Landlord has installed... something.

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jbsibley

New Member
Dec 2, 2009
3
I hope someone can help me, because I have NO idea what I'm doing...

I just moved into a rental house with a wood stove in the living room, something I've never had before. I know nothing - nothing at all - about wood stoves, but I have been blessed with some small amount of common sense.

When I first moved into the house the wood stove present was quite old - according to the label on the back, it was a Heat King H1000 dating back to the 70s, and it was in pretty rough shape. The grate at the bottom was largely burnt through, and when I touched the damper mechanism for the first time the cracked and damaged damper fell into the body of the stove.

Called the landlord, whose solution was to come over and remove the entire damper mechanism with the explanation that it wasn't really necessary. Huh. Seems to be burning an awful lot of wood and running really, really hot, and I certainly wasn't born yesterday. I eventually tired of the email exchange and filed the paperwork to force him to fix it.

Today this monstrosity appeared in the living room, which I'm calling Darth Vader:

p1110302.jpg


I'm wondering if anyone recognizes this as a commercial product or a copy of one, because it certainly has the look of a home-brew stove constructed by a skilled-ish welder. It appears to have once had an ash catch-pan attached underneath it, now the opening in the bottom of the stove has been welded shut and an elevated grate placed inside. As you can see by the drip marks it appears to have had a recent rattle-can paint job. More on that later.

Full of optimism, I fired it up for the first time tonight. No thermometer of any kind so I'll have to guess, and the two knobs on the front are the only way to regulate airflow - they pretty much either block the holes behind them or they don't. I get it up to what feels like a half decent temperature, cut back on the airflow, and leave the room for a few minutes.

When I come back, the room is full of smoke. Some of it seems to be backdraft coming out of the vents, but most of it is the acrid chemical smell of burning paint from the recent paint job. Shut down airflow, open all doors/windows, air out room... and let the paint burn off.

Now that all that ol' excess paint is gone, it seems to work... acceptably, though not terribly well, and I still have the feeling I'm poisoning myself.

So I guess my questions are... does anyone recognize this thing? Is it a commercial product, a homebrew, a copy?
Is it legal to install just any ol' woodburning chunk of steel in a house, despite how bad it may be?
And finally, is it even worth messing with? My other option is to heat with electricity, which would make it a cold winter - but better than burning the house down or poisoning myself and my dogs.

Any advice, laughter, or sympathy appreciated. :)
 
Turn it upside down and it looks like something out of Mummenschanz. Sorry I'm not much (or any) of a practical help, but you have my sympathy. I'll leave it someone who knows what they're talking about to chime in with advice. Good luck.
 
Where are you? (state ) Thinking of the climate. Do you have access to dry wood (seasoned).
 
Dude.That looks like a prototype for Darth's costume in the movie.I would be wary of using that.Are there any seriel numbers,logo's,or distingushing marks?Or remnants at least?I understand wanting to burn wood instead of electricity but unless the landlord actually fixes the problem and not Mickey Mouse it I'd consider finding somewhere else to hang my hat.
 
It looks like a space capsule. And maybe not real safe?!

Where do you live? Do you plan to live there long? Can you find a craigslist deal on something safer and actually operable and take it with you when you go?
 
I'm in northern AZ and I have some access to seasoned wood.

No serial numbers, logos, distinguishing marks of any kind nor remnants thereof that I can find. Welded from heavy steel plate, welding is not great - either a skilled amateur or a bad pro by my guess.
 
Home made, you can see the grinder marks on the front face at top. And it dont appear to even be painted in the picture, did it all burn off?. I would say nay on this one!!!!
 
Neat looking space ship you have there! Couple of comments: I've seen on our local Craig's List where landlords had to remove wood stoves if the property it is installed in is rented (insurance required removal). If you have renters insurance, have you checked to see if your insurance allows a wood burning stove? Not meaning to be a downer on this but better to be safe than sorry!

Shari
 
jbsibley said:
I'm in northern AZ and I have some access to seasoned wood.

No serial numbers, logos, distinguishing marks of any kind nor remnants thereof that I can find. Welded from heavy steel plate, welding is not great - either a skilled amateur or a bad pro by my guess.


Where are you at? Flagstaff? Sedona? Williams? I have some land between Williams and the Grand Canyon.
 
That thing is crap. Cool looking tho. :-S Looks like it needs to be run pretty hot with that huge heat exchange area on top, but sounds like that might be a bad idea if the welds are lousy.
 
To hell with the stove, its junk, toss it. I do like the photo of the 3 ladies shaking their booties though ;)
 
I think the egyptions may have made it since it looks like a pyramid!
 
I like the blower that was installed on the mantel. Now where have I seen that before...
 
zaaaaazoooommm! shabowowow!
 
looks like someone is burning them expensive convience store bundles of fire wood! also looks like someone could spend some time with a vacuum!
 
It looks like a stove from an Austin Powers or Spaceballs movie.
 
Can we see more or better pics of the three chicks to the right of the Aquarius?
 
BTW, my guess is that LM-7 wont meet code as installed, it doesn't look like basic clearances are being met.
 
Whatever paperwork you filed to make him change it, file that again. Maybe this time you can do a little research here, and have a few choices for him to install, someone listed a craigslist add above.
 
Time to "force" Darth Vader out the door!
 
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