Trying to Identify an Old Godin, Perhaps an Antique Le-Petit

 
lilon
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Post by lilon » Thu. Mar. 24, 2011 5:32 am

Thanks for both answers and especially for the effort to contact godin.

The reason I wanted to know about age is that I have a great respect and even excitement towards very old artifacts that are still working the way they did long time ago.
Specifically, in the case of this heater, I got it from someone who had the same desire to keep it going. And yes, the looks also count for me.

But the condition the stove is in is really bad and it will take much time, effort and money (I am a bit short on all as I am a full time student with two little kids).

If the stove was to be found really really old I would have probably been excited enough to look for a place to store it (which I don't have) and wait until I had the time.
But if this is not the case, I will likely have to let it go, ebay or something, to someone with the motivation and time to do the work.

Thank you everyone for the efforts anyway.

Best,

Eyal

 
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nortcan
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Post by nortcan » Sat. Mar. 26, 2011 3:23 pm

I don't know what you decided for your Godin but I found this European site: http://www.stovefinders.com
nortcan

 
lilon
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Post by lilon » Sun. Mar. 27, 2011 3:57 am

Thanks so much for the link.

I eamiled them and asked them if they could join the discussion.


 
V V
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Post by V V » Sun. Mar. 27, 2011 4:03 pm

Hello

I have a little to add to your information request, but must explain that we major in antique Deville brand stoves and do not consider myself a definitive expert on the enormous range of Godin stoves. I must add that we have or have had most makes of French antique stove in stock, but as the major 4 or 5 French foundries produced hundreds of models a piece, it is difficult to be fully conversant with all models... and then there were the tens of smaller foundries too.

We have in the past sold new and used Godin stoves, in the main the Petit Godin in large and small form. These days we sell only used. They are quite rightly very popular, I believe due to the simplicity of design and use plus Godin had an eye for style for many of their models.

We use a 10kW Petit Godin ourselves for the prime heat in our small cottage in France, and have managed to keep it going for 32 hours on one fill once, with coke nuggets. In the main we burn hard wood which is always well seasoned, this lasts for about 15 hours but does need a harder burn for 30 minutes or so to clean the soot away after such a long slow burn.

The next comment is harsh as it is from an antique stove restorers point of view.

With regard to a stove in the condition of this one and in particular the fact that there were hundreds of thousands of this type.

Although all mechanical things can be repaired, whatever the condition, the cost and time are rarely worth it unless there is a sentimental reason to do so.

Your stove in my eyes is suitable for spares only. The visible damaged parts will only be available by buying another and building one from two, and to find another of this model in Australia will take some doing maybe? As an example a third of the stoves we take in are as parts donor stoves which tells the story.

If you are an engineer or a skilled metal worker it would be possible to roll another steel barrel, and repair the manifold and spigot well enough to have these re-cast, at this point it is your hobby or passion as you are spending serious money and time.

Godin as a company are not very customer orientated... in my view. It is close to impossible to contact them directly, you are referred to your local dealer who may or may not be helpful. Godin do not keep high levels of stock, and certainly not for stoves from the 1950's or 1960's as your stove is. So in effect forget Godin for spares in this instance.

I feel that if you are looking for an older stove to use, it's better to buy one with no more than service items requiring attention, service items can generally be located from lots of sources. If you are looking for an antique stove to keep for it's beauty and potential future value then start with one in better condition than this one. Although saying that, your stove does look like a 50 or 60 year old stove of an even older design (same approximate design as in the late 1890's) and would look good as a decorative piece in it's own right.

Hope this "professional" view adds a little to your decision making.

Jamie
Stovefinders
Last edited by V V on Sun. Mar. 27, 2011 8:36 pm, edited 1 time in total.

 
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nortcan
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Post by nortcan » Sun. Mar. 27, 2011 6:27 pm

I just read an article from your web site about FQA's about Mica. Very interesting.

I just tried sealing micas on my stove today. What a job,the stove has 48 Mica/windows. Because the resting mica supports in the windows are not very wide, about 3mm or 1/8", not many place for the "glue". I did try with stove cement but as soon as I put the mica on and press it, the cement spreaded on the other side. I tried with red high temp. silicone and the same result excepted harder to remove than stove cement. I just made a last test with clear rope cement and I think it will do the jod. I put a little clear cement, waited a few minutes to let it dry a little then placed the mica on, pressed it to make a good seal. After I place some weight on the mica while drying. It seems to work good. Having a sort of curve in the windows does'n help.

De quelle region de la France etes-vous? Etes-vous du sud ou du nord dans la region de lille? Super beau pays que la France. J'adore.
nortcan

 
V V
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Post by V V » Mon. Mar. 28, 2011 6:29 am

Hello Nortcan

I have seen from another thread the actual stove you have and although I have seen similar models in the US have not taken in all the detail.

Do the doors/windows have a clamping frame to the rear to hold the mica in place?

Do the doors/windows or clamping frame have recesses to hold the mica piece in position or are the surfaces flat (although slightly curved)?

We use a very fine paste that is similar to fire cement but very fine. On extreme curved surfaces we bond on the back of the door and on the clamping frame as the mica is under a fair amount of tension and moves when heated. Even this purpose made bonding agent will crack if enough tension is applied.

With antique French stoves it is very rare to find a clamping frame that matches the door back exactly, this of course creates locating problems for mica unless... the sufaces are flat which allows you to use a single sheet (expensive) which has a much better chance of not moving.

Did your stove seller comment on methods of securing mica?

Last a note on your door hinge pins.

Again regarding antique French stoves the final original assembly was often tweaked to allow pieces to fit. Many many times cast parts were bent or modified to suit an individual stove. The hinges were often a loose fit (or even very loose fit) which years ago I thought was poor quality engineering, so in the early days we used to replace pivot parts or as your idea sleeve a hinge lug only to find the door no longer fitted.

I think that the final assembly people were highly skilled and made some quite extreme adjustments to make a stove usable (the knowledge and ability to cast parts very accurately 100 years ago was probably not so important and difficult to do). Anyway, perhaps it may be this that you have?

Jamie

stovefinders
Last edited by V V on Mon. Mar. 28, 2011 7:21 pm, edited 1 time in total.


 
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nortcan
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Post by nortcan » Mon. Mar. 28, 2011 10:17 am

Hi Jamie. I didn't received any answer from Bryant Stove yet????? William suggested to use very small stove gasket rope to hold the Mica and make the windows air thight. I will try that as soon as I can.
Thanks
nortcan

 
lilon
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Post by lilon » Wed. Mar. 30, 2011 1:50 am

Thanks so much for the useful information. It's lucky to get professional advice. I'll keep an eye open for a better condition one.

Thanks again.

 
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1garth69
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Post by 1garth69 » Tue. Jun. 07, 2011 4:16 pm

hi guys new to the crew but I have just bought a godin 3724 petit its in a bad state the steel body needs replacing my buddy has a sheet metal roler so wont be to bad to do ive already pulled the cast off the top and carefully removed the fire bricks ive done a youtube video that im going to upload and some pics hope this will help somone to rebuild theres see my youtube just search 1garth69 or https://www.youtube.com/user/1garth69?feature=mhee
hope this is ok garth

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