Steel Plate Stoves - Do They Ever Have to be Rebuilt?

[leeave96]

I've been reading through some of the old posts and from time to time I see someone is rebuilding a cast iron stove, like a Vermont Castings Defiant, etc.

My question is - other than firebricks, is there ever a need to rebuild a steel plate stove or do you run it until it warps or get's a hole burned through it (it that's possible)? I guess if you have a crack, one can simply weld it shut.

Just courious as to your experiences with steel plate stove, their longivity and if they get thrown-away vs rebuilt in some way.

Thanks!
Bill

 

[Wood Heat Stoves]

Steel stoves are very durable and generally don't need to be rebuilt. Steel can warp, such as an interior baffle plate, but this can be replaced if it warps so much that it interferes with loading wood. Some steel stoves have parts that are designed to be replaces, such as Lopi and Avalon secondary air tubes. Cast stoves need to be rebuilt to replace parts or re-seal the joints between the cast plates. Steel stoves are usually replaced for other reasons such as a more efficient model before they wear out.

 

[webbie]

I have not thrown away many in my 32 years in the biz....

Take a look in the classic stove forum at the fisher and warner and other threads and you will see what those stoves look like today with a coat of paint on them!

It is true that some interior parts of modern stoves may be rebuilt - make sure you look at the design and see if it is set up to be easily replaced (baffle, tubes, etc.).

 

[jimbom]

My 1987, steel Atlanta Stove Works A5 looks like it will go indefinitely. Hardware is very well built. Controls are simple. Operated in a reasonable manner, I can see no reason why this stove would ever fail. It does have a cat, but my cat seems to be holding up well. In fact, thinking about it, it has a bypass damper, a grate, ash pan, two doors, and a slide air control that does both primary and secondary air. No other parts. How simple. It carries an EPA rating and seems to my un-experienced mind to function very efficiently. And another thing. It is so ugly that no body will ever turn it into a piece of furniture.

 

[Highbeam]

You have a 1987 stove that is EPA certified? I didn't think they started that until the the early 90s.

Cast stoves and even stone stoves can not be disassembled without gaskets and sealants. This sucks. For example, the door latch on my Hearthstone will need to be replaced someday. For some reason, Hearthstone decided to cast this door latch into the cast iron door frame. To replace the door frame I need to remove the top of the stove, and then remove and replace several gaskets and sealant areas. The steel stoves are superior in durability during the normal expected life. They are also less likely to leak through the gaskets, more of a sealed combustion system.

Thing is, plate steel stoves are not as pretty.

 

[begreen]

Thing is, plate steel stoves are not as pretty.

But the steel/cast hybrids are. With Napoleon, Quadrafire, PE, and Jotul making them now, I see this as a developing trend.

 

[jimbom]

You have a 1987 stove that is EPA certified? I didn't think they started that until the the early 90s.

http://www.epa.gov/compliance/resources/publications/monitoring/caa/woodstoves/certifiedwood.pdf

I know. When someone on this forum posted the EPA list, I was shocked to find my Atlanta AC5. It has a plate with the EPA cert and the lab that did the testing in 1987, but I just figured it would have been dropped from the approved list because of changing standards or something.

 

[PapaDave]

Well, I had my steel stove "rebuilt" last summer. The weld where the back and bottom plates come together popped from previous owners overfiring.
However, even though it's in great shape now, it's still not as efficient as a new stove. It is, however, "like new"......if this were 1985.

 

[Steamer]

1985 Nashua with a blower.
1/4 inch plate steel body and 5/16 inch steel baffle and top.
Works like the day I first fired it up.
I love steel stoves.
Awfully pretty too

 

[certified106]

Thing is, plate steel stoves are not as pretty.

But the steel/cast hybrids are. With Napoleon, Quadrafire, PE, and Jotul making them now, I see this as a developing trend.

That is one of the things that intrigued me about the PE T6, a steel firebox for low maintenance wrapped with a nice looking cast iron that helps even the heat out a bit.

 

[Highbeam]

And with the PE line you get a SS baffle which should greatly increase durability over the standard soft ceramic board that most non-cats have. Going to be hard to beat the durability of the PE stove.

 

[joefrompa]

Bear in mind that whether or not something needs to be rebuilt is often a result of use.

My lopi should last forever if I operate it how they want - 350-600 degree (stovetop) temps with just the right amount of air. If I run it at 700 regularly, the life will be shortened. If I overfire it to 900 a few times a year, I'm guessing it'll be needing some sort of service by the 5 year mark.

 

[tfdchief]

My Buck, of course pre-EPA, pretty much looks like the day I started burning it, 24/7 in the winter, in 1982. I have never overfired it though, and never had to replace anything....it has served me well. I hope my new cast, Hampton H200 lasts that long.

 

[MarkinNC]

Bear in mind that whether or not something needs to be rebuilt is often a result of use.

My lopi should last forever if I operate it how they want - 350-600 degree (stovetop) temps with just the right amount of air. If I run it at 700 regularly, the life will be shortened. If I overfire it to 900 a few times a year, I'm guessing it'll be needing some sort of service by the 5 year mark.

I'll have to respectfully disagree. My manual says over firing is >800 F. I run in the 700 range all the time and I do not feel it decreases the service life.

 

[BrotherBart]

Ain't nothing prettier than a big ass steel stove.

 

[fossil]

Ain't nothing prettier than a big ass steel stove.

+2