Fire Box Rust on New Stove

[Woody5506]

I'm in my first year with the PE T5 and so far so good. As I was cleaning it up the other day for the summer shut down i noticed some mild rust forming in the box. It's light enough that I could probably scotch brite it off, but being new to wood burning I wanted to ask if anyone makes it a normal seasonal practice to touch up paint the interior parts? I know this is a normal thing to happen, but being I work in a sandblast/paint shop it really bugs me seeing the mild rust forming.

I assume it'd be as easy as scotch-briting, wiping clean and just putting a couple quick coats of stove paint to seal it back up, but do people go through the trouble of this or just leave it be?

 

[Lloyd the redneck]

I got a stove from my neighbor that sat outside open for 7 years. Never got cleaned out either full of ash. Didn't seem to hurt it much. If you were concerned id say rub it down with oil. Vegetable oil is how they come from the factory

 

[Rock Crusher]

Good morning Woody. I believe the upper side rails and baffle are stainless steel and not sure which alloy they use, but some SS will rust especially in hostile environments. I have the T5 Alderlea Insert since 2011 and it still looks the same. No worries.

 

[begreen]

I'm in my first year with the PE T5 and so far so good. As I was cleaning it up the other day for the summer shut down i noticed some mild rust forming in the box. It's light enough that I could probably scotch brite it off, but being new to wood burning I wanted to ask if anyone makes it a normal seasonal practice to touch up paint the interior parts? I know this is a normal thing to happen, but being I work in a sandblast/paint shop it really bugs me seeing the mild rust forming. View attachment 197597 View attachment 197598 View attachment 197599

I assume it'd be as easy as scotch-briting, wiping clean and just putting a couple quick coats of stove paint to seal it back up, but do people go through the trouble of this or just leave it be?

Quite normal. Heat accelerates oxidation. Our 9 yr old T6 looks the same. The firebox parts are stainless. For them there's no need to do anything outside of basic maintenance.

 

[Woody5506]

Thanks guys, I'll chalk it up to one of those "new stove owner paranoid about everything" type of things. I just wouldn't want it to get worse over the years with actual rust scale.

 

[bcrtops]

Mine sees ~5 cord/yr. since 2008 & looks much the same as yours. I just clean it up with a brush for the yearly clean-out. The baffle has a small warp to it, but rests where it should & works well. No parts have rusted or burned out yet.