Clean that stove!

[Kennyz]

So I started cleaning the accentra today. Wow.. What a difference! As I said the guy I bought it from was in his mid to late 70's. He told me he was starting to have a hard time moving the pellets and getting down on his knees to do the cleanings. So I just got down to it and started scrubbing. I got after it with several size wire brushes, and some heavy duty citrus solvent... The pics should show how good it's coming out. I've got the left interior side just about done, take note of the airwash tube...wow! The right side hasn't been touched for comparison. Can't wait..It's gonna run great!

 

[AccentraRRT]

Looks good! I need to give mine a good cleaning too.. Just did a quick vac out after last season ended.. Have to do a deep clean before this season starts

 

[bags]

Looking good. When I bought the used PC45 I enjoyed going all thru it and stuff. I learned a lot and had help here if I had questions. It turned owning the stove more personal instead of a heating unit. Kinda cool seeing the inner workings thoroughly and knowing what makes it tick.

Go thru everything you can and check it all out while it's easy to do. I did mine out in the garage.

 

[Kennyz]

Just picked up this at harbor freight. ... 79 cents! I think it'll work well on the heat exchangers.

 

[bags]

Is that an STI seat I see there Kenny?

 

[Kennyz]

Nope....it's my 14 RAV4... Terra-cotta and black interior..luv it!

 

[NHcpa]

Very nice cleaning! I was looking for rust to compare. I am high & dry, taped off chimney pipe, used Pam and added Damp Rid...still have surface rust. did you have any before the clean and wire brush? this is never an issue with the woodstove.

 

[Kennyz]

Very nice cleaning! I was looking for rust to compare. I am high & dry, taped off chimney pipe, used Pam and added Damp Rid...still have surface rust. did you have any before the clean and wire brush? this is never an issue with the woodstove.

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I just bought the stove, it was used so I don't have any reference for you..sorry! I'll let you know next season though. I do plan to seal the exhaust and oak in the off season though.

 

[bags]

I think the compass thing is neat. I have not seen that or noticed it until these pics. What's the story behind that? Anyone know? Is it or was it an option or standard?

Cool seats in the Rav4 BTW. I bought a new STI in May and the seats look very similar is why I asked. Garage puppy for fun here and there. I'm normally in my trucks most of the time.

Anyway back to the compass detail. Is that only in certain years on the Accentra or is it all of them? It just strikes me as a cool funky little detail. I have always thought compasses were cool. Call me weird.

 

[Peterfield]

Just picked up this at harbor freight. ... 79 cents! I think it'll work well on the heat exchangers.

I bought one of those as well as a great chisel for the burn pot and a pic set to clean the holes in the burn pot. I think I paid something like $10 for everything.

 

[Kennyz]

I think the compass thing is neat. I have not seen that or noticed it until these pics. What's the story behind that? Anyone know? Is it or was it an option or standard?

Cool seats in the Rav4 BTW. I bought a new STI in May and the seats look very similar is why I asked. Garage puppy for fun here and there. I'm normally in my trucks most of the time.

Anyway back to the compass detail. Is that only in certain years on the Accentra or is it all of them? It just strikes me as a cool funky little detail. I have always thought compasses were cool. Call me weird.

Not sure what's the story behind the compass. But I can tell you I did a ton of looking for my stove and I never saw one the didn't have it. Personally I love it....its a really nice touch.

 

[bags]

It must be standard on the Accentra. Pretty cool. I guess I have just never seen the inside of the fire box on an Accentra. I have seen one in person when I was looking for my P68 in the dealer's show room but I didn't really look the Accentra over because I was there mainly for the P68 and had already decided what I wanted.

It is a very nice detail. Kinda wish my P68 and PC45 had it. Looks way better than fire brick. But then again all I really see is fire. Does the Accentra have the reflective glass? My 68 does but the 45 does not. That is also a nice detail because the inside is not seen when there is no fire. Can't have it all........

There are many Accentra peeps around here and they all love them. Big Papa has one and F4 Jockey along with many others. Not sure what happened to Big Papa. haven't seen either of those guys. Yet, anyway.

Anyway, Welcome and become a regular here. It's pretty fun and very informative. Good Luck. Is this your first pellet stove?

 

[Kennyz]

Yup......first pellet stove for us. Kinda sorry to say it but she's gonna go down in the basement. We're half in half out of the ground with a walk out and a few windows, so it's partially insulated. I've heated it in the past with kero, that's only 20k btu's and keeps it warm just fine, but kero is getting way expensive, I don't trust leaving a kero heater alone and third I Hate the stink it makes. I'm really looking forward to having a nice warm cellar this year. I've had wood and coal stoves before but this is our first pellet stove, doesn't seem difficult to me at all. I'm a field service tech for ricoh production printing with 25+ years experience. Basically I deal with electro-mechanical stuff all day long. Maintanence is a no brainer for me either, again it's what I do so its natural......hence the solid first cleaning and inspection.

 

[tsmith]

Nice job, what citrus solvent are you using?

 

[Kennyz]

Hmmm on the Accentra insert the compass plate is removable ( it's fixed on the fs model) and it holds in the left and right side plates. In order to install it properly it goes in north up.....maybe that's why the did it? That my .02 and I'm sticking to it...lol

 

[Kennyz]

Nice job, what citrus solvent are you using?

It's from a tech supply house ( it's call Citrus-solvent....real technical I know) It's kinda like goo gone, but much stronger...it will eat certain kinds of plastic. It works great on baked on toner, oil grease, etc. It's flammable till it dries then there's no problem it flashes off after a bit. it's non toxic , doesn't stink , and biodegradable, but I always wear gloves as it can really dry the skin out bad. I usually wear gloves no matter what I do at work, can't be too carefull, I'm workin for the man but it's MY life.

 

[bags]

With your back ground working on your stove will be a walk in the park. The things really are simple machines overall. If you were taking care of business with the 20K kerosene heater that Accentra will handle it and then some easily. More than twice the BTU's. Plus a blower to push heat out. I never have been a fan of kerosene heaters for many reasons. In fact, I have never owned one personally but remember my mom having one back in the day.

You will ask yourself why you didn't get one sooner. I did. They basically run themselves (Hence the saying: Set it and forget it) and just need a bag of pellets thrown in with minimal pot scrapes and basic cleans as needed with Harmans. They are great about longer periods between deep cleans etc. compared to most other pellet stoves.

Another guy here Zeus has an Accentra. He's cool too.

 

[Kennyz]

No pics today but I did a little more this morning, got the auger out, and burn pot off. It's got some crud in the auger tube, I soaked a rag in the citrus solvent and stuffed it in there. That should loosen it up nicely . I'm going to pick up a new flame guide, gasket for the burn pot, and some tubing to do the air bypass mod. I'll post some pics of my mod when I'm done. Have a blessed day all!

 

[bags]

You will have a practically new stove! Same stuff I did with the used and neglected PC45. Can't wait to fire it up this season but yes I can. I hope it stays warm and all of the heating fuels suppliers stocks drop.

 

[Kennyz]

I've been tinkering a little here and there and I'm making progress. The heavy duty scraping and scrubbing is done. All fans and air paths are clean...got 10lbs of crap out of the distribution fan. Cleaned, scrubbed the convection blower cover , gave it a coat of paint. Also painted the ash bin and the 2 side heat exchanger covers. Also cleaned the esp probe and did the air bypass mod. Btw...it looks like the arm will hit the tubing ...it's just the way the pic came out..it clears just fine. Now I've just got to focus on the cosmetic stuff and it'll be good to go.

 

[tsmith]

What exactly is the air bypass mod?

 

[Kennyz]

I bought some imperial stove polish and got started applying it. Here's a few before and after pics. I'm impressed!

 

[NHcpa]

If you were a doctor, I would go to you.

 

[Kennyz]

Just trying to be thorough.

PS take 2 pellets and call me in the morning..lol!

 

[Kennyz]

Sooo... She's all done! The imperial stove black worked awesome, I love the way it came out. I'm going to let it dry till Saturday, then I'll fire it up while it's still outside, maybe I'll give it one more coat, but right now I'm really really happy Here's a before and after.