FISHER Papa, Mama, and Baby Bear Details (Bear Series)

[Don Huston]

I took another look at the papa bear the top plate sticks over, the angle for the bottom top plate starts under this . The top plat on the left side has 3 0s stamped on it the door like i was saying opens from right to left instead of left to right like every fisher ive seen ,has door handle on right 4 trees ,2 dampers made from pipe caps on the bottom of the door it says pat pend. The stove is made with 1/4 inch steal. Can anyone tell me anything about this stove?

 

[jjs777_fzr]

Coaly will undoubtedly be around to comment - but I recall reading there were opposite door opening stoves out there - but not common.
Any chance you could post a photo ?

 

[Don Huston]

Here is a couple photos of the Papa;

 

[coaly]

Good example of an early lefty. They were available in left and right hand hinged.

What state was this found in? Any markings on the bottom ?

 

[Don Huston]

It was found in Cascade,idaho i didnt see any markings would the be in the front bottom

 

[hilbiliarkiboi]

I believe Coaly meant underneath the stove. Sometimes they rub chalk on to find any faint markings. Looking @ a lefty w/pipecaps no 3 piece tho. Nice fund.

 

[Don Huston]

Couldnt see any markings , ill have to try the chalk really would like to know the age and where it was made

 

[Don Huston]

Anyone know where we can find some bear claws for this papa bear stove

 

[hilbiliarkiboi]

$250.00. Ebay. Or like some folks : buy a $75 stove w/feet, and then u can sell stove for ???!

 

[coaly]

The feet didn't come out until much later after Fisher International was formed. So it would not be correct to set this old of a stove into newer feet.

They have surfaced on eBay for $25 within the last couple years, but you have to be lucky to find a Buy it Now posted and hit it quick. Otherwise finding a stove with them on Craigslist and buying the stove for the feet is the way to go.

If this stove was made in 1974, it would have been shipped or delivered from a dealer in another state. Probably a 1975 stove from Cal Cotton in Boise Idaho. Stoves built after January 1976 in Post Falls at the Dick Higgins shop should have the patent number on the door. The Pat. Pend. on the door would be before Nov 25 1975. AND, the pipe cap draft intakes would be the patented Baxter style after Nov. 1976.
Large welded numbers with a state abreviation was sometimes welded on the bottom from some states, but my older stoves from Idaho don't have any markings.

 

[Don Huston]

Thanks for the info ,we are placing the stove today. Great workmanship ,a little clean up and this stove looks in great shape. The inside still has the origonal bricks. I think ill leave this stove without feet . Thanks

 

[Don Huston]

Had to post the papa bear all set up, its raining and cool am enjoying the warm fire.

 

[Don Huston]

Has anyone used a ekofan , what did you think of it. Where is the best place to by one.

 

[jjs777_fzr]

Has anyone used a ekofan , what did you think of it. Where is the best place to by one.

You mean ecofan ? I don't use one - but they indeed work. Search ebay. Also search youtube as you'll see them in action. Pricey but they are neat.

 

[kate]

Hi Everyone,

12 years ago we bought a home with a Fisher Stove set up in our basement. We used it only once or twice years ago, so I decided to see if I could find it a better home. I found this forum and see that there are people who are true lovers of these stoves. From looking at the posts (Sept 6 by Coaly) ours seems to be a Papa Bear. It says Pat Pend on the front. I suspect it's been used only indoors, so no rust and it seems to be in pretty good shape. I live in the Twin Cities in Minnesota and am wondering if anyone on this forum knows of a good place for me to check to see if anyone is interested in buying it. I'm guessing I want to keep it local since it probably would cost a fortune to ship. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Todd67]

Hi Everyone,

12 years ago we bought a home with a Fisher Stove set up in our basement. We used it only once or twice years ago, so I decided to see if I could find it a better home. I found this forum and see that there are people who are true lovers of these stoves. From looking at the posts (Sept 6 by Coaly) ours seems to be a Papa Bear. It says Pat Pend on the front. I suspect it's been used only indoors, so no rust and it seems to be in pretty good shape. I live in the Twin Cities in Minnesota and am wondering if anyone on this forum knows of a good place for me to check to see if anyone is interested in buying it. I'm guessing I want to keep it local since it probably would cost a fortune to ship. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Most of us check craigslist for Fisher Stoves. I bought my Mama Bear for $300 or $350 (don't remember) in good shape, but removed the rust, repainted it, and replaced the firebricks before I installed it in my house. Heats my 2 story house like a champ in northern NY.

 

[Dell]

Coaly, thanks for the useful info - I read your everything Fisher thread and found numerous helpful items. I am the proud owner of a Papa Bear, original to my house we bought about 3 years ago (built 1979). I am guessing the stove around 77 - 79 pre UL. I moved it out to lay tile floor, and restored it with new fire brick, added a baffle, and paint. I did not do as nice a job as you and others on the site, but looks way better than before. Mine is used as secondary heat, burning about 2-3 cords of mainly red oak per year. It heats our approx. 2500 SF cape cod from the basement corner and is tied into original 8x8" tile flue. It kicks the heat incredibly well and sometimes too well. I am still experimenting with different damper and draft settings to achieve the optimum burn; I think a chimney liner would do us well. I plan on maintaining it and burning it another 30 years instead of buying a $2,000 piece of junk that will wear out. I like that this is made in US, can burn through the night, and made like a tank. I have many fond memories already of burning this fine Fisher and it has the family happy during power outages.
.
Door: US PAT D237798 Other Patents Pending. Inside of door marked P/M. Loose spring handle and 5 fin draft control knobs.
Can you confirm year for me?

 

[jjs777_fzr]

Coaly, thanks for the useful info - I read your everything Fisher thread and found numerous helpful items. I am the proud owner of a Papa Bear, original to my house we bought about 3 years ago (built 1979). I am guessing the stove around 77 - 79 pre UL. I moved it out to lay tile floor, and restored it with new fire brick, added a baffle, and paint. I did not do as nice a job as you and others on the site, but looks way better than before. Mine is used as secondary heat, burning about 2-3 cords of mainly red oak per year. It heats our approx. 2500 SF cape cod from the basement corner and is tied into original 8x8" tile flue. It kicks the heat incredibly well and sometimes too well. I am still experimenting with different damper and draft settings to achieve the optimum burn; I think a chimney liner would do us well. I plan on maintaining it and burning it another 30 years instead of buying a $2,000 piece of junk that will wear out. I like that this is made in US, can burn through the night, and made like a tank. I have many fond memories already of burning this fine Fisher and it has the family happy during power outages.
.
Door: US PAT D237798 Other Patents Pending. Inside of door marked P/M. Loose spring handle and 5 fin draft control knobs.
Can you confirm year for me?

View attachment 83690

Have you tried a stove baffle yet ? If not give it a go - for short money on a piece of 1/4 to 3/8 steel its well worth the money.

 

[coaly]

78 -79 is as close as you're going to get unless there is a number in weld on the bottom with PA. Since it's in PA, there's a good possibility it was made in Factoryville, PA that numbered them.

Here's a '77 from PA that still had the older 4 fin, and tight stainless spring. This is stove #4218;


By stove #5469 in '78, the newer style spring and draft caps were being used that match yours.

By the end of '79 the handle was bent, as used on the stoves built after 1980;

 

[Dell]

78 -79 is as close as you're going to get unless there is a number in weld on the bottom with PA. Since it's in PA, there's a good possibility it was made in Factoryville, PA that numbered them.

Here's a '77 from PA that still had the older 4 fin, and tight stainless spring. This is stove #4218;
View attachment 83707

By stove #5469 in '78, the newer style spring and draft caps were being used that match yours.

By the end of '79 the handle was bent, as used on the stoves built after 1980;
View attachment 83708

Thanks again Coaly! I checked the bottom and it is marked "FP 4-33" in weld - does that indicate anything for you?

And to the other fellow's question, yes I installed a 1/4" baffle in mine. I just set it on top of the single horizontal bricks and the rear tab by the outlet flue.

 

[maple1]

And thanks for the heads up on the "New" Fisher Stove outdoor wood furnace.

A guy by the name of Tim Arrowood owned Timber Ridge, that later became Free Heat Machine, folded in 2010, became Biomass-Direct LLC and has gone into hiding to avoid warranty issues.... Seems this guy Larry has it now, and tried a few things including putting the Fisher badge on the old Biomass Wood Furnace.
300 Cherokee Park Dr. Elizabethton, TN
View attachment 69584 I'm on this guy like a hobo on a hot dog.

Might want to drop into the Boiler Room again.

 

[kate]

Most of us check craigslist for Fisher Stoves. I bought my Mama Bear for $300 or $350 (don't remember) in good shape, but removed the rust, repainted it, and replaced the firebricks before I installed it in my house. Heats my 2 story house like a champ in northern NY.

Hi Todd67. Thanks for the suggestion. I've listed it on Craig's list. It really is a good looking stove and I tell myself I should probably learn to use it, but I know I probably won't. I've attached a picture just to share. Do people usually pay for bears feet separate, or should I just throw those in?

 

[coaly]

The bear feet normally sell on eBay between 100 and 200 a set of 4. So consider that with the price of the stove.

 

[coaly]

Thanks again Coaly! I checked the bottom and it is marked "FP 4-33" in weld - does that indicate anything for you?

Thanks for the detailed info on your stove. I've been trying to figure out the FP 4-33 on the bottom. Never saw welders initials on the bottom of a PA stove, and never saw one with a dash in the middle of a number. Unless since it's easier to weld a line than a zero, it could be the builders initials and stove number 4033 ?
I bought one in Jersey stamped on the top left rear (looking at it from the back) with a NJ serial number. I don't know of a NJ fabricator, only NY and PA, so that didn't make sense. To further complicate that one, the weld on the bottom looked like a NN 77. Could be a NY, made in NY for a Jersey distributer / retailer who stamped the serial number on the back. I keep track of what is found in hopes of deciphering it all some day.

Same stove bottom;

 

[kate]

The bear feet normally sell on eBay between 100 and 200 a set of 4. So consider that with the price of the stove.

Thanks, Coaly. I really appreciate it.