HECO Cookstoves

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BlackBetty06
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Post by BlackBetty06 » Mon. Feb. 22, 2021 8:37 pm

Does anyone here have any experience with a HECO cookstove? They used to be built by Breeo, (which was company started by one of the R and D guys of DS Machine) that was then sold back to DS Machine. DS is now manufacturing the cookstoves. I was down at their shop to look at them this past weekend. THey had the model 420 sitting on the floor. Really a neat and attractive looking unit. Unfortunately, I forgot the phone so wasnt able to take pictures. They are really quite an attractive unit. You can check them out on an internet search. Id really like to buy one to play with but at 3700.00 thats a large piece of cash to play with and find out I dont like the toy. They can burn wood or coal. Have secondary air tubes aswell. A single control lever to engage the oven. It closes a damper and directs the flue gases around the oven. Secondary air control and air wash as well. Optional water jacket and water coil. Warming closet optional as well. The 2000 series is wood only and rated at 85K btu.(7” flue) The 520 is the same as above but can burn coal as well and is rated at 90K btu (7” flue) The 420 model has all the same features at the 520 but is only rated at 72K btu and has a 6” flue.

 
fig
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Post by fig » Mon. Feb. 22, 2021 11:22 pm

Wow that firebox is huge. One less grate then DS basement stove. Those over fire air bricks on the side are very familiar too. That’s a pretty impressive stove. But yeh, the price is crazy.

 
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Hambden Bob
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Post by Hambden Bob » Tue. Feb. 23, 2021 5:58 am

Thanx for Da' Heads Up! I'm glad DS is making them! There's a huge prohibitive problem with the price. That's undeniable. However,after Texas,some Folks are looking hard at spending big bucks on off-grid living items! Could there be a micro-upsurge in the restored classic coal cookstoves of the past? Time and Trends will tell! Let's see if we see any uptick in the traffic visiting Da' Board's "Cooking With Coal" thread...


 
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Post by coaledsweat » Tue. Feb. 23, 2021 6:17 am


 
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BlackBetty06
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Post by BlackBetty06 » Tue. Feb. 23, 2021 6:33 pm

The guy at DS said they have had a surge of sales here as of late. Wonder what that could be from...... Texas, communism, rising oil prices/ shutdown of keystone, not being allowed to live like normal people... nah probably not any of that lol

 
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Sunny Boy
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Post by Sunny Boy » Wed. Feb. 24, 2021 11:36 am

If I remember, these modern wood ranges have been discussed in the Cookin' With Coal thread.

Based on my and other's experiences using ranges with both wood and coal, here are some of the knocks against these modern ranges, verses spending the same money, or less for a restored antique coal range are.

Rarely is a stove that was designed for wood, good with coal. It has to do with the firebox glass door and design of the grates. Two things that are the very heart of the range !!!!!!!

Yes, it's a big firebox, but with it also having that big glass door without anyway to block it off safely, how much coal can you really put in it ? And if you slope the coal bed you'll get uneven burning.

More often than with a coal heating stove, your going to be adjusting dampers and shaking ash to adjust heat levels for cooking, baking, and then back to just heating. Grates that are not easy to clear ash VERY WELL are a curse. And with a low, narrow door for the ash pan it's even tougher to pick at and clear grates from below. Been there with problem grates in a range with coal, would never go back.

Ash pan is good size for wood, but not as big as it could be for coal, so yeah big firebox but you'll be emptying the pan often. And the opening is down low and not as easy access as the antique ranges when you have to shovel out the ash that misses the pan.

Water reservoir behind the range ? Not as practical and safe to use reaching behind a hot range. That's why the antique ranges had them on the end of the range. And it has to be placed that much further out from the wall to not only accommodate the tanks and be able to safely get to them, you also need room to be able to reach behind the range to clean. Plus, I don't see covers for those tanks. Won't be long before they are getting cruddy from dust settling in them. Wanna have to climb up on steps and reach back there to clean the bottom of those tanks ?

If anything to do with heat controls, or dampers on the back side, go bad you have to move a VERY heavy stove out to fix them. Or leave the range well out into the kitchen to have safe rear access and lose floor space.

In my opinion, if your going to just burn wood, it's well designed for that ( excepting the water tanks). And holding more wood than antique ranges, it may get rid of that short coming having to restart a wood fire every morning ? But if your going to burn coal, there are better ranges designed for that, that would likely cost you less. We have several members who restore and sell them.

Paul


 
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Sunny Boy
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Post by Sunny Boy » Wed. Feb. 24, 2021 11:41 am

BlackBetty06 wrote:
Tue. Feb. 23, 2021 6:33 pm
The guy at DS said they have had a surge of sales here as of late. Wonder what that could be from...... Texas, communism, rising oil prices/ shutdown of keystone, not being allowed to live like normal people... nah probably not any of that lol
Most likely because energy prices are going up and the rumors are that they will continue to climb, making wood all that much more attractive. I saw the same with wood stove sales back in the late 1970's and 80's.

Paul

 
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BlackBetty06
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Joined: Tue. Jan. 01, 2013 10:44 am
Location: Lancaster county PA
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Hitzer 50-93
Coal Size/Type: Stockton Nut
Other Heating: Jotul 118b woodstove, dual fuel heat pump/condensing propane furnace

Post by BlackBetty06 » Wed. Feb. 24, 2021 3:42 pm

The grates in this stove look exactly like what are in the other DS coal stoves. It also has the automatic thermostat just like their coal stove line. They have a little plate you lay on top of the grates for burning wood and it tells you the primary air while burning wood is the secondary air and air wash. In the manual for lighting it instructs to build an 8” deep bed of burning coal and then add 30 additional pounds to achieve a full load. So you are likely looking at 70-80 pounds of coal at a full load. Honestly from what I saw looking at the 420 on display, the 420 and 520 are built as a coal stoves and are intended for coal to be the primary fuel that can also be used with some wood. The 2000 series is the dedicated wood burner. I have no intention of buying a modern or antique cookstove at this time. Too rich for my blood, and no chimney to use it on. As good as the antiques are, something that is in current production will likely be more appealing to a new buyer or someone getting into coal heating/cooking than a stove that is 100 years old, has no instructions and has to have parts custom manufactured or sourced from someone’s barn on the Internet. I agree that the antiques will likely do as good or better of a job but most people will want something new with a warranty or the number of the manufacturer to call and have parts shipped to their door step.

 
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Post by ReidH » Wed. Feb. 24, 2021 6:09 pm

BlackBetty06 wrote:
Wed. Feb. 24, 2021 3:42 pm
The grates in this stove look exactly like what are in the other DS coal stoves. It also has the automatic thermostat just like their coal stove line. They have a little plate you lay on top of the grates for burning wood and it tells you the primary air while burning wood is the secondary air and air wash. In the manual for lighting it instructs to build an 8” deep bed of burning coal and then add 30 additional pounds to achieve a full load. So you are likely looking at 70-80 pounds of coal at a full load. Honestly from what I saw looking at the 420 on display, the 420 and 520 are built as a coal stoves and are intended for coal to be the primary fuel that can also be used with some wood. The 2000 series is the dedicated wood burner. I have no intention of buying a modern or antique cookstove at this time. Too rich for my blood, and no chimney to use it on. As good as the antiques are, something that is in current production will likely be more appealing to a new buyer or someone getting into coal heating/cooking than a stove that is 100 years old, has no instructions and has to have parts custom manufactured or sourced from someone’s barn on the Internet. I agree that the antiques will likely do as good or better of a job but most people will want something new with a warranty or the number of the manufacturer to call and have parts shipped to their door step.
Whether modern or antique, there is not much that will fail that you can't fix with parts from the hardware store.
The 21 year old Heartland Oval I recently purchased needed firebricks and gaskets to function. I purchased used coal grates and liners to convert to coal when I purchased the new firebricks from a stove shop.
Can see needing much in the way of parts unless I forget to close down the primary damper after loading and let it become a second Chernobyl.

Reid

 
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ASea
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Post by ASea » Sun. Oct. 22, 2023 2:55 pm

Hambden Bob wrote:
Tue. Feb. 23, 2021 5:58 am
Thanx for Da' Heads Up! I'm glad DS is making them! There's a huge prohibitive problem with the price. That's undeniable. However,after Texas,some Folks are looking hard at spending big bucks on off-grid living items! Could there be a micro-upsurge in the restored classic coal cookstoves of the past? Time and Trends will tell! Let's see if we see any uptick in the traffic visiting Da' Board's "Cooking With Coal" thread...


Speaking with a local stove restorer in NH he said he doesn't sell many Oak Stove or Baseburners but sells a ton of refurbed wood cookstoves.

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