Any info on this stove?

I've been speaking to people on arboristsite.com about my "wood" stove. Looking for info on it and anybody that has/had one. Somebody saw my pics and stated it's actually a wood/coal stove (I see that on the badge on the back too). They suggested I come here looking for input and info on the stove so here goes. Any info would be great. Here are some pics...







Info from the badge on the back is as follows:

Alaska Company Inc,
Kodiak
Blower Parlor Stove I
Tested 9/1983
Serial Number 0300
STL-002

Thanks all!

P.S. I have no clue on coal heating

If one of those levers can shake a grate, I'll bet it burns anthracite coal well. It looks to be one of their very first units if manufactured in '83. They are celebrating 25 years of service on their website.


http://www.alaskastove.com/cms/index.ph ... &Itemid=29

Yup...the handle between the dampers does shake a grate inside the stove. Guess I may have to look into this whole....coal burning thing. Never considered it, no idea where or how to start, not sure I won't do wood, but I'll certainly look into it.

It's easier than wood once you get the hang of it mostly because you get far loinger burn times. Wood is not cheaper(this may vary by location) if you purchase it and even if you cut and split it yourself IMO it's still not worth it. First thing to do is take all that knowledge you have of burning wood and forget you know it.


First coal needs air from the bottom and the bottom only, for starting it the bottom draft should be fully open. The basics of getting it going is to build adequate wood fire (you can use your wood knowledge here but forget it right after ), once this wood is burning well and you have nice bed of coals layer the entire fire box with a bed of coal about 2 or 3 inches thick. It should begin crackling almost immediately and you'll see blue flames as it begins to light after a few minutes. Sit....wait for it... go have a beer. Be patient. Once this layer of coal catches fill the firebox up as much as you can within reason, you cannot put too much coal on a coal fire.

Adjust the bottom draft to almost nothing, you'll have to find out what works for you but you can control the fire very well by adjusting the draft. This fire should only need attendance every 12 hours. When you need to add more, simply shake the ashes out until you start to see red coals going into the ash pan (again this is one of those you have to learn it things before you know what works well) Add more coal, repeat in 12 hours.

As for the col itself you will want nut or pea, the nut will burn faster but provide more heat. Pea is more controllable and you will get longer burn times. It all evens out in end and what to use really depends on your situation.

Lastly the most imporatant thing is to have patience, it's not like wood where you can have a huge fire in minutes. It takes time but once its lit good luck getting it out. you'll also want to be aware that what you do now will take affect one hour from now, if you get huge a fire going its going to take quite a while to slow it down, keep that in mind.

Those gaskets need replacing before burning coal.

Wow...so much to think about. I appreciate the responses. I plan to hit some stores today and get what I need for gasket. I'm a little lost there, which is why I was hoping to find someone running the same stove. I pulled out the old 3/8" rope gasket to find a pretty good sized channel, so I began to wonder if I should use bigger (assuming the last homeowner replaced it with the wrong size and didn't care) rope gasket. I called Alaska Stove Company and was told that what came with the stove originally was 1/8" thick 1/2" wide flat gasket for the front doors and 3/4" rope for the ash door. Not sure if he knew what he was talking about as I look at the channel for the gasket. I may just try a thicker rope gasket. Thanks again everyone..keep the advice and vast knowledge flowing!

coaledsweat wrote:If one of those levers can shake a grate, I'll bet it burns anthracite coal well. It looks to be one of their very first units if manufactured in '83. They are celebrating 25 years of service on their website.


http://www.alaskastove.com/cms/index.ph ... &Itemid=29

started in 1977

Hi Bond1973,

After heating with wood for 30 years I became interested in using coal. I needed to select a wood stove and learn to use coal. This forum has been absolutely essential to my being able to decide on the right stove for me, and how to burn coal efficiently and safely. I read posts on this fourm and asked questions for 3 or 4 weeks and read stove manufactures sites.

I think it was Richard who said "forget all you know about burning wood". I know what he means. There is much to learn about coal. However If you have a good understanding of draft, chimneys, heat distribution etc., you only have to learn about a few coal specific changes, and you will be much further ahead on the learning curve than someone who has never tended a solid fuel hand fired stove at all.

I encourage you to read all you can get time to read on this forum. Tremendous wealth of knowledge here. When you understand the basics of starting coal, coal safety and heat control, you are ready to buy some coal and dive into the craft of coal heating.

I have been heating with coal for two whole weeks now. The info. I got here made it possible and relatively easy to get started. I found heating with coal so far is much easier than I expected. Give it a try. You won't be sorry.