ID my Villager, please.

Bendy_House

Damn, damn, damn - just as I was half-way through converting a gas Stove to solid fuel, I got the opportunity to pick up a Villager wood-burner for a price that would have been rude not to. And, under the tatty exterior, it is in remarkably good condition. Blast. So, gas-solid conversion on hold, possibly permanently :-(

I don't know which exact model of Villager this is, tho', and interweb surfs aren't helping to narrow it down beyond the obvious - the 'A', the 'B', or the 'Flatmate'. Can anyone help, please?

Dims: (Top plate) - 595mm x 345mm. Height 570mm. Photo:

 

And then there's the novel (if insecure-looking) method of holding the glass windows in place:

One clip along t'top, and one at t'bottom. Held by a single nut on one side - the scrolled part adds an element of spring, and the long part presses down along the top edge of the glass, holding it in place. I'm guessing this is an earlier method, since discontinued?

Thanks for any help :-)

ariarnia

can't help but lovely looking stove. maybe you have two places you could put a woodburner?

Bendy_House

Thanks. I'm going to try stacking them Oh, the HEAT!!!

Apodemus

Have you looked at this site?  https://www.solidfuelappliancespares.co.uk/product-category/spares-accessories/villager-stove-spares/  They suggest that older Villager stoves are hard to identify and that you are best to do it by measurement using this guide: https://www.solidfuelappliancespares.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Identify_Villager_Stove.pdf   They also seem to have a good range of spares available for these models.

Interestingly, though, it seems that the pin arrangement for the glass has been superceded by clips and a brass nut.

If you are looking for ideas for conversion...these guys turned a Villager into a library!  https://littlefreelibrary.org/2022/02/how-to-turn-an-old-wood-burning-stove-into-a-little-free-library/

Bendy_House

Fab, Apod - lots to look at

Bendy_House

Yay, @Apodemus ! Looks like I have a Flatmate

Thank you.

Leon_W

Yes, I think it's the smaller Flatmate. We have the "A" Flatmate which is larger and measures about 730mm width across the top plate.  We've had it about 20 years and the glass is retained by nuts rather than clips so suggest your's is older than that.  It's a fairly good stove, but built to a price in the day !  If i'm honest, I made the mistake of oversizing it for the room that it's in, although large, this thing going at full chat is still too much.  In order to address this I've padded out the firebox with extra bricks to leave a smaller area for the fire itself. I can now set smaller, hotter fires which it seems fine with.  Villager are now Arada stoves but still made in Devon and spares should be readily available. https://www.aradastovesandspares.com/index.php  Best of luck with the restoration.

Leon_W

As an aside. I'm currently restoring a Nestor Martin (Belgium) Corso-5 for our kitchen now that we don't use the gas Rayburn so much (that's a whole other story !)

It's probably a bit later than some of their beautiful Art Nouveau models and I'm guessing it's more late Deco (20's 30's ?).  It's on it's way to being rebuilt after I had to weld a few parts of the (cast) firebox. Welding cast is not easy but I think I did OK !  It would have originally been fitted with "mineral" glass, a bendy sort of perspex, which you can still buy but I've had glass cut to fit so will try this first (next job).

See the new door hinge pins ?  Brand new Villager pins fitted perfectly !   The enamel is in pretty good nik for it's age so not too much more to do on the fire itself. I'm now pricing up the twin wall flue (Yikes !)

Bendy_House

Leon_W said:

Yes, I think it's the smaller Flatmate. We have the "A" Flatmate which is larger and measures about 730mm width across the top plate.  We've had it about 20 years and the glass is retained by nuts rather than clips so suggest your's is older than that.  It's a fairly good stove, but built to a price in the day !  If i'm honest, I made the mistake of oversizing it for the room that it's in, although large, this thing going at full chat is still too much.  In order to address this I've padded out the firebox with extra bricks to leave a smaller area for the fire itself. I can now set smaller, hotter fires which it seems fine with.  Villager are now Arada stoves but still made in Devon and spares should be readily available. https://www.aradastovesandspares.com/index.php  Best of luck with the restoration.

Very similar - tho' thankfully smaller :-).

Yes, I imagine it's old - can't find these clip-types anywhere, but not a prob as I've redone them in SS, anchored via a wee hole at the far end. Nuts all SS too. First fire was last night - worked beautifully.

Bendy_House

Leon_W said:

As an aside. I'm currently restoring a Nestor Martin (Belgium) Corso-5 for our kitchen now that we don't use the gas Rayburn so much (that's a whole other story !)

It's probably a bit later than some of their beautiful Art Nouveau models and I'm guessing it's more late Deco (20's 30's ?).  It's on it's way to being rebuilt after I had to weld a few parts of the (cast) firebox. Welding cast is not easy but I think I did OK !  It would have originally been fitted with "mineral" glass, a bendy sort of perspex, which you can still buy but I've had glass cut to fit so will try this first (next job).

See the new door hinge pins ?  Brand new Villager pins fitted perfectly !   The enamel is in pretty good nik for it's age so not too much more to do on the fire itself. I'm now pricing up the twin wall flue (Yikes !)

'CLUNK'!

(The sound of my jaw hitting t'floor).

That is simply stunning. Lots are OTT, but that just WORKS. And what a colour!

That's a wee door - what can you get in there? Woodchips?! :-)

Apodemus

Wow!  Both these stoves are looking great.  Puts my box of old stove panels sitting in the garage to shame!