Stove Types and Keys to Efficient Heating

Wood burning stoves can be classified generally into three kinds:
1. free-standing fireplaces in which the atmosphere of an open fireplace is the most important feature,
2. enclosed fireboxes which are used primarily for heaters, and
3. cook stoves which are used for some heating as well.
Some stoves are combination fireplaces and heaters. In the US, the well-known Franklin fireplace is he best known example of this type.


The free-standing fireplace that is sold as decorative furniture and for warmth and atmosphere is usually not chosen for utilitarian reasons. However, a room can be warmed b these fireplaces especially if the fireplace is constructed of metal which will radiate heat into the room. The Franklin fireplace can be closed to improve somewhat the heating capacity. Unfortunately the firebox of the Franklin stove is not tight enough to control the flow of air for efficient wood operation.


For efficient and economical heating, three design criteria are important:
1. the stove should have a tight firebox with an adjustable draft to ensure the wood to burn slowly.
2. there should be a large mass of cast iron to collect the heat and radiate it into the room, and
3. the stove should be designed so that baffles and heating chambers direct smoke through the stove to achieve as much heat transfer to the stove surfaces as possible rather than have most the heat lost up the chimney.


The quality of wood burning stoves in an important criterion.Cast iron stoves are not only better than sheet metal stoves because they give a more even heat, but also because the sheet metal suffers from metal fatigue if stressed by repeated opening and closing of doors and vents. Some stoves are available which are enamel on top of cast iron. The enameling is much easier to clean than is cast iron and it is not necessary to use stove black to keep the stove attractive.

“Up flew the bright sparks in myriads as the logs were stirred. The deep red blaze sent forth a rich glow that penetrated into the furthest corner of the room, and cast its cheerful tint on every face.” From Christmas at Dingley Dell, By Charles Dickens

We agree with Dickens in the sentiment that there is no more enchanting time of year to enjoy a fire in an antique stove than at Christmastime. Christmastime is one of our most beloved times of the year here at the Good Time Stove Company and we cherish the holiday moments shared with family, friends and customers.

We love baking Christmas cookies in an old Glenwood and sharing holiday memories with friends and family around the Round Oak Cylinder Stove. Reading a good book like “The Christmas Carol” by the parlor stove in the den, roasting chestnuts in the open hearth of a Franklin stove, or heating hot cocoa on the cooklid on the box stove in the bedroom before snuggling up and watching a classic Christmas movie on TV are some of our favorite holiday traditions.

From our family at the Good Time Stove Company to you and your loved ones, we wish you a very happy holiday season with much comfort, joy and good will in the new year.

Favorite Base Burner Stoves - The Finest Heating Stove in the Wprld

Favorite BASE BURNERS

The highest order of workmanship and materials are used in the manufacturing of Favorite Base Burners.The Favorite manufacturers are pioneers in flue construction and increasing heating capacity of Base Burners. Favorite craftsmen used skill, originality and science in constructing the Base Burner. This construction makes the largest circulating flue capacity ever built into a heating stove – and the hottest. The Favorite Base Burner is a beautiful stove with exquisite decoration and ornamentation. The Favorite Base Burner was one of the most economical and powerful heating stoves of the day. It had the greatest sale of any heating stove manufactured at the time, because it brought comfort and satisfaction into the home and saved folks up to one half the cost on fuel bills. A Favorite Base Burner features the most amount of surface space radiating heat into the room, which provides great heating efficiency at the minimum cost of fuel. The Favorite is the only Base Burner with a three flue construction, a series of three flues on the back and on the bottom, which allows for the most amount of heat to radiate into the room. An original feature of a Favorite Base Burner is the separation of the bottom flues from the main body of the stove. This separation provides more square inches of hot surface bared to the air, and allows for more space for the ash pan. The Favorite Base Burner not only has more radiating surface, it is also more carefully and tighty fitted. Favorite manufacturers constructed patented planing machines, the only kind in use by stove manufacturers at the time, to make the stove parts to fit perfectly true and tight. The perfect fitting enables the Favorite Base Burner to produce an even, equal temperature throughout the house. With a perfect fitting, control of the draft allows for a swift heat up or cool down as desired. The Favorite Stove Company’s thorough inspection insures that every single Base Burner manufactured is guaranteed to be absolutely paper tight. The Favorite Base Burner features a deep fire pot that insures perfect combustion and does not crack. An ample sized space for the ash pan ensures that the draft from the register is free to flow. Bottom flues where built into Favorite Base Burners so that the floor region could be heated more completely. The doors, registers and mica frames on the Favorite Base Burner are fitted paper tight. The Favorite Base Burner features a valuable tea-kettle arrangement and a one piece, perfectly constructed elbow that does not clink and prevents the accumulation of ashes on the outside. The Favorite craftsmen use a special polish and burnish, which makes the beautiful carved ground work in the nickeling glitter as brilliantly as the smooth nickel. All the nickel parts, the foot rail, hearth and jacket, lift on and off without bolts so that the nickel parts can be easily cleaned and replaced. The four nickel wings found on every Favorite Base Burner aid in the circulation and output of heat into the room.

Nothing Like Christmas in New England - Make a Trip of It!

Christmastime is a wonderful time to visit the Goodtime Stove Company. You’ll witness the function of our stoves in action and feel just how warm and welcomed a stove can make you feel.

While in the area, there is much to do and see in honor of the holidays…

Our neighborhood features Christmas tree farms where you can pick your own tree from an enchanting field or forest of trees. pickyourownchristmastree.org/MAxmastrees.php, www.christmas-trees.org/retailers-county.htm

General stores, small town Main Streets and mom and pop mercantiles are ideal locations for picking up unique, one of a kind presents and handicrafts while supporting local merchants. www.wgstore.com, www.shelburnefalls.com, www.explorenorthampton.com/visitor/whattodo/shopping.htm, www.christmasloft.com

One of the top visitor locations in the area is Yankee Candle, featuring a Christmas village and an unlimited variety of candles and fragrances. www.yankeecandle.com,

The quintessential small-town Christmas Norman Rockwell made famous in his Saturday Evening Post illustrations is alive and thriving in Stockbridge, home to the Rockwell museum and to the artist’s inspirations. See Main Street as Norman Rockwell did when he painted the famous “Stockbridge Main Street at Christmas.” www.stockbridgechamber.org,
www.nrm.org

A memorable family event is the annual production of the Nutcracker Suite by the Pioneer Valley Ballet in Northampton at the historic Academy of Music Theatre. www.pioneervalleyballet.tix.com,

We hope you will enjoy this special time of year. We look forward to hearing from you, and seeing you.

Season’s Greetings,
Stove Black and Sara the Stove Princess

Share Your Christmas Memories with the Stove Princess

No other time of year conjures up romance, magic, and enchantment the way Christmastime does. There may be a chill in the air in most areas of the country, but the holiday warms our hearts and souls. We all have our favorites movies, memories and traditions that are at their best when shared and celebrated.

One customer told us how she first kissed her yet to be husband under a ball of mistletoe that hung in the parlor not far from their baseburner stove. Another customer shared her mother’s favorite gingerbread recipe - she can still smell the baking bread coming from the old cast iron wood burning kitchen range. We heard from a movie buff customer when he caught a glimpse of an antique stove in the movie “Meet Me In St. Louis.”

We invite you to share your special holiday memories and traditions with us. Do you have a photo of a stove in a decorated living room? A tasty fruitcake recipe? Do you remember holiday preparations happening in the kitchen with the old range the heart of the event? We’d love to hear from you, stove enthusiasts, history enthusiasts and holiday enthusiasts, and we’lll post the submissions on our blog before Christmas for all to share and enjoy. Please feel free to contact us by email, snail mail or phone. We’d love to hear from you.

We sometimes daydream about our antique stoves and kitchen ranges, wondering what special times and fond memories that they have witnessed. And we always hope that the stoves in our care will find new homes where they can be a part of new traditions and share again in family celebrations.