Just Got a La Petit Godin NO 3721

So I just picked up a stove that I am contemplating using in my workshop, it is beautiful and in good condition other than
the surface rust.

I was hoping to get some info on it, and have already found this website very useful and gotten some good
information about it. I am a bit confused on some information I found though. Here are a few questions and posted a few photos.

-Is there a way to find out the year or about how old it is?
-Is it a wood and coal burning stove?
-What would something lie this be worth if I was to sell it?
-What paint would I use for the main cylinder surface if I was to refinish it?

Any help, info or advice will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

I'm pretty sure that most Petit Godin stoves had a porcelain finish on the barrel, and that would be very difficult to reproduce.
I'd either clean the rust off and use stove black or polish, or get a high temperature paint and paint it..

Greg L

Ok thanks, Thats probably what I'll do.

Just thinking what a pretty reddish-brown it is, never seen a Petit Godin that color. I blew up the picture and now I see where the color comes from.

Yup rusty beauty!

livetoskate wrote: -Is there a way to find out the year or about how old it is?

Your stove was manufactured in the early 1970s for the French domestic market. There were several shops importing them to the US just after the first Arab oil embargo. There is a fabrication date code on the model number plate but I do not know how to decode it.

livetoskate wrote: -Is it a wood and coal burning stove?

On the plate that has the model number 3721 it should also have the words "poele a bois brule tout" which means "Wood stove burns everything". The Godin site identifies the 3721 as a wood and coal stove. If the model number was 3121 it would be a wood stove only.

livetoskate wrote: -What would something lie this be worth if I was to sell it?

If you cleaned it up and all the parts are there and in good condition probably $300-$400 depending on your market.

livetoskate wrote: -What paint would I use for the main cylinder surface if I was to refinish it?

Sand off the rust and put some stove black on it. While the later models had enameled cylinders the older stoves had little or no enamel at all. My first 3721 was all bare metal.

Enjoy the stove. It is a good coal burner rated about 35,000 btu/hr. While it can also burn wood, wood fires will be short and hot.

KaptJaq

So It is getting cold and I was thinking of actually installing this in my garage? Would it be overkill?

Also where can I get the right piping to install the stove, I see it has a special connection for the first pipe that I will need.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

livetoskate wrote:So It is getting cold and I was thinking of actually installing this in my garage? Would it be overkill?

Depends on how big your garage is, how well insulated, how warm you want to make it, and so on. Is your garage a workshop or do you just want to coddle your car?
Also, whether you will be heating it 24X7, or just occasionally. Wood is good for brief fires, coal is not.

I'm not sure congratulations is in order concerning this stove. I've been heating my 1793 antique home with two Grand Godins and a Petit since 2008.

Here are my observations:

According to Emery, these stoves were actually designed to use the cheapest European bit coal available. They also were designed to use peat as a fuel.

With high quality anthracite, they burn well, but they are incredible pigs, consuming WAY too much coal. Also, the coal doesn't completely burn, creating large clinkers (and unburnt coal).

The swivel grates are badly designed, and prone to breakage - especially the pull lever disconnecting from the grate. I NEVER shake the grates. I open the door, lower the grate guard, and shovel out the clinkers and ash into an ash bucket - desperately trying to keep the hot coals above from collapsing out onto the floor. This also throws a lot of fly ash into the room and house. Very messy!

In my experience (Emery confirmed this) the Petit heats as well as a Grand.

The Petit has an exhaust manifold with an upper and middle outlet. I plug the middle one, because it SUCKS coal and ash into the outlet pipe, clogging it.

Sorry to be so negative about these. I like the Petit (I have two), and plan to keep them.

I've spent a year collecting American base heaters (Crawford & Glenwood) to replace them. I can't wait. I have already replaced one Grand with a City Glenwood 12 for the season - what a difference! It uses 1/3 less coal than the Godin.

The three Grands I have will probably serve well as boat moorings (per Brandon - Emery's son).

They are pretty looking, cleaned up.

Hope this helps - Chris

Well thanks for the help, My garage is 24' x 17' and it is my workshop for tinkering on my motorcycles. So it will only be used in short
spurts and I will only be using wood.

I am beginning to feel it may not be the right stove?

livetoskate wrote:My garage is 24' x 17' and it is my workshop for tinkering on my motorcycles. So it will only be used in short
spurts and I will only be using wood.
I am beginning to feel it may not be the right stove?

Who knows? It might be just what you need for short burns with wood. You own it, so you could try it and see ...
Do you produce explosive fumes when you tinker with the bikes? (I mean petrol fumes, not whether you ate beans for dinner.)

Check with your local authorities. Solid fuel appliances in garages need special installations if permitted at all.

I have a 3721 and had a 3731, two versions of the Grand. I find them to be good heaters. I burn about a ton and a half of coal a season. I usually burn at a rate of about 20kBTU/hour (40 pounds a day) and am very happy with the way they burn quality coal.

In France the 3721 is known as a trash burner, it will burn just about any solid fuel (including wood, peat, bit, ...). It was designed for a country that did not have good supplies of quality fuel. It served, and still serves, its designed purpose well. Get to know the stove and you will find it to be an easy to use basic coal burner.

KaptJaq