old-fashioned cookstove

I'm in love with european-style cookstoves that heat the house and the oven, and above can keep things warm or dehydrate, and can also have a hot water box built in. And, although I guess all the irish folks call firewood 'sticks', it really is appropriate because just a bunch of dry sticks can get the whole thing running.

So, on a walk the other day I discovered that a neighbor of mine has one just rusting away in a corner of her yard. I inquired about a barter for garden work, but we just need to figure out the price.

I need some help. It is a 'banquet'. And compare to other cookstoves I've been around, smallish and *cute*! My neighbor says the firebox is in good shape but that it needs some 'refurbishing'. I'll say! It's been sitting out in the rain!

Are there any woodstove enthusiasts out there who can give me some guidelines? What kind of damage will cost me about how much? and how should that value the cookstove as it is now?

Thank you!!

I think it depends on where the rust is and how rusted it is. If the rust is on the top of the stove and not completely rusted through, it probably isn't a big deal. If the rust has weakened the area that will contain the fire, you'll probably want to replace that area entirely, whereas if it is just surface rust, it will probably be fine for at least a few years.
 

Must have no cracks. Sand the rust off. If it hasn't penetrated all the way through at any point on the heat box, inside or outside, or through the pipe you are good to go. Check especially the floor of the oven. Also, most wood ovens are compartmentalized in various fashions to disperse heat so check carefully that there are no cracks. A cracked stove is a fire hazard and a personal danger. Find a woodstove company you like online and ask them your questions as they arise. "Banquet" matches the Skandia Banquet so you might contact them for replacement parts like a heat exchanger and other things. Sometimes stoves are junked because the family upgrades but sometimes they have lost their efficiency to heat so fire it up outside before you move it inside and find out how well it works. Enjoy. Stoves are great and a challenge to the cook in a positive way.
The Banquet (Skandia website)
A Solid Fuel Insulated Cooker with 4 Hot Plates for varied heat positions and a single large oven providing superb cooking facilities for the whole family
The burning rate is simply and efficiently regulated to keep fuel consumption to a minimum
Extensively insulated sides and back allows the Banquet to be installed closet to combustibles than other stoves in its clad
Solid Cast iron top and front radiate heat to warm the surrounding areas

Cooking on a Wood Stove by Karen L. Zlattner at website Homestead.org

This makes me drool:

Kitchen Queen 480

now THIS wood cookstove makes me drool ...




http://www.vermontwoodstove.com/vermontbunbaker.htm

Kelda,

Everything alexisavoire says about the old stove is right - be very careful !

This is our stove - it's wonderful.



When I first moved to France about 20 years ago I bought a second-hand stove which was already about 18 years old. (It's the one on the right in the photo) Although the firebox is a bit too small to heat all of our new house it was OK with the help of our open fire. I was really lucky to find our "new" one in a second-hand shop and it's got a huge firebox (55cms) and heats the house well.

The old one is next to the new one because we had nowhere dry to store it and I didn't want to take a chance on it rusting. It should be OK for the extension which will have much more insulation and no windows on the north wall.

Yeah, heed the advice you've been given here if you adopt an old neglected stove.  A good book that helped me was "Woodstove Cookery: At Home on the Range" by Jane Cooper.  Recipes in the back, a lot of good information about wood stoves in general in the beginning. 

We use wood exclusively for cooking and heating, and I love cooking on our stove.  We keep it outside (won't fit in our tiny cabin) and use it mostly during the summer, and I've gotten pretty good at cooking several meals at once.  So for example during breakfast, I'll use one plate to make waffles, another to heat water for dishes, and maybe start a pot of beans for dinner on still a third plate.  The oven is always on as long as there's a fire, and it's so nice to put something in to bake at breakfast (a chicken or a casserole or finishing the pot of beans), and by lunchtime it's done and perfectly warm. 

I'm still learning to control the fire well enough to bake bread and the like.  I can usually do muffins.  You just have to pay attention.  The warming oven is nice for heated plates, or keeping food warm until everyone's ready, or letting bread rise if it's not too hot in there, or melting butter/coconut oil, or drying flower petals (keep the door cracked if you want stuff to dry).....