Birmingham Madam Queen No 8

js humbledicke wrote:it is small but were gonna stick it in a 300 sq ft one room hunting shack so we don't exactly need 19000 btu....

It will heat that hunting shack without a problem,and if not your learning and can always upgrade later on

js, vibes are usually nothing more then one's imagination. Me thinks that stove will do a surprising good job w/ 300 sq.--BUT, I'm curious about the handle/user name???? you said there was a story??? It strikes me w/eing right up there w/ P. Giltersleeve III ---toothy

freetown fred wrote:js, vibes are usually nothing more then one's imagination. Me thinks that stove will do a surprising good job w/ 300 sq.--BUT, I'm curious about the handle/user name???? you said there was a story??? It strikes me w/eing right up there w/ P. Giltersleeve III ---toothy

i was just playing along...no sensitive egos in this home.

My last name is Clark and when Sarah and I got married we had a lot of friends with hyphenated names. She wasn't into that really but when we were talking about it (there may or may not have been a tiny bit of alcohol involved) I told her we could just both change our last names and pick a new one. Humbledick was our final answer...you have to pronounce it hoom-bley-deek...its an inside joke I know, but heck, whistlenut asked. anywhoo when we join new forums we use it as our handle.----Jeremy

Hell Jeremy, that's not an inside joke---that's FUNNY

Whoa, those are either huge cats or its a tiny stove

js humbledicke wrote: im a little concerned the coals will fall through the grate as they burn and we'll waste fuel...does that sound right? the yard we're getting our coal from will let you hand select the size you want and bag it yourself so by all means, instruct me on what to get.

Don't worry about nut going through the grate. It will burn to ash completely. The fire pot looks in good shape. You may want to figure out how to light it and keep it going before you take it to the shack with you. There is a steep learning curve with a coal stove. Lighting a stove for the first time is not something you'll want to be doing in the dark or cold. You are going to love the heat and convenience of coal, Lisa

You have made a believer of me, and the foundries are still with us. Your family name is probably a modified Dutch name( or a more personal explanation that I don't need to hear), and my question was about the 'Birmingham Madam' line of stoves. Compact, rugged, and probably great heat producers. I was guessing that Bit was the fuel of choice, and then wondering where you found this compact stove?

I like you sense of humor....and a couple of healthy looking cats sure answer that size question! Tell us more, please!
What do you feed those cats? Ole huntin' dawgs?

whistlenut wrote:You have made a believer of me, and the foundries are still with us. Your family name is probably a modified Dutch name( or a more personal explanation that I don't need to hear), and my question was about the 'Birmingham Madam' line of stoves. Compact, rugged, and probably great heat producers. I was guessing that Bit was the fuel of choice, and then wondering where you found this compact stove?

I like you sense of humor....and a couple of healthy looking cats sure answer that size question! Tell us more, please!
What do you feed those cats? Ole huntin' dawgs?

the cats are actually not that big, the stove is only 12" deep by 18" wide. I saw it on craigslist for $50.

thanks lisa, so nut it is, and from what ive read on here, a small bag of charcoal should be all we need to get going that first time eh? ive burned a lot of wood so hopefully that will flatten the curve a bit...

neet looking little stove it will hold a nice pot of beef noodle/rice soup...just remember u need to give coal time its not fast like wood but it sure is steady when established...

So I'm gonna pick up a hundred pounds of nut today...how big of a container will I need?

3 or 4 five gallon buckets should make it easy to handle.

js humbledicke wrote:So I'm gonna pick up a hundred pounds of nut today...how big of a container will I need?

One pail holds about 40 lbs if it is full to the brim.

So we fired it up day before yesterday! a couple of matchlite briquets and a layer of nut and it was roaring in no time...and then it kept roaring and roaring...i made a cover for the ash pan intake and tried to calm the fire down that way but it didn't matter what I did, it burned wide open despite all my efforts to dampen it. so filled up the little 9" tapered firebox about six inches deep with coal when we went to bed...i woke up two hours later and the fire was all gone...cold and black. well, mostly black. the outside of the pot as you can see turned white. I did experimental firewatching yesterday and when we get the fire going, it burns hot and yellow flame-ey for a while and goes straight to red coals...no blue flame at all.

So can any of you think of a way for us to control this little beast? It'll be a pain in the tookus having to tend the thing every hour.

Is the white color just a finish thing that can be corrected with a little polish or is it a symptom of a larger problem? There are some brown flecks amidst all the white that I assume are rust.

thanks guys.

js, what you got is a stove that was primarily made to heat water, a lil cooking, coffee, etc It was made to do it quickly. If you can come up with a way to close up that ash door--TIGHTLY-- you MIGHT be able to get some controlled burns---I'm sure that cylinder has been white before---patience is the key to whatever you do--but, that ash door needs to be dealt with--personally, I'd be hitting CL in search of an inexpensive stove that is a lot more air tight then your's has the potential to be-- just an old farmers thoughts

As FF has said you need to seal the ash door up someway. Flat gaskets should work and seal any other spot that is allowing air in. You can line the firepot with refractory clay as well. This will help protect the cast iron if you happen to overfire. All of this of course is going to require some effort and a few dollars but once done you will have a much better stove. There are many threads on this site of forum members who have sealed up older stoves and turned them into great units.

It all depends on how much or little you want to do. If you are a handy person this work shouldn't be too much of a challenge. Or you can find a better stove to buy. Whatever you decide please keep everyone here in the loop. We love pictures and the discussion!