VC Aspen C3 "Paint" coming off plate inside firebox towards back

[EddyB]

Hi Everyone. I've had my Aspen C3 going into its 5th year and after some concerns and questions early on, I've been very happy with it. I participated in some important threads here in those early days and if you're new to the Aspen, there's some worthwhile reads there.

I am wondering about if anyone is seeing (inside the firebox) in the very back where the plate that hides the thermostat mechanism, the "paint" coming off (or whatever it is) and exposing bare metal shiny/silvery metal of that plate. The "paint" that was there is fairly thick so I'm wondering if this is going to be a problem in that if there is more than just paint coming off. I've sprayed over those bare spots with stove paint but it doesn't last. Of course, VC won't answer the question, they tell you to contact the reseller of the stove. But clearly, the reseller here knows very little about the peculiarities of this stove. So, I'm wondering if anyone here has seen this too and thank you for sharing your experiences here!

 

[wjohn]

Any chance you can post a picture? I guess I have never worried about paint coverage inside the firebox. That back upper area of mine gets fairly sooted over so I honestly don't know if my paint is still intact, but I would suspect not.

 

[EddyB]

This is the inside piece towards the back. On the other side of that is the thermostat mechanism and chain going down to the intake draft damper. It looks to be a different metal than the cast iron. As I mentioned, the paint on it is a little thicker than the usual stove paint, and that is not from hitting it or scraping it with the shovel. I'm very gentle with that stove.