Caboose coal stove

jesmed1

I bought this tiny coal stove a few years ago at a yard sale just for fun. I'ts only 23" high. I thought eventually when I build a separate shop I could use it to burn wood scraps. It has a coal grate, but I made a DIY wood grate from a stainless plate with some holes drilled in it. I fired it up last year with a short piece of vent pipe burning some 2x4 offcuts. Seemed to work fine.

I couldn't find anything online about the "Tiger 3" as it's labeled. I assume it's a Taiwan import from the 70's/80's. Wonder if anyone knows anything about it. Maybe resident coal burner @leonz would know something.

Assuming it's a clone/copy, here are some others I found that it might have been copied from. This is an Atlanta Stove Works "Caboose" Model 40:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/134851551326?_trkparms=amclksrc%3DITM%26aid%3D1110006%26algo%3DHOMESPLICE.SIM%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20220405142716%26meid%3D05847b0e59834c87bf2b1e6f384927fd%26pid%3D101506%26rk%3D8%26rkt%3D10%26sd%3D355847892108%26itm%3D134851551326%26pmt%3D0%26noa%3D1%26pg%3D4481478%26algv%3DDefaultOrganicWebWithV11WebTrimmedV3VisualRankerWithKnnV3AndUltBRecall&_trksid=p4481478.c101506.m1851

And here's an UMCO #28, which itself may be a clone.

https://coalpail.com/coal-forum/viewtopic.php?t=39005

I know this thing would not be efficient, but it's more just for nostalgia and ambiance if I ever get around to building a shop.

hot_rod

Try asking the group at hearth.com

leonz

Did the lid handle come with it?

The cast coal grate on this pot belly stove are rotated with the same handle.

If I remember correctly there is a worm gear that meshes with the teeth on the circular coal grate.

KC_Jones

I know nothing about these, but…..

Strasburg railroad in Strasburg, PA might. They still heat all their passenger cars with coal stoves and perhaps have some history, or maybe direct you to someone who might know. They have a full service machine shop and to my knowledge do just about all their own work. It can’t hurt to send them and email. I don’t get paid for this, but they are the best excursion railroad I’ve ever been on, quite an amazing facility.

https://www.strasburgrailroad.com/christmas-train/?REFID=AdWords16&keyword_session_id=vt~adwords%7Ckt~%7Cmt~%7Cta~&_vsrefdom=wordstream&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAADnjQVs9eZ8cPH_wg_LD87y4ECxC8&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI5oKCjPqEigMVcEH_AR321g_UEAAYASAAEgJ_hPD_BwE

Jamie Hall

It may be a good deal more efficient than you expect, if you don't over fire it.

Bob Harper

Tiger Stove is a British company. You may be able to find something there. It's still an old inefficient polluter but it will give off heat. Unlisted stove requires a 36" clearance to combustibles and insulated protection of combustible floors per NFPA 211.

jesmed1

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1823390#Comment_1823390

@leonz It came with a lid handle, but the handle doesn't operate the coal grate. The grate doesn't have a gear mechanism, just an arm attached to the grate that extends out the side and can be moved back and forth to shake the grate.

I've seen that some similar stoves are described as being able to burn both coal and wood with the same grate. I don't know if that's true of this one. When I burned 2x4 offcuts in it last year, the wood seemed to burn quicker than I would want, even with the vents closed, so I made a stainless plate with some holes to sit on top of the coal grate to reduce the airflow when burning wood. It seemed to work well.

jesmed1

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1823441#Comment_1823441

@KC_Jones Thanks for that link. From what I've read, the actual stoves used in trains bolt to the floor for stability, and mine does not, so I think the "caboose" name may be somewhat of a misnomer. Maybe this would have been used in a small train station, hut, or other small building. I would love to take a ride on that train, though, and check out their shop.

jesmed1

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1823485#Comment_1823485

@Bob Harper Thanks for that info. I did find the Tiger Stove in the UK, but I'm doubtful this came from them. Their stoves seem of a different style and better engineered. Maybe this was one of their early models from 40 years ago?

jesmed1

@Jamie Hall Thanks Jamie, you are spurring me on to build a stand-alone shop building just so I can throw my offcuts into this thing!

hot_rod

you want to have a good CO detector in the space where you are running that🤔

jesmed1

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1823529#Comment_1823529

LOL, yes. I grew up cutting firewood and maintaining 2 old wood stoves in our house. Somehow we managed to avoid asphyxiation, CO poisoning, and creosote fires.

KC_Jones

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1823498#Comment_1823498

gotcha.

Anyone in driving distance of that place, I recommend they go. They have a couple behind the scenes tours you can do, the Hostling tour and the shop tour. I’ve done both a couple times and both are quite good.

They are a full time train machine shop and work on all kinds of equipment. They are currently doing the 1472 inspection/rebuild on one of their engines, as well as a major rebuild of Southern 722. Next year they will also be starting a full restoration of C&O 614, which I’m very excited about. I rode behind that engine when I was 7 in 1981. It hasn’t run since the early 90’s.