What a Nice Little Stove

Obviously it's going to take us about 2 hours to wipe the smile off your face as you review what you've done for the Upcoming Heating Season! Nice Job!

Looks great in that setting Matt. Very nice job !!!!!

Using the back pipe to route lower to clear the lintel is a great idea too. Keeps the original look. Too bad it doesn't have all the bits to give the added heat and draft control. It would make it all the sweeter.

FYI. If your thinking of making it a baffled back pipe someday, if the pipe and collars are 5 inch, Wilson has patterns to recast the 5 inch back pipe parts used on a 116. The baffle plate would just need cutting to length.

Paul

Matt , It is a nice little stove. How many fireplaces do you have? You guys with these old homes and multiple chimneys makes me jealous. All the stoves look great and right at home.
How's the 40 doing? Let's not forget about her now.
Kevin

The Forty is still cold. I was thinking about Halloween, but it might be later. I was going to let someone borrow the grates to have new ones made and give myself spares, but this close to heating season I'm a little weary. Yeah I know should have had spares recast in Spring. Not like you can go online and order a new set. I was looking at the Woodman's grates, not even close.
Now back to the 114. I think the 114 might do the trick till late November or early December. Next five days are going to be 50's and 40's so I lit it when I got home this morning. Had it topped off and dialed in at 0530. Took a nap and worked around the house. Around 1500 topped off the stove and went to dinner with a friend and then on to the Topsfield Fair. Got home around 2030 stove cruising at 400 deg. Shake and reload set dampers. Probably added 10-15 lbs. of coal. As I type this it's 50 deg. out. Stove is at 200 will probably settle at 300-350 deg. Still coming up to temp after tending. Computer room 73 deg. Living room 72 deg. Dining room 75 deg. and breezeway 72 deg.
I was going to move it out another foot, but I think I'm going to leave it where it is. The trim rings really push the hot air into the room. Proof being I had to shield the sides of the mantel because the varnish started blistering, but the underside of the mantel is barely luke warm. Something I need to watch.
As far as the fireplaces the question was asked so I'll answer it. Should probably be in the past thread, but this is mine too. House was built sometime between 1890-1900. House next door 1900. Deed says 1880, but the land was still farm land in 1880. I use 1890. Remember they didn't keep records like they do today. I think the house was built with the central heating. Someone told me the heating system was added by the first world war, but I don't think so. The installation is to clean. I only have two areas in the whole house where the pipes that run upstairs are exposed. Plus except for the Kitchen and upstairs bathroom (original closet) all the walls and plaster are original. I've been in some other older homes and there's exposed pipe everywhere. The style of radiator in the house first appeared in 1895. Maybe the house was built in 1895, I don't know. I read somewhere that people wanted the pipes exposed to show off that the house had central heating. The house has three fireplaces all wood. I have stoves in two and still enjoy a nice wood fire in the third. My neighbors house one coal fireplace. I think if the house wasn't built with central heat there would be at least one fireplace uptairs. Or maybe with the coal cookstove and the fireplaces the house stayed warm enough. Another thing people would do when they got central heating was to brick up the fireplaces because a fireplace was old technology. One more thing I just thought of. The chimney that runs thru the kitchen has two flues. One for the kitchen stove and one for the central heat. If only I had a time machine. This historic preservation thing is a learn as I go process. My statements are based on what I either read or have seen. If I'm wrong someone please correct me. Matt

Thanks for the pics of the back pipe Matt.
It'll be interesting to see how well that little stove heats!

Matt, If you ever need grates recast for the 40 , I have a set of 4 , all original in great condition. Don't worry , we got it covered.

Kevin

Your house could have been built with a one pipe steam system. By the mid 90's they were common, but; expensive. When you have one that was put in during construction it is generally a big, expensive house. By 1910 central heat in ordinary houses was the norm in the urban suburbs.
During the late 1800's many houses were built with dual heating systems. The house I lived in was an example. It had 15 fireplaces in it and a huge gravity warm air furnace in the basement. There was a giant single duct in the foyer and the return air was in the back hall. It was designed that the heat would convect up the front staircase and the cold air return down the servant's staircase in the rear.
There was also a baltimore design fireplace in the foyer and one in the back parlor. These had warm air ducts built into the chimney which exited via registers in the bedrooms upstairs. These bedrooms also had fireplaces in them as well.
My guess is that most households didn't fire up the central units until it was dead cold. They used the fireplaces, etc until it was too cold for them. Coal cost money you know.

Thanks for your input William. It's a two pipe system, converted to hot water, probably steam originally. Merc300d, thanks for the offer. After this season I'll have spares made.
On to the stove. Last night I tried a experiment. For the nightime tending I loaded the stove with pea size. I set the dampers a bit more open than usual and went to bed. This was at midnight. Woke up at 0630 to take the dog out and checked the stove. Cruising along at 400 deg. Got down to forty last night. Whole house between 70-75 deg. Tried the pea exclusively because it's suppose to be 70 for a couple days and would like to idle the stove at 200 deg.or lower. Still experimenting. Learning what makes it happy. I have a new trick too. To keep my temperatures consistent I have different sizes of nails I use to set the dampers. I have 200,300,400,500 deg.sizes.
Matt