Info on a Baseburner Never Before Seen...

 
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EarlH
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Posts: 83
Joined: Sun. Dec. 02, 2012 11:59 am
Location: North Central, Iowa
Baseburners & Antiques: Favorite 261, Columbian Joy A2
Coal Size/Type: Favorite-16" firepot; Columbian Joy-12"

Post by EarlH » Sun. Jan. 19, 2014 1:25 pm

That little stove you have is a lot like this little one I've been putting back together. Almost identical construction, this one has a 12" firepot. I did have a fire in it last year and it put out a pretty decent amount of heat. My mom looked at it and said there used to be an old Hotel here in town when she was a girl in the 30's that she would get something to eat at with her dad now and again, and they had little stoves like that in all the rooms! And it makes sense, especially since they didn't usually have running water all over the place in hotels back then. That one that she was talking about was built in the 1880's and got tore down in the late 1950's.
I still have to get my brother to weld the catches on the turns to hold the doors shut, and get the finial restored. The one that is setting on it now is not the right one. I think this stove was made right around 1900 plus or minus a few years. Some people found it up in an attic a couple of years ago and I bought it from them. Many of the castings still looked like new on the inside, but some of the nickel parts were kept away from the stove, so the whole thing had to be re-nickeled. I'm quite happy with it.
That little stove you are putting back together sure is a honey. The little baseburners don't turn up very often, but they sure are cute.

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dcrane
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Joined: Sun. Apr. 22, 2012 9:28 am
Location: Easton, Ma.
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Crane 404

Post by dcrane » Sun. Jan. 19, 2014 8:48 pm

Earl that thing is beautiful! Mine has insides like new, magazine, grate, firepot... but the outside is freeking MUNG :cry:

 
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EarlH
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Posts: 83
Joined: Sun. Dec. 02, 2012 11:59 am
Location: North Central, Iowa
Baseburners & Antiques: Favorite 261, Columbian Joy A2
Coal Size/Type: Favorite-16" firepot; Columbian Joy-12"

Post by EarlH » Sun. Jan. 19, 2014 9:04 pm

This Keeley stove wasn't in very good shape on the outside either. It would probably show better in a picture than it really was, but if it has to be re-nickeled it really doesn't matter if it's ok or not as it all has to go. They don't nickel things the same way now as they did 100 years ago so they two don't match. Some of the parts on this stove were great, but the foot rails were bad, and so was some of the knobs on the doors and the hinge pins. When it got hauled up into the attic some of that stuff got removed and then was piled up inside the stove. And the parts that they stuck into the ash pan (without dumping it) was really bad. But at least it was complete. One of the cast parts on the finial got broken and one of the spacers was rusted in half, but it's a common shape so it won't be bad to get sorted out when I get that far. It will just have to wait a few months.
I got the lower half polished and nickeled first, and then the rest of it. I took it apart and put it back together so that saved me and the guy that did the plating that much money and work. Plus my brother can weld, so he can help me put the door handles back on. Rick did a really nice job with the plating and I'm very happy with his work and turn around time. It usually takes around 6-8 weeks to get the stuff back. I also really like the small stove pipe. It really looks kind of cute coming from the stove. This one is 5" and I would guess your stove probably calls for the same.


 
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dcrane
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Joined: Sun. Apr. 22, 2012 9:28 am
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Hand Fed Coal Stove: Crane 404

Post by dcrane » Mon. Jan. 20, 2014 2:42 am

EarlH wrote:This Keeley stove wasn't in very good shape on the outside either. It would probably show better in a picture than it really was, but if it has to be re-nickeled it really doesn't matter if it's ok or not as it all has to go. They don't nickel things the same way now as they did 100 years ago so they two don't match. Some of the parts on this stove were great, but the foot rails were bad, and so was some of the knobs on the doors and the hinge pins. When it got hauled up into the attic some of that stuff got removed and then was piled up inside the stove. And the parts that they stuck into the ash pan (without dumping it) was really bad. But at least it was complete. One of the cast parts on the finial got broken and one of the spacers was rusted in half, but it's a common shape so it won't be bad to get sorted out when I get that far. It will just have to wait a few months.
I got the lower half polished and nickeled first, and then the rest of it. I took it apart and put it back together so that saved me and the guy that did the plating that much money and work. Plus my brother can weld, so he can help me put the door handles back on. Rick did a really nice job with the plating and I'm very happy with his work and turn around time. It usually takes around 6-8 weeks to get the stuff back. I also really like the small stove pipe. It really looks kind of cute coming from the stove. This one is 5" and I would guess your stove probably calls for the same.
where are you located Earl (fill out your profile when you can)... just wondering because id ask for the plater you used if your near me? These are the cutest lil things though... They have all the intricate details and elaborate grate/exhaust systems of their big brothers... just in a lil 3' tall body :lol: sure makes the resto fun ... kinda like working on model cars on your desk instead of real cars on a lift toothy

 
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Sunny Boy
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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

Post by Sunny Boy » Mon. Jan. 20, 2014 5:30 am

Earl,

There have been, and still are, different types of nickel plating. And, not all plating shops use the same nickel plating.

Some nickel plating comes out warm and "soft" looking, but it tarnishes easily, turning quite brow-ish looking within months. It needs to be polished often. Many of the plating shops that do a lot of antique auto restoration add "brighteners" - usually chromium - to the nickel to prevent the tarnishing.

Then there's different nickel plating processes that affect the look too. Some shops can do more than one process.

If your trying to match up the plating on a stove, ask the shop if they can match what you have. They likely, will need to see a good sample piece to match. It pays to ask around rather than just go with the closest or least expensive shop.

And, you might ask the stove restoration shops who they use, since they want the same look.

Paul

 
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oliver power
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Location: Near Dansville, NY
Stoker Coal Boiler: KEYSTOKER Kaa-2
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Hitzer 50-93 & 30-95, Vigilant (pre-2310), D.S. 1600 Circulator, Hitzer 254

Post by oliver power » Mon. Jan. 20, 2014 6:46 am

dcrane wrote:
grumpy wrote:Anything like this?

Fuller and Warren Stove
Nope... not even close, here is a pic looking at the side of it (It has 6 Mica doors, cast suspended firepot, cast magazine with autoload door, switches and levers and flappers and floppers and access points all over it) and its a legit baseburner that stands only 3' tall) is it a salesmens sample or something? WHERES WILLIAM! :cry:
looking at left side.JPG
That'd be one rugged salesman. Especially if he was a door to door salesman.


 
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dcrane
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Hand Fed Coal Stove: Crane 404

Post by dcrane » Mon. Jan. 20, 2014 8:35 am

Nope... not even close, here is a pic looking at the side of it (It has 6 Mica doors, cast suspended firepot, cast magazine with autoload door, switches and levers and flappers and floppers and access points all over it) and its a legit baseburner that stands only 3' tall) is it a salesmens sample or something? WHERES WILLIAM! :cry:
looking at left side.JPG
[/quote] That'd be one rugged salesman. Especially if he was a door to door salesman.[/quote]

LOL... true that! I did lift it myself but it was a beast for sure... Ive later found out that its not a salesmen sample but rather these were very high end "room" baseburners mainly used in Hotels and very wealthy mansions where servants were on staff to keep them all running through the day.

 
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EarlH
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Posts: 83
Joined: Sun. Dec. 02, 2012 11:59 am
Location: North Central, Iowa
Baseburners & Antiques: Favorite 261, Columbian Joy A2
Coal Size/Type: Favorite-16" firepot; Columbian Joy-12"

Post by EarlH » Tue. Jan. 21, 2014 8:37 am

They made baseburners with 8" firepot's as well, it's not a salesman's sample. The store owner may have used it as a window display though! Those sample stoves are about 12-18 inches tall, but they do have all the parts in them exactly like the large stoves. They made a lot of gravity furnace display models in miniature too and those are kind of fascinating. That Keeley stove I have with the 12" firepot does put out more heat than you would think something that small could. It would easily heat a good sized room or two and if it was in a hotel or apartment building with heated rooms around it, you probably wouldn't need anything larger than that. Also, if you were cooking with a coal stove in a small house, something like that might be all the extra heat you would need.

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