We are setting up a Swedish ceramic stove!

WeTiFu
(We think it's fun!)

by Valter Pettersson Isander, Rönninge, Sweden

WeBeKå
(We build a "kakelugn")

Send an E-mail to Valter!

Amount/pcs

- Material -

@-price

Sw crowns SEK
incl VAT

1 piece

Ceramic oven, used, warm white, circular form, early 1900, ceramic plates in good form, i.e. just a few cracks and discolouring, all plates are there. Packed in paper boxes, including a photograph. Was fetched at the salesman. Including "smith-work", i.e. doors (outer doors in brass and the inner doors in iron plate), the door frame, 3 small sweep openings in brass and the damper. No connection pipe to the chimney, knobs, bricks, clay or sand.
The price is typical for a white, round oven in medium quality.

Ca 7000:-

Ca 7000:-

100 pieces

13:-/p

1300:-

66 pieces

Big bricks 2" (2/3 thickness) for internal walls between channels, damper-roof etc.

13:-/p

858:-

4 pieces

Fire safe bricks for fireplace (you may use ordinary bricks as an alternative). Length 240 mm Höganäs (Swedish) in our case.

53:-/p

212:-

3 sacks

Dry clay in powder form in sacks, 20 kg each sack

205:-/p

615:-

1 carrier

Natural sand from a local place, with no stones or humus in it

100:-

100:-

2 pieces

Draw knobs and a cord for the damper

xxx

xxx

3 sacks

Mortar B (concrete and calcium) for the rooms internal walls behind the stove, 25 kg/sack (not for the oven!)

61:-/p

183:-

4 sacks

Course mortar for the floor fundament under the stove, 25 kg/sack (not for the oven!)

61:-/p

xxx

Travels, tools, "stos", rails under the stove, pressure proofing by the sweeper etc.

xxx

xxx

Total sum so far (it should be enough!)

Total 10,268:- SEK
(about 1000 US Dollars)

Bricks and clay powder was bought in a craftsman shop in Gnesta. All shops do not have big bricks or clay powder at home.... the clay powder is from Bältarbo in Sweden.

You have to raise it yourself...

A photograph was included, good.
Inner-/outer doors, door frame, sweep doors, and the damper mechanism was with it. Missing "stos" and the knobs by brass for the cord.
Bricks, clay and sand was bought by us.

The tiles had been marked at disassembly, very important... the tiles are originally cut to fit each other by the man who raised the oven.
"A1" is low left,
"B.." is next level up etc.

Home transport, carried inside.
Most tiles were "empty", i.e. the bricks in them where removed - good ... so we had not to do that our self (but more bricks had to be bought...)

Fire doors and frame by iron and brass.
Don't forget the frame for the inner doors!

Sweep opening doors by brass and with a pipe by iron plate - 3 pcs.

David, he builds the stove, will fire and enjoy (we are more of it)!
In his hand you see the damper with its frame.
Jenny is also building.

The old iron cook stove was removed...
...hrmm...concrete...
Tiles in stead of bananas - good-er!

Sometimes the tiles are marked by the manufacturer, "F" is probably the type (here a common, round, front tile).
"33" is the outer white dimension (diameter) of the tiles in Swedish "verktum" (1 verktum=24,74 mm).

A couple of NEW tiles were included! They have rounded edges, meaning they are never cut - they are never used.
It's difficult to cut the edges to a certain dimension by hand. Used tiles are already cut to correct measures - but remember, they are individuals, so they must be marked up, before dismounting them from the old stove!!

This round sweep door is still in the tile, with the clay mud. We disassemble it by dropping it into water, poking the clay out, cleans it. We do that with all used tiles that have used filling in them. Later we put clay with sand and a brick and small brick pieces in them ("svick"). Air pockets will delay the heat from reaching the room. These pockets can be heard as a "boom", when knocking on the white surface.

Question:

Why is the stove tilting out into the room in the old house?

Answer:
Well, because the wood floor probably was humid at the setting up time a 100 years ago - the back part of the stove stands on solid ground, but the front stands on wood floor that shrinks
(more % on thickness).

Beauty

Faithful

They used to cut them with a tile knife.

Clay from the field will also do.

Clay...kladdigt...

Natural

Mighty

Cutting.
David cut the height with a machine.
Then he used a grating-iron.

Mixing.
Mix 1 part of clay
with 2-3 parts of sand, I use 3 parts. Add water – not too much.

Love

Solid

“The sprida trefnad och hygglighet”

No hollowness, no “boom”. Heavy sound.

We build upwards. From outside to inside.

"Put the stove (kakelugnen) down” - about a pregnant woman: give birth to a child.

Fyr

Great

Quiet

Soft

In my heart

Blushes

Fire

Fire(Eld):
From “eledh, ildh, aidlida” -
"burn"
or
"smoke"

I
burn
for
you!

Sw: “Tegel, tigel, tighl”, tile (eng.), tuile (fr.):
lat. "tegere"- cover (a roof)

Base is filled with bricks, stones and clay.
In this case we used thin bricks to adjust the level of the fire floor.

Birch, pine, spruce, rowan (ash), sallow.
Wood, wood, wood – sawed, chopped wood, laid in a stack!
Quick laid, it was free wood.
My little chopper is nice, it’s hydraulic.
March 2000.

Fire safe bricks, maybe from Höganäs.
But they were not planned
(loved children are never!)
Rather expensive.
Heavy, compact.

You
want
to
warm
you?

Sw: “Kakel”, Germ. “Kachel”
Greec. kakabos (cooking container)

Porcelain stoves under a woodhouse -
better than in the Botkyrkatippen
(where a great part of the old city of Stockholm was dumped in the 1960’th,
hrmm…. Hjalmar Mehr politician…).

Pause picture from an evening in
the manor of Svaneholms.

I - Valter am resting in my brother Leif’s kitchen.
We are wood firemen
all of us, all of us, all of us.

And
our
hearts
became
fire
and
flames.

Water-level on a tile surface?
The surface is a little uneven, but it will do good anyway.

We do not use clips to assemble the tiles to each other.
But please – do as you like!

?!

Observe how you SEE your oven when you raise it,
important is how it looks, it should look vertical and stable.

It may be okay if it leans in or out a little
to the middle of the room (from where it is seen).

But the side edges vertical line is critical –
it is seen clearly when one looks on the oven!

When David is mounting a tile, he puts the lower edge
to the floor or the tile under it. At the same time he
turns the upper edge a little away from the back.

Then he turns it in/up to a vertical position,
pushes it down in the clay that he has put on
the lower tile (not on the white edge…
this must always be clean).

Use a rag to hold the edge clean!

Use good light.

Work with clean edges.

We have a brick-hammer
to cut bricks to fit.
Put the brick on a wood piece
on the floor, make a groove
with the hammer, then
hit it on the opposite side
to cut it to a wanted measure.

Protect your eyes!

The base level (A…) should touch the rooms side walls.
Upper levels (B…and up) should leave some
 centimetres (one inch) to the walls – fire safe and good for
the air flow, and you can see a smoke leakage.
And maybe you can repair a leakage later when it is
becoming old and beautiful!

The edges of the tiles (white) should be placed
as close to each other as possible, it’s considered
beautiful with only small distances between them.
But one can hide it with
a paste in the same colour as the tiles.

Do not hesitate
to rework…!

An aeruginous brass door -
how can it be polished??

The back wall. Common bricks. Ordinary clay&sand

We found the steel hose
between the oven and chimney
at “Lasse I Ulan” for a ten-crown.

It will lead the gases into the
chimney channel, even if the oven moves in-out/up-down. (The flange has to be removed).

What shall we call her?
Help us to dub her!
Small becomes big.
Without socks and shoes -
We will walk close to her.

VP

Titta in i min lilla håla!
Här är svart som i sotig säck.
Snart skall strupen av hetta vråla!
Varje köldknäpp darra av skräck.

VP

Tänder vassa varma,
Spröd kropp spräcker,
Men med rum av brunnen papp,
Blir det fint och lagom glapp.

VP

Bricks are adjusted with a hammer.
Hit with the edge with an other brick
under it, as in figure.
First make a groove, then hit harder and harder
until it goes into two parts.
Protect your eyes and ears. And the thumb.

Ser ni kursen?
Kakelugn står högt i kurs,
Utan ugn är usch,
Öppna din börs,
Var med och törs!

Checking that it fits in the tiles back pocket.
Pocket is filled with clay, “svick” (brick pieces),
push the brick down in the clay, fill in small pieces,
top with clay.

Why use a brick stone in the tile pocket?
Well, we have to protect the tile from
the hat gases and flames.
And the heavier the stove is -
the more heat can it accumulate.

Carefully fill in the clay,
no air pockets – it prevents the heat flow
into the room to you and your sweetheart!

Straight is beautiful.

Here is seen a used tile.
The man who cut it in 1910 did not manage
quite well, the bulb-formed edge is still there (sticks out),
of course it is clearly seen on the oven.

But done is done – it would be too much job to
cut all tiles in that level to the same height, wouldn’t it?

Hello, my name is Svick!

Please, have some svick,
it’s good to have as fill up into  the clay
(when the clay and bricks have been put in there places)

If you have too little svick, i.e. a great part of clay,
then the clay will shrink a lot when the water evaporates.
Use as little water as possible.
AND YOU – FORGET THE CONCRETE!…

Much shrinkage = an ugly oven  = a boring evening

Up to the middle so far

5 channels seen inside

A little stick prevents my sick

Wet walls (we set them after having set the outer tiles)

Rear, left, side channel

Rear blind channel (no smoking here)

1,2,3…order for setting the tiles – our order…

Edges are finished with a file,
they become straight and nice

AK - ihavenoideaatalL.
30 inch O.D., make a plywood MASTER!

Site Toreberg, here lives Jenny and David.
And their White Lady, a round beauty.
Becoming hot – you will be fine,
being cold, something went wrong.

Stjärnhov in Soedermanland the19’th of August y 2000

Annika, David, Berth considers like that,
THERE the “rörspis” should stand,
And the cottage will be warm and nice
and Björn creeps up in someone’s knee,
seeing a beautiful night sky from the widow-frame.

Kakelugns-growth on Toreberg the19’th of August 2000

Wood is worth,
it warms very,
wood-shed full
falls over?
Winter, come!
We conquer it – with a mighty woody armful!
Ström’s shed.

Mixing dry clay-powder (1 part) with dry sand (2-3 parts). Then add water. Mix it.

The clay-mix should be rather stiff. It gives little shrinkage when drying. Shrinkage may lead to deformation, leakage and an ugly oven.

Wet the brick with water before putting clay on it or putting it into its position. Else it will steel the water in the clay and the clay will be too hard to be pressed to a narrow distance between the bricks.

We put clay on surfaces facing channels and brick-surfaces facing the living-room.

With the help of a little water on the tool we make the clay smooth and tight.

Before the brick is put into its place, we put some soft clay on the lower brick. Do not use too little!!

I put a brick in it’s position against two surfaces, tilt it a little, push it (not too hard) down (hold the neighbour-brick steady  with your other hand!). The clay swells out on the sides. Wait for a while (before you make the sides plane), so the water is absorbed by the bricks – then the clay becomes harder – the stones/bricks will remain in their right places.

Removing the extra clay.
Don’t forget backside!
The “blind rear channel” needs no coating clay (clean surface in picture).

Now this stone/brick is put in its place.
(still some smoothing has to be done, as you can see…)

Consideration.

You can easily remove and reposition some bricks after days or weeks. Only pour a little water on the dry clay, and remove the brick. This clay you can re-use, just mix it with the clay in the pot.

That would have been impossible if you used concrete or lime-mortar. Advise: get rid of that kind of stuff … it might be good for coating a chimney or making a house ground with. Or a bridge or an industrial monument.

It is fun to dig in the sand-box, dig in a clay-pot, build with blocks and play with fire.

We use massive bricks (300 mm length), with no holes in them, well hard-burnt in the factory.

Very old bricks from the old days have the right measurements, but they may be too old, too soft, burnt in a low temperature – do not use!

For the channels we use bricks with 2/3 of the thickness of the normal bricks.

This kind of bricks are made in Sweden today, and you can order them from the local shop (in Sweden). For us it was not more expensive (per volume) compared with modern, standard bricks (240 mm length).

Five tiles arranged for the next level.
Now we are going to check and adjust them.

Neatest to look at is a vertical oven and the joints in a vertical line under each other.
Important to me:
It should LOOK neat.

Look!
Old sins are unveiled. We are going to adjust that.
Narrow joints is most beautiful.

With the grinder one can fix tiles
that are already mounted.
Please, grind 45 degrees into the tile edge.
Paper “80-100”.

Rest in woodpeace!.
A full house is best.
Best rest.

Some tiles had to be shortened.
The purpose is tiles with equal height.
Edges may splinter. A sin.

Here we are! Come winter!

Five tiles at one level are mounted in clay. Use svick, check verticality.

More fun!
Other tile types now, changes make more fun for us!
We set all the ceramic tiles in a level first, then we build the channels in the same level (as long as it is possible, othervise we do it in reverse order).

Damper-roof

Closest to the observer (you) the hot smoke will turn up-down.
Then it comes up through two channels at the rear part, it joins, and flowes through the damper (not seen here, see pic below), then it goes out horizontally into the chimney channel and up.

The bricks for the damper-roof are laid out for testing – look at the cut-out  middle brick, there the smoke will go out through the damper!

 
Fine edges where smoke turns

The middle channel in the picture is for the hot smoke up from the fire.
Smoke then divides into two sides, goes down through the two front channels.
Nice, smooth edges – smoke has a smooth life, gives good draught!

Clay is put on inside channel walls, for tightening and for smooth surfaces, which will give a better draught and is easier to clean.

A “hose-stos” made by metal (the flange is cut away!)

A junction made by sheet metal.

It’s purpose is to prevent smoke leakage – because the oven moves a little up/down and in/out, and the sheet channel will be perfect in sliding along the clay and bricks surrounding it. N.B! The flange shall be taken away, we found a ordinary air channel at Lasses Loppis.

The final channel into the chimney channel.
Size is ½ brick (about150x150 mm), Inside is a metal “hose-stos”

A real Christmas Eve!

Jenny is lightening the very first fire.
The stove is finished, it has dried during a couple of months with open doors and open damper.
All seems to be all right, good draught (there is 5 metres up to the top of the chimney in open air).
The outer surface becomes warm after 1-1½ hour,
then rather hot. 75% wood loaded the first times, we check the slits and movements.

David and his ceramic stove.

Valter at his latest love.

Welcome!

Take on me, think of me, I am your friend, your quiet flame.
Trust me, feed me, keep me clean, I am your child.
Glittering, waiting, longing to give to you my shining eyes.
Come, let us just sit here a little, look into the ember, feeling flying evening minutes.
 __________________

The very first fire put on fire. A resinous stick in the middle.

The fire burns steady and quiet, damper is closed to half. 
Half an hour of eternity has past away.

Lonely

... with all its attributes, its cool body, hot mouth -
- it’s a part of the eternal (click on me!).

Från sol är jag kommen ... here comes the sun…

…and transferres into coal and ashes... till kol och aska skall jag bliva