Afton Bay "bricks" necessary?

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heat seeker

heat seeker

Minister of Fire
Feb 25, 2011
3,216
Northern CT
The fake brick on the rear wall of my Afton Bay looks awful. It is just stamped sheet metal. It was new last year, and this summer, over the course of a couple of days, it rusted badly. The rust is showing, and much of the paint is bubbled by rust. Since it is exposed directly to the fire, I don't see any point in painting it (it's a dark cream color).

Question - can I remove this eyesore without harming the stove? I don't see where it does anything useful, and it traps ashes behind it. I'd rather see the black rear wall instead of this rusty mess. (I sprayed it after I saw the rust start, but the damage was done.)
Thanks!
 
In my Prescott I removed those fake bricks after the first year and never looked back, they are not needed for safe operation of the stove.
 
Okay, thanks. I'll be removing the eyesore.

Had my first burn of the season today, it was great seeing a fire again! Stove started right up, no problems. Now I need to hunt down some pellets, I'm getting low.
 
heat seeker said:
The fake brick on the rear wall of my Afton Bay looks awful. It is just stamped sheet metal. It was new last year, and this summer, over the course of a couple of days, it rusted badly. The rust is showing, and much of the paint is bubbled by rust. Since it is exposed directly to the fire, I don't see any point in painting it (it's a dark cream color).

Question - can I remove this eyesore without harming the stove? I don't see where it does anything useful, and it traps ashes behind it. I'd rather see the black rear wall instead of this rusty mess. (I sprayed it after I saw the rust start, but the damage was done.)
Thanks!
Click to expand...

Mnkywrnch is 100% correct. They are just for looks. (confirmed with engineering) What they do however is give you a nice bright firebox and fire. I wire brush mine and repaint them at the end of season maintenance.

Brad
 
What do you paint it with? I did like the look of it when it was new, and it does brighten things up, as you say. The original paint started burning off this spring, which is probably why it rusted so badly. It does get a lot of heat on it.
 
heat seeker said:
What do you paint it with? I did like the look of it when it was new, and it does brighten things up, as you say. The original paint started burning off this spring, which is probably why it rusted so badly. It does get a lot of heat on it.
Click to expand...

I just paint it with Stove Bright. Same thing the factory uses.

Brad
 
Mine would probably be rusted if I didn't disconnect the OAK in
the summer months. Here's a pic from this last season.
These panels were installed in 07.
steel_panel.jpg
 
That's the way mine used to look :cheese:

I blocked off the exhaust vent, but not the OAK. Lesson learned; next year the OAK gets disconnected.
 
I was reading through here. Probably a stupid question but what is the OAK? I have a St. Croix Afton, 3 years old, and I just started getting a little rust. I like the idea on the paint, I will try that. Also does anyone know if the silver trim can be purchased seperate? Mine is all black.
 
OAK = Outside Air Kit. Draws the combustion air from outside the building, a very desirable situation.

I bought some 1200º paint last week, and wire brushed, then sprayed my bricks. They look great. Now to see how the paint holds up under fire. I had a fire today for a couple of hours, and let the stove idle for a while. The paint looks okay, just sooted up from idling.

Now I need to get some black paint and do the side retainers, they look sort of shabby compared to the new paint.

Next spring, I paint the bricks early, so I don't get the rusting and ugliness to look at all summer!
 
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