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Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Under the Hood 3: Andirons- movable, removable, customizable

Our andirons are custom cut from 1/2” plate steel, and mounted on a thick hinged plate.  When the loading door is closed, the andirons are locked in place by a security tab on the door.

Your choice of andirons- or you can design your own! A small sample is shown above.



Moose Andirons in one of our test stoves

When the door is open, the andirons can be pulled forward and out of the way for loading.  The hinged plate deflects incoming air up over the coalbed and helps to ensure smoke free loading (see illustration below).

When andirons are pulled forward, for loading, their mounting plate deflects air up, away from the coal bed. Reducing the amount of air in the coal bed helps ensure smoke free loading.
In this picture, andirons have been pulled forward for loading.

The andirons are easily removable and/or replaceable.  Just lift the andiron/plate assembly, push it into the 30 degree removal slot, and take it out.

We are experimenting with the andiron geometry.  The andirons need to have enough vacant areas to let light through, while retaining enough mass for strength.

Have a good idea for andirons?  Send us your idea (in drawing or image form) and we’ll convert it into a rendering and/or sample cut and post it here!

We'll start adding the suggestions below:
Left: One of the suggested Fleur de lis images
Right: The andiron created by Woodstock Soapstone
Request Dog Breeds:
We've started by creating the Puppy Andiron (left) and the Pointer Andiron (right)


8 comments:

  1. How about various dig breed andirons?

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    1. Hi Flatbedford,
      We assume you mean dog breeds! We'll get some put together and up as soon as possible.

      Lorin

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  2. Hmm, my Granddad once explained that the purpose of andirons were to keep the wood behind them, or from "rolling" forward into the room, a "wood fence". If the andirons can be pulled (tilted?) forward during loading, it could be difficult to judge where to place the wood. If the wood was loaded too far forward, it might be hard to push the andirons back, or in some cases "slam" the door shut upon a burning mass. Most wood is not cylinders, but split more like triangular chunks, hence making it somewhat difficult to move back once loaded. I also had an older stove that if the wood was placed to close to the glass, the glass would get dirty quickly. The andiron concept is mechanical intriguing, however moving parts can be difficult to design and work flawlessly. Woodstock has a reputation of working perfectly, so I am sure that this design has been proven in your testing. Just makes me a little nervous that a load of burning wood might come tumbling onto my floor during opening to front door. Could be a "whale" of an experience.....not a "light house".....my house.

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    Replies
    1. Al- very legitimate comments/concerns. The andirons do prevent wood from rolling into the glass, and they also help keep the glass clean, by keeping burning wood away from the glass. We think andirons are necessary, or at least highly desirable, in this stove – both for practical and psychological reasons (i.e. the security of knowing that wood cannot roll into the glass, even if it is not “dangerous” to have that happen).

      In response to your mechanical question, I would note that there is a 2” deep smoke baffle on each side of the door (the teal color on the andiron cutaway. In order to interfere with andiron movement, a piece of wood would have to placed precisely between those vertical smoke baffles, at least 4 1/2 inches above the firebox base, and within 1/2” of the front plane of the stove, with a solid wood mass behind it. I won’t say this is impossible, but it would have to be a pretty deliberate attempt to obstruct the use of the andirons. And if you did achieve this dubious feat, you could just lift and remove the andirons, and close the door. They are quite easy to remove.

      We have engineered andirons that move out of the way “side-to-side” (as opposed to forward), and ones that can be individually removed from a slot or receptacle, but the andirons described here are our simplest, most durable solution by far. If our beta testers don’t like it, we can always go naked – no andirons at all! Or if a customer thought they were more risk than reward, they could just remove them, but I don’t think that’s a likely outcome.

      Tom Morrissey

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  3. Below is the first andiron suggestion we received via email.

    Dear Woodstock,
    I'm following the developments on the new stove closely on the blog. My wife and daughter love the looks of our Fireview, so if I hope to convince them we need to upgrade to your new stove it needs to impress the women in the family.

    My 19yo daughter's favorite design since childhood has been the fleur de lis.

    I asked her which one she liked and she forwarded the ones attached. Could you possibly do a rendering of andirons with a fleur de lis?

    Thanks!

    God bless,
    Brian

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    1. My daughter just looked at the Fleur de lis rendering, here's her response:

      Ok, now that's awesome! I love how the more rounded one turned out!

      God Bless,
      Marie

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  4. Andirons are necessary and I am delighted that the customer will have many custom designs to pick from! Not only that, but Woodstock could have a great engineering solution to andiron "in the way" problem. Is there any value to discussing loading this new stove with the "butt ends" in first (or logs being placed fore and aft)? Or, for clarification, sort of akin to loading a side loading stove. This method of loading might have a couple of benefits. The customer may cut there wood somewhat shorter making it more easy to lift the log into the stove since each piece is physical lighter. The SIDES of the stove then become the "andirons" containing to wood from rolling. The andirons then become only decoration with this method or one could remove them without problems. This new front loading Woodstock stove could give the user many added benefits. Is this possible since I do not know the depth of the firebox? At any rate, it appears like a great new Woodstock product!

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    1. Final firebox dimensions will depend on the thickness of the soapstone liner, but won’t vary much from the current 22” WIDE x 18” DEEP of usable space. Depending on the length of your wood, you could load front-to-back or side-to-side (or both: mixed load).

      -Tom

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