School me on these antique fireplace inserts. I don't recall a thread on here about this type of antique coal stove.
Back when I was shopping for an antique coal burning fireplace insert, a few of this type were offered to me, but for various reasons I rejected each. These two seem a little different. On all of this type of insert, there seems to be a basket instead of a grate, so no shaker or shaker handle. What would a coal burner do if there is no shaker? slicer and poker?
I have always had the impression that this type of insert was intended to be an open grate when fired.
The insert in the image above, I can see air control slides in the top and bottom air cover, so I would assume it is designed to be burned with both covers on (closed grate), and only remove them when tending and reloading the fire???
The insert in this bottom image, it looks like the top cover may have large windows? or is that some sort of decorative film the current owner put in since it is on display? If they were mica, that would be expensive and fragile??? but at least you could see the fire.
antique fireplace insert, not Baltimore/Latrobe
I saw that no one replied, these are essentially franklin stoves. These however are much better burners than those cheap bicentennial craze replicas you see everywhere. The top one looks especially nice. Ive seen period advertisements of coal models much like that without shakers like most coal stoves. I have a Penn stove coal franklin from 1889 complete with shaker and a complex set of draft control that i'm about to fire up any day now.
- mntbugy
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- Location: clearfield,pa
- Hand Fed Coal Stove: D S 1500, Warm Moring 400
- Baseburners & Antiques: Art Garland 145,GW114 ,Clarion 115, Vestal 20 Globe,New Royal22 Globe, Red Cross Oak 56,Acme Ventiduct 38,Radiant Airblast 626,Home Airblast 62,Moores #7,Moores 3way
- Coal Size/Type: stove and nut and some bit
- Other Heating: Propain
Made around the very late 1860's -1890's ish. Some burn Bituminous coal other are set up for Anthracite coal some are wood only, depending on draft sliders and grates or lack of grates.