What to use to cover burn pot holes?

Screws, bolts, rivets, hacksawed pieces of steel rod hammered over on the end to form a head. Visit McMaster Carr on-line and go shopping. They have every imaginable thing for such a use.

thadd677 said:

I'm looking to get some better airflow through the bottom of my burn pot and I'd like to cover some of the holes higher up. I've seen that a few people have done this but I couldn't find what was used to cover the holes. I'm looking to use something that can be removed in case this doesn't work out so well. I was thinking high temp silicone. Any other ideas?

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That high temp silly con has to be closer to furnace cement than silicone. Even the 800 stuff will flare off when used close to or on the burn pot. Ain't that right Bill? Furnace cement is a PITA to use. Better off trying to form a seal from some gasket material just to try things out.

You are playing next to approx 2000 stuff so be careful what you use.

If you're up in the 2000 degree range, then look on pottery sites or kiln supply sites. I make pottery and my kiln runs about 2100.

thadd677 said:

I'm looking to get some better airflow through the bottom of my burn pot and I'd like to cover some of the holes higher up. I've seen that a few people have done this but I couldn't find what was used to cover the holes. I'm looking to use something that can be removed in case this doesn't work out so well. I was thinking high temp silicone. Any other ideas?

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I used Imperial:
http://www.lowes.com/pd_64843-85334-GA0188_0__

I've tested burn pot ideas and used simple headed nails to change air flows. Cheap, and be had in most any diameter from most local hardware stores. Just trim to length.

About a year ago, someone on here suggested blocking off part of the airwash instead. I tried it by using a couple of inches of old tadpole gasket and it seemed to help with extended runs on High.

What brand stove are we talking about here?

There is one guy on the forum who is experimenting with his Quadrafire by putting screws in some of the holes on the side of his pot.

tjnamtiw said:

There is one guy on the forum who is experimenting with his Quadrafire by putting screws in some of the holes on the side of his pot.

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I hate sticking in anything tight into a cast pot as it can get tighter and split the pot.

Bioburner said:

I hate sticking in anything tight into a cast pot as it can get tighter and split the pot.

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That IS a very good point! For me, I have enough worries just keeping the stove clean and filled with pellets. They work great and keep me warm. I've tinkered enough with them to get some extra heat. In hindsight, I should have found this forum first to probably get bigger stoves although I can't say that I find anything wrong with the ones I have except I have to push them hard on cold Georgia nights. Yes, it gets cold in Georgia. Last night was 23, last week was 7 and 14, tomorrow 23. That's cold enough that the heat pumps are worthless.

Nuts and bolts. If they sieze from the heat u can all ways grind them off.

Let me understand this, you do not like how the factory made the stove so you can make it better by altering the construction of the stove? I hope nothing bad happens to cause the State Fire Marshal or insurance investigators to work in the house you and your family live in.

Eric

kinsmanstoves said:

Let me understand this, you do not like how the factory made the stove so you can make it better by altering the construction of the stove? I hope nothing bad happens to cause the State Fire Marshal or insurance investigators to work in the house you and your family live in.

Eric

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Wow.

kinsmanstoves said:

Let me understand this, you do not like how the factory made the stove so you can make it better by altering the construction of the stove? I hope nothing bad happens to cause the State Fire Marshal or insurance investigators to work in the house you and your family live in.

Eric

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Seriously ? Rewiring / modding controls is OK but drilling, enlarging some air holes is not ?

Wiring a blower to stay on high is only doing what the other models of Quads already offer and only helps to cool the stove by transferring more heat to the room. Changing air holes to introduce more air and changing the burn ratio to a leaner condition could possibly create unsafe temps and burn through or overheat such things as the hopper walls and create a fire. Plugging holes would create possibly a rich condition leading to more soot buildup but, honestly, I don't really see how that would be a safety hazard but I'm not the designers.

Let's hope that stove was not made by the same manufacture as the window stoves. I can understand the early stoves having no ash bin but not now. I would be looking at why the stoves pot is not performing such as bad gaskets etc. Maybe the stoves design was poor from the beginning? Not hearing anything much about the support for the stove.

I am sorry, what do I know? Go ahead and modify away.

Eric

kinsmanstoves said:

I am sorry, what do I know? Go ahead and modify away.

Eric

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No one doubts your expertise. Did you even read your post? It was not all that pleasant.

As for your actual comment. He's not modifying the stove. He wants to modify the burn pot. As we all know, pellets are not created equal. Presumably, the mfr is making its burn pot for the average pellet size and quality, not to mention multi feed pots. Perhaps, the OP wants to burn a specific pellet, which isn't like the average pellet. If that's the case, clearly there's an opportunity to improve.

My pellet stove is made in Italy. I wouldn't be surprised if US pellets are just a tiny bit different than European pellets. Unless the mfr tests US pellets and optimizes his burn pot for those, there's again some room for possible improvement.

Lastly, the implication that his burn pot mod would somehow trigger a fire and the need for the Fire Marshal and insurance investigators implies that somehow his mod would affect the safety features of the stove.

Fair portion of pellets in Europe are imported from US.

chken said:

I used Imperial:

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Which holes did you cover up and what changes did you notice afterward?

Sorry, I don't get it... so your going to modify your burn pot to optimize your stove with different pellets?? Im assuming the stove manufacturer tried more than one design in the 1st place..

I believe the moral of Eric's story is don't be surprised if you get screwed if for some reason your stove causes a fire and it is found out that you modified the stove in any way.

I added rope gasket around my burn pot as suggested by me dealer and on this forum. There is now zero pellet buildup and the stove seems to be a thousand times safer. That being said, I would hate to explain it to an insurance agent.

There is a member here that works on quite a few stoves and often swaps out snap discs for different ratings and uses different blower specs than the ones that come originally. Just because things can be done and seem to help doesn't mean there may not be unforeseen negative consequences.