Union Stove Works Invader 2 Parlour Coal Stove

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badlegdave
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Post by badlegdave » Mon. Sep. 30, 2013 11:09 pm

wsherrick. Thank you for your encouragement. I would like to draw upon your experience with the thought of restoring the stove myself. If I were to decide to consider restoration by others might you have a source that you would recommend? Any budget thought on such an undertaking? You mention my stove is of high quality (providing it is not toasted beyond what we have seen already). Any sense of its value presently as opposed to fully restored?
I did listen to you very carefully.


 
franco b
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Post by franco b » Tue. Oct. 01, 2013 10:19 am

badlegdave wrote:Also, should I not try to use it as a small wood stove until then?
Burning wood will smoke up your mica windows which is why many use charcoal to light the coal rather than wood.

We have a warm spell now so it is a good time to see if you have draft. Light a piece of newspaper to test. If draft is good meaning it needs no warm up but exhausts right away, then coal is OK. Be sure to have a CO detector. If the ash door is not tight you will not have the control of the fire you want.

 
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badlegdave
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Post by badlegdave » Tue. Oct. 01, 2013 10:56 am

The ash door does not pass the slip the dollar bill test. I took the door off and notice (as my eye sight purceived) that one pin might not have been plumb. Can you suggest what I could do to tighten it?

 
franco b
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Post by franco b » Tue. Oct. 01, 2013 11:28 am

The easiest way to make a close to perfect fit is buy a tube of Permatex hi temp red silicon gasket maker (under $4 at Walmart). Cover the ash chamber face with a sheet of wax paper and then apply a bead of the gasket maker to the door flange after first wire brushing it to make it clean. Close the door and wipe off any excess and let set. When set remove the wax paper and the fit will be perfect. Check from time to time to see how it is holding up.

Didn't I read from one of Coalnewbewbe's posts that there was some sort of adjustment there?

Also I don't quite understand a pin being out of plumb. Do you mean bent?

You might also find at a stove store a type of fiberglass gasket intended for glass that is two very thin strips separated by a sticky backing. One of those strips will be just right for the thin flange of the door and might only need it in one spot or other.

Open the ash door and shine a flashlight from the back to check the fit of the air shutter. It also has to be close to airtight.

 
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badlegdave
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Post by badlegdave » Tue. Oct. 01, 2013 12:44 pm

Great suggestion. I will pick some up today.

My out of plumb description might be considered as a very mild bend in the hinge pin. VERY MILD. The bottom of the door as it meets the stove is the area of most space. the dollar bill freely would not be held in place by the ash door where the top of the door held it, although I was able to remove it rather readily.

Adding the gasket seems the safe way to proceed. I looked for an adjustment (quickly, not thoroughtly) and did not locate such.

 
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wsherrick
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Post by wsherrick » Tue. Oct. 01, 2013 3:33 pm

Don't worry about the stove gasket. The high temp silicone will be very durable and extremely easily to do.
If you move ahead with the restoration of the stove, then; you can properly adjust the hinge pins and the doors will work fine the way they are.
And, these stoves are designed for Anthracite Coal only. Burning wood in them destroys them. You can see the result of it on your stove.
An oak type stove is made for dual fuel use. Yours is strictly an Anthracite Burner.

 
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badlegdave
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Post by badlegdave » Tue. Oct. 01, 2013 11:29 pm

Understood and agreed. I picked up the silicone at a local Auto Parts house burgler shop for convenience. I layed out $8.52.

I am now in over my head but will sink or swim. With all the help from you folks I am wagering on coming to the surface.


 
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Post by coalnewbie » Wed. Oct. 02, 2013 2:04 pm

The ash pan area itself is very air tight and the door itself does not have to be totally sealed. If you seal it more than the manufacturer intended then you indeed can make the fire go out for lack of air - big deal. My stove is newish but is exactly the same so that is how they designed it not how some CT gardener redreamed it. You want to make it tighter temporarily wind a little wire around the hook and the wedge it will slip behind that and will close tighter. Believe the old timers not a yuppie...... hahahahahahahahha I slay myself.
With all the help from you folks I am wagering on coming to the surface.
I'd buy scuba gear :D

 
franco b
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Post by franco b » Wed. Oct. 02, 2013 2:34 pm

coalnewbie wrote:The ash pan area itself is very air tight and the door itself does not have to be totally sealed. If you seal it more than the manufacturer intended then you indeed can make the fire go out for lack of air - big deal. My stove is newish but is exactly the same so that is how they designed it not how some CT gardener redreamed it. You want to make it tighter temporarily wind a little wire around the hook and the wedge it will slip behind that and will close tighter. Believe the old timers not a yuppie...... hahahahahahahahha I slay myself.
With all the help from you folks I am wagering on coming to the surface.
I'd buy scuba gear :D
And where do you get the wire smarty pants? Haven't you noticed they gave up sealing milk bottle tops with wire years ago. Almost had to give up fixing things. Smelling all that methane gas can't be good for you. Makes you delusional.

 
coalnewbie
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Post by coalnewbie » Wed. Oct. 02, 2013 4:55 pm

Ahh, the urban life of luxury and living a life where you don't know how to buy wire. :D :D

Now onto more rational explanation of my thinking. All the other doors here fit like a glove, these stoves really are jewels. So why design a wedge to sit on a flat surface with looser hinges? Possibility one is that this door gets opened much more than any other particularly if you have a magazine and it's a wear surface. The second idea is that they designed it that way and accommodates the overpressure of a puffback on a relatively large area of expensive isinglass. I go with the latter. Psst, GB please understand that I hold Franco and WH in the highest regard but even junior (newbie) students can have differing ideas. Psst the methane gas is mostly above the fire where the doors are tight and designed to be that way. Being the laughing stock of the illuminati keeps me sharp.

 
franco b
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Post by franco b » Wed. Oct. 02, 2013 6:56 pm

I was talking about the methane gas from all that horse manure that you wade through with those fancy dressage boots and cute little helmet. Cute on the ladies anyway.

We are looking at a stove from late 1800 early 1900s when the fashion was plenty of fire view and effective radiant surface. They still had to face the reality of controlling the fire which is why they put in that large draft check shutter. Anytime a door has to be lifted to clear a locking hook it means loose holding pins in the door hinge to provide the necessary freedom and loss of air tightness, though some could be tighter than others. Later on they devised a better method to compensate by providing an air bypass right to the flue in the ash chamber. The check draft was no longer needed because excess air could be bled off right to the flue and that style of door hook could be kept. A door with loose pins is a whole lot easier to fit than one with tight pins to keep into alignment. I doubt they had a concern about puff backs and the top plate provided better relief than the door.

Because something is old and well made doesn't preclude improvement. Both Dillinger and I loved our 1934 Fords but the new ones are more advanced.

About the Illuminati, if your ribs hold out I am sure you will have the last laugh.

 
coalnewbie
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Post by coalnewbie » Thu. Oct. 03, 2013 4:28 am

Hats off to you franco, I stand corrected and here I am on this board learning again. I'll never get out of newbie school at this rate. I understand, so the gasket sealer would need to be a little elastic to work right. For a non engineer Young's modulus is a distant memory.

Hmmm, a better method of control - sounds appealing, I may be forced into using this stove for heat. Gotta give this beauty a closer look at was bought for decoration in a moment of weakness. After my spectacular failure with my Garnet 48 I was going back to the ol' Hitzer for the winter but perhaps mother nature has given me the time for more playing around. That does it, my grand daughters running medals will have to come off the finial .... to work.....

 
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badlegdave
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Other Heating: Electric baseboard

Post by badlegdave » Thu. Oct. 03, 2013 9:25 am

coalnewbie: Here's a thought although conceived without the help of hallucinagenics from the 60's; what would you say to swapping stoves with me with an appropriate exchange of cash and my stove could be used as your decorative non heat providing attractions? What say you? Shall I dip into the Xanex?

 
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badlegdave
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Coal Size/Type: Pea/Chestnut
Other Heating: Electric baseboard

Post by badlegdave » Thu. Oct. 03, 2013 11:03 am

Does anyone have an idea of what this bracket is? It came with the stove loose but may not in fact have anything to do with it.

Attachments

Bracket floor.JPG
.JPG | 99.1KB | Bracket floor.JPG
Bracket in hand.JPG

What is this thing?

.JPG | 88.8KB | Bracket in hand.JPG

 
coalnewbie
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Coal Size/Type: Rice,
Other Heating: Heating Oil CH, Toyotomi OM 22

Post by coalnewbie » Thu. Oct. 03, 2013 2:52 pm

coalnewbie: Here's a thought although conceived without the help of hallucinagenics from the 60's; what would you say to swapping stoves with me with an appropriate exchange of cash and my stove could be used as your decorative non heat providing attractions? What say you? Shall I dip into the Xanex?
Everything is negotiable so here is a proposal. You take the wife with the mother in law and you get to keep both stoves. Right now my stove is doing very important work, my grand daughters running medals are wrapped around the finial and a LED chauvet light is inside making it look pretty. Don't be defeatist here is what I really suggest as I do have heating plans for it if winter ever comes.

There are many half way decent coal stoves you can pick up now and put in simply and get ready for winter. For about $100-200 I have seen Crane 44s. Jotul 507s, warm mornings, Belges, Surdiacs etc.etc. here the list is long. Ask for help here with other suggestions, get people to URL the ads. Now you are set up and warm. Then re read WH post above the gist of which is no short cuts do it right. LOL. Next winter will be great, you will have become a coal master and have a world class stove.


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