I have the same as well, mine does not have a removable stainless plate, but has the same raised area in the casting.
You have to pull the four bolts to lift the top off.
Consolidated Dutchwest wood/coal stove
- Thread starter William Balaska
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I have the same as well, mine does not have a removable stainless plate, but has the same raised area in the casting.
You have to pull the four bolts to lift the top off.
ngzcaz
ArboristSite Operative
I'm curious, did you have to take the entire top off the stove to access the cat ? If so they must have changed the design since they made mine. If its not too much trouble a couple of pics would be interesting when its not in operation. If you resealed the stove what kind of caulk/stove cement did you use ? I'm guessing the rope was for the doors and the cement for the top. I'm surprised the top came off easily, some have reported a real problem doing so.
Glad to hear its working well for you. These were top of the line back in the day with reported efficiency in the 70 to 80 percent range. I'm not sure they are any better today ( but few still use the cat anymore. Too costly I guess ) IMO they are well worth resealing for another 30 plus years of service... :msp_thumbup:
ngzcaz
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Here's part of an IPL for your stove, if you look under the edge of part #39, you'll find two bolts under each edge of the top, two above the side door and two more on the opposite side, remove these and the entire top lifts off, and there is rope that seals the top to the stove and at the base of the stove pipe adapter, there are some seams that have to be sealed. I just used stove cement from a local hardware store. I put the cement and the rope in and put the top back on and let it set for several days till I needed a fire. I started with low heat for a few hours and then just let her rip. Another thing, I just snugged the bolts as the rope under the top was new, I was afraid to crank down the bolts as I might crack the cast iron top, might have to snug them again after it sets in for a while. I believe I read that you don't have a blower, they are a real plus and close to $200 new, might try surpluscenter.com , they have several and might be able to adapt one of them.
The picture won't load here, but just Google "consolidated dutchwest Model No. 2184" and you'll find a PDF that is a Manual and Illustrated Parts List that might be helpful.
The picture won't load here, but just Google "consolidated dutchwest Model No. 2184" and you'll find a PDF that is a Manual and Illustrated Parts List that might be helpful.
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ngzcaz
ArboristSite Operative
Not sure who you are addressing.. if its me I was referring to the bolts that are apparently on models other than mine that access the cat. It seems there may be 4 bolts holding the 5 square inch or so metal over the top of the cat. There are none on mine. You just lift the 5 in sq metal piece off and the cat in below it. No need to remove the entire top. The cat also lifts right out with only a steel shroud that holds it from going anywhere. Since your stove is already cured the cast iron is cured and not quite as temperamental but its always better to err on the side of caution rather than break something. The blowers are indeed a real plus in heat output. Mine is running fine since 1987 and I read further back that its simple to breakdown and lube the bearings if need be. I still have the original manuals and literature from the Consolidated Dutchwest catalog. Lots of info thats still good today... :msp_biggrin:
nathon918
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on the "newer" stoves after vermont castings took over , they changed the stoves, like eliminating the air control on the ash pan door, and putting the air control on both sides of the front door controlled with a single lever, the tops on these stoves are a single piece of cast iron, held down with 4 bolts, (2 on each side) using a rope seal around the top of secondary burn chamber.
so not all of the dutch west stoves are the same,
also i dont know if this is true or not, but i had heard that in the 80's some of the dutch west stoves were made in china? if true i would think they would be different from the US made ones?, i just know mine is made in USA :cool2:
ngzcaz
ArboristSite Operative
Not sure about China, the only info I have references Plymouth, Mass. And mine is actually a Federal Airtight, catalog is from C.D. The way they explained the dual controls was that a percentage of the air was to come from the side control and some from the bottom control. The bottom control was probably there since it was a dual purpose stove able to burn coal as well as wood. I don't think a side air flow would be the safe way to do a coal fire. Now that I think about it were the " newer " stoves advertised as being dual purpose ? I'd be surprised if they were with 2 side controls. Normally anything advertised as dual purpose generally didn't do quite as well as a single purpose one although mine does a fine job with wood. As I stated earlier I never tried coal. :msp_biggrin:
nathon918
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manufacture info doesnt always tell you everything, i just got rid of a 80's scandia stove that someone gave me, manufacture tag on the back of the stove says "Franklin cast products Warwick Rhode island" then cast into the back of the stove in huge letters it says MADE IN TAIWAN:msp_thumbdn:
im just happy both my Dutch West and my All Nighter are Made In USA
im not sure if the newer Dutch west stoves are dual fuel? i only burn wood...
ngzcaz
ArboristSite Operative
Before I bought the Federal Airtight I had a Scandia which was made in Taiwan as well. It didn't have a blower and neither did it work very well. Couldn't even heat the downstairs of my small home. It was a non cat unit.
One of the best stoves I had was a local copy of a Fisher ( I think ) Big double doors, large firebox lined with firebrick and all welded 3/8 inch boiler plate. A monster for sure. It burned all night due to the mass, only downside and it was the reason I sold it was it didn't have a grate or ashpan. You had to shovel the fire to the side, empty the hot ash ( which always rose of course ) and then level the hot coals and add more wood. Shame, it really had some serious heat output..
nathon918
Addicted to ArboristSite
Before I bought the Federal Airtight I had a Scandia which was made in Taiwan as well. It didn't have a blower and neither did it work very well. Couldn't even heat the downstairs of my small home. It was a non cat unit.
One of the best stoves I had was a local copy of a Fisher ( I think ) Big double doors, large firebox lined with firebrick and all welded 3/8 inch boiler plate. A monster for sure. It burned all night due to the mass, only downside and it was the reason I sold it was it didn't have a grate or ashpan. You had to shovel the fire to the side, empty the hot ash ( which always rose of course ) and then level the hot coals and add more wood. Shame, it really had some serious heat output..
my All Nighter is basically the same as a fisher, also have to shovel out the ash, i have it in my living room, which is an addition thats 16 x 20 with vaulted celings, i almost never run it because it gets over 90 deg in there fast, i just have a fan in the door way blowing into the main part of the house which does a really good job of heating the room, only 1-2 deg difference from the main part of the house
I am resurrecting this thread because it is the only one I have found that speaks specifically about the FA288. I have already learned quite a bit frm this thread, for example about taking off the complete stove top to redo the gaskets.
I bought this stone new probably 1987 and have used it every winter since then. I tried coal for 2 years but was not real successful in keeping the fire going after shaking the coals and adding more coal. I don't recall the exact details. I concluded this may be due to the old adage that if something is designed to doing something two ways, for example burn word or coal, it will do neither very well. I have have been lucky in that the stove does burn wood well.
My current problem is air leaks make the air supply hard to control. Fortunately the result is that the fire burns too well and I can't get long burns going. It does not over fire. I tried to address this by putting new gaskets on the doors and the cook plate (catalytic combuster cover). The end door and cook plate gaskets were easy and successful on the first try. The ash removal door in front had or developed an outward bow in the middle but I was able to overcome that by using a larger size gasket. I went from 3/8" to 1/2".
The last door issue is the that the front right door sticks out a little on its lower left corner. This causes a gap along the bottom of the right door and along the left vertical side of the door. The right door fits over the left door and holds the left door shut. The result is that the left is held securely shut at the top but not as much at the bottom. I cannot decide if the door became warped somehow. We are only talking about perhaps 1/16" but that is a big deal when it come to air tightness. I addressed other gasket issues by filling in part of the gasket channel with stove cement before putting in the new gasket but this would be real hard to do with this problem.
Q: Does this sound familiar anyone? Does anyone else think they have had warping of their front doors? If I explained this well are there any other methods to correct door alignment?
I bought this stone new probably 1987 and have used it every winter since then. I tried coal for 2 years but was not real successful in keeping the fire going after shaking the coals and adding more coal. I don't recall the exact details. I concluded this may be due to the old adage that if something is designed to doing something two ways, for example burn word or coal, it will do neither very well. I have have been lucky in that the stove does burn wood well.
My current problem is air leaks make the air supply hard to control. Fortunately the result is that the fire burns too well and I can't get long burns going. It does not over fire. I tried to address this by putting new gaskets on the doors and the cook plate (catalytic combuster cover). The end door and cook plate gaskets were easy and successful on the first try. The ash removal door in front had or developed an outward bow in the middle but I was able to overcome that by using a larger size gasket. I went from 3/8" to 1/2".
The last door issue is the that the front right door sticks out a little on its lower left corner. This causes a gap along the bottom of the right door and along the left vertical side of the door. The right door fits over the left door and holds the left door shut. The result is that the left is held securely shut at the top but not as much at the bottom. I cannot decide if the door became warped somehow. We are only talking about perhaps 1/16" but that is a big deal when it come to air tightness. I addressed other gasket issues by filling in part of the gasket channel with stove cement before putting in the new gasket but this would be real hard to do with this problem.
Q: Does this sound familiar anyone? Does anyone else think they have had warping of their front doors? If I explained this well are there any other methods to correct door alignment?
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