Another mystery!

[L. James Hansmann]

I just logged on to see if it were possible to attach a photo in these discussions and there was this wonderful discussion on a hair pinching iron. Sorry I didn’t get a chance to join in and am glad Brittany got an answer.
I have an object, used probably with coal for a heat source, that we have not been able to give a name to. Could this have been used in a mine for a heat source, or even for melting or smelting something. We had several quarries in town in the late 19th century, or it may have come from a surrounding community that did actual mining. Any ideas?

[Gary Spivey]

Interesting object. I have not seen anything like it but there is a lot of similarity to an old coal stove I used to use that I think that is a very good guess. It is obviously portable and certainly could have been used in a mine although I have never heard of miners using heaters. Also, I would think it would put out too much carbon monoxide for use in the close quarters of a mine. Hopefully someone else will recognize it.

[Rose McMahon]

I would think that taking anything likely to interact with firedamp and cause an explosion into a mine would not be a possibility.

[Ron Kley]

Small portable stoves of this sort were used for heat in the cabin space of small boats along the Maine coast (and presumably elsewhere). Defnitely not for use in a mine where (a) explosive gasses might be present (especially in a coal mine), (b) space is not sufficiently confined to make such a small stove effective,(c) the flue gas, including carbon monoxide, would be toxic, and (d) heat would not be needed, since underground temoeratures are not all that cold if you’re working as hard as miners do.

[Misha Griffith]

I have to agree with Gary, Rose, and Ron–that would NOT be a good item to have in a mine considering the gasses present. It looks like a very well built portable stove. I would be very curious to see the underside. Except for the door, I cannot see any air intake vents, and any sort of stove needs a lot of air to keep burning. So was it meant to be used with the door open? Not very safe in terms of sparks flying out. Those legs on it made of angled iron–those would keep the stove off the ground, as if it would be used on a wooden floor or someplace that could be harmed by heat. How about this idea: ice fishing. That would explain the portability, the lack of vents, and the need to keep the area underneath cool. The top is just the right size to hold a pot of coffee.

[Michael Nagy]

As others have said a stove, commonly called a tent stove or military tent stove. Stovepipe would go out the vent of the tent. Used with a grate for wood or coal.

[Rose McMahon]

I would say that the item is much more likely to have been used in a tent than a coal mine/pit.

[Brittany Osborne Shunk]

I think it looks like a portable smoker. Someone may have used this to smoke meat/fish. I think its raised to put a fire beneath it and has the chimney to release excess smoke.

[L. James Hansmann]

Thanks for all your input. I hadn’t thought of the possibility of explosive reactions or dissipating the smoke. The bottom is vented, I’ll attached a picture of the bottom in just a moment.

[Lonnie J. Davis]

The construction is very similar to the Yukon Stoves used by the U.S. Army to heat tents. The openings in the bottom provided two functions, first to allow the moisture from the ground to be vaporized to allow a slow burn so as not to get too hot and not deplete your fuel too quickly and secondly to allow ash to drop out.

[L. James Hansmann]

I would agree with Gary, Rose and Ron as well about the dangers of use in a mine. Thanks Misha for your input. Here are two pics of the underside, one from a view in through the door.
I agree that it is some sort of portable stove but am still uncertain what its purpose was and where it might have been used.
Well for some reason my picture file size is too big. I’ll try again

[L. James Hansmann]

Thanks Lonnie for that info. Very interesting. I’m unable to attach any pictures of just the bottom but the one picture does show the openings in the bottom.
How safe would this have been in a tent.

[Misha Griffith]

James, it would be safer in a tent than open flames, but marginally so. Most older tent floors were wood or dirt. Good to hear there are vents at the bottom. I like Brittany’s ideas about the stove being used for smoking, considering there is so little room on top for cooking. If you check inside, just underneath the top, are there any hooks or eyes to hold chains? That could be a clue that it was used for smoking. Other than that, it might just be a portable utilitarian heating stove.

[Michael Nagy]

You’ll see a fair amount of memories on the web from vets. These got really hot and had to be cleaned often, especially if they were fitted to burn oil or diesel. A later version than the one here is the M-1941. Here is a YouTube video about how to assemble the M-1941.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sscEnfcqSd8
The one shows the manual.

[L. James Hansmann]

Thanks Misha, I looked and there are no hooks inside.

[L. James Hansmann]

Thanks Misha, I looked and there are no hooks inside.

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