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Farm Kitchen:  need wood cooking stove help  |
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batznthebelfry
True Blue Farmgirl
1257 Posts
Michele
Athol
Ma
USA
1257 Posts |
 Posted - Oct 22 2011 : 10:00:27 AM
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ok the pipes are in tight, everything is good but how do I get a good fire started so the whole house isn't full of smoke by the time the pipes heat up...& yes i used a blow torch to try & help that along....right now after an hour of a fan in the window, doors open ect its burning good & very little smoke except occasionally thur one of the covered pot burner areas.....also I opened flue to pipes ect like the book said I should....so any helpful ideas for me to try so I don't have to air out the house all winter long...lol...Michele'
Chickens rule!
The Old Batz Farm
Hen #2622 |
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oldbittyhen
True Blue Farmgirl
1511 Posts
tina
quartz hill
ca
USA
1511 Posts |
Posted - Oct 22 2011 : 10:16:37 AM
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either your flue is not opened enough, is not drafting correctly, or you have too much wood in the firebox...start your wood out with small kindling, have your damper at 1/2 open, when kindling is burning well, add 1 small log, after it has caught, slowly close down damper till you just start to see/smell smoke, then open back up slowly till smoke stops, add wood as needed, 1 at a time, after awhile you will know where the damper should be set at ...it is a trial and error game till you learn, and all stoves are differant , and also useing differant types of wood, along with differant log sizes will make a differance...use dryer lint, waxed egg cartons as fire starters..
"Knowlege is knowing that a tomato is a fruit, Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad" |
Edited by - oldbittyhen on Oct 22 2011 10:17:51 AM |
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vegetarian farmer
True Blue Farmgirl
249 Posts
Jane
Freedom
pa
USA
249 Posts |
Posted - Oct 22 2011 : 12:18:42 PM
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I always have a little smoke that works it's way out around the top part of the oven. I don't have burner plates so it comes out there. I keep my draft open until I get a good burning fire going. Plus then I open the door to check the fire more often than I should. I wish I ordered the fire box window now. I have just come to accept that there will always be a little smoke with wood cook stoves. :)
http://hardworkhomestead.blogspot.com/ |
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batznthebelfry
True Blue Farmgirl
1257 Posts
Michele
Athol
Ma
USA
1257 Posts |
Posted - Oct 23 2011 : 08:59:04 AM
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thank you hens for the advice, I did some more research on the web & found that with my stove (1936)I have to prime the flue first so that the air coming down the chimney will heat up & reverse.....they recommended a tight wad of newspaper up near the flue but I have those tiny candles in metal (tea candles) so I lite one & put it up there so i could see when the air reversed....believe it or not when I started the fire just a few moments of smoke but nothing like yesterday...lol..so today even though its 52 degrees I have a nice warm fire going just because I need the practice.....The cats are sure enjoying it...Michele'
Chickens rule!
The Old Batz Farm
Hen #2622 |
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edlund33
True Blue Farmgirl
1503 Posts
Marilyn
Renton
WA
USA
1503 Posts |
Posted - Oct 23 2011 : 09:35:07 AM
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Hi Michele, the advice given above is all important as is the info you found about priming the the flue. My grandparents used to use "logs" made of fairly tightly rolled sections of the newspaper tied with string to prime the flue. Once it was hot enough for that - an only when it was hot enough - would grandma add coal and/or firewood split in small pieces (1/8ths of a round) for good air flow. There was always a tiny bit of smoke at first with wood, but I don't remember the stove smoking much with coal. Since my great grandfather owned a coal mine they burned coal, but after the mines closed my grandma always used wood. She was very particular about splitting normal firewood in half to make 1/8ths so it would have good air flow.
What make and model is your stove? I have a 1935 Majestic (ivory-green) wood cooking stove with a water front (for attaching a pressure tank) that belonged to my great grandparents and then my grandparents had it in their basement. I have it now but for decoration only since it needs alot of interior restoration and upgrades to be safe enough to use in my home. I'm trying to save up money to restore it. I've done a little research through the antique stove association in IN and learned that the orginal purchase price for my model was $132.50!
Cheers! ~ Marilyn
Farm Girl No. 1100
Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail. - Ralph Waldo Emerson |
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BarefootGoatGirl
True Blue Farmgirl
1495 Posts
Corrine
North Carolina
USA
1495 Posts |
Posted - Oct 25 2011 : 07:10:26 AM
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Can I add a second question to this thread?
There is an 1930's wood burning cook stove at a local store that I have been dreaming of for over a year now. Its rather spendy and I have no intention of doing all my cooking on it, so I was wondering if it would be a practical source of heat. It would be beautiful in the living room of my dreams. Do wood burning cook stoves hold their heat well? How efficiently do they burn?
www.muddyprincess.wordpress.com
www.barefootfashion.wordpress.com
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oldbittyhen
True Blue Farmgirl
1511 Posts
tina
quartz hill
ca
USA
1511 Posts |
Posted - Oct 25 2011 : 10:26:00 AM
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Corrine, my house is heated exclusivly by woodstove, at night I bank it down low (close down flue as low as possible)add one medium size log, and we are warm all night in an average cold night, sometimes I have to add during the really cold nights. I have fans that help circulate the air, and no one has froze to death yet...
"Knowlege is knowing that a tomato is a fruit, Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad" |
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BarefootGoatGirl
True Blue Farmgirl
1495 Posts
Corrine
North Carolina
USA
1495 Posts |
Posted - Oct 25 2011 : 10:36:04 AM
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Tina,
Thank you for taking the time to answer my question, but maybe I should rephrase it. I've lived by wood heat most of my life, but since I am the one who has to provide the wood, I was wondering about the efficiency of a cook stove in general. The fire boxes seem so large that I am afraid that they would consume my hard work at a very rapid rate. I am use to a small cast iron box stove that burns very slow and hot.
www.muddyprincess.wordpress.com
www.barefootfashion.wordpress.com
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oldbittyhen
True Blue Farmgirl
1511 Posts
tina
quartz hill
ca
USA
1511 Posts |
Posted - Oct 25 2011 : 1:50:25 PM
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Corrine, I still would think that banking it down at night would have the same effect, and of course that would make a differance on the type of wood you are useing, hardwood, like oak would burn slower than soft woods like pine, and you don't want to use sappy woods either...
"Knowlege is knowing that a tomato is a fruit, Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad" |
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batznthebelfry
True Blue Farmgirl
1257 Posts
Michele
Athol
Ma
USA
1257 Posts |
Posted - Oct 25 2011 : 3:18:04 PM
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this is the stove its dated 1936 & I just love it!...Can you believe I only paid $50 cause a woman was moving & selling her house & the buyers wanted it gone!..this baby will go where ever I go from now on.....Now that I have it down fairly well i am enjoying messing with it to figure out the oven so when i am ready to do bread I might be able to bake some without it being a brick....lol.....I must say it heats better than the modern tradition wood stove I had there, with this one I can actually feel the warmth coming up the stairs where I never did with the other one....Michele'
Chickens rule!
The Old Batz Farm
Hen #2622 |
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edlund33
True Blue Farmgirl
1503 Posts
Marilyn
Renton
WA
USA
1503 Posts |
Posted - Oct 25 2011 : 4:10:55 PM
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Oh Michele what a beauty! You definitely got a steal on it for that price. Mine is the same color but looks quite a bit different in the front.
Cheers! ~ Marilyn
Farm Girl No. 1100
Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail. - Ralph Waldo Emerson
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Edited by - edlund33 on Oct 25 2011 4:17:17 PM |
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batznthebelfry
True Blue Farmgirl
1257 Posts
Michele
Athol
Ma
USA
1257 Posts |
Posted - Oct 26 2011 : 07:58:55 AM
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oh Marilyn I think you have the same company as I do but yours is a 1/2 pint...lol....the reason I say that is mine also has the same design for the shelving...yours is soooo cute!!!! & I would kill for that Hoosier you have right next to it...up here in Massachusetts they want over $1000 for one whereas at home (Missouri) I can get one for around $300....so maybe someday....Bet you like me have fun trying to get the wood cut to the right size for it...I have noticed even though I got my cut special some will not go in thur the top & I have to open the ash section to get the logs in...lol....thats ok though but will have to have hubby when he returns recut a bunch for me...good job for him...Michele'
Chickens rule!
The Old Batz Farm
Hen #2622 |
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edlund33
True Blue Farmgirl
1503 Posts
Marilyn
Renton
WA
USA
1503 Posts |
Posted - Oct 26 2011 : 08:59:31 AM
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Yes, mine is a baby compared to yours! I agree that yours is probably a Majestic judging by the shelf and the other details. Mine has a logo on the temp gauge on the door, so you might look to see if yours does too. We were taught from a young age how to cut the wood so it would fit in the stove. Short & skinny as my grandma would say....
My hoosier cabinet can probably tell some interesting stories! It also belonged to my great grandparents (along with the wood stove) and moved all over the place with them when they went from mining camp to mining camp. We have pictures of it in several houses they lived in. Later my grandpa took it apart and used all the pieces in various places in their basement (you can see it was originally oak but most of it got painted creamy white). If you look carefully you can see in the picture that it slopes slightly towards the stove - someone cut the legs to level it up on an uneven floor somewhere along the way. When we sold my grandparent's house a few years ago I gathered all the parts and put them back together. I have everything except the bracket for the flour jar that is supposed to hang below the shelf in the left hand cabinet. Still have the jar, just not the bracket. Everyone always tells me I should refinish the wood, but I can't bring myself to do that because it would erase the historical evidence.
Cheers! ~ Marilyn
Farm Girl No. 1100
Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail. - Ralph Waldo Emerson |
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traildancer
True Blue Farmgirl
485 Posts
Loyce
Glide
OR
USA
485 Posts |
Posted - Oct 26 2011 : 09:41:30 AM
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My mother had a cast iron wood cookstove, Queen Atlantic, I think. It cooked, baked, warmed the house and was our source of hot water. We lived in Alaska in a log cabin and sometimes in the middle of winter I remember having to open the outside doors because it was too hot in the house.
My dad had a woodsplitter. The split wood was about 18" long and probably in sixths or eighths of a round. We had to haul it from the woodpile to a woodchute that went to the basement. It was stacked and when Mom needed more upstairs there was a dumbwaiter-type thing that we would wind down, load up and wind back up to the kitchen. Of course my brothers and I always argued about whose turn it was to fill the woodbox. We collected newspapers from neighbors for fire starter. I loved that stove. Nothing is a warm as wood heat.
Oh--and I don't remember the house being smoky. Maybe I was just used to it.
The trail is the thing.... Louis L'Amour |
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Acelady02
True Blue Farmgirl
1266 Posts
Penny
Washington
GA
USA
1266 Posts |
Posted - Oct 26 2011 : 10:06:08 PM
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I am so jealous of the wood stove, DH and I want one but haven't been find one that we can afford yet. I would really like an older model...but looks like we may have to by a new one...but maybe we can luck up on an older one first...wish me luck.
(((((Hugs All)))))Penny
Farmgirl Sister #3343
God gives Miracles to those who Believe, Courage to those with Faith, Hope to those who Dream, Love to those who Accept, & Forgiveness to those who Ask... |
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Acelady02
True Blue Farmgirl
1266 Posts
Penny
Washington
GA
USA
1266 Posts |
Posted - Oct 27 2011 : 10:00:18 PM
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You will not believe that after I posted this last night, I started looking on craigs list and found one about 45 miles from here, it was in decent shape, at least it looked like it in the pic. Told DH about it this morning and he called about it. He went to look at it and guess what, he bought it...oh my I am so excited. It is in good shape except for one pin on the door that is needed. And it has a small crack in the door of oven. But it is on the outside not the inside. I will try and get a pic tomorrow and post it. It needs cleaning up badly but it is in workable order. I have to thank you ladies, because if I hadn't read this post I might not have looked on craigs list. The guy has had it for sale for about a month and no one had looked at it yet. He had a few calls and someone was suppose to come this weekend but he said he was selling it to the first person that wanted it. He wanted $425 for it but DH got it for $375. We really didn't need to spend the money right now but we talked about it and said "they don't come around that often at that price" so we decided to go for it...The good Lord will take care of us, so not worried about it to much. I think he had a hand in us getting it anyway...lol...
(((((Hugs All)))))Penny
Farmgirl Sister #3343
God gives Miracles to those who Believe, Courage to those with Faith, Hope to those who Dream, Love to those who Accept, & Forgiveness to those who Ask... |
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Farm Kitchen: need wood cooking stove help |
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need wood cooking stove help
