That time of year. So what's the best way to do a final cleaning .any tips or ways to put her to bed. End of first year. Very happy with performance cut oil consumption in at least half down to 425 gallons and the house was warmer than ever before .wife was skeptical. Now she is a believer great site got me thru my first season thanks for all the help !
season ending cleaning
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bogieb
Minister of Fire
After cleaning is done and you are sure you are finished for the season, block exhaust and OAK (if you have one) to keep out moisture and critters. Then place a note in the hopper lid and across the control panel that they are blocked. Some people place some dessicant in the stove and/or ash bin to help control moisture.
You got a good stove to rely on. Take care of it and it will keep you warm.
You may want to block the flue with a rag so the kritters will not climb in and put a tub of "Damp Rid" in the fire box to keep it bone dry during the summer. Dampness is the stove's worst enemy!
You may want to block the flue with a rag so the kritters will not climb in and put a tub of "Damp Rid" in the fire box to keep it bone dry during the summer. Dampness is the stove's worst enemy!
Damp Rid's only ingredient is Calcium Chloride AKA ice melt. You can buy 50lbs of ice melt for $20.00 or 1Lb of Damp Rid for $5.00?
You decide which to buy! Or go into the garage and get some
Bill
Tonyray
Minister of Fire
You can buy 50lbs of ice melt for $20.00 or 1Lb of Damp Rid for $5.00?
I'll go with $5 box of damprid like I did last year plus spraying the burnpot and all the walls with Pam cooking spray..
worked last year to combat rust so it will work this year..
believe it or not, even with my exhaust and OAK blocked off I still had about 1/4" of water moisture in the bottom of the Damp rid box when I took it out in October.
St_Earl
Minister of Fire
I was always told to unplug my stove during the off season, so I do.
I was hoping to moth ball the stove this weekend and it is warm enough here but next week will have highs in the low 60's and lows in the lows in the 40's at night so the wife will be chilled. Once the end of April hits it's getting shut down no matter what the temps are. I have to draw the line somewhere. I think next weekend will be the pull the plug deadline.
Tonyray
Minister of Fire
same here...
end of April come rain or shine....
can't picture burnin pellets in May.. at least here in the Tri-states area..
St_Earl
Minister of Fire
bogieb
Minister of Fire
Burned into May last year, looks like the same for this year. Less than a bag a day, but still burning.
Bioburner
Moderator
Stove has been off for the last week with temps in the 70's but will be back on probably tomorrow as hopefully some rain coming and predictions of some flakes next week. Farmers have most of the corn in the ground around here. No moisture in the top 6 inches. Will do a short cleaning of the stoves today but a total cleaning and fogging of stoves interior with oil as per one stoves recommendation, and removal of venting and power washing of the pipes. One set of pipes look to need to be replaced as they are now 10 years old and the corn is getting the best of pipe. The pipe came with the stove so had a couple years of not so good care. But not complaining as the stove has been in service since 2006. The payback was the first year I had it
Total cost of the stove and maintenance in the 5 seasons have had it under $700
Total cost of the stove and maintenance in the 5 seasons have had it under $700Good luck finding CaCl this time of year everyone bought it to melt the ice dams on their houses a month ago.
It is still around, check a few stores. I have over 50Lbs left. I usually have at least one extra bucket every year.
Maybe not a lot in ME, but NY should have some.
Bill
you can use either as a desiccant
you don't want to mix either with water and spray on steel as is what happens to auto undercarriages
calcium silicate or sodium ferrocyanide is added to table salt to help stop it from absorbing moisture ( and clumping )
silica gel absorbs a lot more water than either so keep tossing those silica packets in there all Summer ?
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drz1050
Minister of Fire
leave'um loaded with ash until fall, doing that for almost 20 year's, LAST thing I feel like doing is cleaning a a stove, must be a newbie, It's like mowing grass, first few times it's fun, after that it suck's!!
Tonyray
Minister of Fire
Although that obviously works for you,
I doubt if many here will leave the stove as is till fall for a multitude of reasons..
I usually leave it to fall... Ash absorbs the moisture no rust.. I do usually stuff a rag in the exhaust from the outside.
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