Hearthstone II replacing parts (newbie)

[patfarley]

A Hearthstone II came with the house we bought in 2002. Never used it until last winter because (the wife finally thinks) the kids are old enough to handle it. The secondary air pipe always sagged and just broke last week. I bought a replacement kit from the local Hearthstone dealer and began the replacement process. On to the questions!

1. After I removed the pipe, I saw the rear plate is warped (see pic). It doesn't look bad to me, but what do I know? Should I replace the rear plate while I'm at it or is it good to go?

2. There is a coupling that passes through the wall of the stove to use with a coal shaker kit. It rotates freely and moves in and out. Air has to be getting in through here , but is it ok and/or worth it to seal this thing into place with stove cement?

3. A bunch of old stove cement came out with the side plate. I'm not certain where it all came from. I'll probably try to match it up with whatever is on the left side when I do the cementing. Are there any guidelines more specific than "Wherever air can get in" when applying cement?

4. Should I try to clean out and replace the old cement on the entire stove while I'm doing this?

5. The stuff that came with the pipe is "Rutland FIberglass Stove Gasket Cement" Is this the right stuff to use to replace all the cement in the stove? On the tube it says "To bond metal to metal use No. 77 or 78 Stove and Gasket Cement"

I've learned a lot already reading the forums here. Thanks a ton for sharing information!

 

[begreen]

Welcome. That's not too bad. Check the baffle for warping and cracking too. I would plug the hole. The excess cement might just be ooze from when they put the stones together. I'd probably not disturb it.

Have you seen this thread by Kevlar? It's a complete rebuild of your stove.
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/1985-hearthstone-ii.143670/

 

[patfarley]

Thanks! The baffle looks great. Maybe the previous owner replaced it. I pulled the rear plate and cleaned out behind it last night. The space between the plate and the stone was full of ash so that was a good idea I guess. There are two tiny in the rear plate at the point where it is warped. I think I'll leave it and maybe look at replacing it next summer if it looks worse. Replacing the pipe was an unexpected expense and the day I noticed it I had just bought 280 sq ft of hardwood flooring. So, putting off another $300 is an easy sell for me.

I did see that thread and it was really informative and helped me to see how everything goes together better than any exploded view. It also made the possibility of tearing down and rebuilding myself realistic. The cast iron parts could use a cleaning and paint job. Some previous owner spilled some white paint on the back left corner. I tried to attach a picture (the browser/site won't let me for some reason), and MAN does the picture make the stove look like it's in worse shape than in real life. Must be the flash on the camera.

 

[Kevlar_vw]

Good luck with your repair. Make sure you clean, and re-seal all seams, to make it as air tight as possible. Your back plate looks to be homemade. They are a cast iron piece from the factory. How is the side plate, any cracks? The damper is also a high wear part. Check it, and make sure its not burnt up. If you get stuck with anything, feel free to ask me questions.

 

[Beanscoot]

Old thread, but I've been searching because I just did some work on my HII. I bought new replacements for the back and side baffle castings once, and when they failed again I simply replaced them with firebrick. This worked much better than I expected as I didn't have to saw any, as I had a box of old firebrick with many off cuts.

I live in Canada so the castings are that much more expensive due to shipping, currency exchange, customs, etc.