Advice please: Have really old pellet stove, tore apart at moment, should I just get a new one?

My current pellet stove is a 1993 Paragon model 5440 by United States Stove Company which I inherited it from my parents when I moved into my childhood home last year. My husband and I finally started using it last January or February. Found out it was really dirt (really, really diiiiiiiiirty). So, I tore it apart, cleaned it up and it worked beautifully the rest of the season. Although, the perfectionist in me always thought maybe with some other maintenance/repairs (i.e. door and window gaskets, face cap and plug gasket, auger gasket, etc) it could have been made to work even better. At that time, we had neither the money nor the time to rip it apart again but I figured I'd get to it at the beginning of this season.

And, I did... sort of.

I did not rip the whole thing apart again to get to the auger gasket, and didn't replace the face cap gasket either. But I did make an honest attempt to redo the door and window gasket. The only issue was that I didn't know what width of rope gasket I was supposed to use, only that it was wider than the last package of anything they had which was 3/8". So, I waited for their next shipment and bought something wider, 5/8". It also wasn't as wide as I thought I needed but it was the widest they sold and obviously the most popular since I was told they had a hard time keeping it in stock. Anyway, the gasket may or may not be the problem. I honestly don't know because even now, nearly two weeks later, I still haven't done the "dollar bill" test.

And now it may be a moot point because we had a bit of a problem with pellets backing up/jamming the auger. Yesterday morning I could hear the the fan and auger running but the fire had gone out. I thought the hopper was empty, just gave it a quick glance in dim light. I turned the stove off figuring I'd clean it up, fill it, and get it going later. So, when I finally got around to cleaning it I was sufficiently shocked to see one heck of a mess of black (soot?) burn marks and major pile of ash and partially burned pellets inside. The black burn marks were also on the back wall and partially up the shoot. YOWZA!


Ever the procrastinator, and also not wanting my non-handyman husband to miss the "fun" of cleaning it up and solving the problem from the inside out, I waited till evening to get going on the project. Got 'er tore apart and that's all. I figured that after I put the kids to bed, I'd hop online and order all the gaskets I'd wanted to get before plus the proper door and window rope stuff. I did look it all up and have everything ready to go, but haven't completed my order because I don't know if it's the wisest way to go about this. My stove is so old. I worry that the gaskets alone won't be solving my problem and getting replacement parts, if necessary, seems next to impossible.

So, ultimately, here's what I need to know:
Is this thing a dinousaur that's not worth patching up? How much more effecient are pellet stoves these days compared to mine?

It might be helpful to know that the stove is located in the basement which is, for all intents and purposes, unfinished (cement floors, no insulation, lost of stored junk). We do plan on finishing it (except for storage and utility areas) within the next year or so. Still, the stove cranks out enough heat to warm the basement and the rest of the 37 year-old house nicely during the past 30-40 degree days. Our objective is to never have to use the radient heating system which uses an LP gas boiler (I hope I said that right) unless we are seriously going to freeze to death without it. LP gas is highway robbery, IMO. The pellet stove, which my dad installed to replace a big ol'woodstove, is tied into the old chimney and nothing but that, as in nothing special to bring fresh air into the stove (don't know if it's always needed or only in certain circumtances).

Thanks, in advance, for any and all advice. I have nothing but this (or sales people on the floor-uh, no thanks) to consult about this kind of decision since (in my opnion) The Original Pyro Extraordinare a.k.a my dad passed away in January and my husband is clueless (irritating to say the least, but better left to discuss elsewhere and on another day).

Thanks, Joe.

I've been doing a bit of reserach on pellet stoves since my post, still trying to figure out my next move. A new stove was SO not in my plans/budget, although, it's not going to financially kill us if I can find a good deal. I am so back-and-forth on it, though. I live by the "use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without" motto, always. Not that I'm cheap, just can't stand extra spending and overpriced items. So, IF I am going to make the plunge and buy a whole "new fangled" stove it's going to take me a while to research prices and features.

So, I'm also looking for advice on which makers and/or models are the most popular/best. Again, thanks to all who take the time to reply.

Oh, this is fantastic. You all are awesome; this forum is awesome.

I've popped into many-a-forum room before about lots things but for my hobbies mostly and, sure, they've been helpful but so are several other sources generally, so I just forget about them the next time I'm needing something (whoa major run-on sentence). But this, hearth.com, this is a real gem... clearly, because I found it about 8 months ago when I ran into a problem and it was the first source I sought last night just to sift through what others are up to. Then, today, when I started debating old vs. new I knew I should hop on here to find advice before making any final decisions. I may not be looking in the right place (and I don't feel like I really need to) but there just doesn't seem to be any other pellet stove forums like this.

Anyway, already you've given me some things to think about. One of those being the blowers and that "squirrel cage" looking thing. Another being the walls sucking up my heat. Thanks, Dexter, for both of those ideas. I'm leaning towards fixing the old stove and using what I save to begin finishing the basement starting with the walls and adding insulation to the attic (been talking about doing that since dealing with ice dams last winter). Of course, I am a huge fan of Craigslist so I'll be keeping an eye on stoves, too.

But, back to fixing what I've got. 3650, you mentioned cutting my own gaskets. Sounds doable to me. Do you have any specific source for the material or should I be able to find it fairly easily anywhere? I had planned on ordering 3 or 4 a piece for both the auger and face cap/plug, so I'm sure cutting my own would cut costs since I'd get a few of each per sq foot. I think I'll surf the web a bit more on that and check back in one last time this evening before bed. And tomorrow I'll finally get back to getting that stove back in order, well, as much as I can till I get the gaskets.

Hopefully this works, I'm never quite sure when attaching things but... I'm attaching a picture of the stove diagram to show the metal face plate. Well, it shows lots of things, but I thought it would be better at explaining the face plate and plug than I am. That part is what I have to remove to get to the ash rake and heat exchange tubes. I'm sure the designer meant well with that ash rake but honestly it doesn't do enough to clean the tubes. I use various brushes instead. But that's sort of off topic. Anyways, that's how I access that area including the exhaust tube. That picture also shows the gasket, #16 on that diagram.

While I'm on the topic of this diagram, I've got a question about the ash pans. I think most of you have ash pans that are situated behind their own separate access door. I think this because I can't find anything like this one's. I have 2 ash pans that sit on either side of the burn pot. My question is this: The ash pans have one wall that's slightly taller and with a handle of sorts, just bent metal. You can see it in the diagram (#12) but they only show one. I've always put that longer wall against the left or right side wall of the stove. I think I do that because that's how it was when we started using it last winter, though, I can't say as I paid attention to how they went in before I yanked them out to clean it up before firing it up that first time. Does that sound right? Or, would the tall wall go next to the fire pot to create a sort of "wall" around it? Or, maybe it doesn't even matter, hahaha. Seems like everything does matter on one of these though, and getting each little detail right makes for a better fire. Guess i can figure that out when I get it all back together and running again.

So, it's off to bed for me because tomorrow promises to be a fun filled day of vacuuming, ashes, soot, dust and heaven-only-knows-what from the blowers and squirrel cage thing... should be awesome, or maybe an awesome mess for a bit... I won't even get started on shop vacs and learning the importance of the "fine dust/ash" filter or risk having black filth EVERYWHERE.