Softies & Corrosion

no more so than with the hardwoods.......maybe more humid conditions? Maybe not as good a cleaning last spring?

After two years mine started the rust with a blend burning and that was a good spring cleaning. I thought mine was because of the humidity in my area? Haven't seen anything that correlates softies with rust on here or anywhere.. I did give mine a new paint job inside the burn box with some 2000 header paint. Shes looking good now. Don2222 has a good write up on repainting the firebox.

I burned a couple of tons of Vts last year - great pellets. However, the surface of my hopper that's closest to the firebox gets pretty warm. The good thing about that is that, as the pellets sit in the hopper, the heat chases moisture out of them so when they hit the burn pot they're probably a lot drier than they were from the bag. The downside with the pine pellets was that it warmed the pellets sitting against that surface enough to release pitch which left a sticky film on the sheet metal that was hard to remove and did start to induce corrosion. The insides of my firebox have been ok - small light rust spots that are not an issue. Our environment is very humid much of the summer.

I've never had any sap in my hopper. I don't think mine gets as warm as yours does. Our environment is very humid in the summer. I miss Montana's dry weather. It could be in the 90's out there and not bad, but here in the 80's and i'm sweating like crazy!

Plugging your venting/OAK in the summertime is a great first line of defense against rust. Lots of folks have had good luck using Damp Rid as well.

Not really gonna help if it's a current issue due to your pellets, however.

I had never thought of plugging the oak/venting. Maybe this will be a test/experiment for next summer!

P38X2 said:

Plugging your venting/OAK in the summertime is a great first line of defense against rust. Lots of folks have had good luck using Damp Rid as well.

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I cant imagine the pellets having anything to do with the rust, unless of course they were soaked in battery acid first in which case you'd be dead before the stove rusted.
Which pellets are you burning?

Softwoods do have acid resins - they're flammable too...

"Resin acids are protectants and wood preservatives that are produced by parenchymatous epithelial cells that surround the resin ducts in trees from temperate coniferous forests. The resin acids are formed when two-carbon and three-carbon molecules couple with isoprene building units to form monoterpenes (volatile), sesquiterpenes (volatile), and diterpenes (nonvolatile) structures.

Pines contain numerous vertical and radial resin ducts scattered throughout the entire wood. The accumulation of resin in the heartwood and resin ducts causes a maximum concentration in the base of the older trees. Resin in the sapwood, however, is less at the base of the tree and increases with height."

Full wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resin_acid

I'm not sure how much of the resin actually servives the pelleting process's? Lots of heat involved to create pellet, It has to effect it in one way or another.

jtakeman said:

I'm not sure how much of the resin actually servives the pelleting process's? Lots of heat involved to create pellet, It has to effect it in one way or another.

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Never mind the drums, hoppers, augers, tubes and other steel apparatus. I think the manufacturers would have considered the detrement to thier equipment.

jtakeman said:

I'm not sure how much of the resin actually servives the pelleting process's? Lots of heat involved to create pellet, It has to effect it in one way or another.

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I dunno, but I think a lot of it survives, especially in the eastern white pine that Vt Pellets uses - part of the reason softies can be low ash/high btu. Those resins are flammable. Just my experience, but it does come out of the VTs and deposit on that one hopper wall. It's sticky to the touch when it's happening - the smell is obvious too. Doesn't bother the auger or tube - they're stainless on my stove, though it does tend to deposit some at the auger tube lip.

P38X2 said:

Plugging your venting/OAK in the summertime is a great first line of defense against rust. Lots of folks have had good luck using Damp Rid as well.

Not really gonna help if it's a current issue due to your pellets, however.

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Don't over think this. Do you really think the "soft wood pellets" have more moisture than the "hardwoods"? Your fire box when lit does a great job of burning anything and everything off. I just painted the inside of my stove for the first time since I put in on line in Dec 2005. I never plugged the venting or used the Damp Rid but will use it now! Did a light sanding and then a coat with Rutland. (1200) Really looks nice and is now running on thermostat, clicking on every morning.

@Phil...yes, it could be the cheap China steel as most of these stoves and made from their shittay materials. Mine included. A little sandpaper, a quick cleaning and paint and you will be good as new. Nice weather this weekend and I see you're up early too. I have a second stove that needs the same attention and might get on that today.