How to operate a Dover stove

I love my Dover stove.


Even if it does create a little smoke inside the house when it is first lit.  That is rectified 1) by opening the neighbouring windows wide, and 2) as soon as the "draw" starts.  (However, in keeping with my warts and all policy, I will admit that we made a mistake when we installed our Dover stove.  The chimney should NOT have been left exposed.  In fact, the Dover stove should have been installed in a recess with a large overhanging chimney area.  That would've obviated the initial smoking issue - for all that smoke would've gone up the recessed chimney.)


And I love my Dover stove even if it's oven section is a little small.  Well, it's big enough to roast a crisp chicken for RMan, and it's big enough to bake a couple of loaves of bread.

None of that matters to me, because the big plus is that I can warm our house (well, at this stage the one large room) and cook at the same time. Using nothing but the wood from alien invasive Australian Black Wattles.


But, in winter especially, I like to place the food I've prepared on warm plates. Which presents a problem, because if I am using the oven, there isn't room for much more.

The side section - for drying
wet tea towels?

When I purchased the Dover stove it came with a side section, which I presume was for drying tea towels or suchlike.  Unfortunately, when the structure was built to house the stove, this addition section was not catered for.  So the towel drying section couldn't be used.  Until now.


Clever RMan.  As I was bemoaning the fact that I can't warm the plates he came up with this brilliant solution.

Would only a man think of this...?

Placing the plates directly on the stove top would result in cracking the plates, because the stove top is far to hot.  But putting the unused side section on top of the stove, and then placing the plates on top of that is perfect.  Not too hot so that it will crack the plates, but hot enough to take the chill off them :)

Perfectly warmed plates :)

Recently, being winter in this country, and with Escom's electricity tariffs ever increasing, people are obviously looking at other ways to cook their evening meals.  Which is probably resulting in a surge of Dover Stove sales.  As the stoves don't come with a manual or instructions on how to operate a Dover stove, I have, therefore, had quite a few hits on my blog with the search phrase "how to use a Dover stove", so I thought I give a brief explanation.

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Firstly, it is advisable to place a water filled pot (or whistling kettle LOL) on top of the stove (directly above the fire section) prior to lighting it.  I have heard that this protects the stove and prevents the cast iron from cracking as it suddenly warms up.

Small lever - pull it forward

Secondly, in the front, above the oven door and just below the cooking surface, there is a small lever.  This must be pulled out (forward) in order to close off the vent to the oven, and to ensure that the initial thicker smoke is directed up the chimney and not towards the oven area.

Then, insert your kindling into the burning section, light it and wait for it to achieve a good burn, and chimney draw, before pushing the lever in again. The good burn will indicate that the chimney is drawing correctly and with the increase in heat and flames, the initial smoke will be decreasing.

Finally, once your wood is merrily burning, and your fuel section is filled with wood, close the door, and slide the vent lever at the bottom of the door to a spot where it is open enough to create a draught to burn your wood, but not too wide to send the heat the fire is creating up the chimney because the wood is burning too quickly.

That is all there is to it.  Very simple :)  Just remember to keep your eye on the wood - in order to maintain your oven temperature, you'll have to keep it stoked.

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Latest news:  The purchaser of our town house has just asked whether the would be able to move in a month earlier - makes sense, because she has school going children, and the school holidays is a perfect time to move a family.  Luckily, I started packing last month, so it shouldn't be too much of a problem to complete that task in time.  But it means that we have to speed up with the transporting of all our stuff.

So - we're off to the farm again tomorrow.  This trip will be devoted to schlepping some of the loads of large garden pot plants (and their pots) - as well as to throw the foundation for the garage...