Cookin' With Coal

It may be in my best interest to leave the dividing wall up in order to control the heat from the range to the rest of the house.....

Canaan coal man wrote:It may be in my best interest to leave the dividing wall up in order to control the heat from the range to the rest of the house.....

CCM,
Think of the heating ability as if your GW6 was running on 20-25 pounds of coal.

My range has a small firebox, but it has longer flue pathways and more heat extracting surface area than my GW6.

But, with a larger range like Kevin's with it's bigger firebox, even though it has less heating surface area than mine, it is closer to the GW6 in heat output.

To give you a bit more about how much they can heat. I know several large homes that are, or were heating the back half of those houses with just a kitchen range. Two with coal - mine and Melissa's parent's house - both about 4000 sq ft on two floors. And two local friends with Kalamazoo wood ranges - one a 3000 sq ft farm house, the other a large, two story log cabin. Three are here in CNY hill country. Melissa's parents house is in the Berkshires of western Mass.

Paul

I have always wondered how my stove would heat if I ran the pot filled to the bottom brick or half a pot. would I get the same stove temp but less heat out put from the stove? So a range with large surface area like my g6 but with a smaller fire box wont be as powerful as a g6 burning with a full 50lb pot?

If you could have the heat volume of a GW6 firepot, but put that much coal into a range which is also a base heater but with more heat extracting surface area then even a GW8, then you can take out the kitchen counters and put in wooden benches because your gonna have a sauna, instead of a kitchen.

Paul

Ok got some pics to post I'll start with the living room were the g6 is then to the dinning room then you'll c the wall in question on the right. There are 2 bed rooms to the left of the dinning room there is a shot of the kitchen the range would go were the fridge and electric stove is now. Finally my wall thimble above the fridge. If I keep the wall the back of the range will face it if I demo it the back of the range will face the chimney wall . Hmmmmm things to ponder.

I think I have made up my mind and will continue to use the g6 as the work horse. This means a smaller range is in order. I'm gonna keep my eye out for a Glenwood range. The wife wants say it has to be a cast finish not enamel. Range will be a weekend toy maybe a shoulder month stove who knows. All I know some day there will be one in that spot.

Canaan coal man wrote:I think I have made up my mind and will continue to use the g6 as the work horse. This means a smaller range is in order. I'm gonna keep my eye out for a Glenwood range. The wife wants say it has to be a cast finish not enamel. Range will be a weekend toy maybe a shoulder month stove who knows. All I know some day there will be one in that spot.

The Sunnys and the model F were the smallest with 18 inch ovens. Not as common as a model C, which is mid sized with a 20 inch oven, but they do occasionally turn up on Craig's List.

The differences in overall size between the smallest to the biggest is not that much - only about four inches in length, couple of inches front to rear, couple of inches in cooktop height.

Paul

There is a Model F on Craigslist about 2 hours south of me near Philadelphia, Pa. From the pictures it looks presentable.

https://reading.craigslist.org/hsh/6008776847.html

Paulie

Paul, what is your opinion on the dividing wall?

Canaan coal man wrote:Paul, what is your opinion on the dividing wall?

CCM

If the range is to go where your electric kitchen stove is now, the fridge has to be moved also. Not enough room and you don't want the fridge close to a heat source, or it'll drive your electric bill through the roof !

My fridge is four feet from the range and no place to move it without major renovations. I had to put a piece of 2 inch ridged foam insulation board on the range side of it to stop it from running every 5 minutes.

Otherwise it's a good spot. It'll give you clear access to the hearth end of the range for loading and ash removal while putting the hottest end of the range near the doorway to the dinning room. With the hearth end that close to the doorway you may not even need vents through the wall ?? And, the thimble shows someone already figured that out that was a good spot before.

Paul

Pauliewog wrote:There is a Model F on Craigslist about 2 hours south of me near Philadelphia, Pa. From the pictures it looks presentable.

https://reading.craigslist.org/hsh/6008776847.html

Paulie

Unfortunately, that's not the triangular coal grates type shaker handle. Those are duplex grates. Not as good at clearing clinkers, nor can they take as much heat abuse as the triangular grates. Might be able to keep the grate frame and cogs and just get a pair of triangular grates. I think Wilson has a set that will fit it. If it uses the longer grate bars like my Sunny, I know where there's a pattern grate bar to have Tomahawk recast new triangular bars.

The thermometer in the oven door is a plus. They can be rebuilt. And they save a lot of oven heat by not having to open the oven door to check a free-standing oven thermometer. Been there and finally added a thermometer - thanks to "Lightning" Lee.

That model F has a foot print of only 30 inches front to back and 48 inches wide - including the cook top shelf on the right.

Paul

Hey all this Glenwood talk reminds me I don't know how to work the thing exactly. There is a slider damper at the base of the chimney stack. Then to the right of that is a chrome handle for something else. What is the handle do ?

B

Sunny Boy wrote:

Canaan coal man wrote:Paul, what is your opinion on the dividing wall?

CCM

If the range is to go where your electric kitchen stove is now, the fridge has to be moved also. Not enough room and you don't want the fridge close to a heat source, or it'll drive your electric bill through the roof !

My fridge is four feet from the range and no place to move it without major renovations. I had to put a piece of 2 inch ridged foam insulation board on the range side of it to stop it from running every 5 minutes.

Otherwise it's a good spot. It'll give you clear access to the hearth end of the range for loading and ash removal while putting the hottest end of the range near the doorway to the dinning room. With the hearth end that close to the doorway you may not even need vents through the wall ?? And, the thimble shows someone already figured that out that was a good spot before.

Paul

The fridge and electric stove will by moved to another free wall in the kitchen. It will be a tight squeeze for all three appliances in the smaller kitchen but I think it will work. plus butting a hearth pad or floor protection to the dividing wall may look cleaner and I can re side the wall and flue wall with a stone or brick along with a shield with proper air gaps.

Sunny Boy wrote:

Canaan coal man wrote:I think I have made up my mind and will continue to use the g6 as the work horse. This means a smaller range is in order. I'm gonna keep my eye out for a Glenwood range. The wife wants say it has to be a cast finish not enamel. Range will be a weekend toy maybe a shoulder month stove who knows. All I know some day there will be one in that spot.

The Sunnys and the model F were the smallest with 18 inch ovens. Not as common as a model C, which is mid sized with a 20 inch oven, but they do occasionally turn up on Craig's List.

The differences in overall size between the smallest to the biggest is not that much - only about four inches in length, couple of inches front to rear, couple of inches in cooktop height.

Paul

I didnt realize that the range sizes were not all that far apart in size.

Dremel wrote:Hey all this Glenwood talk reminds me I don't know how to work the thing exactly. There is a slider damper at the base of the chimney stack. Then to the right of that is a chrome handle for something else. What is the handle do ?

B

The slider damper next to the stove collar is the 'check damper'. It's used to let cooler air in to mix with too- hot flue gases and help slow the burn rate by cooling a strong draft.

The nickel plated handle next to it is the 'oven damper'. That opens/closes a damper between the firebox and the stove collar to put the stove into direct draft mode. That greatly increases the draft needed for starting and to prevent flue gasses from coming out the cook top when you lift off a round cover to put more coal in. Also when shaking ash so that the fly ash is drawn into the chimney instead of the range flues.

When that handle is put into oven mode, it puts the range in indirect draft by shutting off that shortcut from firebox to stove pipe. Then the flue gases have to take the long way over the top of the oven, down the forward half of the right side, turn under the front half of the oven, turn around the end of a baffle and under the back half of the oven, then back up the rear half of the right side, then across the right back corner of the oven top and out through the stove collar.

In oven mode, that's about 8 feet of flue pathway wrapped around the oven, as opposed to when it's in direct draft it's only about one foot from firebox to stove collar.

The other dampers you will need are the primary slide damper in the ash drawer door and the secondary slide damper in the broiler door above the ash door. With a range, you only use the primary for coal and the secondary for wood. The 8 or 10 top plates leak just enough air over the fire that you don't need any extra secondary air for coal.

Paul