Rust in Stove's Firebox

[alfador]

Hi everyone,

I have a an Enviro Empress Free Standing pellet stove I've had for 2 seasons. Love the stove (though I feel like the heat blower could use some more "oomph" that's beside the point). I've broken it down each season and fully cleaned it fully per the instructions replacing gaskets as needed.

I've run into small amounts of rust in every off season after cleaning my stove at the end of the season. First year I just put a bag over the exhaust, got a little rust on the burn pot pieces but not much else.

Trying to avoid this I saw some people suggest using DampRid to keep the moisture away. Well in anticipation of my first burns coming up I opened the stove up and was surprised to see a lot more surface rust this season on the "brick" backing and the pieces of metal that hold them in place. Not sure if the DampRid actually attracted more moisture or what (I also have central air and MA had an especially humid summer so condensation could've been real bad in the unit.) Not just the wals though there was a little on the bottoms of the heat tubes/exchanges in the unit.

What should I do to remediate the rust this year? A light amount of sanding perhaps, something else? How about to prepare for next off season? I've seen people saying a light spray of pam/wd40. This makes sense since you need to season cast iron the same way to keep it from rusting.

Thanks for any advice folks!

 

[johneh]

Every Year I have rust on the brick panel (ef 3)
When cleaning I wash the rust off it is just surface rust
and removes very easily . This I have been doing for
the last 16 years . the panel shows no deterioration
so I do not bother with any of the anti rust preps

 

[rich2500]

I spray the inside with cooking spray and then 2 containers of damp rid and you can see in the pic I just took ,no rust and both damp rids are half full of water

 

[Tonyray]

Exactly what I do.Rich.
also get a good amount of water in both containers.
love to know where it comes from or how it get's in the stove.
I have my OAK covered outside also..

 

[alfador]

Thanks everyone...how are you covering the oak? Mine is pretty flat with the siding. I had tried the versions of cling wrap that have adhesive on them but they kept falling off. I will try the cooking spray next season.

My damp rid is half full but i have rust for sure it's not covering the whole thing, but it's still driving me crazy.

Thanks again!

 

[Tonyray]

Thanks everyone...how are you covering the oak? Mine is pretty flat with the siding. I had tried the versions of cling wrap that have adhesive on them but they kept falling off. I will try the cooking spray next season.

My damp rid is half full but i have rust for sure it's not covering the whole thing, but it's still driving me crazy.

Thanks again!

 

[Tonyray]

mine as u can see is different,
i just shove a rag into the vent.
if yours is flat you could disconnect from inside and plug up or cover it from inside.

 

[rich2500]

When I had the flat style oak I taped it shut with foil tape. With the bigger oak for the Harman I also stuff a rag in the hood.

 

[mralias]

I don't clean my stove at the end of the season and guess what? No rust The ash seems to act as a rust preventative and protects most of the stove. A good cleaning in the fall and a quick inside the stove spray paint with VHT High Heat 2000 Degree Spray Paint and I'm good to go. I have done the spray with pam and damp rid and all the other tricks. Best one so far for me so far after 13 years with the same stove...keep it dirty. My 2 cents.

 

[Tonyray]

I don't clean my stove at the end of the season and guess what? No rust The ash seems to act as a rust preventative and protects most of the stove. A good cleaning in the fall and a quick inside the stove spray paint with VHT High Heat 2000 Degree Spray Paint and I'm good to go. I have done the spray with pam and damp rid and all the other tricks. Best one so far for me so far after 13 years with the same stove...keep it dirty. My 2 cents.

i have heard of burners keeping the ash in till fall with good results..
and others who have gotten rust...
personally it would bother me to do it that way..
i am pretty OCD when it comes to my Harman..

 

[Peterfield]

I don't clean my stove at the end of the season and guess what? No rust The ash seems to act as a rust preventative and protects most of the stove. A good cleaning in the fall and a quick inside the stove spray paint with VHT High Heat 2000 Degree Spray Paint and I'm good to go. I have done the spray with pam and damp rid and all the other tricks. Best one so far for me so far after 13 years with the same stove...keep it dirty. My 2 cents.

I wasn’t going to admit it but I do the same thing. I plan on cleaning the stove tomorrow so it’s ready when it gets chilly.

 

[tbear853]

I clean good at season start, usually never at end of season …. I just shut down. No rust in 1992 stove.

 

[wally1234]

1. Why do you guys cover your oak? Should I be stuffing my intake and exhaust with a rag? What does that do, keep air from coming in to prevent rust.

2. Interesting... keep it dirty to prevent rust.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[tbear853]

2. Interesting... keep it dirty to prevent rust.

Well ………. maybe so ..........stove is in house, just dust exterior along with furniture. I never have covered air intake or flue as they are not such to collect rain. Air intake (2 inch exhaust pipe bent to my desire by muffler shop) draws from end of porch area but is under eave out of weather, it does have a metal screen over end. I used to have tall flue (3 inch pelvent, 15 feet up after 3 foot horizontal to tee) with a pelvent cap, I changed it this fall due to roof redo … but it exits under another part of carport eave away from house with a venturie like end with a fence on it.

This coming year, I will need (or desire) to remove burn pot for to weld some heat cracks in oem weld seam.

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/new-flue-routing-3.172151/