rusty hopper lid?

[forya]

The inside of my hopper lid has some red rust on it, The stove is 2 years old. Today I filled it, and i wiped the inside of the lid, and it was damp. Is this a by product of damp pellets? Is it normal?
Has anyone else had this

 

[johnnycomelately]

Possibly moisture in the pellets, especially if they got wet or you bought them from a company that stores them outside. When the hopper heats up, the moisture can condense, leaving the inside of the hopper and the lis moist. This can and will make your hopper lid rusty.

 

[forya]

This off season I will paint it, and make sure I keep a little pam on it next year

 

[imacman]

Do a quick test of your pellets for excess moisture:

1. place 1/2 cup pellets in a GLASS (not plastic) microwave-safe bowl.
2. cover the bowl with a saucer to make it moderately airtight
3. put them in microwave for about 45 sec, to 1 minute on high.
4. immediately when finished heating, remove the saucer and tip it up vertically. Look for moisture on the bottom of the saucer, there should be very little.

If enough is present to allow it to run down the bottom of the saucer, they have excessive moisture and probably will not burn well, and could be the cause of the hopper lid rust.

 

[forya]

I figured out when I get the rust. It is when the distribution blower shuts down, but there is still fire (on Room temp mode), and it seems to heat up the hopper, and dry out the pellets. It seems that the seal is so good on the hopper that none of the water can escape, and it accumulates on the Inside of the iron hopper lid. I am going to replace the seal this summer, and paint the inside of the hopper lid.

Does anyone else ever have this happen. It seems to only be an issue during the shoulder season.

 

[forya]

This happened with Lignetics, and Green Teams, but I don't think it happened with the Hamers. It's hard to tell, because I burned the Hamers during the coldest months.

 

[Lousyweather]

how does the rear and underside of the unit look? are you seeing rust there as well? do you have water migration through your masonry? is there a cap on the chimney? is it linered? We have seen quite alot of rusty distribution fans as well on these units where there was excessive moisture in the chimney and firebox

 

[forya]

I do occasionally get a little water down my old chimney pipe, not in the 4" liner, but it just happens when I get a real sideways rain. I have a 7" steel chimney with my 4" S/S liner going all the way up. I left the original cap on the 7" pipe because it was in good shape, and riveted to the flashing at the top of the chimney. If any water (and it is just drips) get behind the stove, it evaporates quick with the stove on. I am not getting rust anywhere else.
I asked my dealer about it and he said that it is fine, and that they don't work on the flashing (or in my case the original cap)

 

[Lousyweather]

I do occasionally get a little water down my old chimney pipe, not in the 4" liner, but it just happens when I get a real sideways rain. I have a 7" steel chimney with my 4" S/S liner going all the way up. I left the original cap on the 7" pipe because it was in good shape, and riveted to the flashing at the top of the chimney. If any water (and it is just drips) get behind the stove, it evaporates quick with the stove on. I am not getting rust anywhere else.
I asked my dealer about it and he said that it is fine, and that they don't work on the flashing (or in my case the original cap)

yea, the only problem is when it rains and you arent using the unit- for instance, really hard rains usually happen in warmer weather when the stove isnt in use....probably not a big deal in your case, as you'd be probably having a rust issue on the metal behind the stove if you had water issues.....its just that we've seen rust issues on the rear of these units in moist conditions, which I think lowers the expected life of the exposed components......and its not covered under warrantee.....just my 2 cents!

 

[forya]

All last summer, with the stove empty I never got any moisture in the Hopper. Just yesterday with the temps a little higher the hopper was 1/2 full of Lignetics, and the fire was on, but the dist fan was off (Running on room temp set at 72). When I opened the lid there was water dripping off the inside of the lid dripping onto the pellets in the hopper. It was foggy outside, but not raining. I do not have an OAK installed, all my air comes from the house which is very dry.

 

[forya]

I just did the microwave test, I couldn't find a saucer tight enough to fit, so I used Cling wrap. I microwaved 3/4 cup of pellets for 1 min and got a light haze on the cling wrap. No drips, just a very light fog

 

[heat seeker]

Sounds like damp pellets to me.

Edit: on review, the pellets seem normal to me after testing mine.

 

[forya]

I was thinking I just got a bad bag or 2, I didn't see any swollen pellets or clumps when I dumped them, but I guess they could have been hiding in there. I am still considering getting my chimney re-flashed and capped with a better cap. I have a back injury and can't get onto the roof to do it myself, and I am guessing it will be expensive.

 

[heat seeker]

It'll be a lot cheaper than falling off the roof! I don't go up there anymore. When I was young, I was quite comfortable walking around on any roof. Now I can't do it, so must pay someone else to get up there. It's worth it to me now.

I have been meaning to do the micro test on my pellets out of curiosity. I think I'll do that tonight on my Instant Heats and see what happens.

 

[forya]

I'm only 37, but looking at a 2 level lumbar spinal fusion this summer.

 

[heat seeker]

Bad… hope it goes well for you!

 

[heat seeker]

Wood Nugget posted this:

1, place 1/2 cup pellets in a GLASS not plastic bowl.
2, cover the bowl with a saucer to make moderately airtight
3, nuke them in microwave for about 45 sec, to 1 minute.
4, immediately when finished heating remove the saucer and tip it up vertically, look for moisture on the bottom of the saucer, there should be a little, if enough is present to allow it to run down the bottom of the saucer, they have excessive moisture and probably will not burn optimally. (from mike @ England stove works).

<<<<<>

I did this with my Instant Heat pellets, and got a little moisture on the saucer, not enough to run off it. The pellets are burning just fine, and I wanted a baseline for future reference. It appears that your pellets aren't all that damp, just about like mine.

There was a pleasant smell of wood in the kitchen for a bit, also.

 

[Lousyweather]

I'm only 37, but looking at a 2 level lumbar spinal fusion this summer.

sorry to hear that.....my wife took my spine, and a few other parts

 

[heat seeker]

I'm only 37, but looking at a 2 level lumbar spinal fusion this summer.

sorry to hear that.....my wife took my spine, and a few other parts

Given time, they'll grow back. Then go find yourself a good one!

 

[forya]

I was hoping for a Baboon spine, with tail and all, but they don't do that one, so I am stuck with scraping my hip bone to get the bone for the fusion. That tail would have come in handy though.

As far as my stove problem, It could have either been a bad bag, or bags that I didn't notice, or the chimney cap is leaking. Maybe this summer I will address the cap issue.