the right precautions.

http://www.hergom.com/GBR/m/9/Products/Productos/ ... egoria-g23

Look at those. Now by non specific wood/coal stove standards those stoves don't meet code. The only reason I care about code is insurance and somewhat safety but if theirs a way to put a cook stove up against the wall and between counter tops , im all about it. I wouldn't mind one of these new stoves.

Smokeyja wrote:http://www.hergom.com/GBR/m/9/Products/Productos/ ... egoria-g23

Look at those. Now by non specific wood/coal stove standards those stoves don't meet code. The only reason I care about code is insurance and somewhat safety but if theirs a way to put a cook stove up against the wall and between counter tops , im all about it. I wouldn't mind one of these new stoves.

You might find an antique from the 1940s that is insulated well enough to be closer to inflamables
but there is still the smoke pipe. It would also have to be a combination stove because I don't think it would be comfortable in the summer.

Smokeyja wrote:Thanks Ben I appreciate your take on cook stoves. I guess as far as insurence goes some things could be grandfathered, if the stove was "already there" . I see that they still make wood burning stoves and they seem to be more popular over seas still than here. I am still debating on what to do in my kitchen because I don't want to waste space by just putting a heater in there. In my mind a cook stove, whether it be coal or wood, is more practical. Can't say my wife thinks the same, but I'll win this argument in the end . I may be worrying to much but I do worry about safety. When I first started burning my coal stove, I was afraid to leave the house and I worried all night. Now I am more at ease with it but I still keep my caution up.

Smokeyja, I used to heat my house entirely with the cookstove. It did the job, but I had to feed it constantly. I was burning wood then. I now burn coal in mine occasisionally in the spring and fall when the temps are warmer. I have found that its a lot nicer burning coal in it. One thing I would suggest if you decide on a cookstove is to have a bucket of sand or ash handy when burning coal for the first time. The first time I tried coal in mine I almost had a runaway. I had the MPD closed and all air closed on the stove, but being an older stove, it is not airtight! It kept getting hotter and hotter. I finally went out to my kids sandbox and got a bucket of sand and covered up the fire some to slow it down. I've learned to keep a good bed of ash on my grates when I burn coal now. I still keep my sand handy though. Alot of people come to our house and see the old cookstove and can't believe that its something we use. But we do. Alot of times in the spring we'll have a bad snow/ice storm and loose power for a week or so. Our kitchen stove is electric and our generator is not large enough to run our stove so we use the cookstove. They cook real nice once you figure out where to put your pots for the right heat. When we heated exclusively with our cookstove, we cooked all our meals on it. It ended up saving us quite a bit of electricity. We could definitely tell the difference on our elec. bills.

Smokeyja wrote:http://www.hergom.com/GBR/m/9/Products/Productos/ ... egoria-g23

Look at those. Now by non specific wood/coal stove standards those stoves don't meet code. The only reason I care about code is insurance and somewhat safety but if theirs a way to put a cook stove up against the wall and between counter tops , im all about it. I wouldn't mind one of these new stoves.

Wow! Those are nice looking stoves!

bverwolf wrote:

Smokeyja wrote:Thanks Ben I appreciate your take on cook stoves. I guess as far as insurence goes some things could be grandfathered, if the stove was "already there" . I see that they still make wood burning stoves and they seem to be more popular over seas still than here. I am still debating on what to do in my kitchen because I don't want to waste space by just putting a heater in there. In my mind a cook stove, whether it be coal or wood, is more practical. Can't say my wife thinks the same, but I'll win this argument in the end . I may be worrying to much but I do worry about safety. When I first started burning my coal stove, I was afraid to leave the house and I worried all night. Now I am more at ease with it but I still keep my caution up.

Smokeyja, I used to heat my house entirely with the cookstove. It did the job, but I had to feed it constantly. I was burning wood then. I now burn coal in mine occasisionally in the spring and fall when the temps are warmer. I have found that its a lot nicer burning coal in it. One thing I would suggest if you decide on a cookstove is to have a bucket of sand or ash handy when burning coal for the first time. The first time I tried coal in mine I almost had a runaway. I had the MPD closed and all air closed on the stove, but being an older stove, it is not airtight! It kept getting hotter and hotter. I finally went out to my kids sandbox and got a bucket of sand and covered up the fire some to slow it down. I've learned to keep a good bed of ash on my grates when I burn coal now. I still keep my sand handy though. Alot of people come to our house and see the old cookstove and can't believe that its something we use. But we do. Alot of times in the spring we'll have a bad snow/ice storm and loose power for a week or so. Our kitchen stove is electric and our generator is not large enough to run our stove so we use the cookstove. They cook real nice once you figure out where to put your pots for the right heat. When we heated exclusively with our cookstove, we cooked all our meals on it. It ended up saving us quite a bit of electricity. We could definitely tell the difference on our elec. bills.

I did learn the ash trick a little while baack when I over fired the stove with bit coal. I have the coal and wood burning down pretty well now but wood and bit coal sure are harder to wrangle in vs. predictable and steady anthracite. But the anthracite is in it for the long haul and who wants the smell of bit coal when your cooking food? I have a lifetime of wood supply sense the hurricane hit me hard so I really want a cook stove to use. Haven't sold the wife on it though. I have to make more money or something and then I can do whatever I want lol. I hear all these wonderful cook stove stories of the good foods that come from them. The coolest thing I saw was around Luppitt, Devon England in an old country home. It was a Rayburn hooked to water lines that heated the water to the radiators around the house. So they would cook on it while eating the house, so cool! For some reason England seems more country than the US "country" I think it's because they protect their country side as where we Americans like to push our cities out until everything is a Walmart parking lot.