17 years old and runs like a top

[SidecarFlip]

Bought my USSC 6039 HF multifuel stove 17 years ago last fall and it's running just as good as it did then.

I've burned countless tons of pellets (all brands) and countless bushels of shelled corn.

I've replaced a couple agitator motors and a couple stirrer rods but that is it. Original backer board, original burn pot (modified with larger draft holes a long time ago). Every spring it gets taken apart and all the motors get oiled and the insides get cleaned and I oil the firebox with fogging oil. Replaced a couple door gaskets as well but overall it's all original as is the venting (which also gets taken apart and cleaned every spring.

It still heats very well and provides backup heat when the wind blows cold up here like it does in the winter.

Pellets have actually come down in price here (I paid $218 a ton this fall), bought just a ton and had 8000 pounds of shelled corn delivered and put in my grain tank. Corn come to me free of charge. I sell hay to the farmer and he provides me with dried, cleaned Midwestern Dent and fills my tank in the fall.

The last few years I've been running a mixture of pellets and shelled corn with excellent results at a ratio of 3 parts corn to one part pellets. Don't matter what brand the pellets are, the stove eats everything just fine.

Very happy with my purchase and it's paid for itself in heating cost, many times over.

It's a basic appliance devoid of frills but it does exactly what it was designed to do. It provides economical heat and it's as reliable as a rock. I don't ever anticipate replacing it, think it will outlast me.

 

[hinkle]

Sounds like a solid machine!

 

[SidecarFlip]

Sounds like a solid machine!

Other than consumables (which all appliances will eventually need), for example, new drive motors and blower rebuilds, it's trouble free and will combust just about anything I put in the hopper. Not particular about brand of pellets or grades of corn or even where the RM falls at. if it goes through the feed auger it can be burned and used for heat.

What I really like about it, is the total adjustability of the combustion parameters, but that also can be a downside as it's not really 'plug and play'.

The 6039-41 is a 'tinkerers appliance', that is, you have to 'tune it' for maximum efficiency. something I have to do every season but once it's 'dialed in', it rocks.

If you want 'plug and play go elsewhere. If you want total control over combustion parameters it's the ticket and they are still made today. Great units and relatively inexpensive too. Harman's might be prettier face but I'm not into a pretty face in as much as I'm not all that handsome myself....

 

[Rob711]

Sounds like maintenance is a huge contributor to its longevity. Your the guy is wanna buy something used from!

 

[SidecarFlip]

Problem with any of them is, sooner or later, the combustion dust and the dust from the fuel itself causes the bearings to fail, especially if you don't keep the mechanical side clean and oiled. Mine comes apart every summer and I lube every motor. I even take apart the drive casings and renew / replace the grease inside and I've machined new bearings in the past as well. At least with the USSC units, component access is simple. It's all there in the back out in the open, easy to get to. Clean my venting with a leaf blower (suck side) and take it apart and pressure wash it internally every other year. So far I have never replaced any of it (Simpson Duravent Pellet Pro) and that is on corn which produces nitric acid as it burns. I do, at the end of season, run a bag of straight wood pellets through it with it set on maximum fuel delivery to 'burn out' any nitric residue from the stove itself and the venting prior to final shut down and cleaning.

Like I said, not a pretty face but a reliable ugly black box and that is fine with me. Warm and toasty is always better than a pretty non functional face in my view.

 

[Don2222]

Hello
Do you clean your corn with a corn cleaner before you burn to get rid of the white chaff?

 

[FirepotPete]

Bought my USSC 6039 HF multifuel stove 17 years ago last fall and it's running just as good as it did then.

I've burned countless tons of pellets (all brands) and countless bushels of shelled corn.

I've replaced a couple agitator motors and a couple stirrer rods but that is it. Original backer board, original burn pot (modified with larger draft holes a long time ago). Every spring it gets taken apart and all the motors get oiled and the insides get cleaned and I oil the firebox with fogging oil. Replaced a couple door gaskets as well but overall it's all original as is the venting (which also gets taken apart and cleaned every spring.

It still heats very well and provides backup heat when the wind blows cold up here like it does in the winter.

Pellets have actually come down in price here (I paid $218 a ton this fall), bought just a ton and had 8000 pounds of shelled corn delivered and put in my grain tank. Corn come to me free of charge. I sell hay to the farmer and he provides me with dried, cleaned Midwestern Dent and fills my tank in the fall.

The last few years I've been running a mixture of pellets and shelled corn with excellent results at a ratio of 3 parts corn to one part pellets. Don't matter what brand the pellets are, the stove eats everything just fine.

Very happy with my purchase and it's paid for itself in heating cost, many times over.

It's a basic appliance devoid of frills but it does exactly what it was designed to do. It provides economical heat and it's as reliable as a rock. I don't ever anticipate replacing it, think it will outlast me.

Hi Flip, long time no post. Glad to hear you are still chugging along with the 6039. I now have had mine at least 14 years, probably 15 if I would check the paperwork.

I do just about what you do with mine every spring. Also, like you still running the same exhaust pipe as I originally put in. Keep it clean, a hot burn with pellets at the end of the season, a good cleaning and still like new.

Have you seen the price on the 4 button control boards? Last year they went to around $160, last I checked a week or so ago they are at $200. I'm going to order one just to have on hand. Every thing else I can replace no problem if needed.

Good to see you post again, don't be a stranger.

 

[SidecarFlip]

Hi Flip, long time no post. Glad to hear you are still chugging along with the 6039. I now have had mine at least 14 years, probably 15 if I would check the paperwork.

I do just about what you do with mine every spring. Also, like you still running the same exhaust pipe as I originally put in. Keep it clean, a hot burn with pellets at the end of the season, a good cleaning and still like new.

Have you seen the price on the 4 button control boards? Last year they went to around $160, last I checked a week or so ago they are at $200. I'm going to order one just to have on hand. Every thing else I can replace no problem if needed.

Good to see you post again, don't be a stranger.

I'm around and I sent you a PM. She's chugging away right now. Wife and cats are close by. Running 2-1 pellet corn mix. Haven't had it above HR 2 yet this year. I should probably get a spare as well, just in case though I keep it on a surge supressor and in the warm months unplug it.

 

[SidecarFlip]

Hello
Do you clean your corn with a corn cleaner before you burn to get rid of the white chaff?

No. I get it pre-cleaned in bulk but when I didn't, I never cleaned it anyway. It was only run over a magnet to insure there was no metal in it. I burned it wings and all, never had an issue. Not sure what you mean by white chaff. The white deposits in the burn pot are from the starch in the kernels. Toss the pot in warm water and a little elbow grease with a Scotchbrite pad. removes it.

 

[SidecarFlip]

One thing I did do concerning the OEM burn pot is, I enlarged all the air holes a bit to allow more combustion air to reach the corn / pellet mix (and that allows the burned residue to drop out easier and just about eliminates any clinkers) and more importantly, I reversed the direction of the stirrer which prevents hard carbon from forming in the burn pot on the feed side of the pot. reversing the rotation is easy. You take the drive motor apart and flip the field laminations. That reverses the direction of the drive motor. Works on every shaded pole drive motor. Good time to lube the bearings too. I also added a grease fitting to the very top of the drive casting so I can inject grease every spring. All my drives have a grease fitting added as most are shipped with minimal grease inside anyway. Never replaced a drive motor all the years I've had the stove. Room fan bearings certainly. One nice thing about bearings is they all have catalog numbers etched into the outer races so I cross them with a replacement beraing and get them from our local bearing distributor. I replace the tinkertoy bearings with SKF double shielded bearings. That eliminates issues and that will apply to any stove make, not just USSC.

 

[MrJitters]

My Harman is not that pretty.

 

[SidecarFlip]

My Harman is not that pretty.

Compared to mine it is. I have the mud fence, you have a Mona Lisa.

 

[ARC]

Have you seen the price on the 4 button control boards? Last year they went to around $160, last I checked a week or so ago they are at $200. I'm going to order one just to have on hand.

Ordered one for a backup $195.63 with shipping on Dec. 19 2019 3 emails, 2 phone calls and a text message later was told today Jan 22 2020 back ordered until Feb 9 2020.

 

[SidecarFlip]

Ordered one for a backup $195.63 with shipping on Dec. 19 2019 3 emails, 2 phone calls and a text message later was told today Jan 22 2020 back ordered until Feb 9 2020.

Pretty typical for USSC. Not sure but Dinosaur might offer a board for less and probably in stock too.

 

[ARC]

Ordered one for a backup $195.63 with shipping on Dec. 19 2019 3 emails, 2 phone calls and a text message later was told today Jan 22 2020 back ordered until Feb 9 2020.

Now back ordered until April 13. 2020 good thing I really don't need it.

 

[SidecarFlip]

Now back ordered until April 13. 2020 good thing I really don't need it.

Pretty soon you'll need the AC instead....

 

[ARC]

Three months and 11 days, I received 6039 4 button control board today.

 

[SidecarFlip]

Sent me a notice they were again available as well

 

[SidecarFlip]

Gonna have to replace the door gasket this summer, it's pretty ratty and leaking and I need to replace some outside venting. My 3" to 4" Tee with the cleanout at the bottom of the vertical venting is succumbing to rot out. Has a hole in the outer jacket. Time to replace it. It's lasted at least 15 years now. I got my money's worth from it. Could use a new backer board too, the OEM one has a small crack at the bottom and the view glass has some scratches in it. My second one. The OEM one cracked about 8 years ago. Other than that, even on a corn diet, it's held up well. A couple bearing replacements and it's usual spring time deep clean. Not bad for a 1200 buck stove.

 

[ARC]

My 3" to 4" Tee with the cleanout at the bottom of the vertical venting is succumbing to rot out

Replaced my tee this year 14 years rotted out around the cleanout also. figure the acid from corn finally got to it. The internal stainless steal section was still spotless but the clean out cap would not stay on with out aluminum taping it.

 

[SidecarFlip]

Replaced my tee this year 14 years rotted out around the cleanout also. figure the acid from corn finally got to it. The internal stainless steal section was still spotless but the clean out cap would not stay on with out aluminum taping it.

Mine is pretty rough looking. Reminds me of the cars around here that run on treated roads..... I'll need to replace it this summer. I'm on my second clean out cap with this Tee. The first one, the bottom gave out and I'll get a new one with the Tee anyway. I slather on silver never seize on the end of the cleanout cap so it comes off easily. With corn, it's necessary to dump the fly ash (at least with my venting setup) every time I clean the appliance out or every 30 gallon trash can of corn / pellet mix. Corn is a dirty burn, but I've found with my 6039, if I mix in pellets at a 2-1 ratio, I get very little if any clinkers, so I run thew agitator all the time on the lowest setting. Hard to beat free corn anyway you cut it. I suspect there will be a huge amount available soon down the road. ADM has a silo fire the other night and the local VFD dumped a bunch of water in the 120 foot high tube so there will be a mountain of nasty but burnable corn when they clean it out. Probably be a jack hammer job. Nasty field corn turns into concrete when wet. I don't envy they guys who clean it out. Nothing better than hanging from a rope, in a bosuns chair suspended in a silo with an air hammer chiseling away at nasty corn.

Interesting that the nitric vapor ate the outer jacket up. I'd have thought it would attack the stainless liner instead. I tend to run a load of straight pellets as my last burn to drive out any residual nitric vapor anyway.

 

[SidecarFlip]

It's on 100% hardwood pellets right now. Very different heat output at the corn settings but I'm too lazy to reprogram the control board for a couple bags of pellets as it's about finished for the year. Once it gets warm out, I'll replace the lower 3-4 cleanout out Tee and tear it all apart and clean and oil all the bearings, give the gear boxes a shot of grease, clean the interior really well and apply some Stabil fogging oil to the interior, unplug it and call it good until next fall when I'll start it once again for next season. Laid in 6,000 pounds of corn already for next season and I have an additional 6 if I need them. I'll need to get a pallet of pellets in the fall. Brand don't matter, it eats everything no complaints.

I am going to install nut-serts in the holes where the distribution blower mounts to the back side of the burn chamber. The sheet metal self tapping screws that USSC uses are basically stripped out from all the times I've removed and cleaned (and oiled) the blower. time for some real threaded inserts in there. I modded the combustion blower a few years ago and got rid of the gasket for good. Put a bead of HT silicone around the edge and let it cure and then installed the blower but I used flat fender washers to even out the clamping pressure so they don't have to be real tight and the cured silicone bead effectively seals it.

I ran 6000 pounds of corn this year and 2000 pounds of pellets plus 450 gallons of propane to heat the shop. Both propane bottles are full now so I have 960 gallons of propane available and my bulk diesel tank is 85% full as well. 400 gallons of off road diesel.

The price of Duravent really went up.

 

[tlc1976]

I’ve got a spare upper and lower board for mine. As well as one of each motor and a couple thermodiscs and igniters. And some shear pins. I figure when I need something it’s going to be the coldest part of winter and it will take forever to get it. The boards did take a long time to get and were backordered. When something does fail that’s when I’ll order another to have on hand.

 

[SidecarFlip]

Mine is a before ignitor unit. I use hand sanitizer or Crown Royal or Gelled fire starter to fire it.

 

[ARC]

Mine is a before ignitor unit. I use hand sanitizer or Crown Royal or Gelled fire starter to fire it.

Gelled fire starter is to expensive and hard to find, wife confiscated the hand sanitizer I was using, using charcoal starter now figure I only have two more starts for the year, (every Sunday cleaning) and I save the Crown Royal Maple for self medicating.