Rust in pellet stove...........arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!

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teeravis1

teeravis1

New Member
Aug 21, 2008
46
Upper Michigan (the peninsula)
I had cleaned out my stove in the spring and put an open container of baking soda inside the ashpan to absorb moisture in case a little got in the stove. I just opened my stove for the first time since and there is surface rust starting all over on the inside of the stove. I do have the exhaust & intake a closed off outside with a plastic bag and duct tape but the stove is in my basement. Can anyone give me any insight on this? How do you or what can you do to prevent it? Is this common or do I have a problem? - Thanks
 
I did the same. Seems OK. Do you have your stove in a damp area? Maybe search in this forum - - there were a number of posts on this rust topic. I doubt if it's that big a problem for you in just one year. Next year I'll take the suggestions to spray something on the interior after I do end of season cleaning.
 
Baking Soda??????

This is a stove not a refrigerator

There are no smells to absorb -- sorry but that stuff didn't help -- you needed to place descant to absorb that moisture or a light bulb to drive off the moisture that is causing your problem -- or- as already stated coat ALL the surfaces in harms way with something that will protect it. And that's not a simple task.
 
Baking soda didn't absorb moisture? I'm too young for this knowledge. Next you'll tell me I didn't have to throw salt over my shoulder three times and dive into the neighbor's swimming pool during the full moon!

:bug:
 
Thanks macman!

All the talk about how to protect our stoves, I never thought to place something like that in my gun cabinet. Since your recommending this I'll guess it did a good job for your stove? I noticed the same thing as others, my stove is in the basement and I have some surface rust forming in some areas. I treated mine with cooking oil and some areas I wire brushed and re-painted after the heating season. Yet I still have rust forming.

I am going to look into buying a couple of these items you reference.
 
Dont worry about it, this light rust wont effect anything and it will be fine once you fire it back up.
 
Every year I spray the inside with a high heat rustoleum stove paint and have never ever had a problem with rust at all. Works for me :)
 
I have been using the GoldenRod in my gun safe for 10 years now with 100% effect. It is a 28 gun safe and I never seen a spec of rust,mildew,moisture or damp smell in the safe. It cost pennys a year o run and is maintenance free. BTW I have had guns start to rust just being in a wood cabinet in the living area of my house.
 

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I haven't even cleaned my stove yet & probably won't till September or October . I've done it this way the past 2 winters & it seems to be a nice coating from any humidity that may somehow occur in my home. I haven't even gotten around to replacing the exhaust fan <empeller> gasket yet . Yes, i do have a bit of surface rust but after the 1st burn, it's gone . Keep it simple is my credo. Must be cause i'm French . Muss
 
flashbang said:
I have been using the GoldenRod in my gun safe for 10 years now with 100% effect. It is a 28 gun safe and I never seen a spec of rust,mildew,moisture or damp smell in the safe. It cost pennys a year o run and is maintenance free. BTW I have had guns start to rust just being in a wood cabinet in the living area of my house.
Click to expand...

Yep, FlashBang, I considered using one of those, but they're much more $$ than the dessicant to buy, and cost $0 per year. I also worried about them overheating somehow and starting a fire....not a problem with the dessicant.

And after it turns pink, you simply put it in the oven to dry out, and use again and again forever.

As for sealing the exhaust and OAK, those are things that should be done anyway.
 
Desiccant is not free to use -- As you point out Macman -- it needs to be refurbished by baking out the moisture -- and regularly-- The oven doesn't run for free! Desiccant quickly degrades - the life cycle is not infinite. Others complain about the "stuff" in the oven

And as for concerns about starting a fire overheating a 4o watt source -- In an appliance that's designed to burn stuff???? Oh please. Just lamp a bulb in there and be done with the drama!
 
Sting said:
Desiccant is not free to use -- As you point out Macman -- it needs to be refurbished by baking out the moisture -- and regularly-- The oven doesn't run for free! Desiccant quickly degrades - the life cycle is not infinite. Others complain about the "stuff" in the oven

And as for concerns about starting a fire overheating a 4o watt source -- In an appliance that's designed to burn stuff???? Oh please. Just lamp a bulb in there and be done with the drama!
Click to expand...

Sting, as far as I'm concerned, placing the dessicant into the oven after we're done baking something is "free" heat.

As for your statement that "a fire overheating a 4o watt source -- In an appliance that's designed to burn stuff????"....that's not what we were talking about. And don't be so dramatic in the future when you don't seem to understand how the conversation went......FlashBang and I were referring to placing the GoldenRod inside a GUNSAFE, not the pelletstove....DUH. :roll:
 
ive used baking soda , works in my stove , put a box in the front and one in the hopper , change once during the summer, no appreciable surface rust you arent going to keep it all out anyway without going to extremes have OAK but disconnect in summer.
 
macman said:
[ don't be so dramatic in the future when you don't seem to understand how the conversation went......FlashBang and I were referring to placing the GoldenRod inside a GUNSAFE, not the pelletstove....DUH. :roll:
Click to expand...

OK MR DUH EXCUSE meeeeee that my clairvoyance was off line at the moment - I thought this was a pellet stove forum -- Imagine my chagrin! If don't find my advice appealing because it differs from yours. Deal with it!
plumber-1.jpg
 
Dang, I haven' t been around in awhile, but this used to be a friendly forum.

On rust - don't sweat a little. I just give it a light sanding before the first fire of the year. It'll be gone quickly.
 
Sting said:
........Imagine my chagrin! If don't find my advice appealing because it differs from yours. Deal with it!......
Click to expand...

Yeah, yeah, yeah....it had NOTHING to do with me disagreeing with you....YOU were the one who put his 2 cents into a "conversation" I had w/ another poster.

Nuff said to you.
 
No problem there MR DUH

Thanks for clearing that up then :)
 
If the basement is used for living space, you should run a dehumidifier and you will get no rust if the RH is 40% or less. Seal the walls with a waterproofing paint to reduce infiltration.

Yes it cost money but the basement won't smell and you can actually use the space without fear of mold.

Aaron
 
Baking soda does help keep out the moisture/rust for me. I have been using it myself for a
few years now with no issues.

I put one box in the hopper and another in the ash pan. Stuff the vent cap with
newspaper and then wrap it up tight with a plastic bag. No rust, no stale smell.
 
I`ve had a stove of one kind or another for 20 yrs in my finished basement where the summer`s humidity isn`t exactly low and I never saw any significant rust in or out of the stove.
I have to wonder at the conditions some of you guys actually have in your houses.
It`s not a piano so there`s no sense being paranoid over a bit of humidity and superficial rust but a good dehumidifier would go a long ways in keeping it at bay.
PS: in Pittsfield Ma. pellets are going for $315 per ton delivered.
 
Whats this about sealing the exhaust, and if applicable the intake, during the off season?
Is rust the prime concern or are there other benifits?

Come on you guys that have had these things a while, share with the group.

I'd think if capping them off during the off season was recomeded there'd be more said on the subject, or the rain caps would be available with something for the summer months.
 
slow-al said:
Whats this about sealing the exhaust, and if applicable the intake, during the off season?
Is rust the prime concern or are there other benifits?......
Click to expand...

Slow-al, sealing off the exhaust and also the air intake (on ones that also have an OAK) has been mentioned before on this forum, although not a lot. It's mainly to keep "critters" (read that birds, bats, bees, bugs, etc, etc) from deciding that your pellet stove is a good home in the summer.

I forgot to close up my wood stove flue a few years ago, and had a bird decide to visit.
 
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