Special Retort Oak, Marion Stove Co.

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gardener
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Post by gardener » Mon. Mar. 01, 2021 10:52 pm

I found this advertisement. No load/feed door?
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SPECIAL RETORT OAK,
Entirely New in
Principle and Construction.
AT LAST SOMETHING NEW IS OFFERED THE STOVE TRADE.
HANDSOME, DURABLE and LOW PRICED.
We guarantee THE SPECIAL to
be the best Stove for Hard Coal ever
built.
We KNOW it is the best SOFT
COAL STOVE in the world.
As a COKE BURNER it is PER-
FECTION ITSELF.
This CONSTRUCTION has been
recently patented, and will be con-
trolled by us for the next 17 years.
We know the trade is supplied
with stoves for this year, but it will
be wise to investigate the merits of
THE SPECIAL RETORT OAK by
ordering samples and testing the
stove before making arrangements
for next season's business.
Please write us for booklet con-
taining record of tests of various
Coals and Coke to determine their
relative values as fuels, and also
description of THE SPECIAL RE-
TORT OAK, the Stove in which
these tests were made.
4 SIZES, Nos. 14, 16, 18 and 22.
Address
MARION STOVE CO., - - Marion, Indiana.
Say what paper you saw this in.
I also found this separate description (below).

If the whole body of the stove is holding the pile of coal, I guess my understanding of how a coal fire progresses with a magazine above is wrong. I thought part of the purpose of a magazine was to pile the coal higher while also maintaining and air gap from the sides of the stove for the exhaust to escape. So the deep coal pile this sort of stove would have does not have an overwhelming resistance to the exhaust gases?

They are stating it can also burn bituminous coal, but from appearances of this cut away, where would the volatiles burn off at? Way up at the top?
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A sectional cut is herewith presented, showing the
inner construction of the New Special Retort oak stove,
manufactured by the Marion Stove Company, Marion,
Ind. It has no doors, fuel being fed at the top. The fol-
lowing description of the stove is furnished by the com-
pany:
In order to get the construction of the Special Retort
Oak fairly before the reader it will be necessary to first
give the motive for its construction. For years we have
contended that there was practically no difference in the
value of the different fuels--anthracite and bituminous
coals, coke and wood--except their price in the market.
Heretofore it has been impossible to reach any satisfac-
tory conclusion, because their was no construction capa
ble of properly burning all these different fuels, and it be-
came necessary to invent a special construction for the
purpose. In order that the best results might be obtained,
what is known as the slow combustion principle was
adopted, and slow combustion could only be obtained by
a systematic repression of combustion. In order to attain
this end it was absolutely necessary that the shell or body
of the stove should be absolutely air and gas tight.
The necessity of draft for the promotion of combustion
is apparent to every one, and in order to obtain this a
grate was placed in the lower part of the shell, the grate
having a dump and shaking center, with the anti-clinker
principle applied. By this means a grate was provided
that could be cleaned without disturbing any of the fuel
in the stove. About 3 inches below the top of the shell
is placed a false top, or diaphragm, fitting the shell
tightly, and in the center of this diaphragm is an opening
for the introduction of fuel. In order that perfect con-
trol of the fire might be had, a sliding damper was placed
on the upper side for the purpose of regulating the size of
the central opening in the diaphragm. This damper is
peculiar in that it has the front edge cut away in such a
manner that the opening can never be entirely closed.
Above this diaphragm, and registering with this central
opening, is placed a funnel, for the double purpose of
conducting the fuel through the diaphragm into the com-
bustion chamber and also to serve as a regulator for the
draft. This funnel is covered by the swing top of the
stove, which top contains a register; operated by means
of a lever extending through the front edge. This register
is for the purpose of checking the draft and assisting in
the control of the fire. It will be observed that the stove
is made in the usual form of the oak, with cast iron base
and fire pot, surmounted by a heavy steel body and the
usual oak stove top. It will also be observed that the
stove has no doors, experience having shown that a door
to a stove is unnecessary and an expense, and that 90 per
cent, of all the dirt made in the use of stoves is caused
by the opening and closing of the doors in the admission
of fuel. In this particular lies the great novelty of this
construction, it being absolutely air tight between the
grate and diaphragm, which of necessity it must be if the
slow combustion principle is to be applied, which is but
another name for suppression. Fire has been carried in
this stove seven days on 58 pounds slack and a fairly
good fire maintained.
Wow! A seven day burn? I am reading that to mean without tending, and that 58 pounds is one loading.

 
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Pauliewog
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Post by Pauliewog » Tue. Mar. 02, 2021 12:28 am

Sounds like it would be equivalent to one of the small 3,000 btu kerosene heaters from the 70's.

I would think it burns similar to a chicken brooder stove which you still have to tend at least once a day and add about 8lbs of coal after shakedown.

Paulie


 
gardener
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Posts: 598
Joined: Thu. Nov. 20, 2014 1:41 pm
Location: southwest Ohio

Post by gardener » Wed. Mar. 03, 2021 9:32 am

ah yeah a brooder stove,

after a few fires with my little UMCO 28 stove, I tried loading the coal up higher than the firepot, it had a second fire going at the top of the pile for about an hour where the air comes in at the air control in the feed door, made me think about these other potbelly stoves with the load door at the top,
Do the body of these type of potbelly stoves get filled up with coal like that too?
AcmeNo10_28Hx12Wx17D_61-5.jpg
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gardener
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Posts: 598
Joined: Thu. Nov. 20, 2014 1:41 pm
Location: southwest Ohio

Post by gardener » Thu. Apr. 15, 2021 9:46 pm

saw this one out there for sale
makes me cringe, if you had that loaded up to the top and lost the fire, that would be a big job to empty
would there be method to restart the fire without unloading?
are the Cole's hot blast, the ones with the coal grate intended to be loaded all the way to the top? I don't recall a depiction in their literature for doing that.

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