Is this stove usable or a decoration?

I am considering purchasing the stove in the attached photograph but I need one I can actually use for at least burning wood if not coal. The ornate portions appear to be cast iron but the barrel itself seems to be sheet metal. It is definitely lighter (weight wise) than I expected it to be...the height is approximately 4'. If the stove in the attached photo should only be used as a decoration I would greatly appreciate opinions from the experienced folks on this forum. The stove is a Mountain Oak produced by Great Western Stove Co. I would also like to know approximately when it was made.

Barrel looks kinda rough but without pix of inside & sides, rear it'd be hard to give ya an educated answer.

Freetown Fred,
Sorry this response took so long. I have uploaded more photos of the inside and outside of the stove. Any information you (or anyone else) can provide would be appreciated!

Not a problem A, life just gets in the way sometimes!! Where did ya post the Pix???

Still trying to post pics...

Welcome ASL,

Yup, it's a simple Oak type and it appears usable. Should work fine for wood, but questionable how well it will work with coal.

Having the exhaust exit collar right in the top doesn't help trap and retain heat as well as it could if the exit collar were lower down on the barrel.

That grate does not look like a good one for clearing coal ash without daily having to get down on hands and knees and go poking up through the grate from below to break up any clinkers that might form.

Lining the firepot with ramset type refractory material will help it burn coal better and extend the life of the firepot. That's a fairly simple DIY afternoon project.

Looks like it's at an antique shop. If you haven't bought it yet, and if your thinking of using it with coal, there are much better Oak designs that burn both wood and coal very well.

Paul

Thank you Paul (Sunny Boy)! The intended use would be to augment a furnace heat source...likely wood fueled. I love the look of this little stove - I think it will be perfect in the master bedroom but although I have been an antique stove admirer for years, I have never purchased or used one. This one has a pan that pulls out from the front (I didn't include a pic of that) that sits below the cylinder...I'm assuming that is for ash collection although I have not looked carefully enough to see how the ashes would sift through to it. I did go ahead and purchase the stove (took a chance), I haven't seen many like it out here in the West. Thanks to each of you who responded...I will keep an eye on this forum to learn more! Any suggestions on where to obtain the piping to transition from oval to round and go out through the roof?

antiquestovelover wrote: ↑

Sun. Feb. 23, 2020 10:36 am

Thank you Paul (Sunny Boy)! The intended use would be to augment a furnace heat source...likely wood fueled. I love the look of this little stove - I think it will be perfect in the master bedroom but although I have been an antique stove admirer for years, I have never purchased or used one. This one has a pan that pulls out from the front (I didn't include a pic of that) that sits below the cylinder...I'm assuming that is for ash collection although I have not looked carefully enough to see how the ashes would sift through to it. I did go ahead and purchase the stove (took a chance), I haven't seen many like it out here in the West. Thanks to each of you who responded...I will keep an eye on this forum to learn more! Any suggestions on where to obtain the piping to transition from oval to round and go out through the roof?

If that model number 116, cast in the skirt, is like many manufactures used - the size of the firepot top diameter- and your going to use wood, I hope you like sleeping in a sauna, because that size Oak stove was often used to heat an entire floor, or small house.

Yes, that would be the ash pan. And the area it sits in is sometimes called the "ash drawer" (by Glenwood) or "ash pit" by some.

The ashes fall through the grate into the pan. The grate should have some way of attaching a handle to move or "shake" it to help break up and move the ashes through to the pan by gravity. Wood being much easier to do that with than coal.

Paul

Hmmm, good to know that it can heat a small house, lol! I have other buildings on the property and this type/size of stove might be a good option for the ones with occasional use. Thanks again!

Depending on the circumference size of the oval collar, sometimes regular 6 inch stove pipe can be "squashed" to fit. Some old stoves use a 7 inch circumference oval and you'd need to have a tapered pipe made. My kitchen range has a 7 inch oval and I just made a tapered 7 inch to 6 inch short section using stainless steel sheet metal and rivets, with refractory seam sealer in that joint.

Bryant Stove shop in Maine used to list the tapered pipes on their website. https://www.bryantstoves.com/

You could try contacting them, or some of the other antique stove restoration shops. They often have a sheet metal shop that can make the pipes for them.

Then it's just use regular single wall stove pipe from that tapered pipe to the chimney thimble, as per whatever the fire codes dictate for what your installation situation needs.

Paul

Nice! Thank you again for all the info...that will give me a place to start gathering the things I need to put the stove into use.

There ya have it A---straight from the horses mouth!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOL Well done Paul!!

antiquestovelover wrote: ↑

Sun. Feb. 23, 2020 11:40 am

Nice! Thank you again for all the info...that will give me a place to start gathering the things I need to put the stove into use.

freetown fred wrote: ↑

Sun. Feb. 23, 2020 12:07 pm

There ya have it A---straight from the horses mouth!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOL Well done Paul!!

Luckily,.... it came from the right end of the horse that time.


Paul

Antique, your heater is in the 1895ish time period.

There should be a shaker handle nub on the right side of your stove, just under the fire pot.

Here is a similar heater.