Powder coating an insert

  • Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.

    We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.

    We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
Status
Not open for further replies.
T

TapRackFire

New Member
Nov 29, 2010
5
Okc OK
Hi all,

Love your site. I have an Appalachian wood burner insert. It is probably a good 20 years old and it has given us reliable service. However, the color is a light gray and I want to change the color to black. Is powder coating the best way to change the color?

What started the idea of changing the color is we lit the first fire this year and the stove drew the smoke up the chimney but at the same time an acidic smoke would also slowly fill the room. It kind of burned your eyes. I would compare this smoke and odor to a new stove being lit for the first time and the paint and othe materials baking for the first time. But, we have been issuing this stove for years and never had this weird smoke fill the living room. So I pulled the stove out of the fireplace and made sure there was nothing behind it and I checked the flue for any problems. Both these inspections checked out and I could not find the source of this mystery smoke.

So, before I put the unit back in the fireplace I need to change the color if possible.

Thanks for any suggestions or advice.
 
Normally the stove would just get repainted with a high-temp stove paint like Stove-Brite. But I am a little concerned about the smoke smell. Paint won't sure that. It could be a sign of a broken weld or a crack. A light grey color is often a sign of repeated overfiring of the stove. If this is the case, the stove could be ready for retirement.
 
BeGreen is definitely "right on" in taking you in the direction of the integrity of the unit. Follow his advice.

My only two cents here is with regard to Powder Coating. In my "real job" I work in a Quality Control Division, and Audit processes, and suppliers and so forth. One of our more typical applications is Powder Coating of of products. Not only are they prone to blistering and peeling, but I don't believe you would find that any Powder Coating application would stand up to the heat potentials. I'd believe that the High Temp Stove Paint that BeGreen spoke of, is more the way to go.

We do ambient temperature testing of our products that have the Powder Coat applications on them, and they have a narrower range of tolerability than a wood insert or wood stove would generate. We're having our suppliers apply Powder Coating on a professional level, and if the Powder Coat THEY put on, would fail in high-temp situations, any non-professional application would fail.

-Soupy1957
 
Sometimes matte black stoves fade over time to a gray colored . . . and sometimes as BeGreen mentioned it is a sign of overfiring . . . if you posted a picture here it might help to give us an indication of what this could be.

Also, I can't recall anyone every powder coating their stove . . . many folks have repainted the stove using high temp paints like Stove Brite which you can get at local stove shops . . . but I can't think of any folks who have powder coated the stove.
 
I think some modern steel jacketed stoves might use powder coating (PE and Napoleon come to mind). But I also have never seen it done on an old stove.
 
Thanks again for all the advice. Let me clear up my comment about the color of my stove. The color I described is the factory color of a grayish/brown. I think I read this color is a porcelian finish applied at the factory. I have run some hot fires in it but i have never monitored them to check the temperature of the fire itself.

When I pulled the stove out of the opening I did find a lot of batted insulation in direct contact with the firebox. There was a big piece of insulation laying on top of the stove as well as wrapped all the way around it. I assume this is a industry standard practise. Some of the insulation had turned black. But, nothing looked dangerous and we have been running the stove like this for the 20 years we have lived there.

Could I remove the insert to my shop and run some type of test to check for damage or cracks? The smoke I've described coming into the home would burn your eyes. But it did not smell like a wood fire. It had a heavy chemical smell or smelled like burning plastic from the electric fan motor. I pulled the motor out and inspected it as well and could find nothing wrong with it.


Thanks again for the suggestions!
 
I forgot to add a photo. I hope this works
 

Attachments

  • clip_image001.jpg
    clip_image001.jpg
    39.7 KB · Views: 647
For what it's worth...

I moved into my current house back in september '08. That winter, with only the fireplace, I have never been so cold in my life. Whatever heat the damn thing generated went straight up the chimney. The chimney, around the fire box had this thing callled a Heatalator and there was a switch on the wall. It would suck cold air in the bottom vents and circle the air around the back of the steel firebox and push it out the top vents. After several weeks of using this Heatalator thing, it failed (house was 28years old when I brought it). Every time I would turn it on it would trip and circuit breaker would shut it off. Off I'd go into the garage and flip it back on. After a couple of weeks of doing this we just gave up and put a pit of tape across it so we wouldn't use it. The tape stayed there for 10 months until I ripped the fireplace out, removed the Heatalator and all the wiring. And there was the answer. The shoddy workmanship when they built the house resulted in the melting of all the plastic off the the wire and the bare wires touching each other causing the short. That heatalator is gone for good. There are four holes where the little fans and vent covers once were attached. They are a stark reminder that I could have burnt the house down. What is even worse is that when the fans always shorted out there was an acrid burning smell that at the time I even knew was electrically created, yet I didn't put two and two together.

In short

CHECK YOUR ELECTRICS
 
Tap said:
Thanks again for all the advice. Let me clear up my comment about the color of my stove. The color I described is the factory color of a grayish/brown. I think I read this color is a porcelian finish applied at the factory. I have run some hot fires in it but i have never monitored them to check the temperature of the fire itself.

When I pulled the stove out of the opening I did find a lot of batted insulation in direct contact with the firebox. There was a big piece of insulation laying on top of the stove as well as wrapped all the way around it. I assume this is a industry standard practise. Some of the insulation had turned black. But, nothing looked dangerous and we have been running the stove like this for the 20 years we have lived there.

Could I remove the insert to my shop and run some type of test to check for damage or cracks? The smoke I've described coming into the home would burn your eyes. But it did not smell like a wood fire. It had a heavy chemical smell or smelled like burning plastic from the electric fan motor. I pulled the motor out and inspected it as well and could find nothing wrong with it.


Thanks again for the suggestions!
Click to expand...

Looks like it might be a match for Stove Brite's honey-glo brown paint.

The install is a slammer, it is not the safest of installations. Do you have CO monitors in the house? This can be dangerous if the chimney backdrafts.

I would closely examine all electrical parts on the stove. Do this with your eyes, a meter and your nose. Smell the fan motor, wiring, switches, rheostat and any connections for heating up. Look and smell for brittle or darkened wires.
 
Your right about it being a, "Slammer". I just recently found that out. Is it too late to add a liner to it? Is it hard to attach the liner to the stove and slide the stove back into the opening or is there enought slack in the liner that is allows for this?

I have pulled the fan unit out of the stove and checked it on the counter top. It ran fine and nothing got hot.

Is the Appalachian brand a good brand? If I replace this model which one do I go with? I'm sure that will open a giant can of worms.
 
I've heard of the brand but never have burned in one or even seen one in anything but pictures. They are still in business I think. It looks like there is room to attach a liner. What size is the flue collar on this insert?

If the stove is pre-EPA (more than about 20 yrs old), then a newer stove will be more efficient and burn cleaner. That will mean less wood consumed and a cleaner flue as long as you're burning dry wood.
 
If the stove has an 8" flush opening it can be connected to the liner with a liner adapter. Predrill holes in the insert top for the adapter feet to attach to the stove top. The trick to attaching the liner is to remove the surround so that there is working room in there with the insert close to in place. I don't have an illustration handy, but hopefully someone will have a picture that shows the attachment to the stove top and will post it to this thread.
 
The saga continues.

I cleaned everything up and stuck the insert back into the fireplace. New insulation and the whole 9 yards. It slowly started filling the room with smoke eventhough the fire was drawing nicely up the flue. Upon closer examination of my insert I noticed there was a small amout of smoke rising up from the flue and into the room. There must be a crack where the 8" flue is welded to the top of the fire box. This is a recessed location and the only way to inspect it is to remove the damper mechanism from inside the fire box and look up at the weld. Hopefully i can find a defect I can fix. I can see a small about of discoloration on the flue area where the smoke was coming from. But again this is a recessed location and not accessible. I'll try to post pics of it.

My next question is this. Is it worth the trouble or when this type of failure happens does it mean the rest of the insert has other unseen problems and I should get rid of it and start over with a new unit. I would like to weld the crack closed and stick it back in the fireplace but not if this is a sign of things to come.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

C
Backdraft issue
Replies
14
Views
447
The Hearth Room - Wood Stoves and Fireplaces
Chris kim
C
E
HELP! Ongoing chemical smell in room above wood burning insert
Replies
8
Views
869
The Hearth Room - Wood Stoves and Fireplaces
begreen
begreen
A
Is it enough air?
Replies
2
Views
370
The Hearth Room - Wood Stoves and Fireplaces
AGPBurning
A
W
Double walled Stove pipe through chimney
Replies
4
Views
1K
The Hearth Room - Wood Stoves and Fireplaces
begreen
begreen
B
3 Sided Fireplace smoking
Replies
9
Views
975
The Hearth Room - Wood Stoves and Fireplaces
EatenByLimestone
EatenByLimestone
Top Bottom
Back