can you help me with a French coal stove?

 
someboater
New Member
Posts: 18
Joined: Thu. May. 10, 2018 9:42 am

Post by someboater » Thu. May. 10, 2018 9:51 am

Hi

I'm from England and I have just purchased a very small "Sougland No.1" French coal stove to put in my boat. I have been using solid fuel to heat boats for 25 years but usually with more modern multi fuel stoves.

The question I have is what is the purpose of the small hole and the open dish part below it on this stove :

Image

Usually you would see a closeable air vent - was there originally some sort of plug you put in there once the stove is going?

I think the top hole may be a peep hole but perhaps there was a removeable part which clipped into this hole and hanged down to block the opening below it. If so I can probably make something to do the job.

Any advice would be much appreciated as I should be receiving the stove in the next week or so and obviously as it is not a lined stove I need to be able to control the burn rate.

Thanks

.


 
User avatar
Sunny Boy
Member
Posts: 25559
Joined: Mon. Nov. 11, 2013 1:40 pm
Location: Central NY
Hand Fed Coal Boiler: Anthracite Industrial, domestic hot water heater
Baseburners & Antiques: Glenwood range 208, # 6 base heater, 2 Modern Oak 118.
Coal Size/Type: Nuts !
Other Heating: Oil &electric plenum furnace

Post by Sunny Boy » Thu. May. 10, 2018 10:49 am

Welcome, Someboater.

The purpose of the openings would be easier to discern if we could see pictures of where they are in relation to where the grate is located,.... if there is a grate ?

More pix showing the rest of the stove, including the insides, would help.

Paul

 
KingCoal
Member
Posts: 4837
Joined: Wed. Apr. 03, 2013 1:24 pm
Location: Elkhart county, IN.
Hand Fed Coal Stove: 1 comforter stove works all iron coal box stove, seventies.
Baseburners & Antiques: 2014 DTS C17 Base Burner, GW #6, GW 113 formerly Sir Williams, maybe others at Pauliewog’s I’ve forgotten about
Coal Size/Type: Nut Anth.
Other Heating: none

Post by KingCoal » Thu. May. 10, 2018 6:42 pm

interesting stove and question, esp. considering there is a primary draft spinner in the ash pit door.

yep, more pictures please.

steve

 
someboater
New Member
Posts: 18
Joined: Thu. May. 10, 2018 9:42 am

Post by someboater » Mon. May. 14, 2018 5:49 am

Thanks

Image

Image

Image

I have not yet received the stove (being delivered to UK from france).

The openings are just above the grate and someone has suggested that it is secondary air supply and you simply fill the dished area with ash to close of the air then use a poker to clear a hole for secondary air when required.

Its a tiny stove, internal diameter 14cm (just under 6 inches) 18 inch overall height, looks to be from about 190x according to a catalogue I found on the Ultimheat website. It did occur to me it may be a salesman's sample but I think its real. It is very rusty but I'm pretty sure this is just surface rust. Its unusually small which is what I need. 3" flue. Ideal for a small boat.

Bit of a gamble but I think wire brushed and painted with ht paint it'll be okay. Hopefully.

There are more photos here
Look at this on eBay http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/152990376690


I'm intending to fit it in a boat.

I wondered if the ash pan has a spinner or if that is actually a fixed handle. It does look like a spinner.

If it is a spinner then it seems to be a remarkably well arranged stove for something so small. Another unusual thing is the ash tray appears to be cast iron.

The flue exit has marks like it has been installed at some point making me think it must be a real stove.

And the top has an expansion ring. I put an old Dutch stove in my residential barge a few years ago. That has 3 top plates with similar rings.

Another thing I was wondering was heat output without getting it to red heat. Burning anthracite. I estimate around 3000-5000btu. That's just a rough guess nothing technical.
Last edited by someboater on Mon. May. 14, 2018 7:11 am, edited 4 times in total.

 
User avatar
coaledsweat
Site Moderator
Posts: 13763
Joined: Fri. Oct. 27, 2006 2:05 pm
Location: Guilford, Connecticut
Stoker Coal Boiler: Axeman Anderson 260M
Coal Size/Type: Pea

Post by coaledsweat » Mon. May. 14, 2018 6:08 am

That looks like a woodstove to me.

 
someboater
New Member
Posts: 18
Joined: Thu. May. 10, 2018 9:42 am

Post by someboater » Mon. May. 14, 2018 6:13 am

It does have a grate in there and appears to also have a primary air spinner.

 
User avatar
coaledsweat
Site Moderator
Posts: 13763
Joined: Fri. Oct. 27, 2006 2:05 pm
Location: Guilford, Connecticut
Stoker Coal Boiler: Axeman Anderson 260M
Coal Size/Type: Pea

Post by coaledsweat » Mon. May. 14, 2018 8:00 am

The grate is fixed. You aren't going to burn anthracite in it with that grate.


 
User avatar
Sunny Boy
Member
Posts: 25559
Joined: Mon. Nov. 11, 2013 1:40 pm
Location: Central NY
Hand Fed Coal Boiler: Anthracite Industrial, domestic hot water heater
Baseburners & Antiques: Glenwood range 208, # 6 base heater, 2 Modern Oak 118.
Coal Size/Type: Nuts !
Other Heating: Oil &electric plenum furnace

Post by Sunny Boy » Mon. May. 14, 2018 8:08 am

I agree with coaledsweat, I think it's a wood stove.

Like he says, if it was meant to be a coal stove, how do you shake the ashes and clinkers off that stove's grate ? And, you can't poke up through the grate from the ash drawer and still have the ash pan do it's job of catching the ashes. And, you can't do it from the top. But for a wood stove the ash can be easily stirred through that side opening.

And as for that dished side opening, wood needs mostly over-fire air, coal very little. Which might explain that opening above the grate being so large in proportion to the firepot size ? Without some way to control the air feed there, that opening will certainly be a problem for coal. Too much over-fire air with a coal stove stalls, and/or, kills the firebed. If there were a lift-off cover for that opening you might be able to burn coal and occasionally run a poker in through there to scrap the grate ?

The rings on top most likely are not for expansion but for putting a pot, or kettle on and having it directly exposed to the flames to heat more quickly. "Ring covers" as they are called here, were common on cookstoves and ranges. The smaller sized hole for a coffee mug. Middle hole for a small frying, or sauce pan. And the entire ring plate lifts out for a larger pan or pot. They still make pots and pans with a bottom that sits into the three size openings of the 8-1/2 inch ring cover holes of my 1903 range.

Paul

Attachments

DSCN6318.JPG
.JPG | 150KB | DSCN6318.JPG

 
someboater
New Member
Posts: 18
Joined: Thu. May. 10, 2018 9:42 am

Post by someboater » Mon. May. 14, 2018 8:35 am

Thanks for that. It does not have a riddler in there that is true. I originally wondered about a plug of some sort for the dished hole. I wonder if it came with a plug originally but it has gone missing or if there was a hinged flap there.

When I first saw it I assumed that the dished opening was for poking ash off the grate instead of having a riddler or shaking mechanism.

I intend to mainly burn wood but would be nice to be able to burn some smokeless coal on there. Not sure about in the US but here we have quite a lot of anthracite / petcoke mix ovoid fuels available. For example phurnacite and home fire. They are easier to keep going than plain anthracite.

Thanks for clarifying what the rings are for. As they are a bit loose on this stove and my other stove I assumed it was something to do with expansion.

This is my main heating on the barge I live on
Image


Image

Its a "Pelgrim" Dutch cooking stove. There are 3 hot plates and the total surface area of the top is about twice the size of the firebox. No oven. I found it on eBay 4 years ago. Its a great stove.

One subtle difference to yours is that the outer rings do not have holes for picking up with the tool. They would have to be removed with a fireproof glove or tongs. There is also a slot on the front edge of the top which does widen when the fire is burning hot.

 
KingCoal
Member
Posts: 4837
Joined: Wed. Apr. 03, 2013 1:24 pm
Location: Elkhart county, IN.
Hand Fed Coal Stove: 1 comforter stove works all iron coal box stove, seventies.
Baseburners & Antiques: 2014 DTS C17 Base Burner, GW #6, GW 113 formerly Sir Williams, maybe others at Pauliewog’s I’ve forgotten about
Coal Size/Type: Nut Anth.
Other Heating: none

Post by KingCoal » Mon. May. 14, 2018 9:13 am

i'm going to be odd man out here and say i think you will be able to burn your local brickets and or sub bit., lignite and peat in that stove

cut a steel or iron plate to lay over that "spout" opening in the side and uncover it to do just what you said, poke and slice under the bottom of the fire to send ash down.

as for that smaller round hole, you may be able to find a large bolt close to that size and just shove it in there to close it up "mostly"

best of luck,
steve

 
User avatar
Sunny Boy
Member
Posts: 25559
Joined: Mon. Nov. 11, 2013 1:40 pm
Location: Central NY
Hand Fed Coal Boiler: Anthracite Industrial, domestic hot water heater
Baseburners & Antiques: Glenwood range 208, # 6 base heater, 2 Modern Oak 118.
Coal Size/Type: Nuts !
Other Heating: Oil &electric plenum furnace

Post by Sunny Boy » Mon. May. 14, 2018 9:51 am

The lack of lifting holes in the outer rings of the ring cover may be just to make them simpler to cast ???

While the lifting holes make it easier, there's no need to grab the rings with gloves or tongs. The typical round cover lifting tools have an upturned end that fits into that recess in the center cover. Once you lift out the center ring, you just hook under the edge of the outer rings with the same lifting handle. Same for putting them back on.

Here's pix of a common round cover lifting handle. Lots of different types on eBay if you search using "stove lids".

Paul

Attachments

DSCN4108.JPG
.JPG | 146.6KB | DSCN4108.JPG
DSCN4109.JPG
.JPG | 143.2KB | DSCN4109.JPG

 
someboater
New Member
Posts: 18
Joined: Thu. May. 10, 2018 9:42 am

Post by someboater » Mon. May. 14, 2018 10:51 am

That's a very nice lifter handle. I made my own one out of steel plate. Not beautiful but functional.

 
someboater
New Member
Posts: 18
Joined: Thu. May. 10, 2018 9:42 am

Post by someboater » Mon. May. 14, 2018 11:04 am

This is another French stove on eBay UK (a "Godin") which has a similar opening.

Image

I asked the seller how they controlled the air and they said by letting the opening get blocked with ash (wood burning). However in the picture it does look to me like there was some sort of removable plug because there is significant rusting around a defined area.

 
franco b
Site Moderator
Posts: 11416
Joined: Wed. Nov. 05, 2008 5:11 pm
Location: Kent CT
Hand Fed Coal Stove: V ermont Castings 2310, Franco Belge 262
Baseburners & Antiques: Glenwood Modern Oak 114
Coal Size/Type: nut and pea

Post by franco b » Mon. May. 14, 2018 11:16 am

The rust colored area denotes higher heat in that area, too high for stove polish to adhere. The suspicion is that heat was controlled by adding more or less fuel, or by letting ash accumulate.. Air wide open all the time.

 
KingCoal
Member
Posts: 4837
Joined: Wed. Apr. 03, 2013 1:24 pm
Location: Elkhart county, IN.
Hand Fed Coal Stove: 1 comforter stove works all iron coal box stove, seventies.
Baseburners & Antiques: 2014 DTS C17 Base Burner, GW #6, GW 113 formerly Sir Williams, maybe others at Pauliewog’s I’ve forgotten about
Coal Size/Type: Nut Anth.
Other Heating: none

Post by KingCoal » Mon. May. 14, 2018 2:29 pm

ah, so the round hole is the riddling access above the grate and the spout is primary under the grate. meaning the "nob" on the ash pan is likely just a handle.

still think he can burn his local stuff and control the primary with a flat plate laid over the "spout"

steve


Post Reply

Return to “Antiques, Baseburners, Kitchen Stoves, Restorations & Modern Reproductions”