wood burning stove from an old gas cookstove??

I asked this in another forum because I didn't know where to put it but it might be more appropriate here.

Has anyone ever converted an old gas cookstove from the 1930's era into a wood burning stove? We were given 2 old gas cookstoves that are in excellent shape but no one knows if they work and for us to use them we would have to convert them to propane. They are made of cast iron, heavy as heck. Four gas burners with 2 drawers below on one side and an oven and broiler on the other side. The whole gas burner assembly removes as does the floor of the oven.

I've found a lot of things telling me how to convert a gas fireplace to a wood burner but that doesn't help. And I don't want to destroy the stove trying to mess with it without some direction.

This is question for Travis.
He loves him some woodstoves, and knows a little sumthin sumthin about them too.

Bernie Farmer wrote:I asked this in another forum because I didn't know where to put it but it might be more appropriate here.

Has anyone ever converted an old gas cookstove from the 1930's era into a wood burning stove? We were given 2 old gas cookstoves that are in excellent shape but no one knows if they work and for us to use them we would have to convert them to propane. They are made of cast iron, heavy as heck. Four gas burners with 2 drawers below on one side and an oven and broiler on the other side. The whole gas burner assembly removes as does the floor of the oven.

I've found a lot of things telling me how to convert a gas fireplace to a wood burner but that doesn't help. And I don't want to destroy the stove trying to mess with it without some direction.

No, but I currently use a 1917 gas cooking stove for most of our daily cooking chores for our family of six.

I would have to see some pictures, and get a sense of what you want to do, but the reality is, there is probably nothing wrong with your stove, IF you wanted them to be used as everyday cooking stoves for your home. The parts are so basic that there is really nothing that can go wrong with them. To clean them up, you can take them apart and sandblast and paint, or just give them a good scrubbing and then paint them using high temperature stove paint.

Conversion from Natural Gas to Propane is easy, if you pull apart the knob covers, you will see there is an allen wrench set screw on the valve going to the burner. This is how you adjust the flame depending on what you are burning for fuel. You just adjust that so that you do not get soot on your pans in varying degrees of flame height. You set each burner using this method, and the oven if you use it.

We do not use our oven at all. We like the modern conveniences of a newer oven like having timers, set temperatures, lights, delays, etc. so we have an electric wall oven, and use that for baking or broiling.

The only real safety point using one is this: when you go to light the burners, ALWAYS put the match to the burner FIRST, then turn on the gas. NEVER turn on the gas, then go to light the burner.


My wife, in our 1930's Style Home in a real silk 1930's Dress before her 1917 Crawford Gas Cook Stove







In my house, our 1917 Crawford completely outcooks any modern stove.

The reasons we prefer this cookstove over modern ones are many.

The biggest is the working height. Remember, this was a time when people still boiled water on the stove to do the laundry. So the working height (as can be seen in the picture above) is several inches lower than normal countertop height which is what most modern stoves have. This is a lower working height, and nice for heavy pans of boiling water, or just looking into a pan, or whatever. It is lower, and it is nice,

We also like how the grates of the stove encompass all four burners. Again, when heating up a big tub of water, a lady would light all four burners to get the water heated faster. We can do that too for mass canning of veggies.

This stove is indestructible. My parents replaced the glass top of their modern stove three times. This is the original one and is 102 years old.

We can still get parts for this stove, though it is doubtful we would need too. It is super simple in design and operation.

We get a lot of compliments on this old stove for its nice looks. Our home was set up like the 1930's in décor, so this stove really helped with that. When we moved to this Tiny House, Katie insisted her cook stove come with her, so we still use it everyday.

I am not sure how well a conversion to wood would work, but I do appreciate what you are trying to do, and the preservation of the old stove into being something more useful to your farm. I would have to see pictures and do a little creative thinking, but maybe could come up with some ideas.

I am not sure where you live, but here in Maine, woodstoves are everywhere. I LOVE pot bellied stoves, yes because I love the 1930's era, and because I worked for years for the railroad, but also because of effecient they are. They really heat a home, use a lot less wood, can burn dual-fuels, and are stout, simple stoves. The one I still use is a 1893 Woods and Bishop Pot Beliied stove. The incredible thing about this stove is, I can still get parts for it...and it is 126 years old!

I found mine on a local swap and sell magazine for $100, but ended up getting it for free.

If you cannot find an old fashioned pot bellied stove and like the idea of them, you can buy cheap ones at Tractor Supply for $400 and they will work. I had an old Volgelzang Pot Bellied stove and sealed the doors, and had a really nice stovee when I was done, for very little money. I prefer the Woods and Bishop Pot Bellied stove because of its more controls, but I just like pot bellied stoves.