Earth Stove Help

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elsielake

New Member
Mar 19, 2007
2
Hello from Alaska,

I've got a cabin that had an Earth Stove already in it. The stove works great, but the previous owner had painted it and painted over the model # and all the placecards. There's a damper on the bottom right hand side of the stove and is either pointed down or can be rotated 90 degree's so it is pointing toward you.

I've had a fire going and moved the damper to see if I could tell if it was in the open position or closed and for the life of me I can't tell. I've looked on line for an owners manual, info. about earth stoves and have found nothing. Does anyone know where to get info. on these stoves or know anything about the damper positions??

Thanks for any help.

Elsie Lake
 
Elsie,

go here

http://stovesandspas.com/customer_service/manual_download.php

and click on all of the Earth stove manuals until you find one like yours, then download the manual and learn about your stove.

Ive got an Earth stove insert, and I like it!




elsielake said:
Hello from Alaska,

I've got a cabin that had an Earth Stove already in it. The stove works great, but the previous owner had painted it and painted over the model # and all the placecards. There's a damper on the bottom right hand side of the stove and is either pointed down or can be rotated 90 degree's so it is pointing toward you.

I've had a fire going and moved the damper to see if I could tell if it was in the open position or closed and for the life of me I can't tell. I've looked on line for an owners manual, info. about earth stoves and have found nothing. Does anyone know where to get info. on these stoves or know anything about the damper positions??

Thanks for any help.

Elsie Lake
 
I had some time to read tonight, and maybe this is your stove?

http://stovesandspas.com/pdf/earth1500ht.pdf

the 1400 and 1500 have knobs on the lower right, and they are the primary air controls.

if they are uneffective on your stove, maybe its possible that you have an air leak ( door gasket or ashpan) that is allowing airflow regardless of the primary air setting.
 
You might try removing the paint on the labels. They is a product called "Goof Off" that is primarily used for removing latex based products. It softens the mechanical bond. It can be used to remove a variety of other products layer by layer. Start in the lower corner and do a test on the label. The factory paint on the label is probably tougher than the new paint, but you want to be sure. Use a cotton ball or wadded paper towel and apply a generous amount. Hold the pad on the spot for a few minutes. A soft brush can be used o rub the spot and wipe with a clean soft cloth. Clean so you don't redeposit paint. I have had great success with similar type products that I blend myself, but do basically the same thing. Having a clean label will also insure your stove is compliant. Without the label readable the assumption is the stove does not meet EPA standards.
 
So I used the goof off and found that it has a H M L designation on the label, which I figure is High, Medium and Low. The model # is 706-806-m/r with a serial # of 01091. Anyone familiar with this model earth stove???
 
elsielake said:
So I used the goof off and found that it has a H M L designation on the label, which I figure is High, Medium and Low. The model # is 706-806-m/r with a serial # of 01091. Anyone familiar with this model earth stove???

I have the same model as you...was already in my house when I moved in. I find that the damper or whatever it is called has no effect. I have to crack the door a little to get the air to flow in and get the fire going. I pulled the bricks out and gave it a good clean tonight and hope that fixes it, but not sure. Would love to get a manual for this thing.
 
Googling "earth stove 706-806 m/r" only brought two threads, both of them here at Hearth.com; one is this thread, the other is the other thread I just posted in. I have the same model. You might do another search for the part number on this forum to see the other thread.

The 1500 is definitely NOT the model, but the basic information may be useful. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like Stovesandspas.com even carries the Earth Stove anymore- Osburns, Countrys, and Napoleons, but no Earth Stoves.

Best of luck to all of us with this oddball! Only thing I can suggest is to set the damper to H and try to clean it out... most like, the previous owner (like mine) tried to shovel the ashes out by scooping them up over the front lip, occluding the damper. Gonna need to get a little brush and shovel to use in there.
 
As I mentioned in the other thread, I got the owner's man from Lennox for this little beast. Let me know if you still want a copy of it, I received it in .PDF format.

This evening, I had a heck of a time getting it to run. I spent more time splitting wood into tiny pieces the stove would burn (and swearing at it) than I did enjoying any modicum of heat it provided. Not so sure I like this thing, but I'll clean it good next time and see if it gets any better.
 
I just bought one of these (706 806 M/R). I can't actually see the damper to tell if anything is moving in there, and the plate with L-M-H on it is missing, so I don't know (save by fire behavior) which direction is supposed to be open and which is closed. Is there anyway to get at the actual damper save for breaking the rivets that hold the assembly on?

Mark
 
I managed to see the edge of the damper, stuck in the closed position. A bit of work with wire and WD-40 and the damper is now moving freely. This has one of those thermostated, spring-loaded Earth Stove dampers that can be more than a little touchy. I wish they had designed it with better access to the damper itself, but we shall see how it works...
 
Anir,

I'll look around on my old computer for the PDF, and send it back to the email you sent me. Give me a few days, though- I just started a new job.

Thanks,
Nick
 
trotsky said:
elsielake said:
So I used the goof off and found that it has a H M L designation on the label, which I figure is High, Medium and Low. The model # is 706-806-m/r with a serial # of 01091. Anyone familiar with this model earth stove???

I have the same model as you...was already in my house when I moved in. I find that the damper or whatever it is called has no effect. I have to crack the door a little to get the air to flow in and get the fire going. I pulled the bricks out and gave it a good clean tonight and hope that fixes it, but not sure. Would love to get a manual for this thing.

This is why I like the threaded air vents ala Fischer. There's literally nothing to eff up.
 
I liked the air control on my earth stove
nothing to mess with mine sat in between the "L" and the "M" that is where I left it alone. As stove would heat up it would close off as the stove cooled it would open.
 
Are these bi-metallic thermostats on Earth stoves? Do all Earth stoves have them?
 
It does sound like they are taking about a bi-metallic thermostat. If so, cleaning will likely not solve the problem, the bi-metallic portion is probably broken and needs to be replaced.
 
Stephen in SoKY said:
Are these bi-metallic thermostats on Earth stoves? Do all Earth stoves have them?

The thermostats I have seen on earth stoves are all bi-metallic. Not all Earth stoves have them.
 
It is the same principle as is used in the Chimgard chimney thermometers: a coiled bimetallic spring heats up and uncoils slightly. The outside of the coil is attached to the damper control, and the inside to the damper itself. In theory one should be able to set the damper to an open position and have the stove automatically close down as it heats up then open up again as the fire burns down. In reality, the spring doesn't exert much force in the "open" direction, so as friction develops and the assembly ages, it tends to shut as the stove heats up but then fails to open up again without some manual tweaking.

Of particular annoyance in this model is that the damper is in an inaccessible location, making it difficult to set it to the desired position by holding it open or closed.

Mark
 
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