Qs on rebuilding pot bellied stove

[Danno77]

Step 1. Disassemble stove
Step 2. sand blast pieces

then I get lost.

Q1. Do I bolt it back together before painting it? or do I paint the pieces individually then reassemble?
Q2. What method of furnace cementing should I use to put the parts together, just get the joints after it's reassembled, or do i make a gasket of sorts and then bolt it together mushing the cement in between (does that make sense?)....
Q3. What grade of bolts would be best for this application, does it even matter? A lot of the ones I'm drilling out are what I'd call a countersunk bolt which requires a flathead screwdriver and sucks royally.

 

[fossil]

I think that if I were doing it (taking into consideration the fact that I've never rebuilt a stove, but have done a lot of similar work on other things) I'd paint all the pieces before reassembly. Can't really address the issue of furnace cement, but can't think of any more effective way than smushing it into all the joints as the stove goes together...excess can be removed with a damp cloth prior to it setting up. For fasteners, the "grade" (strength) I don't see as much of an issue. I'd use all stainless steel. There are outfits like Gardner-Westcott and Totally Stainless, among others, that can provide you with just about any stainless fastener you can imagine. Rick

 

[webbie]

Depending on the joint types, cement should be put in while rebuilding - let it ooze out when you assemble and clean it off with water and rags. If the joints are wide open, you can do it from the inside after you put it together. Dampen the iron first, it helps the cement stock better. Rutland black furnaces cement is a great brand.

The stove bolts can be pretty much anything - regular grade bolts will hold up for decades.

New stoves are painted after assembly - not as the individual parts. The exceptions might be the legs, etc....so painting it after it is put together is fine. Or, spray a light first coat on while in pieces, put together and then spray the whole deal for a consistent look.

 

[BrotherBart]

My take from only doing one rebuild is just don't be bashful with the furnace cement in the joints before you put it together. I was and screwed up. Pile it on and wipe off the excess with the water and wet rag on the outside.

Just paint the sucker when you are done. Painting it before just puts paint in the joints and leaves something that the cement won't stick to as well as bare iron.

 

[Danno77]

sounds good. I need to get a cheapo sand blaster now, I don't think my compressor is up to much. I'm sure I can do it, but I'll have to wait on it to recharge often. Anybody have any luck with the cheap blasters from (cringe) harbor freight?

 

[Danno77]

Ok, making some progress on this sucker now. I was out in the shed organizing the parts and looking carefully at the construction last night. It occured to me that I may not know what the heck I'm doing, but that's not new. What I'm most confused about at this point is why there are two chambers and two doors with a shaker in between. Bear with me if this is elementary...
This is a nice clear picture of a stove that is VERY similar to mine.

you see that bottom chamber has a door and on that door there is a little plate that you can open up to get at a shaker. Is that primarily for coal burning? Nothing goes in the bottom except maybe ashes, right? Air control on the bottom would be to really send air up through the coals, right?

Anyway, would it make the stove "tighter" to put a flat plate between the sections. My stove actually came with one, I'm assuming that's the point.

Next question, can I fill that bottom chamber completely with KAO wool?

Also, I'd like to add a thin gasket to the upper door, but the mechanism for closing is basic gravity. You lift the door up over a little slot and drop it in. There really isn't a way to press the gasket tight when closing the door, unless I'm wearing welding gloves and I hold onto the back of the stove while I push hard on the door with the other hand. any ideas there?

 

[Danno77]

Also, could someone give me their read on NFPA 211 and tell me whether it seems that I'm to code with 2" of masonry and 1 sheet of 24ga+ metal as a hearth pad? It doesn't sound right to me based on the high R-values I always see listed for other UL listed stoves, but it appears to me that NFPA says if it's unlisted that's what i can do?

 

[littlesmokey]

Just my 1.4 cents worth. The advise above is great. I would suggest "dry assembling" and checking for fit of the parts. If the machining is close, go lightly with the stove cement. Also, when you clean the outside, "shmeer" the inside to add a little extra and eliminate the possibility of breaking some off with your wood.

Seems what you have is a coal or wood stove, with the shaker intact. The bottom chamber is actually the ashpan. Do not block or fill it, you will hate yourself trying to get the ash from the top. The air intake at the bottom is used mainly with coal, but can help with start up fires or to clear the smoke inside to reload the stove.

Did you get any/all the nickle/chrome trim with the stove? That would really class it up. STOVE BLING.

Lastly before you clean stove, think about using nut shell, or glass beads to clean. The cast iron is really "soft" and me media could cut through the crisp details of the stove and even pit the surface, depending on how rusty it may have gotten over the years. Latest thing is soda blasting, but you'd have to talk to others, I haven't tried it. Inspect, Inspect, Inspect. Look for cracks and breaks, nothing worse than getting a stove together except the last part and finding you have a bolt that will not work because the mounting flange is cracked.

Enjoy, but don't expect to use it as primary heat.

 

[Danno77]

Just my 1.4 cents worth. The advise above is great. I would suggest "dry assembling" and checking for fit of the parts. If the machining is close, go lightly with the stove cement. Also, when you clean the outside, "shmeer" the inside to add a little extra and eliminate the possibility of breaking some off with your wood.

Seems what you have is a coal or wood stove, with the shaker intact. The bottom chamber is actually the ashpan. Do not block or fill it, you will hate yourself trying to get the ash from the top. The air intake at the bottom is used mainly with coal, but can help with start up fires or to clear the smoke inside to reload the stove.

Yeah, I hear ya. I was thinking about how to get ashes out through the upper door, and since the stove won't fun for days on end, i thought that it wouldn't be too hard since the stove will get cool a lot. Only reason I was even interested in sealing off the bottom was because I want to make the stove as airtight as possible. i'd like to burn as efficiently as I can in this particular stove. Although clean burning isn't my biggest concern, otherwise I would have bought a different stove!

Did you get any/all the nickle/chrome trim with the stove? That would really class it up. STOVE BLING.

Nope, no bling. Just a really old locally built (that was part of the allure) Cast Iron stove.

Lastly before you clean stove, think about using nut shell, or glass beads to clean. The cast iron is really "soft" and me media could cut through the crisp details of the stove and even pit the surface, depending on how rusty it may have gotten over the years. Latest thing is soda blasting, but you'd have to talk to others, I haven't tried it.

This thing is pretty rusty. There is a lot of pitting from the rust, and I'm not doing any blasting after all. So far it's been wire brushes on the drill and some hand brushing with a wire brush. I was thinking about treating with some TSP and cleaning it off really well. It's slow work, but I'm ready to start painting the legs and am working my way upwards. I've wire brushed a good portion of the stove before i decided to be a little more systematic about how I assemble it. Starting at the bottom, then getting the doors, then getting the interior pieces.

Inspect, Inspect, Inspect. Look for cracks and breaks, nothing worse than getting a stove together except the last part and finding you have a bolt that will not work because the mounting flange is cracked.

I've looked over the thing VERY carefully. There is one break around one hole in leg, but I feel that I can probably secure it just fine with a washer. There is another small crack down by the ash door hinge. It's nothing that worries me too much, I think I'll do my best to seal it with furnace cement because it doesn't look like it requires anything else to be safe

Enjoy, but don't expect to use it as primary heat.

I'll be heating the barn with it. Initially the whole barn (12x20 with gambrel roof that's 12ft at the peak), but as soon as i finish the 12x8 man room in the back of the barn it will be heating that primarily, with a door that I can leave open to the workshop portion of the barn. I'm insulating the Mancave portion quite well, but the rest of the barn will be uninsulated. I expect this thing to heat the entire area just fine... Probably too much for the little room, but we'll see.

 

[Danno77]

Also, could someone give me their read on NFPA 211 and tell me whether it seems that I'm to code with 2" of masonry and 1 sheet of 24ga+ metal as a hearth pad? It doesn't sound right to me based on the high R-values I always see listed for other UL listed stoves, but it appears to me that NFPA says if it's unlisted that's what i can do?

Still wondering if anyone has any insight into the NFPA code...

 

[SmokingAndPoking]

One more tip: Use Never Seize on the screws. I know you don't plan on taking them back out any time soon, but it will help a TON if you ever need to.

 

[Danno77]

One more tip: Use Never Seize on the screws. I know you don't plan on taking them back out any time soon, but it will help a TON if you ever need to.

Is that stuff "good to go" for the stove's high temps? Good idea.

 

[Battenkiller]

Latest thing is soda blasting, but you'd have to talk to others, I haven't tried it.

Danno, soda blasting rocks! I'm thinking of getting the unit below. It's pretty darn cheap ($249), lightweight (27 pounds with 10 pounds of media), the media is cheap (just extra large crystals of baking soda), only requires 7 CFM of air, and it is infinitely safer than abrasive media because baking soda simply dissolves if it gets in your lungs. It's very gentle compared to abrasive media. Supposedly you can even clean paint off glass without etching the glass. Not only will it remove rust, it will neutralize the atmospheric acids that cause surface rust. There are lots of other benefits to using this type of blaster, just look into it. Bottom line to me, if you want to clean lots of stuff around the home and shop (looks custom-made for saw cleaning and restoring old tools), look no further.

First thing I'm gonna do when I get mine is to remove the paint from my stove and refinish it with stove polish. Have you thought of polish instead of paint?

http://www.ace-sandblasting.com/mpg/ace_soda.mpg

http://www.ace-sandblasting.com/soda-blasting.html

BTW that is going to be a wicked cool stove. I recently visited a friend who has a very small pot-bellied stove in his outdoor shop (about the area you want to heat) and it was pretty toasty inside. He'd feed it a few slabs of pallet wood now and then, and it really cranked for such a small thing. Now I am on the lookout for one for my shed so I can work out there in winter. How big is yours? How much does it weigh (guesstimate)?

Anyway, good luck, can't wait to see it installed and up and running. ;-)

 

[Battenkiller]

How big is yours? How much does it weigh (guesstimate)?

Got my own answer. Holy cow! That thing with heat just about anything. And check out what it's worth when it's done:

http://www.goodtimestove.com/pot_belly_stoves_us_army_cannon_heater1.html

Bet the materials for your barn didn't cost much more than that.

 

[Danno77]

How big is yours? How much does it weigh (guesstimate)?

Got my own answer. Holy cow! That thing with heat just about anything. And check out what it's worth when it's done:

http://www.goodtimestove.com/pot_belly_stoves_us_army_cannon_heater1.html

Bet the materials for your barn didn't cost much more than that.

Don't get too excited. I said it looks a LOT like that stove. BUT IT'S NOT! That says it's 24" x24", I'd say the base of mine is close to that, but more like 20"x20", but if you add the little the legs stick out, then maybe it is the same size. i dunno.