Pam Cooking Spray Question

Hey Guys,

I'm getting ready to clean my Quadra-Fire, and put it asleep for the summer. Last year, my stove developed quite a bit of rust, and I am looking to avoid any further damage.

The questions that I have are...

How much, and where, are you guys spraying the Pam cooking spray?

Does it burn off easily?

The fan blades on my combustion blower had a lot of rust develop on the surface of them last year. Is it alright to spray them as well?

When you go to start it back up, does it smoke like crazy?


Thank you for any help and suggestions

Spray it anywhere inside the firebox... Anywhere that is subjected to ash and exhaust gas. The blower should be removed and vanes cleaned, lube bearings (if you can/ 3-in-1 Oil, Blue Can, put a couple drops on the bearings), and put new gasket on. Spraying the vanes with Pam will work. Or some of us use a Graphite Spray and coat it.

It wont smoke or smell any. Most will somewhat evaporate over Summer. Also dont forget to plug the exhaust and the OAK (if u have one), along with adding a moisture absorber (Damp rid) in the hopper and/or ash pan. Then dont forget to unplug the stove from the wall (best surge protection out there)

Then write a note and put it in the hopper, stating to remove the Damp Rid (moisture absorber), un-plug OAK and exhaust, plug unit it, etc....

What Quad do you have? How long have you had it?

I put the leafblower on my Quad last year (and will do again this year) and my Fahrenheit furnace this year also. I hook up the leafblower and paint the inside of the firebox. All fumes are pulled through the vent and house stays fresh and clean.... Only takes a minute and looks good

Dexter,

Thanks for the reply. The stove is a Quadra-Fire Castille. When I purchaed my house in 2006, it was already installed. I'm guesiing it is a 2004 model.

It seems like the rust problem just kinda got started over the last two seansons of use. Most of the rust is surface rust, and overall there has been no major damage caused by it.

This last season, my combustion motor was really making a lot of noise, and I called a pellet stove technician to have him take a look at it.

He said that he believed that the combustion blower was fine, but that rust was all over the blades. He took what looked to be one of those round steel bristle brushes and worked it around the blades. He did all this wihout removing the motor, but instead reaching through a small hole.

After about ten minutes, he was done. When we started it up, it purred like kitten - I was impressed.

Thanks for the tip on the cooking spray and capping the exhaust.

I will definately be trying it this summer, and hope to have some success at keeping some of this rust at bay.

BTW, your stove looks nice. You take good care of it and it shows.

Bucktail

Wd-40 works very well too.

Hello

I use VHT Flame proof 2,000 Degree F Header Paint for car exhaust headers from Pep Boys Auto Parts on the inside of the firebox!
This Paint is Flame Proof and will NOT burn off. They use it on JET Engines!! See pic Below:
http://www.vhtpaint.com/products/flameproof/

VHT FLAMEPROOFâ„¢ COATING

VHT FlameProof™ Coating will renew and extend the life of any surface exposed to extremely high temperatures. This unique coating is a matte finish, silicone ceramic base widely used by the automotive industry on exhaust systems and the aerospace industry for jet engines, re-entry vehicles and other high temperature applications. VHT FlameProof™ Coating will withstand temperatures up to 2000°F (1093°C) and is ideal for use on headers, exhaust systems, or wherever an extreme temperature coating is needed.

Temperature: 1300°F-2000°F (704°C-1093°C)

Applications: Headers, Exhaust Manifolds, Piston Domes, Inside Heads

Finish: Flat

Dry Time: Curing time required and can be done on or off vehicle (see below)
Curing FlameProofâ„¢

VHT FlameProofâ„¢ Coating only attains its unique properties after correct curing (refer to instructions on the can).
On the Vehicle

Paint must be completely dry before curing
Run at idle for 10 minutes
Cool for 20 minutes
Run at idle for 20 minutes
Cool for 20 minutes
Run under normal operating conditions for 30 minutes

Off the Vehicle

Paint must be completely dry before curing
Heat to 250°F (121°C) for 30 minutes
Cool for 30 minutes
Heat to 400°F (204°C) for 30 minutes
Cool for 30 minutes
Heat to 650°F (343°C ) for 30 minutes

Caution: Do not exceed the temperature of the least heat tolerant component or the base metal
Coating System

VHT provides a multi-high performance coating system for the ultimate in protection and quality. The system includes surface preparation, primer, paint and clear coat.
Prep SP445 Prep Spray
Prime SP118 FlameProofâ„¢ Primer
Coat SPXXX FlameProofâ„¢ Color
Finish SP115 FlameProofâ„¢ Clear

I have this same problem, and have used PAM and put kitty liter in the firebox but I still had the same issue last year. I will try some damp rid this year. But two questions, What do you cap the exhaust pipe with? Second would leaving the door of the stove open a crack help?

You can use a bunch of plastic bags (grocery store/ 20 bags) or an old shirt, a big rag or two, etc. There are numerous things you can use. Opening the door is not necessary. By plugging the exhaust and OAK, then you stop the outside humidity from entering the stove. Which will keep the stoves firebox free from humidity and keep the rust at bay.

Placing Damp rid in the firebox helps also. But shutting off the passageway to the outdoors is key to stopping the humid air.

DampRid in the hopper and in the fire pot. Really works!

Put a one gallon zip lock bag over the exhaust pipe and tape it. It is stronger than the store shopping bags and won't get beat up in the rain and wind.

Here's a question? How about leaving the ash that sticks to everything there until next season to prevent moisture from getting in contact with the metal parts? I've done this and not had any problem with rust in my Enviro Windsor ever. Especially how it sticks to the blades on the combustion motor.

That might not be such a bad idea (leaving the ash). Ash is alkaline is it not? No acid no rust?

Thanks DexterDay appreciate the help, I will give it try and some damprid in the hopper also.

Works for me. I clean it out in the fall and there hasn't been any rust in the stove for 7 years.

This is my 1st year with the stove. I have an Enviro Milan. It sounds like your saying to leave the stove dirty until the fall then do the major cleaning? Am I reading this right?

Also, everyone keeps telling my to cover the exhaust, what is the exhaust? I'm sure I can read the manual but as a newbie I don't know what your talking about.

I'm not condoning leaving it dirty until fall, but that's what I have done since I owned my Enviro and have experienced no internal rust. Works for me. I figure if there's stuff on the metal, then moisture can't get to it. Ash...paint... Pam...what's the difference. A coating is a coating.

The exhaust is the stoves chimney pipe that goes outside your house. Cover the end of that pipe with a plastic bag of a strong nature and seal it with tape to keep the humidity and moisture out.

The "exhaust" is your exhaust vent. The vent that leads the exhaust gases outside.

Covering, or plugging the exhaust/vent will prevent Humid air from entering the stove (plug OAK also). It also prevents other things from entering the vent. Things such as bees, wasps, and hornets. All things that like to nest inside of that hole. My 1st yr, we had some bees in ours. . . .

If you can plug/cover it.... Its a good idea.

Thanks guys. I'm going to do some searching around to figure out exactly what needs to be done for maintenance at the end of the season but this is a start. The place that installed the stove does maintenance for $120.00. I was going to have them do it this year so I could see what they do and then do it myself after that but I've found some good information and $120 seems like it would be a waste of money.

Take some of that money you were going to spend on maintenance and go buy yourself a leaf blower.....shop vac with Heppa filter, wallboard dust bag for the vac and a Lint Eater and you can do it yourself anytime and as many times as you want.

Well said....

I spray everything inside my AE with pam except for the baffle, that gets painted every year. I have been doing this since I bought the stove and have never had any rust.

My wife uses it in the kitchen and none of that stuff is rusty.

just sayin.

In this thread, there seems to be enough good and consistant advice on how to store your stove for the summer. Would not this be suitable for a sticky note? Who knows how to have a thread considered a reference?

I'm new at this so I have a couple questions (bear with me). I only burned 4 bags in my harman accentra insert so the dealer said I don't have to worry about doing a full cleaning. He said to just clean the inside of the stove good. Does this sound right? Also, I would like to spray the inside, but do I spray everything? Heat exchangers and all? One more question, how do I cap my exhaust vent and oak? Since its an insert, would I have to pull it out? Thanks and I apologize for the ignorance.

I've got a vertical termination and I've never capped it. Also I've never sprayed my stove with anything and it's not rusty. So I believe if you coat everything you should be ok.

I have an Accentra insert. I seal off the OAK where it terminates on the outside wall with gorilla tape, to prevent the humid air, as well as bugs from entering the OAK. For the exhaust, I will be sliding the insert out and then taping aluminum foil on the frame to cover the exhaust opening. I'll be careful to not put any tape on the docking gasket. When I slide it back in, it'll be sealed.