Newbie With "Retort Peninsular No214"

Hi there new member here, been looking around this site for a few months now.
I came I to burning coal last winter in my very small pottbelly stove in my garage
And I have fallen in love with the burn time, heat output, and clean burn of coal.
I'm located in south central Wisconsin and have sourced bituminous and anthracite
Coal. I just picked up this very clean stove off Craigslist, and it appears very restore able.
I have looked online everywhere and cannot find any information on this stove and it's
History. It says "retort peninsular NO214" on the top loading door.
There is a draft slider on the rear of the stove at the flue outlet, it's broken.
I plan to disassemble and reseal/repaint/restore the stove and use it to burn coal in my home.
Hoping someone can point me in the right direction as to what I have, it's rough value, and where I can find and parts? I paid 300$ everything is there, even the ashpan! The nickel is shiny, and finial is clean. Thanks, I will post more pics soon

NIce looking stove tt. My knowledge of this type of stove is limited to a few Glenwood models so I can't really help you. Be patient and someone will eventually shed some light on the subject. I'd love to see some photos of the interior of the stove. I'm sure you'll have it going this winter and will love it. Welcome to the forum and thanks for sharing the photos.

PS. You might try typing "Peninsular" into the search feature at the top right of this page. Might find something there!

Here's some more pics

tb, how come in all your pix, ya got that poor stove layin on her side??? Must be one of them thar not so smart phones Sounds/looks like a fun project ya got there my friend:)

funny, yea my smartphone uploaded my pictures out of rotation. still more reliable than my laptop..... thank you apple

anyone have any input as the vent on top of the stove with the pipe that leads down into the firepot area? for better combustion of volatiles? very unique! definitely looks like it was designed for coal, based on the draft controls and shaker grate. any clue what size coal would suit this best? (stove/nut/pea) thanks again to everyone

Me suspects NUT coal maybe with a mix of stove size--I'd run with nut initally

anyone have any input as the vent on top of the stove with the pipe that leads down into the firepot area?

That's the Magazine [sorta like a hopper], you keep it loaded from the top onto an existing fire, and when fire settles or you shake it down more coal is added by gravity.

Kind of a narrow tube for a mag ??? Looks like being that narrow, it could be prone to bridging ????

And, I've never seen a mag lid with a damper in it. Plus, I thought air being able to feed into the top of a mag was dangerous because the coal could then burn up inside the mag tube ?

I noticed the secondary air damper in the loading door is a bit small-ish looking. Could that tube be some kind of additional secondary air tube for bit coal, to feed air directly over the top of the fire ?

That high up in the stove, you should be ok using 1/8 inch plate steel to replace that broken sliding check damper in the pipe collar.

Paul

The vertical pipe is a hot blast feature intended for bituminous coal burning, but can also help burn gasses with hard coal. Depending on how the damper at the top of the stove is set it will feed more or less heated air above the fire.

Would also be good with wood.

Forget the check damper in then smoke collar. You could close it off with furnace cement.

Sunny Boy wrote:Kind of a narrow tube for a mag ??? Looks like being that narrow, it could be prone to bridging ????

And, I've never seen a mag lid with a damper in it. Plus, I thought air being able to feed into the top of a mag was dangerous because the coal could then burn up inside the mag tube ?

I noticed the secondary air damper in the loading door is a bit small-ish looking. Could that tube be some kind of additional secondary air tube for bit coal, to feed air directly over the top of the fire ?

Paul

By golly, I think you have it,Sunny.

I was having second thought bout the Magazine myself.
This is like the Cole Hot Blast stove...and is really a Bit. Stove.

Thanks Sunny

Here's previously posted Cole's info:

Help for a NOB?

Help for a NOB?

awesome news guys that's what I thought!, I have bituminous coal available pretty cheap about 40 miles from me about 130$ a ton. bagged anthracite is about 370$ a ton. now I just need to find a sourch for sheet metal to repair the stove barrel and im good to go! still haven't been able to find any info on the internet or pictures of a stove like mine anywhere! bought the stove from an old couple moving into a assisted living home, stove has been used for decoration for the better part of 40 years I guess, and has not been restored. Very excited to be the new owner.

franco b wrote:The vertical pipe is a hot blast feature intended for bituminous coal burning, but can also help burn gasses with hard coal. Depending on how the damper at the top of the stove is set it will feed more or less heated air above the fire.

Would also be good with wood.

Forget the check damper in then smoke collar. You could close it off with furnace cement.

Franco,

I think it would be a good idea to fix the check damper. If his set up has a strong draft, or if he wants to run a wood fire, it could come in very handy to help control and slow down the burn rate. And with it fixed and operating, he has the option of using it, or not.

Once I found out how affective the check damper in my range is (thanks to a mano gauge) I use it a lot now. Wish I had known about how well it worked back when I was also burning wood in the shoulder months. I'd have had better control over how often I had to throw more wood in !

Paul

McGiever wrote:

Sunny Boy wrote:Kind of a narrow tube for a mag ??? Looks like being that narrow, it could be prone to bridging ????

And, I've never seen a mag lid with a damper in it. Plus, I thought air being able to feed into the top of a mag was dangerous because the coal could then burn up inside the mag tube ?

I noticed the secondary air damper in the loading door is a bit small-ish looking. Could that tube be some kind of additional secondary air tube for bit coal, to feed air directly over the top of the fire ?

Paul

By golly, I think you have it,Sunny.

I was having second thought bout the Magazine myself.
This is like the Cole Hot Blast stove...and is really a Bit. Stove.

Thanks Sunny

Here's previously posted Cole's info:

Help for a NOB?

Help for a NOB?

Elementary my Dear Watson !

Actually, more like some lucky guess work, . . . but I always wanted to say that !

Paul

"mano gauge", like what used to measure propane flow when setting up a propane burner? is this something inexpensive? definitely want to fix the check damper, just not sure how ill go about it, im hoping someone will chime in with some parts....? love this forum, great stuff here.

Sunny Boy wrote: I think it would be a good idea to fix the check damper. If his set up has a strong draft, or if he wants to run a wood fire, it could come in very handy to help control and slow down the burn rate. And with it fixed and operating, he has the option of using it, or not.

I just think it too potentially dangerous. Very few will be aware to the degree that you are.