Replacement Shaker Grate

 
MajorDan
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Post by MajorDan » Fri. Dec. 19, 2008 9:04 pm

CoalBurner-
I bought the grate that is both your second and third links. what they call 13 1/4" is really 12 3/4". if it really measured 13 1/4", I'd be in good shape now.
I'm curious about the first link - the 14" round grate. how do you use it if it does not have a shaker?

the 16" grate is interesting.
I don't know if it would fit into the stove through the door opening.
if it did, wouldn't it be too big? the inside diameter is 17" but there is a rim to rest the grate on and the firebricks also rest on that rim.
I can't imagine there is 16" diameter left.

the hearthstove.com site looks interesting. I will follow up with them on Monday when they open again.


 
Gary L
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Post by Gary L » Fri. Dec. 19, 2008 10:23 pm

I just measured my Monticello for you Major Dan. You could get 15 - 16 inches thru the door maybe a bit more depending upon thickness. The maximum width of the grate can only be 14 inches with the standard 1 1/4" thick bricks in place.

Your Grate must also have a drop down tab for the shaker/dump handle to be able to work it.

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Remember that there is a dump or DRAW GRATE that fits in below the round grate which brings the handle attach point down to door level.

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Gary

 
Dann757
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Post by Dann757 » Fri. Dec. 19, 2008 11:07 pm

MajorDan,
That is great information. I'm just learning what choked with ash means. I have a long 1/2"x 1/8" steel bar that I bent about 5". I send it up through the teardrop holes until see the fire. It takes a minute and has been what I do to revive the air flow. I'm reluctant to shake the grate even though I can do it now. Maybe that's why everybodys grate is cracked. Mine has run very cool, the ash and the airflow protect it. Does your adapter ring just sit in there or is it welded in? Maybe you could drill air holes in it.

 
Gary L
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Post by Gary L » Fri. Dec. 19, 2008 11:27 pm

MajorDan wrote:Gary L -
the pictures you posted are amazing to see. that's the 'holy grail' I've been looking for. Is that yours? is it available?
LOL! Yes except mine comes with the stove in just as nice shape! :D

Gary

 
MajorDan
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Post by MajorDan » Sat. Dec. 20, 2008 2:18 pm

Gary L -
As I said in an email, I have found your stove a few times on the internet and each time I think it's another one, only to find that you have the one real deal. and it probably looks like a number of people are looking for shaker grates for that stove and its probably me coming from a few different directions :)

Dann757-
I am using a tire iron \___ shaped to poke through the ash to create air flow. I'm getting better at it and am keeping the fire going with reasonable heat but I'm getting less heat than with the old grate before it disintegrated.
the grate I have now does NOT have the tab that provides leverage to move the grate side to side. I agree that that is what eventually breaks the grate. But if you don't, the ash builds up and chokes the airflow.

I had a steel insert cut for me that is 17" in diameter and shaped like a doughnut with a 12 1/4" inner diameter. this sits on top of the ring that is part of the stove. that ring has a 14" internal diameter. so there is only 1 3/4" difference which is less than an inch at each point. the fire bricks rest on the insert.

Seemed like a great/grate idea but without the ability to do the side-to-side shaking, ash builds up on the sides and back.

What is considered 'proper' maintenance?
- poking down from the top of the fire
- sliding the slider piece in and out
- rotating the grate back and forth

my experience is that all three are valuable but without the last, you can't fully shake down all the ash.

am I doing something wrong? or not doing something else I should be doing?

 
mike40
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Post by mike40 » Sat. Dec. 20, 2008 5:24 pm

Try Curweensville Heating and Plumbing in Central PA I think thier phome # is (814)-236-1711 they have a large inventory of Stove, Boiler, and Furnace grates, I also belive they aquired the inventory of Heckler Brothers in Pittsburgh and Oswald Supply in New York

 
Gary L
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Post by Gary L » Sat. Dec. 20, 2008 6:59 pm

MajorDan wrote:Gary L -
As I said in an email, I have found your stove a few times on the internet and each time I think it's another one, only to find that you have the one real deal. and it probably looks like a number of people are looking for shaker grates for that stove and its probably me coming from a few different directions :)

Dann757-
I am using a tire iron \___ shaped to poke through the ash to create air flow. I'm getting better at it and am keeping the fire going with reasonable heat but I'm getting less heat than with the old grate before it disintegrated.
the grate I have now does NOT have the tab that provides leverage to move the grate side to side. I agree that that is what eventually breaks the grate. But if you don't, the ash builds up and chokes the airflow.

I had a steel insert cut for me that is 17" in diameter and shaped like a doughnut with a 12 1/4" inner diameter. this sits on top of the ring that is part of the stove. that ring has a 14" internal diameter. so there is only 1 3/4" difference which is less than an inch at each point. the fire bricks rest on the insert.

Seemed like a great/grate idea but without the ability to do the side-to-side shaking, ash builds up on the sides and back.

What is considered 'proper' maintenance?

- poking down from the top of the fire
- sliding the slider piece in and out
- rotating the grate back and forth

my experience is that all three are valuable but without the last, you can't fully shake down all the ash.

am I doing something wrong? or not doing something else I should be doing?
When I mess with the fire at all, it is rare, I just use the side to side action of the shaker grate and feel to be sure I don't have solid coals caught in the grates. In the morning I always start by poking the top of the coal as there is a crater like a lava cap that is hallow under neath. Every now and again I need to use my 90* angled poker to clean the slots from below and loosen powdered ash. In the absence of the ability to shake the grate side to side I would expect allot more underside poking would be needed but I rarely ever mess with the red coals from above. I also never, ever leave the bottom ash door open. This can allow enough air to get the grate glowing red and thats when the damage is always done. A cast iron grate with a few stress cracks can last for many years but will not make it through many over fires and will always disintegrate if handled ruff in the shake.

Gary


 
Josie Wales
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Post by Josie Wales » Thu. Dec. 25, 2008 8:12 am

I had the same problem with my Sunbeam Cabinate Heater (Fox Furnace Co). The stove was made in the late 20's I think. I searched over ten years for a shaker grate and last years fuel prices made me try even harder. My grates were triplex and I had three of them,the shaker was so badly warped and cracked that I almost gave up and junked the stove. Ok ,now for your info:

If your stove was made east of the Hudson River please contact:

The Antique Stove Hospital ( http://www.stovehospital.com/)

If west of the Hudson River (like my stove):

Clifford Boram
North main Street
Monticello, Indiana 47960 1-574-583-6465
It took a while for me to contact Mr.Boram but he gave me a wealth of information about my coal heater and directed me to Tomahawk Foundry in Rice lake WI ( http://www.tomahawkfoundry.com). After talking to them about my problem they told me they could make a casting from a wooden model of my grate. because my grate was so far gone. I spent a couple days making a wooden model and sent it to them and all I can say everything was perfect and it did not break the bank as others said on here. My old stove is up and running this year and doing great.

 
Gary L
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Post by Gary L » Thu. Dec. 25, 2008 10:05 pm

Great info Josie and thanks for it.

I'm not too sure these Monticello model Gold Marcs can be classified as antiques since they were all made between 1978 and 1981.

The thought of having a foundary cast a few exact copies has crossed my mind but I suspect the price for making the molds would be rather steep.

There has to be some founder that specializes in making these repro grates because many are fairly simple and interchangable with a few different stove manufacturers.

On the other end, I kind of doubt there are all that many Gold Marc Monticellos out here or that those who do have them would even find the grates if I were to have a few dozen of them made.

If the grate in my Monticello that I have for sale ever became useless I am pretty sure I could fashion something and list the stove as a wood burner. Most of these combo stoves don't need the cast iron grates except if Coal is the fuel you want to use.

It does seem a bit odd that such nice stoves can be rendered close to useless just because the grate is broken or warped. I see no good reason why this Monticello stove couldn't provide 50 more years of service as long as the fire bricks and grates remain available and I am 100% certain that goes for many fine stoves who's makers have disappeared.

Gary

 
Alvin Ternes
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Post by Alvin Ternes » Fri. Jan. 02, 2009 1:13 pm

I need a new grate with shaker for Model # 2727 made in 1982.
Where could I get one of these?? Thanks,
Alvin

 
Gary L
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Post by Gary L » Sun. Jan. 04, 2009 11:13 am

There are a few links posted right here in this thread Alvin that might be able to provide a suitable alternative.

I have not searched for the one you need and don't know just how intricate your grate needs to be.

I think we all would love to locate a foundary that can reproduce the various models we seek but I wouldn't count on it.

It is a bit odd that some of the old parlor stoves over 100 years old have replacment parts readily available yet the ones from the last 30 or so years have none.

Gary

 
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coaledsweat
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Post by coaledsweat » Sun. Jan. 04, 2009 6:52 pm

Gary L wrote:There are a few links posted right here in this thread Alvin that might be able to provide a suitable alternative.

I have not searched for the one you need and don't know just how intricate your grate needs to be.

I think we all would love to locate a foundary that can reproduce the various models we seek but I wouldn't count on it.

It is a bit odd that some of the old parlor stoves over 100 years old have replacment parts readily available yet the ones from the last 30 or so years have none.

Gary
If you have the old parts (even if they are broken), almost any foundry can reproduce them. The fact that you only want 1 or 2 will make it very expensive. The cost comes way down if you order 10,000 pieces however. :) I am wondering if it may make sense to go to a high school or Tech school and talk to a Industrial Arts teacher. They may like the challenge and you pay for the supplies, sand and iron. :idea:

 
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Post by CapeCoaler » Sun. Jan. 04, 2009 7:11 pm

Tech schools or a small foundry will do the job.
It is neither that difficult nor complicated.

 
Dann757
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Post by Dann757 » Sun. Jan. 04, 2009 7:57 pm

In my previous posts, I showed how I brazed mine- but I didn't bring it back into perfect alignment for fear of breaking it in two. So to duplicate mine I'd have to remove the braze and see what it would take to heat it and clamp it somehow and re-braze it so it could be duplicated! It could use to have some of the foundry flashing ground off at the teardrop holes, kind of like porting a cylinder head.

I've noticed when my fire starts to get ash-bound, the grate gets hotter. When there is plenty of air going up through it, it remains cooler. It would be nice to have a spare.
I wonder if bronze would hold up?

 
Gary L
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Post by Gary L » Sun. Jan. 04, 2009 9:36 pm

My grate, dump draw bar and the handle are in near perfect condition except for a couple small cracks.

If anyone cares to locate a foundary that will use it as a form for the mold then I will be happy to lend it out for that reason.

I do agree that the more pieces they would mold the cheaper each will get but who can really say how many of these Monticello stoves are still in use and how many owners would be willing to purchase new or spare grates. I am sure Dann757, Major Dan and I would jump at the prospect but don't know of others here with this particular stove. Mine is just sitting in the garage waiting for a new owner so the grate could do a road trip if we can find a place to reproduce them.

I did quite allot of internet searching about repairing these grates and although it is possible, it is a rather complicated process to do it right. Seems as though you would need to get the entire grate up to a very high temp and do the welding while super heated and then cool the entire grate very slowly.

I would not be at all concerned about the rough edges on your grate Dann. I seriously doubt they make any difference but they could easily be ground smooth with a dremel tool.

I wish someone with knowledge of metals could answer why they make the grates from cast iron and if one was made with 1/4 inch plate steel if it would last very long.

GAry


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