Howdy, long time lurker first time poster.
I have a copper-clad coal range in my basement that hasn't been fired up in at least a few decades. It's been overfired in the past and one of the grates is warped. Other than being a little rusty, it's in decent shape with no holes.
I have a few questions:
1. Which side of the duplex grates is for coal?
2. What is missing on the damper slider beside the water tank?
3. Will the water jacket be ruined by running it without water?
These old stoves are neat, and someday I'll join the few people here that use one.
Questions about a copper-clad range
- Sunny Boy
- Member
- Posts: 25727
- 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
Welcome Oliger.
The more open grates are for coal. The smaller holes are to support a bed of wood embers. With some coal ranges that did not have combo grates, the switch to wood was done by placing a flat cast iron "Summer" wood plate on top of the coal gates.
It should be ok to run it on coal without water. However, I'm not sure I'd trust it with the high and quick-changing temps of wood.
Any places that can leak air in should be patched. If it leaks in under the fire it will be hard to slow it down. If it leaks air past the grates, or in anywhere after the firebed, it will make it hard to start and sluggish to get heat out.
The "slider" is either the bar that opens and closes the back damper to switch from direct draft to indirect draft. Direct draft sends hot exhaust right to the stove pipe collar. Indirect draft send the exhaust through the flues surrounding the oven.
Or it opens and closes dampers for the water reservoir tank on the right end. You should see that by taking off the cook top round covers and look down in as you move the bar in and out. Most likely that bar originally had a coil spring pendulum handle instead of just a piece of wire to grab.
You put the range in direct draft so that the exhaust goes right to the stove pipe when starting or refueling a firebed. All other times you leave it in indirect draft (what some call "oven mode") to get the maximum heat from the exhaust before it goes up the chimney.
You can learn more about ranges, and how they work, by reading the Cookin' With Coal thread here;
Cookin' With Coal
Paul
The more open grates are for coal. The smaller holes are to support a bed of wood embers. With some coal ranges that did not have combo grates, the switch to wood was done by placing a flat cast iron "Summer" wood plate on top of the coal gates.
It should be ok to run it on coal without water. However, I'm not sure I'd trust it with the high and quick-changing temps of wood.
Any places that can leak air in should be patched. If it leaks in under the fire it will be hard to slow it down. If it leaks air past the grates, or in anywhere after the firebed, it will make it hard to start and sluggish to get heat out.
The "slider" is either the bar that opens and closes the back damper to switch from direct draft to indirect draft. Direct draft sends hot exhaust right to the stove pipe collar. Indirect draft send the exhaust through the flues surrounding the oven.
Or it opens and closes dampers for the water reservoir tank on the right end. You should see that by taking off the cook top round covers and look down in as you move the bar in and out. Most likely that bar originally had a coil spring pendulum handle instead of just a piece of wire to grab.
You put the range in direct draft so that the exhaust goes right to the stove pipe when starting or refueling a firebed. All other times you leave it in indirect draft (what some call "oven mode") to get the maximum heat from the exhaust before it goes up the chimney.
You can learn more about ranges, and how they work, by reading the Cookin' With Coal thread here;
Cookin' With Coal
Paul
Thank you, Sunny Boy.
The Cookin' with coal thread is a goldmine of information! Love to see these old stoves in use. Are there any sources for grates? I found a possible match at Woodmanspartsplus, but it looks like they only have one side.
The Cookin' with coal thread is a goldmine of information! Love to see these old stoves in use. Are there any sources for grates? I found a possible match at Woodmanspartsplus, but it looks like they only have one side.
- Sunny Boy
- Member
- Posts: 25727
- 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
You could try an online search to contact stove restoration shops with pix and dimensions of the grates.
Without seeing how the ends of the grates are cast,.... I'd call Woodmans. They may offer only one side grate if it can be flipped end-for-end and used for the other side. With my Glenwood grates, of the two grate bars in that, I only had extras cast of the long axle grate. I can cut the axle shorter and use it for the other grate. That saved me making two patterns when I had new grate bar castings made.
Also, contact Tomahawk foundry. https://www.tomahawkfoundry.com/
They do a lot of recasting of antique stove parts for members here - me included. They may already have a pattern, or if not, often they can use your original as the pattern even if it's warped or broken.
Paul
Without seeing how the ends of the grates are cast,.... I'd call Woodmans. They may offer only one side grate if it can be flipped end-for-end and used for the other side. With my Glenwood grates, of the two grate bars in that, I only had extras cast of the long axle grate. I can cut the axle shorter and use it for the other grate. That saved me making two patterns when I had new grate bar castings made.
Also, contact Tomahawk foundry. https://www.tomahawkfoundry.com/
They do a lot of recasting of antique stove parts for members here - me included. They may already have a pattern, or if not, often they can use your original as the pattern even if it's warped or broken.
Paul
- mntbugy
- Member
- Posts: 2046
- Joined: Fri. Dec. 23, 2016 2:36 pm
- 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
Call Bud or Joe at Mill Creek Antiques in Paxico,KS.