Godin Petite Oval

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Ultralume
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Posts: 76
Joined: Sun. Dec. 08, 2019 10:05 pm
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Vermont Castings Vigilant II, Godin 3720, Godin 3731
Coal Size/Type: Pea, Nut and Stove Coal

Post by Ultralume » Wed. Nov. 16, 2022 1:17 am


Looks like a Petite Oval coal stove… but it isn’t. It’s an oil stove. I came across this stove by accident. It was very dirty. The previous owner never cleaned it. All the air intake holes in the burn pot were plugged up with carbon. The internals were full of soot. It had to be disassembled for cleaning. It took me about 2 hours to clean the burn pot after removal. I took the oil control valve apart to clean out sludge from the floats, internal fuel chamber, needle valves and metering cylinder. It’s actually a very clean burning stove. The glass and internals stay clean. No soot. Chimney exhaust has no odor (determined when I went up on the roof to clean the leaves out of gutters. Walked by the chimney while the stove was burning . To my surprise there was no diesel exhaust odor!)

I’m posting pictures of it since there is very little information about this stove online. Shown burning at low setting of 2 on the oil regulator and -0.04” draft. Surprisingly the manufacturer recommends a draft of at least -0.03” low flame and -0.06” high flame. Seems like it needs more airflow than it’s coal burning counterpart.

The cook top is different from the coal version as well. There is no fire brick lining. There is a “jacket” on top which causes flue gases to pass around the stove as a heat exchanger. The rear manifold is similar to that of a grand oval coal stove with a built in barometric damper.

The burner is different from the ones found in the few oil stoves videos that are on YouTube. The Godin burn pot has rings instead of a complicated catalyst mesh and /or hat. It is a yellow flame burner. More interesting to look at than a blue flame burner with catalyst.

Obviously with the impending diesel fuel shortage and high oil prices, this stove isn’t your best option. Otherwise it is perfect for the shoulder seasons. It doesn’t need any electricity to burn as the fuel is gravity fed from an outside fuel tank. It is Easy to light and can be turned off quickly as needed. Heat output is very steady / consistent. A small flame creates lots of heat.

In case anyone is curious about lighting, I use a small amount of denatured alcohol. I use a small measurement cup. I let the alcohol burn for 3 minutes until Jets of flame are visible shooting out of the air holes in the burn pot indicating good chimney draft. I then turn on the fuel at minimum setting of 1 on the regulator. This preheating allows the diesel to start burning clean. There is no soot production with proper preheating. After the stove warms up in about 10 minutes I’ll turn up the fuel flow. If you start out with too much alcohol or turn the fuel valve too high while staring, the burn pot will get flooded and begin to over burn, make a lot of unpleasant noises and huff and puff at you until the excess fuel burns out (ask me how I know).

It is low maintenance… but definitely not “no maintenance”. I scrape out any carbon deposits on the bottom of the pot after a few days of constant burn time.

For those that are familiar with these kind of stoves, there is one flaw in their designs. It is the clean out T cleaning rod or “decoking rod” found in the lower part of the burn pot where the fuel enters the burn pot. Ideally you move the cleaning rod around to clean out any carbon deposits in the fuel inlet that might block fuel flow. The problem is that the clean out rod is held in place by a red rubber gasket. Due to heat and oil, that gasket melts and burns away quickly. This causes fuel to leak at that point. At best it’s vaporized and vapors are drawn into the burn pot. A carbon residue forms on the outside of the T where the cleaning rod goes in. At worst, fuel drips out slowly on a metal guard that surrounds the burn pot and creates diesel fuel odor. I’ve read questions that some people have had as to why their heater leaves a diesel fuel odor in the room…. That is why!

In all oil stoves that I have come across, I remove the cleaning rod and cap off the T fitting. Without the cleaning rod occupying most of the inner diameter of the T fitting, the fuel intake hardly ever plugs up. I remove the cap and poke the hole clean with a small screwdriver once a year or every 2 years before the heating season. The cleaning rod really isn’t needed. Without it there are absolutely no odors from the stove. Hopefully some of this information is useful for someone that has one of these stoves.

Interesting stove to say the least.

 
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JimVanCool82
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Post by JimVanCool82 » Sun. Nov. 12, 2023 8:56 pm

I think your missing parts from the burner Not sure though


 
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CoalHeat
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Location: Stillwater, New Jersey
Stoker Coal Boiler: 1959 EFM 350
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Harman Magnafire Mark I
Baseburners & Antiques: Sears Signal Oak 15 & Andes Kitchen Range
Coal Size/Type: Rice and Chestnut
Other Heating: Fisher Fireplace Insert

Post by CoalHeat » Sun. Nov. 12, 2023 9:22 pm

That's a beautiful stove!

 
Ultralume
Member
Posts: 76
Joined: Sun. Dec. 08, 2019 10:05 pm
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Vermont Castings Vigilant II, Godin 3720, Godin 3731
Coal Size/Type: Pea, Nut and Stove Coal

Post by Ultralume » Sun. Nov. 12, 2023 10:41 pm

Hi Jim, that burner is a little different from blue flame burners that you normally see. It has 2 rings instead of a catalyst screen. That’s why the flame is yellow, not blue. The Drolet Yukon has a yellow flame burner as well. Its burn pot has 3 rings but no catalyst screen.

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