First 1 Ton Cleaning - XXV

[Mr. Spock]

The XXV burned though it's first ton without a hitch. Today marked the first full tear down/cleaning and inspection for the stove.

I hear a lot on this forum that if you don't have pictures it never happened so you asked for it.

My goal is to post the pictures in an organized fashion, each post relating to a specific stove area. Venting is included as well. It may take a while.

This is my first experaince cracking open the stove and digging in. So just how dirty is this stove going to be?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pellets burned:
46 Geneva
2 Energex
2 Hearthsides
2 Maine Wood Pellet Company
2 Greene Team

Venting:
Pellet Vent Pro 4" , 1 Cleanout Tee, 12ft Vertical through attic

Stove settings (majority of time):
Feed Rate 4
Room Temp Auto 74 deg
Convection Blower Low
Damper on intake to prevent "woofing"
No OAK

Heating Area : 1000 sq/ft
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Stove location and vent configuration. Vent passes though the attic and terminates
2 feet above the roof line. Clean out tee is behind the stove.



Next post:
Tools/Consumables Used

 

[Mr. Spock]

Tools\Consumables Used

5/16 Nut Driver (back panel removal)
7/16 Wrench (combustion fan removal)
1/8 Allen Wrench (combustion blade set screw)
1/4 Socket (ESP screw)
Craftsman 17" Pry bar (burn pot)
Flat Long Screwdriver (auger and auger tube)
Bottle Brush (exhaust path/tee)
Vent Brush 4" with Rods (venting)
2" Paint Brush( stove interior)
Flashlight
Cougar Ash Vac

High Temp Sealant
3 in 1 oil
Vaseline
ScotchBrite
Permanent Marker




Next: Venting

 

[subsailor]

Did I read this correctly? You burned a ton without cleaning the stove at all?

 

[gfreek]

ShopVac with drywall/ash bag or filter or Ash vac......

 

[Mr. Spock]

Venting


Bad?





The cap cleaned up easy enough. A little running water and a soft brush.



Next:
Pipe

 

[Mr. Spock]

Did I read this correctly? You burned a ton without cleaning the stove at all?

No sorry. First full tear down cleaning/ inspection. Edited original post.

 

[subsailor]

Got it.

 

[Mr. Spock]

ShopVac with drywall/ash bag or filter or Ash vac......

Dang how did I forget that ?? Long day, little tired I guess . Thanks.
Edited tools/consumables post.

 

[P38X2]

Judging by the thermometer in that first pic, it got pretty nippy in there during the cleaning

Nice stove

What are you using to clean the burn pot holes? I use a finish nail with a 90° bend in it. Works great.

 

[john193]

ahh, i miss my XXV. Great stove and very nice setup. I live about 40 min north of Philly and while rare we do on occasion get temperatures hovering around 0 or the negatives. The XXV didnt even blink an eye. I could always tell how cold it was with how big the fire was, ohh and the best part, when I walked outside I could hear the entire neighborhoods heat pumps buzzing. Silly people, heat pumps are for Florida's winters...

 

[Mr. Spock]

Pipe

Hard to get a good inside shot of the vertical stack. Would be cool to have a small inexpensive pipe inspection camera.





I scratched away some deposits with my finger nail. Very hard under the coating of ash. I don't think I like it. Note: the dark black wet spots are WD-40 applied to loosen the cap.



After brushing there was still that hard, very thin, layer I believe is creosote. How do I get that out!


The tee after a Ton of pellets. Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of it cleaned :: mad::
I do not recall it having the hard coating like at the top of the stack.



Here is the cleanout. Not much ash in there.



However it did have this ring of dried grease used to lube the vent seal. It made the clean out difficult to remove.



Removed the gunk with WD-40 (not easy) and put a light application of petroleum jelly to
lube the joint and prevent damage the o-ring seal.



Here is the high tech vacuum attachment used to capture the dust during brush.



Next: Combustion Air Path

 

[DexterDay]

Very nice write up.... Nice pics

(That looks a little light colored to be Sote? Maybe some condensated ash? Sote would have been black?)

 

[Mr. Spock]

Judging by the thermometer in that first pic, it got pretty nippy in there during the cleaning

Nice stove

What are you using to clean the burn pot holes? I use a finish nail with a 90° bend in it. Works great.

Man you guys have sharp eyes.

That last vessel floating indicates 64 deg, low as that Galileo goes. It was actually 40 deg today, good day for a clean. Didn't mind it at all, g/f wasn't digging it though.

I use picks for the holes. Post some pics when I cover the interior clean.

 

[Mr. Spock]

ahh, i miss my XXV. Great stove and very nice setup. I live about 40 min north of Philly and while rare we do on occasion get temperatures hovering around 0 or the negatives. The XXV didnt even blink an eye. I could always tell how cold it was with how big the fire was, ohh and the best part, when I walked outside I could hear the entire neighborhoods heat pumps buzzing. Silly people, heat pumps are for Florida's winters...

I have been in your neck of the woods once or twice! I remember the first time I saw Pittsburgh. Amazing. Driving through the tunnels was a blast too. It gets below 0 around here once in a while...mild winter this trip around the sun. Yet to see temps dip below 15 so the XXV is a little bored me thinks.

 

[Mr. Spock]

Very nice write up.... Nice pics

(That looks a little light colored to be Sote? Maybe some condensated ash? Sote would have been black?)

Thanks Dex. I thought you guys would enjoy it.
I thought it might be Sote but to be honest I an not sure. What I am wondering is how to remove it without damaging the vent. It's a very thin coating, but after years?

 

[thedude110]

Great thread -- thanks for this level of detail.

Love the enamel finish on the XXV -- I steered clear because of the extra cost and because I thought I would chip it. How is it holding up so far?

 

[Mr. Spock]

Combustion Air Path

I'll start with the rear end ...



ESP Probe just about self cleaned pulling it out (gently of course). It was pretty much
ash. A very very light coating of carbon was under it.



Next removed combustion fan. A little dirty.



Coated flue.



Flue intake.



Exhaust path is open, commence brushing.
Used the brush below to clean entire exhaust
path. Held vacuum hose near to capture dust.



With exhaust path cleaned, time to tidy the fan.


Next: Combustion Fan

 

[lessoil]

Excellent post!!
Nice looking stove/install.
I do a full clean every time the ash pan is full and clean the burn pot as needed.
Do not forget about the sneaky fines box!

 

[Mr. Spock]

Great thread -- thanks for this level of detail.

Love the enamel finish on the XXV -- I steered clear because of the extra cost and because I thought I would chip it. How is it holding up so far?

Your welcome. No issues with the enamel.

 

[P38X2]

Keep em coming. Great posts, Mr. Spock.

 

[Mr. Spock]

Excellent post!!
Nice looking stove/install.
I do a full clean every time the ash pan is full and clean the burn pot as needed.
Do not forget about the sneaky fines box!

Thanks. How long does it take your P61 to fill the ash pan? Choice of pellet? I have gone 2 weeks without basic cleaning aside from scraping the pot a few times a week. I want to say the ash pan is 1/3 - 1/2 full at that point. The ash pan is much bigger on the P61 if I recall.

 

[boo boo]

Great post
I Love the looks of that stove
I cleaned mine yesterday also with the full break down getting ready for the cold front this week will see what she is made of with the below 0 temp

 

[thedak]

Very Nice

 

[Mr. Spock]

Combustion Fan

Here is it again after removal.


After some running water and a tooth brush the
blade looks like new.



Time for the housing.



About 1mm of buildup. Hard to capture
with camera.



A vacuum followed by a damp rag cleaned it right up.


Assembled.



The motor end didn't look bad considering
how much the dog sheds. No need to crack it
open this round. Brushed it clean.



Some final assembly shots will come later.

Next: Fines Box

First: Walk the dog.

 

[Richprint29]

A quick question from a wood burner. Do the temps in the flue of a pellet stove ever reach a point where they could cause a chimney fire? I was just curious, after viewing this thread. Maybe a stupid question, but I don't know anything about these pellet stoves. Forgive me.