my old timer stove setup

[mtm61244]

Hi everyone,

Complete novice at woodburning, and a novice at downloading pictures to websites so pardon me if I mess up. Used to light a old stove 30 yrs ago in my dad's garage other than that, have lit this one 2 times, seems to heat well but any advice about running or safety or what I have is well appreciated



The home was vacant for the last 3 years, spring 2013 the home had no power and basement was flooded, I took a wire brush on a drill, was going to take my angle grinder to get the rest of the rust off and paint it with high temp paint by rustoleum with a paint brush, painted the outside stack with this paint as it is galvanized and was rusty this last fall, stack is 14 diameter

Any advice or comments are appreciated

Mark

 

[Rich L]

You say it heats well,that's a plus.Co2 detector and smoke detectors are good safety features.Why does the pipe have the slanted angle?How's the draft?I'm a fan of pipe dampers for longer burns and heat if your draft is good.How's the firebrick?Stove has a classic look.Location looks good nothing burnable around it.Use it and report back.

 

[mtm61244]

Hi Rich, thanks for the reply and the advice, I have Co2 and smoke detectors on both levels, plug in type with battery backup, The slant in the pipe was to get the stove in the center of the room and away from the support beam I think, the pipe runs right next to a 10 ft long 8" I beam, the very end of the I beam was cut out with a torch to accomodate the 90. The drafts in each door turn very smoothly and close all the way, when I did this, I noticed I could still hear air being sucked into the stove so I replaced the gasket with a 3/8 gasket kit from lowes, the doors are off right now as I am painting it, probably should have went with a specialized stove paint instead of rustoleum.

Other than that I don't really know how to test the draft or the damper, I only open one draft partially to light it and open the damper when the fire gets going I close the damper 3/4 and the fire doesn't get smothered with smoke so I guess I'm ok, now keep in mind I have only had 2 fires going about 5/6 hours run time with 3-4 logs in that cradle thing, It seems like if someone was serious about a longer run time, one would take that thing out.

The firebrick is in good shape as far as I can tell, none are broken, I could put my hand on the bottom say 4" of the stove and it was warm while the top would have given me 3rd degree burns but eventually the heat transfered lower and couldn't do that anymore lol, I assume the firebrick is a safety feature.

I have to finish painting it in the next few days then let it set a few more days before I can light it again and then it will probable still smoke like train so I will have to pick a warmer day to open the windows and air it out when I do that.

Thanks again

Mark

 

[begreen]

How old is that flue system and has it been cleaned and certified for use by a professional, certified sweep? The reason I ask it that it looks air-cooled which I'm not sure is ok in Canada. Check with your local authority.

 

[mtm61244]

Hi begreen, I assume the flue is the same age as the home build in 1979, the flue pipe is insulated with fiberglass, the reason I know this is I was up on the roof this last fall and slipped the cap off and the top 1 inch in some places on the outer perimeter where it touched the cap it was rusted and the metal that was between the innner pipe and the outer pipe was well, rusted off so I could see the insulation, it is a denser form of fiberglass I guess. I reinforced the outer pipe with a couple wraps of galvanized flashing and put it back together.

I also looked down the flue and saw that it had a shine to indicate to me not much use but after reading about cresote and the danger with having 1/4 inch of it, I took off the 90 down in the basement to verify and the flue doesn't look bad. I will probably still clean it this spring as my dad has all the equipment handy, I wont put much money into this as my main heat source is a new high efficient furnace installed this fall, although I would like to run it more and figure a way of distributing the heat better with it as it is on the west side of my basement.

thanks again

Mark

 

[begreen]

It sounds like the pipe is breaking down. Personally I would not take a chance burning in the old pipe. 33yrs is old for a pipe, especially if it is not stainless.

 

[mtm61244]

well, the pipe is galvanized at least on the outside probably is on the inside as well. Really just the top 1 inch is "broken down" where the cap touches the top of the pipe in the flat area where condesation can sit and that is approx 5 feet above the roof. It would probably cost quite a bit to replace the pipe its approx 20 ft long.

thanks for the advice

Mark

 

[begreen]

Have a professional, certified sweep examine it. If it passes inspection then ok, if not, then don't burn in it until replaced. The pipe may be an expense, but how does that compare to fire damage or worse yet, loss of life? No contest. This is infrastructure to protect your home. Keep it in top condition.

 

[mtm61244]

thank you for the advice I will definitely look into that

 

[begreen]

Hopefully the news will be good. There's no way we can tell at a distance whether the pipe is at end of life or not.

 

[Jeepster3]

Sorry to revive such an old post, but mtm61244, I'm very curious how your old timer has been doing. I recently purchased this exact stove for my house and will be installing for next winter. Any issues, does It burn well, etc.. thank you!!

 

[mtm61244]

Hi Jeepster3, well I didn't use the stove for the last year due to not knowing if the stack was in good condition, had it checked out last month and had to get a double wall pipe for down in the basement by the floor joists to be up to code, the rest of the pipe checked out good.

I fired up the stove twice since and it seems like a good heavy duty stove, it burns well as far as I know but I am a novice really. I did have to install a new gasket around the door last year (to make the door tighter) but that was easy really and I got that from lowes.

My advice is get it installed right and experiment as questions of the people here as they have a wealth of knowledge, I plan on getting serious in the next year or so and that is what I will do.

Best of Luck!!