Round Stove History

joeq · Post by **joeq** » Sun. Mar. 29, 2015 10:20 am

Since being on this site, I've noticed there have probably been hundreds(?) of cylindrical stoves manufactured with the same basic design. Round barrels, sitting on square bottoms, and 4 legs. With similar decorations such as skirting and finials. Does anyone know who originally came up with this style and at what date? Or for that matter, when did we start mining coal for heating purposes?

tmbrddl · Post by **tmbrddl** » Sun. Mar. 29, 2015 10:31 am

joeq wrote:Or for that matter, when did we start mining coal for heating purposes?

Or who rubbed two sticks together long enough to get it to burn.

oliver power · Post by **oliver power** » Sun. Mar. 29, 2015 10:38 am

You've heard the old saying "Gathering around the stove, haven't you? A lot of stoves were out in the rooms, not tight up against the wall. People gathered around the stoves to keep warm. So the round shape radiated heat more evenly all around the stove.

freetown fred · Post by **freetown fred** » Sun. Mar. 29, 2015 10:54 am

Where the hell are ya William?????

joeq · Post by **joeq** » Sun. Mar. 29, 2015 11:05 am

I believe William worked for the RR, right? And I also believe he's a fan of the steam locomotives. Maybe coal came to be to power the steam trains, which I think originated in the early part of the 19th century.

Post by **ONEDOLLAR** » Sun. Mar. 29, 2015 1:28 pm

joeq wrote:Does anyone know who originally came up with this style and at what date? Or for that matter, when did we start mining coal for heating purposes?

While I am not a big fan of using wikipedia for a source perhaps this might help. It has a bit of history about coal, coal mining and the first recorded use of anthracite.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_anthraci ... nnsylvania

joeq · Post by **joeq** » Sun. Mar. 29, 2015 1:55 pm

Interesting read OD. Thanx. And here I was thinking anthracite was a "modern" coal, due to the fact around and before WWII, lots of furnaces were nasty, and dusty bit coal. I thought anthracite didn't come about till maybe the 60s or 70s even. I'm still wondering tho if Glenwood was the original proprietor of this round stove design.

Post by **ONEDOLLAR** » Sun. Mar. 29, 2015 2:09 pm

Joeq

I don't know how the round stove design came to be. Might have been as a result of the early anthracite users findinig out that the coal burned better in a round pot and thus stove shape began to mirror the firepot design. Just a thought...

Hambden Bob · Post by **Hambden Bob** » Sun. Mar. 29, 2015 2:38 pm

Practical Discovery by Trial and Error.....Coal Bed Air Flow Theory at The Minimum,to say the least !

tmbrddl · Post by **tmbrddl** » Sun. Mar. 29, 2015 2:54 pm

oliver power wrote:You've heard the old saying "Gathering around the stove, haven't you? A lot of stoves were out in the rooms, not tight up against the wall. People gathered around the stoves to keep warm. So the round shape radiated heat more evenly all around the stove.

I built a brick hearth and back wall for the coal stove in my home. Stuck it in a corner. Funny this comes up because I've been thinking of building just a hearth in the cabin I'm undertaking construction on and keeping it toward the middle of the room so the heat travels about equally.

No back wall, just a hearth to protect the floor. I'll vent it through the roof with metalbestos pipe.

joeq · Post by **joeq** » Sun. Mar. 29, 2015 3:03 pm

Sounds very efficient. Esthetically tho, you'll be looking at the back of the stove, at times, which isn't it's most pleasant side. Sort of like looking at the back of a couch, or refrigerator. Just a matter of personal preference.

Sunny Boy · Post by **Sunny Boy** » Sun. Mar. 29, 2015 4:10 pm

tmbrddl wrote:
oliver power wrote:You've heard the old saying "Gathering around the stove, haven't you? A lot of stoves were out in the rooms, not tight up against the wall. People gathered around the stoves to keep warm. So the round shape radiated heat more evenly all around the stove.
I built a brick hearth and back wall for the coal stove in my home. Stuck it in a corner. Funny this comes up because I've been thinking of building just a hearth in the cabin I'm undertaking construction on and keeping it toward the middle of the room so the heat travels about equally.

No back wall, just a hearth to protect the floor. I'll vent it through the roof with metalbestos pipe.

If you look at a lot of pictures from the later half of the 1800's, you'll see that when they put stoves toward the middle of the space to be heated, very often they didn't go straight up with the pipe. They'd go up only enough to give head room and then run the pipe horizontal on a shallow up-angle through a wall to a chimney. That was done to keep as much heat indoors, as well as help distribute it across a room. And, some of the horizontal pipe runs got quite long in commercial buildings and churches.

Paul

tmbrddl · Post by **tmbrddl** » Sun. Mar. 29, 2015 5:41 pm

Sunny Boy wrote:
If you look at a lot of pictures from the later half of the 1800's, you'll see that when they put stoves toward the middle of the space to be heated, very often they didn't go straight up with the pipe. They'd go up only enough to give head room and then run the pipe horizontal on a shallow up-angle through a wall to a chimney. That was done to keep as much heat indoors, as well as help distribute it across a room. And, some of the horizontal pipe runs got quite long in commercial buildings and churches.

Paul

My great uncle did that very thing with this camp he built back in 1930 or so. They had a Glenwood cook stove hard up against the front wall but the pipe ran up and then horizontally for about half the distance of the camp before it exited the roof.

tmbrddl · Post by **tmbrddl** » Sun. Mar. 29, 2015 5:43 pm

joeq wrote:Sounds very efficient. Esthetically tho, you'll be looking at the back of the stove, at times, which isn't it's most pleasant side. Sort of like looking at the back of a couch, or refrigerator. Just a matter of personal preference.

I love my back pipe and strain to see it. Seems a shame to hide it.

McGiever · Post by **McGiever** » Sun. Mar. 29, 2015 6:23 pm

tmbrddl wrote:
joeq wrote:Or for that matter, when did we start mining coal for heating purposes?
Or who rubbed two sticks together long enough to get it to burn.

This is a interesting read on the Anthracite History...

http://huberbreaker.org/home/history/history-of-a ... te-region/

Round Stove History

Attachments

Attachments