Stratford N1910

[stagedamager]

I have just finished restoring and rebuilding a Stratford stove, and was amazed at the build quality ( or lack of). It only seems to be held together with 9 bolts and no sign of any stove rope or cement, how were the panels sealed when built? They are also very thin castings which have rotted in numerous places, and warped slightly.

Does any one have information as to how they were originally built?

Dan

[dmr]

Are you intending to use this as an "ornamental" back cabin stove, or as a major source of heating in the boat?

We have one of these as our main stove and although it has kept us mostly warm for the last few winters I do not think it is ideal.

The firebox is too small to stay in overnight, it makes CO if you try to damp it (remove the damper!) and as you say, it appears to have no rope or other sealing, so can be rather smokey.

But, a very very good looking stove

Our current problem is to find a replacement that is more functional but just as attractive!

 

............Dave

[stagedamager]

Not sure yet, poss main cabin stove, I've reseated all the panels with a high temp silicone sealant capable of 1200 degrees Celsius, but am concerned about CO output so I might look at some way of sealing the doors etc with a stove rope........ It would be going in a wooden tug so I'm hoping it should warm up nicely, I don't know how much they retailed for new but couldn't have been cheap. Also the hot plates seal badly as well, or is that just mine?

Dan

[dmr]

Yes, the plates are a very poor seal. The stove really depends on a negative pressure inside from the chimney draw, otherwise smoke gets out all over the place. It helps to start off with a little bit of firelighter in the flue (rear rght hotplate) to get the chimney warm before lighting.

I think your silicon sealing might help a bit, but the loose hotplates will then be the weak spot.

We can NOT use the oven (do not close the oven heat flap with the brass knob top right) or else lots of CO. But otherwise with care and practice it does work. Please get a CO meter with a digital readout and learn how to work this stove.

Make sure the flue to stove connection is airtight.

Can't quite keep it in all night.

There is always a bit of leakage, you can sort of taste the coal in the air.

This does not bother me but Gillie is quite sensitive to it. This winter we burnt a mixture of coal and good seasoned wood and that went quite well. t.

Though the oven is no good you can cook nicely on top and do great baked potatoes wrapped in tinfoil in the ashpan.

If you want a good efficient stove then maybe a Morso, but if you don't mind some effort then you can heat a boat with the Stratford.

Not a clue what they cost new, have seen a few on ebay for big money, but they either don't sell or sell at quite a low price.

I would really like to know how you get on!

.............Dave

[stagedamager]

I have a plan for the hotplates, which i shall try, and let you know how i get on, i like the idea of a bit of firelighter, i may try that, i fully plan to get a CO meter, it would be foolish not too. here are some pictures of how it went over the past few months!!

 

extent of corrosion on the hotplate:

 

 

before cleaning:

 

 

during rebuild:

 

 

extent of corrosion once investigated:

 

 

refabricating plates:

 

 

Once Rebuilt:

 

 

Checking the posh BBQ for smoke leaks!

 

 

i'm fully confident i can solve all the problems faced, with a bit of thinking, it would be shame to end up with a damp squib after all the work, it took a while to get the hotplate refabricated, due to the problems of welding cast iron, but lets see how it goes!!

Dan

[jonathanA]

so basically these stoves

 

aren't well made

don't work very well for heating

don't work very well for cooking

 

and are a death trap emitting fumes and CO ?

 

But they do look nice....

[carlt]

so basically these stoves

 

aren't well made

don't work very well for heating

don't work very well for cooking

 

and are a death trap emitting fumes and CO ?

 

But they do look nice....

After completely dismantling mine, sealing it, replacing the firebricks, sealing it a bit more, finding a smoke box, sealing the smoke box, sealing down the hob rings and blacking it I finally lit it and it stayed in up until bed time with no leaks registering on the CO monitor and the boat was toasty warm....

 

...In the morning the hot plate was cracked and it was an ornament for a few weeks before I gave it away to someone else who had a dismantled Stratford and a bucket full of dreams.

[c c]

Can you post a pic of how the firebox bits go together please?

And advice on how to mend a crack in the frame to the left of the ash box door just above the door hinge - do I drill and bolt?

I intend it to be only ornament in Butty Angel.

[stagedamager]

I'm at work at the moment but I'll have a look through my photos when I get home. The only way to repair is to weld with Nickel rods I believe.

Regards

Dan

[matty40s]

My epping wasn't much better, was going to post in the what you have sorted for the boat thread until the vent duct base plate decided to give way after some water came down the chimneyless chimney hole.

[dmr]

Well as this is a resurrection of an old thread, and as I made a couple of contributions I better add an update as my post number 4 was not totally correct..

At the right time of the year and with a bit of luck these stoves sell on eBay for a surprisingly large amount of money!, so a good restoration is probably justified. We now have a very lovely and modern Charnwood C4 in the saloon which is very efficient, keeps us warm (much too warm some times) and has a big window for watching the flames, but still not quite as beautiful as the old Stratford.

 

...........Dave

[madcat]

You can still get spares for the Epping , mines ready to re fit when I can get away long enough to fit the new metal range shelf to sit it on.

[Laurence Hogg]

Spares for the "Stratford" can still be obtained, its actually a "Dover" badge engineered. Spares are available off the shelf from suppliers in South Africa which is where it was made by Falkirk industries. If you look at the backside of the castings they have a DVR number on them.

 

edit to add : http://www.ndebelestowe.co.za/refurbished_stoves.html

Edited May 4, 2014 by Laurence Hogg

[FadeToScarlet]

Can you post a pic of how the firebox bits go together please?

And advice on how to mend a crack in the frame to the left of the ash box door just above the door hinge - do I drill and bolt?

I intend it to be only ornament in Butty Angel.

Will the butty steerer agree with that when it's pouring down and freezing?

[c c]

Will the butty steerer agree with that when it's pouring down and freezing?

ve hef vays off varming her, how you say - ip