Got myself a 6039 4 button stove

  • Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.

    We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.

    We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
Skate bearings in this instance are just ball bearings. Similar size to those used on skates.

The alternative is bronze bushings.

On mine I have to disassemble part of the motor to get to the bearings. Hold it so the bearing is flat (shaft is vertical) and add some oil to the surface of the bearing. Rotate the shaft and it draws the oil into the bearing near the center.

I put a little oil into a pop cap and suck it up with an animal syringe.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Mt Bob
Skate bearings in this instance are just ball bearings. Similar size to those used on skates.

The alternative is bronze bushings.

On mine I have to disassemble part of the motor to get to the bearings. Hold it so the bearing is flat (shaft is vertical) and add some oil to the surface of the bearing. Rotate the shaft and it draws the oil into the bearing near the center.

I put a little oil into a pop cap and suck it up with an animal syringe.
OK, that is basically what I did. I got it mostly apart at this point, probably just put some new ones in. I'm sure they have not been taken care of nothing else on this stove looks like it was ever even cleaned or maintained.
 
Thanks for the help guys. I am looking forward to giving this thing a try. If it will keep me warm in Jan & Feb then I can sell my woodstove.
 
Thanks for the help guys. I am looking forward to giving this thing a try. If it will keep me warm in Jan & Feb then I can sell my woodstove.

I have used my 2 stoves as my primary heat source the past 3 winters. They work well and are fairly simple to maintain/fix.

They are giant space heaters so you have to deal with temperature changes throughout the house, but if you are used to burning wood then you probably already deal with it.

You can find some tricks to moving the heat around.
 
I have used my 2 stoves as my primary heat source the past 3 winters. They work well and are fairly simple to maintain/fix.

They are giant space heaters so you have to deal with temperature changes throughout the house, but if you are used to burning wood then you probably already deal with it.

You can find some tricks to moving the heat around.
I have a big hulking soapstone stove that does well in my old home built in the 1800's. Now that I am retired and home all the time I think the constant output of a pellet stove may suit my needs better. I am also looking forward to not having as much ash and dust to deal with.
 
Just an FYI on the 6039's and most stoves of similar construction. I owned one for several years....bought them when they first came out and no one could figure out how to keep a fire going in them. I ended up selling modification/instruction manuals on ebay for several years explaining what needed to be fixed and modified to make them run. Once I got mine to keep a fire in it, I realized how grossly inefficient they are. All of the heat goes right up out of the fire box along the insulation board, and is sucked out of the top and right out the exhaust. You can very easily triple the heat output (or....burn a third of the fuel and get the same amount of heat) by welding some "hooks" to the roof of the firebox and getting a flat piece of steel as wide as you can fit thru the door opening and rig it so that the back edge of the steel plate sits on top of the insulation board and the front edge slides into the hooks you welded to the roof and the leading edge is a couple inches from the door. Instead of the fire going straight up and out the back of the unit, the fire is forced to go up, then forward toward the door opening and then up around the leading edge of the plate and then back out the exhaust ports. This heats the entire top of the firebox instead of just a couple inches of the rear of the fire box. I think I made the steel plate from 11ga steel. You had to put the plate thru the door at an angle so that it was wide enough to span the whole width of the fire box.

Instead of welding in the hooks to the roof of the fire box, I'm sure you could use some riv-nuts or something similar to attach the hooks. You won't believe the difference in the amount of heat you get out.
 
Just an FYI on the 6039's and most stoves of similar construction. I owned one for several years....bought them when they first came out and no one could figure out how to keep a fire going in them. I ended up selling modification/instruction manuals on ebay for several years explaining what needed to be fixed and modified to make them run. Once I got mine to keep a fire in it, I realized how grossly inefficient they are. All of the heat goes right up out of the fire box along the insulation board, and is sucked out of the top and right out the exhaust. You can very easily triple the heat output (or....burn a third of the fuel and get the same amount of heat) by welding some "hooks" to the roof of the firebox and getting a flat piece of steel as wide as you can fit thru the door opening and rig it so that the back edge of the steel plate sits on top of the insulation board and the front edge slides into the hooks you welded to the roof and the leading edge is a couple inches from the door. Instead of the fire going straight up and out the back of the unit, the fire is forced to go up, then forward toward the door opening and then up around the leading edge of the plate and then back out the exhaust ports. This heats the entire top of the firebox instead of just a couple inches of the rear of the fire box. I think I made the steel plate from 11ga steel. You had to put the plate thru the door at an angle so that it was wide enough to span the whole width of the fire box.

Instead of welding in the hooks to the roof of the fire box, I'm sure you could use some riv-nuts or something similar to attach the hooks. You won't believe the difference in the amount of heat you get out.

Interesting. Do you happen to have any pics or a copy of your mods book? I have a USSC 6500. With some tweaking I have it running pretty well now, but always interested in different ideas on stuff.
 
That has been many years ago and I've looked for those instructions before and can't find them anywhere. I'm tied up for the weekend, but will get back here Monday and see how much I can remember.....
 
That has been many years ago and I've looked for those instructions before and can't find them anywhere. I'm tied up for the weekend, but will get back here Monday and see how much I can remember.....
Thanks. I know mine is a bit different than the 6039s, but maybe there is a way to make mine more efficient.
 
Just an FYI on the 6039's and most stoves of similar construction. I owned one for several years....bought them when they first came out and no one could figure out how to keep a fire going in them. I ended up selling modification/instruction manuals on ebay for several years explaining what needed to be fixed and modified to make them run. Once I got mine to keep a fire in it, I realized how grossly inefficient they are. All of the heat goes right up out of the fire box along the insulation board, and is sucked out of the top and right out the exhaust. You can very easily triple the heat output (or....burn a third of the fuel and get the same amount of heat) by welding some "hooks" to the roof of the firebox and getting a flat piece of steel as wide as you can fit thru the door opening and rig it so that the back edge of the steel plate sits on top of the insulation board and the front edge slides into the hooks you welded to the roof and the leading edge is a couple inches from the door. Instead of the fire going straight up and out the back of the unit, the fire is forced to go up, then forward toward the door opening and then up around the leading edge of the plate and then back out the exhaust ports. This heats the entire top of the firebox instead of just a couple inches of the rear of the fire box. I think I made the steel plate from 11ga steel. You had to put the plate thru the door at an angle so that it was wide enough to span the whole width of the fire box.

Instead of welding in the hooks to the roof of the fire box, I'm sure you could use some riv-nuts or something similar to attach the hooks. You won't believe the difference in the amount of heat you get out.
I remember over 15 years ago guys trying things like this and all they ended up doing was warping the door or door frame on the 6039's. That was on the old I Burn Corn Forum that is no longer.

The exhaust path you describe is not how the 6039 is designed. It is also a very efficient stove if ran properly by mostly adjusting the control board. The 6039 is efficient enough to satisfy the latest EPA approval for solid fuel burning appliances and is sold as the 6041. Most differences are minor and have no affect on efficiency of the stove.

I've ran mine now for 16 seasons and very few modifications that I've seen in those years was worth it or safe enough to bother. Learning to use the control panel is the key to running the 6039. That's assuming a safe and proper install of the stove.
 
I had no issues with door warpage after years of running it with the added mods. The heat/exhaust path is exactly as I described. All of the heat stays at the very rear of the stove. I just started a separate thread on this as to not take over this thread or take it off subject.