pellet stove post season storage

[Lumberjack]

Hi All

After a successful first season with a pellet stove I am wondering what to do now that I am done burning for the season. What does everyone do to prolong the life of their stoves in the off season?

Thanks!

 

[Woody1911a1]

well came home today to a 62f house so mines burning at the moment

many do a full cleanout including flue then put in a container of desiccant . some just wait til fall to do it .

 

[Lumberjack]

can/should I spray anything with say WD40 or some other preservative?

 

[ttdberg]

Agree with Woody. Give the stove a thorough cleaning and put a can of damprid in there to absorb any moisture during the summer months. For the full flue cleaning, it's your call. I clean mine in the fall. I have never used WD40 as part of the off season prep process. The damprid should be sufficient for any situation where rust or corrosion issues could potentially be a concern.

 

[TimfromMA]

I cap my vent to keep bugs and birds out over the summer.

 

[alternativeheat]

Hi All

After a successful first season with a pellet stove I am wondering what to do now that I am done burning for the season. What does everyone do to prolong the life of their stoves in the off season?

Thanks!

I just shut it off and clean the flue so I don't have to worry abut that in the fall. But here in new England any random night might ask for a fire so I just do the normal stove cleaning one would do anyway. Nothing special. I haven't used the stove in a month almost but have a fire going right now, the stove has been on for 24 hours doing it's random cycles to keep the house at 73.

 

[Pellet-King]

Nothing for 15+ years, leave it full of ash because last thing i want to think or do is clean that stove again!!, ash makes a good moisture absorbent anyway btw..why am I even here reading about pellet's almost june...i'm nut's!!

 

[bbfarm]

We clean the flu and cap. Did a small but not thorough cleaning right now, then later in summer we disconnect the stove put it on a dolly and wheel it outside and blast every nook and cranny with the sir compressor. You would not believe the stuff that comes out of it. Damp rid is in place.

Then I take it apart and paint the parts that need painting. I pull the fans and clean and oil them. I lube the versa grate and any other moving parts. This year i need to take a look at he switch on the control board and fix the bricks again.

I am thinking on having a friend make a hopper extension for us. Maybe a new door gasket as well.

 

[Tonyray]

Gave mine a good final clean and sprayed all the walls and burnpot with Pam cooking spray.
also have box of Damp rid in the Ash pan.
oh, and I covered up the OAK air inlet holes..

 

[bbfarm]

Our oak is part of the vent

 

[smirnov3]

I clean out all the ash, because the ash sucks up moisture and I don't want that sitting against the metal all summer long (I did that my first year - turned off the stove, and let it sit uncleaned until the fall - there were rust spots wherever there was large quantities of ash)

After I do a thorough cleaning, I spray on some cooking oil (well, this year I forgot to buy some, so I just rubbed in some regular oil. it worked, but was messy). Since I started doing that, I haven't had any rust issues.

 

[Arti]

I took a deep breath this spring and used a pressure washer to clean the firepot and baffles on the Pellet Furnace that resides in the basement, Then I put a trouble light in it for a day to dry it out. Removed the pellets and have it sitting ready to go next for next fall.

 

[smirnov3]

I took a deep breath this spring and used a pressure washer to clean the firepot and baffles on the Pellet Furnace that resides in the basement, Then I put a trouble light in it for a day to dry it out. Removed the pellets and have it sitting ready to go next for next fall.

What if the water gets into the insulation? Isn't that really hard to dry out?

 

[Arti]

That's why I just did the firepot and heat exchanger tubes with the pressure washer. the rest of the stove blew out with an air compressor.
It didn't really get wet anywhere but where the ashes could accumulate.

On the St Croix there is a clean out behind the ash pan so all the water ran down into this area. I really wouldn't recommend this on a stove where the water could get into the exhaust purge blower or close to the electrical wiring. Also this stove is fairly close to the floor drain in my house, the water that came out at first was really nasty dirty and I did a pre clean with a leaf blower !!

 

[TimfromMA]

I call my stove dealer and they came in, took it completely apart, cleaned every nook and cranny then reassembled.

 

[JohnD]

I clean in and out of stove thoroughly. Vacuum the firebox, pot, baffles, heat exchanger, both exhaust and convection fans. I put damp rid inside firebox and close door. For the vents, I clean with an extension wire brush and then use a leaf blower to suck the remaining ash out of the vents from the outside. Many say this is unnecessary, but if you have any horizontal vent sections, I feel it is crucial. I stuff a rag into the vertical vent and use the leaf blower to suck out the ash that the wire brush loosens in the horizontal section. It always pulls a good amount of ash out that the wire brush can't remove. To finish, I put the rags into the horizontal and vertical sections of the vents and leave them there until ready to burn again. This helps lessen the moisture that can get into the vents, and from there, into your stove.