The Stove Collector

Stove Types

While stoves are often sorted just according to their fuel type, it can also be useful to know the different model types by function.

• Domestic stoves
• Camping stoves
• Industrial stoves

The domestic stove is the original stove model, and began to apprear around 1840. The concept was a reliable fireplace for the urban home that used the new kerosene fuel instead of wood. The traditional fireplace typically demanded a kitchen, proper air access and fire safety precautions, all demands that the new and cramped workers' homes and the rapidly growing cities could scarcely accommodate. Coal was a fairly modern alternative where coal was cheap but larger cities experienced serious problems with smog. The first domestic stoves were wick stoves, which could be used in practically any room for heating and cooking and used the space-efficient kerosene fuel. The popularity of the wick stoves was enormous but the design had some flaws; it took a long time to cook a meal and the fuel wasn't very efficiently consumed, which led to ooze and in small rooms subsequent headache. When the pressurized kerosene burners arrived around 1890 the wick burners were discarded en masse. The domestic stoves lived on in virtually every city home until they were supplanted by electrical or gas ranges; this happened in the 1930's in most cities but the domestic stove lived on until the 60's in rural areas in modern countries. In developing countries the little domestic stove is often still the king of the kitchen. A 150 years since the first wick stoves came on the market, very similiar models are still burning.

How do you recognise a domestic stove?

• The support rods are permanently affixed.
• A pan support ring of cast iron
• Silent burner.

Svea 5. Picture donated by Ross Mellows.

Camping for leisure is by civilisation standards a fairly new concept. Not until the arrival of the 5.5 day work week in the middle of the 19th century could the major part of the population find time and energy to seek out of the city on a day trip and have fun. Naturally they then brought along their domestic stoves which were now small enough and light enough to carry. As the general economy climbed upwards a market arrived for camping gear, first for the upper classes and then also the middle classes. By the dawn of the 20th century the camping stoves were distinctly made for transport. Nearly all were either alcohol or pressurized kerosene burners; white gas didn't become a common alternative until cars became common and the US were some years ahead of Europe there. An effort had been done to make camping stoves more portable by making them collapsible or at least streamlined, and the general concept was now to keep them in boxes while under transport. Also the burner had been simplified; the 'roarer' burner was noisier than the silent burner favored for at-home use but was a lot more trusty in winy conditions. As the decades went by, camping stoves became available in newer and more specialiced  types; stoves for high altitudes, for boats, for motorcycles, for utilizing whatever fuel can be found, for car camping, for field units etc.  Today camping stoves are usually small, generally either very light weight or very sturdy, and yet the basic fuel burning method has hardly changed from the very first models.

How do you recognise a camping stove?

• The support rods are removable or collapsible
• Roarer burner
• Key for dismantling, if needed
• Collapsible burner
• Box
• Somewhat smaller than the domestic stove

Svea 106. Picture donated by Ross Mellows.

Occasionally once can encounter a stove that differ from the two more popular types mentioned above. While basically similar in technology, these stoves are of little use at home or on a camping trip; typically they are overgrown in size or have handles. What these stoves were really used for was to heat large engines or vats, taking the place of blowlamps. The burner is usually of the roarer version; industry before WW2 didn't worry much about noise pollution.

How do you recognise an industrial stove?

• Double 'D' handles
• Roarer burner
• Seldom any support rods
• Lack of feet.

Optimus 527. Picture donated by Mike Baker.