Favorite 261 Baseburner

Well, I've had this old stove for a year now and by the time I got it put together last winter, it was March and almost over. This year now we have had some cold weather and right now it's zero out. I have to say I'm very happy with this old Favorite stove. The picture is one I took about 5 minutes ago and it's had a fire in it now and been in "baseburner mode" or whatever you want to call it since about the 15th of November. I haven't had to re-kindle the fire since then and when it's been warmer out, it will throttle down and hold a fire just fine. When it's really cold out it will go through a couple of #17 hods of coal a day and less of course when it's warmer out. So far, I've burned a little over a ton of coal this winter. I have a three bedroom house that was built in 1912 and the stove is in the basement. I read some of the rants on how poorly these old stoves operate and I really am kind of flummoxed by that one, but those folks 100 years ago were doing the best they knew how at the time and these things work a lot better than we might think. If we haven't improved some of our technology since then, it would be kind of a sad thing I suppose. And if you find these old stoves really beautiful, than whatever the trade-off is for lack of efficiency is something that you will have to learn to live with I guess. As far as these things not having fans in them, I just leave my furnace fan on and it does a good job pushing the heat all over the house. The bedrooms upstairs are cooler, and that's fine. This will burn for a good 24-30 hours before it needs any attention, but I usually shake it down a couple of times a day and empty the ash in the morning. It seems to burn all the coal that goes through it but I do find a few pieces once in awhile that haven't been. Overall, I'm really happy with it and for me, it was a good investment. I have never used a modern coal stove and so I can't comment on those, but as far as this one is concerned, it's a winner in my book! But if utility is the main concern, and you find this ancient stuff a horror to look at, you have options they didn't have in 1912.

That's a beauty !

You know we like pictures. I'll be the first to ask for more, please ?

Paul

nice fire viewing window on that one,nice stove period,as he said pics,please.thanks

That's crazy!
My sister just sent me a picture of that same exact stove today!. Said she thought I'd like it.

When I asked her where it/she is... It's in a go go bar in Vegas. I ll post up the picture she sent me.

Ignore the criticisms that you read. The person that posted them first of all didn't know what the heck he was talking about. Secondly, it is thought that he is a shill or salesman for a Modern Stove Company.
Nothing he said has any basis in truth or honesty.
You have the pinnacle of coal stove design and one that has the highest efficiency, by quite a large margin over the new stoves.

That is an absolutely beautiful stove! It is a shame to have it in the basement!

oops, double post.

I'll second that,oh,he already second it ,beautiful stove!!!!!!!!!

Oh I know that guy has probably never used an old stove and really doesn't understand the whole thing. But I've never really used a new one, so I guess we are even. My Dad used to know an antique dealer that had a sign up that said something like "You may not like my stuff and that's fine. I probably don't like your stuff either!" There is something to that.
It is also kind of a shame to have it downstairs, but I don't have anyplace to hook it up upstairs and I actually spend a lot of time in the basement working on stuff (I've been refinishing some old radio cabinets for a friend of mine) so I actually see a lot more of it where it is, plus it warms the floors up this way making the first floor probably more comfortable than it would be with it upstairs. My next house though will have a place for it on the main for or I'll keep looking!
I'll get a few more pictures of it posted in a couple of days. I have a some time off work and I need to set my tripod up and take pictures of it without the flash or you can't see the fire at all in there. It takes a little doing to get a decent picture of it that way, but when they turn out, they look really good.
I know people are often under the impression that people that had a lot of money heated this way years ago, and I hear that when people see this stove, but it's really a middle class way to heat. The folks that had money had central heat, probably steam or hot water. Although gravity heat is nice if it was installed correctly. And folks that had money would have considered a heating stove in the front room to be pretty old fashioned by the 1890's. My Mom has an old cook book from about 1905 that says you can make "this bean soup in the ash pit of an old-fashioned base-burner if you still heat that way" I think that's funny considering how many of them were still being sold in those years, and into the 1930's actually.
It really is a great way to heat. I would never consider a fireplace after using one of these things. And the cat will be glad to give testimonials about the thing. She lays down on her back next to it looking like road-kill with her tongue hanging out!

We need MORE pictures, especially of the cat laying in front with her tongue hanging out!

MORE PICS

Here is his earlier thread:
Favorite Baseburner #261

EarlH...... you have one fine heating machine there. Not only can it pump out the heat it is truly a work of art. Stay warm.

Very nice stove. Unique in the 1900 as it still be today.