How Happy Are You With Your Saey Hannover I?

I've decided to get back into burning coal as primary heat. It's been about thirty years since I sold my old Victorian with the Surdiac and Monarch heaters. Much has changed. I'm taking my time and asking lots of questions. Needless to say, this forum is my primary source of information.

My wife and I visited a shop along the Jersey shore yesterday and found a Saey Hannover I with a reduced price under $1700. Compared with many of today's stoves, this cast iron European model looks like it belongs in a residential area, nice lines and a big window. I noticed that it has a flat sliding grate similar to the one in my former Monarch coal furnace. That furnace's shaker grate was poorly designed. It simply slipped back and forth under the compacted ash above, providing no agitation that would encourage the ash to fall. Ninety percent of the cleaning was performed by hand slicing underneath. I can't recall the shaker grate system on the Surdiac. However, I do remember that it worked very well, requiring little slicing from below.

There are two or three small ports located on the Hannover's front that are specifically designed for underneath slicing. Interestingly, I noticed a similar approach being utilized in the Chubby stove. While I have no objections to cleaning this way if necessary, my experience with the Surdiac (and even the original Vermont Castings with coal conversion) suggest that there are better methods available.

I'd appreciate getting opinions on this stove from those who have experienced it over a reasonable period of time. Does the shaker grate work well? Does the stove heat well on a consistent basis? Do you have difficulty maintaining proper draft because of stove issues? Does the glass stay reasonably clear? Do you have good control of the fire at all times? If you have used other stoves, how does the Hannover I compare?

With so many stove options available, I'd prefer to pass on anything that's marginal in any significant way.

Thanks in advance for any info.

My father in law has two of these, one in the house and one in the garage, he absolutely loves them! Hopper fed bi metallic control is the Cadillac, he has no problem shaking his, he says pea is the best, he also has no problem with draft, as draft is too due with your chimney. They are a great well built stove in my opinion.

The Hanover 1 is a realy nice look'in stove. I used to have one, heating a small 1816 farm house.
I paid a whole lot less than $1700 for mine. If you like the looks of it and you DON'T NEED it for heat, go for it.

This was the only heat source I had and I almost froze to death. There is no way to shake down this stove properly. All the shaker handel does is move the grate back and forth a little bit. It's about a half hour job to poke, slice and shake out a clinker. I didn't have the hopper so it was a struggle to get 14 hours out of it.

I replaced it with a Harman MK2. The Harman heated that old stone farm house to 72* all winter no problem. The Hanover 1 is a nicer look'in stove though.

-Don

When u have the ash door open, there is a little eyelet sticking out, it is a part of a small grate in the front that you pull out, guess it really helps too clear the ash, he rarely has to slice his. The only outfittes he has had was when he forgot too fill the hopper lol

hotblast1357 wrote:My father in law has two of these, one in the house and one in the garage, he absolutely loves them! Hopper fed bi metallic control is the Cadillac, he has no problem shaking his, he says pea is the best, he also has no problem with draft, as draft is too due with your chimney. They are a great well built stove in my opinion.

Hey Hotblast,

Appreciate the comments. Nice to know there is at least one happy Hannover I owner out there.

My question regarding stove issues affecting draft had to do with the constant ability to control incoming air. If the grate quickly clogs or if the air controls are not reliable for any reason, there will be little air to draw through the chimney. You are certainly right that a poor chimney will assure a bad draft.

StokerDon wrote:The Hanover 1 is a realy nice look'in stove. I used to have one, heating a small 1816 farm house.

Saey Hannover I 11-29-09 001.JPG

Saey Hannover I 11-29-09 002.JPG

I paid a whole lot less than $1700 for mine. If you like the looks of it and you DON'T NEED it for heat, go for it.

This was the only heat source I had and I almost froze to death. There is no way to shake down this stove properly. All the shaker handel does is move the grate back and forth a little bit. It's about a half hour job to poke, slice and shake out a clinker. I didn't have the hopper so it was a struggle to get 14 hours out of it.

I replaced it with a Harman MK2. The Harman heated that old stone farm house to 72* all winter no problem. The Hanover 1 is a nicer look'in stove though.

-Don

Don,

That's what concerns me. The simple sliding grate, at first glance, looks essentially useless. Here's hoping a user comes along who can offer a quick and effective procedure to drop ash to the point where there is little but glowing coals left.

The slicing ports should be just above grate level and in general will do a good job of clearing ash with a flat poker. The coal bed is relatively shallow so tending times will be shorter than 12 hours at other than low output.

Out put is most likely half of claimed 60,000 BTU.

hotblast1357 wrote:When u have the ash door open, there is a little eyelet sticking out, it is a part of a small grate in the front that you pull out, guess it really helps too clear the ash, he rarely has to slice his.

Once again guys this is how you clear the ash, not with the shaker in the rear, but by pulling out this small grate in the front, careful cuz it could dump your hole fire, with the hopper he goes 24-36 hours no problem. He's never had any problem getting a 12-14 hour burn with his even with the hopper out.

I have a Hanover 1 and 2. There is a learning curve for any stove.
Good coal makes a difference. Shake it, poke it,then leave it alone.

I have a cabin in the Poconos and the Saey Hannover 1 poses certain challenges in keeping the fire going. Please allow me to explain what has worked for me. First consider the time when this stove was designed, prior to 1950. This stove was used by Europeans without the need for electricity, and at times when coal was scarce due to the war effort. Therefore, the stove is designed to burn any solid fuel; primarily wood and coal.

Try burning one day of coal, then one day of wood, and then another day of coal. Alternate the fuels as necessary. You may burn them at the same time. If you burn two days of coal fuel, you may experience a substantial accumulation of ash and leftover coal. The solution is to place wood logs unto the lit coal and allow the wood to re-ignite the left over coal.

In Spring and Autumn, I may burn wood and some coal as a heat extender until the next morning. The next morning, I may add more wood until the temperature rises by late morning. In the morning, this stove does poorly due to the change in barometric pressure. Morning wood is always best. Stay focused here, ok?

The wood ash will mix with the coal ash and then the shaker will work. The problem is that the coal ash will cake under the pressure of the coal above it. When the wood ash mixes with the coal ash, it will sift through to the ash pan without interrupting the burn.

You must first take into consideration the time whence the stove was designed and its time of service. During World War 1 and World War 2, the Europeans valued a stove that could burn any solid fuel without the need for electricity. Further, they needed access to heat for cooking. Stoves such as the Saey Hannover 1 fit these European requirements. If the coal wasn't available, they simply burned wood. Once you realize the historical setting of this stove and those like it, you'll understand why your insistence on using only coal is probably unrealistic. Individual results will vary.

I have no knowledge of that stove, and I'm not sure what part of Jersey you are in, but have you considered a Hitzer? They are very popular with the Amish around here, and I have heard nothing but good things about them on the internet. Check out the Hitzer website, they are very nice stoves. You might want to give Mast's Appliance and Bulk Foods in Camden Delaware a call. Their prices can't be beat.

I recently bought a Hitzer there and just love it. It is built like a tank. The best thing was that Mast's is an Amish Store with about zero overhead, and I got my stove for $600 less than any place else, and that's NOT including delivery the other places were going to charge.