My Vintage Kitchen

My Vintage Kitchen This is a page for posting pictures of and discussing wood stoves, coal stoves,antique stoves, parts, and Masonry heaters.đź’ś

What are these for?Two of these came with my stove. What are they?
11/28/2025

What are these for?
Two of these came with my stove. What are they?

Tips for Kitten-Proofing our Wood Stove?Hi there! I’ve never been in this sub before, so please let me know if this is t...
11/28/2025

Tips for Kitten-Proofing our Wood Stove?
Hi there! I’ve never been in this sub before, so please let me know if this is the wrong place to ask a question like this.

THE OVERARCHING QUESTION: I’m hoping to find some suggestions for the best way to kitten proof our wood stove to protect our new kitten from getting underneath it while it’s RIPPING hot and getting hurt or dying.

FOR CONTEXT: We live in a VERY small house and our ONLY source of heat is the wood stove in the picture provided. I’ve lived in this place for 12 years this February and my now-husband has lived here with me 7 years this last September. I’ve had cats in this house as long as I’ve lived here and they’ve always loved lounging/melting in front of the wood stove all winter long. BUT most cats I’ve had in this house have been adults with their heads on a swivel. The last time I had a kitten was 10 years ago this last August. He’s still with us as a chill adult cat. The year I got him, by the time I was actively burning in the wood stove regularly, he was too big to get UNDERNEATH it, so that was never a concern.

However, we just adopted a brand new kitten 2 weeks ago, and she’s still tiny enough to be able to easily fit under the wood stove, along with some other places that are pretty disconcerting. For the last two weeks we’ve been quarantining her in the bathroom until she got a clean bill of health (last week), while we slowly allow our two adult cats to get used to her (which is going pretty well), and while we kitten-proof our space (most of which is now done). At this point, the last thing we really have to deal with is this wood stove.

We let her out regularly while wearing a harness and leash, so that if she gets anywhere unsafe, we can find her and snag her quick, (which she hates). But last week after she got a clean bill of health, I let her out a little bit to explore, and at one point she absolutely DOVE right underneath the wood stove. Thankfully, it wasn’t very hot (fire had just been started) and she was unharmed, but I’m really concerned that, if I don’t somehow block this off, she’s going to get really hurt or possibly even killed if she does it again while it’s really blazing. She’s super cute, but honestly dumb as hell. I’ve already saved her from a few different situations where she coulda been really hurt, so I absolutely do not trust that she’ll just “stay away from it” if it’s super raging hot, the way the smarter adult cats all do.

SPECIFIC BIG QUESTION FOR Y’ALL: Last night, I suggested to my husband that I wrap the bottom with chicken wire or mesh and secure it in place. My husband then suggested that we just take some loose bricks that we have outside and just place them all around the gap, closing off the space so she can’t get under. BUT it seems to me like, if it was safe for this thing to be touching the ground, then it would ALREADY BE TOUCHING THE GROUND. Like, I’m assuming that it’s off the ground for a safety reason, right? If I brick up the gap under the stove, that’s gonna cause the space underneath the stove to heat up, rather than disperse the heat like it probably currently does. So, wood stove experts, is that a bad idea?

TL;DR - can I put bricks around the base of my stove to keep our new kitten from getting under there and burning herself alive (like my husband suggested), or will that cause a fire or my house to blow up? /s

Thank you to anyone able to offer some ideas! It will be much appreciated!

Stove ToppersNew homeowner here and pretty stoked to use this wood stove all winter. I’ve seen people put humidifiers or...
11/28/2025

Stove Toppers
New homeowner here and pretty stoked to use this wood stove all winter. I’ve seen people put humidifiers or little stove fans on top, but I’m curious…what other cool things do you like to keep on a hot stove?

Would love to see photos of what you’ve done!

After and Before 1988 Vermont Iron Elm Wood Stove- More info in comments
11/28/2025

After and Before 1988 Vermont Iron Elm Wood Stove- More info in comments

New to wood stoves! Could anyone please tell me what the levers and dial do?Seriously thank you so much for any help!
11/28/2025

New to wood stoves! Could anyone please tell me what the levers and dial do?
Seriously thank you so much for any help!

Cold air damperThis is the second time this has happened. Get the fire going again after work. Then about 1930 I add woo...
11/27/2025

Cold air damper
This is the second time this has happened. Get the fire going again after work. Then about 1930 I add wood for the night. I closed the damper down to maybe 10%. I go get my items ready for my lunch.The next day and come back down to my wood stove that is now 700°. So I closed the damper all the way and the stove is still sucking air. I have done the match test.All the way around everything there are no other air.Leaks other than the damper. Has anyone else had this experience? If so was there a fix?

Help me with my antique stoveRecently moved into my grandparents home, they are both no longer with us, and when I did a...
11/27/2025

Help me with my antique stove
Recently moved into my grandparents home, they are both no longer with us, and when I did ask about the stove, grandpa just said, “the really old one caught the carpet on fire, but my buddy had this one in his barn, so we bought it off him and it’s been ours since”. Anyway that’s all I have to go off of. Any ideas on type, model, manufacturer? How to best use the k***s at the bottom to control air? Live on the Oregon coast if that helps at all. Would like to learn how to keep a fire going all night and not wake up cold.

Today’s job! Teardrop hearth core drilled and cut on site to wrap around the support! Scan Anderson stove and a twin wal...
11/27/2025

Today’s job! Teardrop hearth core drilled and cut on site to wrap around the support! Scan Anderson stove and a twin wall insulated flue
View is immense

Facebook marketplaceI saw this on Facebook marketplace and thought I would share
11/27/2025

Facebook marketplace
I saw this on Facebook marketplace and thought I would share

There She BLOWS ❤️I struggled getting this big girl going last season, which was my first. Was getting completely smoked...
11/27/2025

There She BLOWS ❤️
I struggled getting this big girl going last season, which was my first. Was getting completely smoked out in the house... GROK helped me nail it 🤣🤣 and a big torch gun.

Refreshed Shenandoah CH-77Refreshed an old Shenandoah (bought out by Sierra) CH-77 - Catalytic version of R-77Bought a h...
11/27/2025

Refreshed Shenandoah CH-77
Refreshed an old Shenandoah (bought out by Sierra) CH-77 - Catalytic version of R-77

Bought a house with it already installed in basement. AC blower intake sits above the stove so can distribute the hot air round the house. Gave it a coat of stove paint then used for one season last year after an inspection whilst trying to figure out how it’s supposed to work.

Came to the realization that the catalyst control rod was broken off and the mechanism effectively seized, though was able to run it as a regular stove with the catalyst all the way out and damper full open. Had to add a flu damper to add some extra control though the stove does have a working bi-metallic thermostat to control intake air.

Was tempted to replace it this season and figured, with nothing to lose, I could take it apart and see if it’s worth salvaging.

Removed top and fire brick supports

Took an angle grinder to the catalyst/damper mechanism to make adjust for the excessive warping that had caused it to seize

replace catalyst

re-tapped and threaded on control rod

replaced 14 fire bricks

re-attached top with new gasket and new 1/4” bolts

Fingers crossed it will perform better than the 4-5hr burn time I was getting previously. For $100 in parts, figured it was worth a try.

Don’t see a lot of these around so thought someone might be interested.

Thanks!

Installing an old insert as a free standing stove in my barn.I have a medium sized pole barn (40' x 60'} that is my work...
11/27/2025

Installing an old insert as a free standing stove in my barn.I have a medium sized pole barn (40' x 60'} that is my workshop. In the past I've used propane torpedo heaters just to get it tolerable when it's not below freezing. But long story short, I have this old insert and I was thinking about putting it in the corner to use as a better source of heat.

My plan is to put it on some cinder blocks and then install whatever pipe is recommended by the manufacturer. I'm just starting out and haven't looked into it too much yet but wondered if this was a good idea or if if I'm making a mistake. Assuming I find the owner's manual online and I keep it a safe distance away from any walls and install the recommended pipe. Do you all have any advice?

I do some minor woodworking but dust collection setup and could avoid burning while doing anything dusty but I also wondered if it would be safe to keep it burning while I'm working. I don't feel like there would be any real risk unless I was throwing plumes of fine sawdust into the air all at once which doesn't happen.

Also any advice on where to purchase the pipe or how to run it? Should I go straight up or out the back wall? From what I gather, I need to have it higher than the roof because of the exhaust fan near the future.

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