# Oak Ridge Woodstove



## Muertt (Sep 22, 2014)

My wife and I recently bought a used wood stove from a guy who refurbishes them locally.

All I know is that it is an Oak Ridge wood stove.

I am looking for any resources to obtain an owner's manual.  The local Installers wont touch this without one.

Any help is much appreciated.


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## mellow (Sep 22, 2014)

That is an old stove, early 80's at best, finding a manual is going to be pretty hard.

Is it too late to return that stove?


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## Muertt (Sep 22, 2014)

mellow said:


> That is an old stove, early 80's at best, finding a manual is going to be pretty hard.
> 
> Is it too late to return that stove?



Unfortunately, it is too late.  We have someone that will help us install, we just needed someone from Finch's to come out and tell us what kind of piping we need.

Do you think the age is a bad thing?


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## mellow (Sep 22, 2014)

Muertt said:


> Do you think the age is a bad thing?



When it comes to getting all you can out of your wood, yes.  That oak ridge wood stove has an efficiency of around 40-45%, new stoves are in the 70%+ range.

You can find an economical stove in the $800-$1000 price range that would heat up to 2000 sq feet depending on the model and would use roughly half the wood doing it.

Give us some more info about your existing setup, do you already have a chimney?


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## Grisu (Sep 22, 2014)

Muertt said:


> Do you think the age is a bad thing?



If it is that old it was built before UL testing was done meaning you have an unlisted stove. If your local building code follows NFPA 211 guidelines you will need 36" clearance each side unless you install wall heat shields. See this for reference: http://www.maine.gov/dps/fmo/documents/standardsfor_solidfuel_stoves.pdf 
However, ask your local building inspector and check with your home insurance! They will decide what is acceptable. 

A newer stove will not only be more efficient but also allows closer clearances to combustibles. You will also save a little bit as most new stoves only require a 6" pipe.


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## fancythis (Sep 24, 2014)

We have this same stove. We have been using it for 20 years. We never could find out much about the stove except the maker let their patient expire. It is very very well built. Extra thick walls. Ours has a place to pour water in the stove to keep the air from getting dry. It does not burn any more wood than any of the other stoves I have ever owned. And as far as smoke if you burn it hot enough it will not smoke. We  lined our chimney with stainless steel pipe so we would not have to worry about chimney fires. Well worth the money.

Enjoy it. You have something that many do not.

I have the manual that came with ours. Maybe I could dig it out and scan it to you?

If you find information please share.

I also wanted to let you know it heats my 2000 Square foot house. Even with all the snow  last year my heat pump never came on.
Lisa


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## bholler (Sep 24, 2014)

Just follow the nfpa 211 clearances and you will be ok.  And match the pipe to the size of the stove collar.  You need 18" from the pipe to combustibles and 36 from the stove what is the floor it is going on?  It looks like a decent old stove i don't know anything about it but it looks like a basic steel box.  Not sophisticated and not terribly efficient but if you burn good wood and burn it right it should work fine.  What chimney is it going into?


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## Scols (Sep 26, 2014)

That's a beautiful stove that has much more character than the generic epa stoves of today. Not to mention they are generally better constructed and should easily last another 30+ years. Yes, you could purchase a new stove for around $1000 but you might not get the service life you will get with that old stove. Don't let the "prius stove " pushers rattle you, good burning practices will keep your wood consumption in check .


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## dieselscout80 (Nov 12, 2014)

I have a Oak-Ridge fireplace insert and it works great.

If you need a gasket for it would try 7/16".

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/door-seal-gasket.134585/


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## dieselscout80 (Nov 12, 2014)

Muertt and Fancythis what dia pipe are your Oak-Ridges setup for?


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## Janice97 (Nov 16, 2018)

We have this stove, in a newly purchased home.  A fireplace inspector told us that there is too much "kerasoate" in the stove and chimney, that it is unsafe to use.  He offered to clean everything, but also said that there is no way to get all of this flammable substance out.  At my suggestion, we discussed replacing the entire system instead.  I can see for myself, the black junk that flakes off the inside of each door.  Does anyone in here know about cleaning kerasoate?  Currently we are not using the stove.


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## bholler (Nov 16, 2018)

Janice97 said:


> We have this stove, in a newly purchased home.  A fireplace inspector told us that there is too much "kerasoate" in the stove and chimney, that it is unsafe to use.  He offered to clean everything, but also said that there is no way to get all of this flammable substance out.  At my suggestion, we discussed replacing the entire system instead.  I can see for myself, the black junk that flakes off the inside of each door.  Does anyone in here know about cleaning kerasoate?  Currently we are not using the stove.


For starter it is creosote.  And yes i clean allot of it.  It depends how bad it is sometimes if it is bad it can be pretty expensive to clean.  But dispit what many others on this thread have said these are not clean or efficient burners.


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## Janice97 (Nov 16, 2018)

bholler said:


> For starter it is creosote.  And yes i clean allot of it.  It depends how bad it is sometimes if it is bad it can be pretty expensive to clean.  But dispit what many others on this thread have said these are not clean or efficient burners.


Thanks, bholler.  I transcribed the word "kerasoate" directly from the fireplace inspector's invoice.  However, couldn't find this word anywhere on the internet.  From what I just read about "creosote", it is what we have inside the stove.  On your mention of the stove not being clean or efficient, I agree that older stoves are not the best for heating homes.  Our heat pump does a good job of keeping us warm, so far.  We love the way this old stove looks, and are considering keeping it, to enjoy a wood-burning fire every once in a while.  However if it is unsafe (even after cleaning), we may just replace it with a new pellet stove and use the new system for heating.


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## bholler (Nov 16, 2018)

Janice97 said:


> Thanks, bholler.  I transcribed the word "kerasoate" directly from the fireplace inspector's invoice.  However, couldn't find this word anywhere on the internet.  From what I just read about "creosote", it is what we have inside the stove.  On your mention of the stove not being clean or efficient, I agree that older stoves are not the best for heating homes.  Our heat pump does a good job of keeping us warm, so far.  We love the way this old stove looks, and are considering keeping it, to enjoy a wood-burning fire every once in a while.  However if it is unsafe (even after cleaning), we may just replace it with a new pellet stove and use the new system for heating.


Well i would not hire him to do any work simply because of that.  The stove is no problem that creosote will burn off the inside safely.  The chimney may be a problem.  Or it may just need a simple cleaning i dont know i havnt seen it.


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## Janice97 (Nov 16, 2018)

bholler said:


> Well i would not hire him to do any work simply because of that.  The stove is no problem that creosote will burn off the inside safely.  The chimney may be a problem.  Or it may just need a simple cleaning i dont know i havnt seen it.


Yes, I was thinking that misspelling this word is a huge red flag.  Perhaps getting the chimney replaced, and cleaning up the stove's inside?


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## bholler (Nov 16, 2018)

Janice97 said:


> Yes, I was thinking that misspelling this word is a huge red flag.  Perhaps getting the chimney replaced, and cleaning up the stove's inside?


I wouldnt replace the chimney on his word.  Have a sweep come out to clean it.  And the inside of the stove is not of much concern.


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## Janice97 (Nov 16, 2018)

Thank you.  The creosote falls down into a large pile at the bottom of the stove, just from knocking on the pipe.  We will ask another sweep to come and take a look.  I'll post the outcome.


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## mellow (Nov 19, 2018)

Janice97 said:


> I transcribed the word "kerasoate" directly from the fireplace inspector's invoice



Wow, where at in DE is this?


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