Recommendations for very large freestanding wood stove

[bholler]

Curious what to that guy shows signs of over firing?? Not being snide here I am genuinely curious because most stoves seem to look like that anyway. Mine sure does. As well as the "rusting" most of which would probably clean right off if you actually did attempt to clean it - in which case, its not even rusted! Heck mine starting forming that "rust" inside after it's first year. I'm no pro here but that stove interior looks pretty good to me for being 20 years old.

I got a buddy who bought a very old farm house a couple years ago. It has an early 90s Earth Stove (i forget the model but its one of their imports) and the baffle is very clearly cracked. Smoke seeps out of the back at start up because there's also cracking/separations in the back of the stove. Long story short, he had it inspected and the guy told him it was all A-okay! Signed off on it being safe. I couldn't believe it. The cracks are plain as day! He got it inspected again this year and that guy did not pass it. This is all to say that chimney sweeps around here in NY seem to be one extreme or the other - They either don't care enough to bend down and actually look up into a stove or they will write up 50 different things you have to change/buy from them to make everything safe.

The bright red corrosion we see there is a sign of over firing

 

[LAndrim]

Hi Woody 5506, thanks for the reply. Here's the deal. I'm a lone female, 75 yrs old ... pretty self sufficient since my husband passed, and have been using woodstoves and fireplaces for most of my adult life. The new chimney sweep who came out does NOT do installation or sales of stoves. His concern for the viability of my Lennox Country Canyon was from a fire safety standpoint. Scared the crap out of me! Last thing I want is a fire. The stove is not giving off smoke, but it's also not giving off the heat it used to; it's definatley showing its age. Considering a new stove (Lopi Liberty) to avoid any fire issues. Thanks for your post! Much appreciated.

 

[4x4prepper]

I have a bore scope and use it to determine how much my chimney needs cleaning and the condition of the triple wall and single wall pipes. Plus other things such as inspecting engine innards, etc.. Once I clean the chimney, I stick the scope in and see how clean it is or if I missed a spot.

Now, I know this works in stove pipes and you can take pictures on your phone with the scope, save them to google albums, share the photos, or upload them to a forum such as this one. Because I have taken pictures of my pipes and saved them to albums.

Which is the only reason I mention this product, I know it works for me, but, it DOES deserves to have more one star ratings then five star ratings. So, buyer be ware and all that.

I own rugged phones and it only worked with my SONIM XP8. You would think a company that is suppose to find contractors as their main target audience, would make sure their product worked with as many rugged cell phones on the market as possible. I guess not.

Klein Tools Borescope Camera for Android Devices ET-16

Klein Tools Borescope Camera for Android Devices ET16 - The Home Depot

Provide an essential update to your appliances with the selection of this Klein Tools Borescope for Android Devices.

www.homedepot.com

If you buy a bore scope, you can stick it above the baffle and see what condition the top of the stove is in and the baffles. If the top of the stove (the bottom of the steel), the steel plate itself is de-laminated, then yes, you need a new stove. This is handy for scoping out heat exchangers too.

I most recently bought a wood stove at auction ($25) and it was so trashed, I only kept the cast steel doors and junked the rest. All the heavy cast stuff was fine, but, all the lighter gauge metal was holed or just fragile that connected the flue system and such. My scrap metal guy was glad I bought a 250+ pound paper weight :-D

Your heavy metal box might be intact, but, if the flue controls (paddles, doors, etc.) are holed, then that might explain your loss of heat.

Even if you do not know what you are looking at, I am sure out of the 100s that see the post, someone will know what is up.

 

[brenndatomu]

The stove is not giving off smoke, but it's also not giving off the heat it used to;

From those pics, that stove doesn't look bad at all...it may be missing the baffle board (it appears out of place at the least) on top of the secondary air tubes...that would make it heat poorly. You could try cleaning the bottom side/inside of the stovetop while it's apart too...that is a large heat exchanger surface.
The only issue I see in those pics is the one where you can see just a bit of light around the pipe seam (where he circled in red) but that's pretty minor...the chimney will pull air in there, generally not leak smoke out, but wouldn't hurt to seal that better.

 

[hikingguyantonio]

I have a Kuma Sequoia. It is a cat stove and total beast if you can find one. As one poster stated, the chimney sweep is not a certified Stove repairperson. See if the company can repair the stove, if it even needs it. After 20 years the pip should be changed unless it is SS triple wall. I would keep that stove if at all possible.