I Did a Stupid Thing. Can I Fix It?

[Jeff Childers]

I noticed my Dutchwest non-catalytic medium stove had started to have draft problems and smoke was starting to get into the room when the door was opened. So I attempted to clean it out. I removed the stove pipe from the back and started removing old ashes and what I thought was compacted ashes from the back of the stove around the flue. After I had chipped a bit of this loose I noticed that it wasn't compacted ashes that I was removing but rather some sort of mesh material that looked like really light concrete mush. It was like backer board or heat shield material.
I immediately stopped and put everything back together and lit a small fire. Wow! Smoke came out of every crack on the stove. I screwed something up royally! Now I need to know if I have permanently ruined my stove or if something like this can be repaired. What should I do now? Is this a DIY repair or do I need a pro?
Thanks for any ideas you can provide me. The stove was working perfectly up until I messed with it. It is about 4 years old. I verified that the flue is unclogged and clean. I had just started burning walnut wood, if that is an important fact.

 

[begreen]

It sounds like your chimney needs cleaning. Most likely it is starting to plug up, perhaps from poorly seasoned wood? As for the stove, by your description it sounds like you may have been digging into the refractory material. It is replaceable. Can you post pictures that show the damage?

 

[Wood Heat Stoves]

The symptoms you describe, starting to smoke when the door is opened, sounds like a plugged chimney cap. It does sound like the chimney needs cleaning. It's not clear from your post whether you just cleaned the inside of the stove and the pipe down below or the entire chimney including the spark arrestor screen in the cap.

As for the material in the back of the stove, it's probably part of the combustion package. From the manual-

Inspect for and remove ash build-up behind the combustion package. This should be done in conjunction with annual cleaning of the chimney connector since this inspection is most conveniently done through the flue collar opening. Inspect the passages to either side of the combustion package (a mirror will be helpful) and vacuum away ash using a flexible vacuum hose inserted into each passage. Care should be taken not to damage the white fibrous material in this rear chamber. (Fig. 35)

My guess is that the material is probably OK and this doesn't relate to your smoking problems. Clean the chimney or have a proffesional do it. You can also contact a Monessen dealer or service tech to check the stove out.

 

[Jeff Childers]

The symptoms you describe, starting to smoke when the door is opened, sounds like a plugged chimney cap. It does sound like the chimney needs cleaning. It's not clear from your post whether you just cleaned the inside of the stove and the pipe down below or the entire chimney including the spark arrestor screen in the cap.

As for the material in the back of the stove, it's probably part of the combustion package. From the manual-

Inspect for and remove ash build-up behind the combustion package. This should be done in conjunction with annual cleaning of the chimney connector since this inspection is most conveniently done through the flue collar opening. Inspect the passages to either side of the combustion package (a mirror will be helpful) and vacuum away ash using a flexible vacuum hose inserted into each passage. Care should be taken not to damage the white fibrous material in this rear chamber. (Fig. 35)

My guess is that the material is probably OK and this doesn't relate to your smoking problems. Clean the chimney or have a proffesional do it. You can also contact a Monessen dealer or service tech to check the stove out.

Right you are!! I read the manual you referenced and what I have done is damage the "white fibrous material in the rear chamber." I chipped most of it away! I didn't see that "part" listed in the manual. So my question is, can this be replaced? And who does this kind of work?
I think my original problem was an ash buildup inside the stove itself. I need to vacuum out the areas indicated in the manual. I think my flue and all points northward are okay.
So, do I need to buy a new stove or can this be fixed? Help!

 

[Wood Heat Stoves]

I'm sure it can be fixed. That should be a replaceable part. I would follow the link in my previous post to the http://www.monessenhearth.com/customer-care/ website to find your nearest dealer who can order parts and install them if you like.

 

[Ashful]

I've replaced one of these already, but in a Jotul catalytic, instead of a Dutchwest. Different stoves and construction, but I suspect this statement is widely applicable:

The refractory chamber is replaceable, but as it's not something one has to replace often, little care was taken in the design to make it easily replaceable. I had to take more than half of my stove apart to get the old one out, and the new one in, replacing many gaskets during reassembly. It's not rocket surgery, but it's a good full evening's worth of work.

Me? I'd do it myself. I never seem to have luck with hiring competent professionals. I'm sure there are some out there, but they rarely end up at my house.