What have you done to your stove/chimney today?

[defiant3]

Nothing today actually, but as usual I did a 4th of July "cleaning". Removed the chimney cap so nothing would get stuck, then shot off several roman candles and fizzling whizbangers right from the firebox of the old Defiant 3, just as the town's display was going on. I find that I get just a small bucket of "sote, ash, and semi burned unidentifyables this way, and no one calls the Fire Dept. like they normally would any other night of the year.

Cap back on now! Good clean fun.

 

[begreen]

Nice! I bought/installed a used Avalon about 20 years ago. Good stove. Mine had the 24K gold plated door.

The Avalon Rainier was either the first or among the first EPA phase 2 stoves on market. It's a solid, classic design and top seller. I was surprised at what they are selling for these days. This one is a 2008 model in very nice condition.

 

[VirginiaIron]

A sooteater is a chimney sweeping device that attaches to a drill, not a chemical. It has poly brushes. Hard to see how that would affect the pipe warranty.
http://www.gardusinc.com/sooteater.html

I just purchased one today from HD. I think my heavywall said it will take a metal brush, but I like the idea of cleaning the liner from the fireplace opening. Thanks.

 

[Michael Sean]

Just got the Englander 50-SHSSW01 stove in the house, hopefully will get some help to get it off the pallet and get it installed this week

 

[Squirrely]

I always liked how the Morso Squirrels used to have old fashioned ball handles...



But they were discontinued long ago and are no longer available as spare parts. However, I found some 50 year old bakelite machine ball handles I had stashed away, and put one on.





Greg

 

[Michael Sean]

Got the stove installed and chimney swept. She's ready to be broke in when the weather changes

 

[WoodyIsGoody]

Got the stove installed and chimney swept. She's ready to be broke in when the weather changes

View attachment 198515 View attachment 198516

Looks good!

Is that stovepipe Selkirk DSP?

I have the Selkirk DCC and the extendable section came with a finishing band (that I don't see on yours). Did the DSP come with one? The Selkirk Installation Instructions make no mention of the proper use of the finishing band they include with the extendable pipe.

 

[Michael Sean]

Looks good!

Is that stovepipe Selkirk DSP?

I have the Selkirk DCC and the extendable section came with a finishing band (that I don't see on yours). Did the DSP come with one? The Selkirk Installation Instructions make no mention of the proper use of the finishing band they include with the extendable pipe.

It did come with a finishing band but I never put it on. The people who installed the stove pipe didn't put it on and actually until now I really didn't knw what the random black band was for lol.

 

[WoodyIsGoody]

It did come with a finishing band but I never put it on. The people who installed the stove pipe didn't put it on and actually until now I really didn't knw what the random black band was for lol.

I see. I guess it's not required. I wish Selkirk would provide a little better documentation because I'm not a big fan of making assumptions.

 

[firefighterjake]

Finally got around to cleaning out the firebox and emptying the ash pan . . . I waited until this long just to be sure I was done burning . . . of course that is no guarantee. A few years back I was burning around the 4th of July (either the 3rd or 5th . . . I forget the exact date, only that it was around the 4th, but not on the 4th.)

 

[CanukHermit]

Yesterday (July 19) - changed most of the side firebricks, inspected the baffle and insulation (yup - it has insulation INSIDE).

Stove is a Pacific Energy Super 27 (2004) and I came into possession of it when I bought this place in the boonies in 2013.

Proper (factory) bricks are pricey, and custom fit - bought a dozen Rutland 2700 degree 9x4-1/2 x 1-1/2 - had to use two of the old bricks to fit. Needs new insulation, so ordered a blanket I can cut to fit the baffle, and the brick side rail inserts. Ordered masonry saw to cut other new bricks - I do 90% of all my shopping on-line - rarely leave my piece of Paradise (28 acres) at the end of a dead end non-maintained road, last time being November 2016!



Old bricks are 4-1/4 and 4-3/8, not 4-1/2 like the new ones - sorta urious about that . . . ?? - One brick in the back had been half missing for 2 years - so it's possible some warpage occurred that would not allow me to put a 4-1/2 in the back LH corner. There's a lumpy weld at the bottom by the front left brick - I can cut a corner (when I get my saw) to fit a new brick in place of the old one on that side.

didn't bother with the bottom bricks for this year - they're not too bad yet, and a lot of fitting is gonna be required, many odd measurements for them - not overly concerned - I learned a while back that it is better to keep an inch or two of ash in the bottom, as well as pushed up around the edges to hold heat, more importantly to save wear and tear on the bricks.

I was disappointed to learn that my monthly ritual of sweeping out my wood stove "squeaky clean" was not in the best interests of the stove's longevity . . . . . yeah - I saved that ash for the new bricks.

Now - about that space on top of the bricks ?????

hmmmm . . . .

Anyway - glad I found - yup - my first post here.

I'll be snoopin' around and pickin' ur brains now!



CH

 

[HisTreeNut]

Yesterday (July 19) - changed most of the side firebricks, inspected the baffle and insulation (yup - it has insulation INSIDE).

Stove is a Pacific Energy Super 27 (2004) and I came into possession of it when I bought this place in the boonies in 2013.

Proper (factory) bricks are pricey, and custom fit - bought a dozen Rutland 2700 degree 9x4-1/2 x 1-1/2 - had to use two of the old bricks to fit. Needs new insulation, so ordered a blanket I can cut to fit the baffle, and the brick side rail inserts. Ordered masonry saw to cut other new bricks - I do 90% of all my shopping on-line - rarely leave my piece of Paradise (28 acres) at the end of a dead end non-maintained road, last time being November 2016!

View attachment 198643

Old bricks are 4-1/4 and 4-3/8, not 4-1/2 like the new ones - sorta urious about that . . . ?? - One brick in the back had been half missing for 2 years - so it's possible some warpage occurred that would not allow me to put a 4-1/2 in the back LH corner. There's a lumpy weld at the bottom by the front left brick - I can cut a corner (when I get my saw) to fit a new brick in place of the old one on that side.

didn't bother with the bottom bricks for this year - they're not too bad yet, and a lot of fitting is gonna be required, many odd measurements for them - not overly concerned - I learned a while back that it is better to keep an inch or two of ash in the bottom, as well as pushed up around the edges to hold heat, more importantly to save wear and tear on the bricks.

I was disappointed to learn that my monthly ritual of sweeping out my wood stove "squeaky clean" was not in the best interests of the stove's longevity . . . . . yeah - I saved that ash for the new bricks.

Now - about that space on top of the bricks ?????

hmmmm . . . .

Anyway - glad I found View attachment 198646 - yup - my first post here.

I'll be snoopin' around and pickin' ur brains now!



CH

Hey...Welcome to the Forums!

 

[WoodyIsGoody]

Now - about that space on top of the bricks ?????

hmmmm . . . .

Welcome! Your refurbishment looks great!

Based on your comment above it sounds like you're looking for ways to further boost the efficiency of your stove. While I think most newer stoves are already optimized for peak heat output, a lot can be done to increase efficiency of moderate/lower burn levels. Most stoves I've used can be turned down so far that firebox temperatures decrease to the point that unburnt gasses escape, impacting efficiency. If the heat could be focused and concentrated on the lower half of the firebox, the low burn rate could be lowered further while retaining a clean and efficient burn. This would reduce wood usage since the house is often already plenty warm after burning a full load. The ability to cleanly and efficiently cruise at a lower burn rate would enhance the utility of the stove by increasing burn times and low burn efficiencies and decreasing consumption of wood while giving users more control over room temperature.

How can the low burn rate be lowered while retaining a clean and efficient burn? Restricting intake air further would simple result in a smoldering fire. What if there were upper firebricks that angled forward towards the floor of the firebox? What if the firebricks were coated with specialty coatings used in small metal forges to increase a forges temperature/efficiency by reflecting infra-red heat away from the face of the firebrick?

There are even coatings that work on steel at forge temperatures. Here are some I am curious about:

https://www.itccoatings.com/our-products/
http://www.mooseforge.com/Forges/refractory.html

And here is some ceramic fiber board that could be used to insulate larger areas without the type of support required for firebricks. It too could be coated with infra-red reflecting coatings:


http://thermal-industrial-ceramic-p...ic-fiber-board-insulation-duraboard-ld-2300f-

Of course care would need to be taken that excessive heat was not directed to unprotected steel elements of the stove.

Anyone tried any of this?

 

[CanukHermit]

Welcome! Your refurbishment looks great!

Thanx Woody - Ur profile says ur from PNW - Google takes me to Polska Nowa Wieś , (Poland), -

but I suspect PNW in ur case means Pacific North West - Washington, Oregon, Northern CA or such . . .

Hadda check - my main chainsaw is a Stihl 034 - bought it off my best friend (now passed) in 2006 - along with 10 - yeah TEN brand new chains, for $250, so - got the saw for about 50 bucks . . First saw (still running) is an old OLD pioneer - no brake/chain guard - any of that stuff, but starts on first yank!

Had both elbows operated on, so my "splitting axe" consists of 2 electric splitters - one inside the house (in the kitchen - no partner to bug me about that) and the other out in the old garage. Only 4 ton, but in 4 years only had 3 logs it wouldn't split - good enuf!

This Super 27 is the most amazing/efficient wood stove I've ever owned, or used. Not much I can do to increase it's efficiency, other than maintain it - I learned from watching others ruin their stoves for simple lack of replacing fire bricks - warping the crap out of them, and of course - no bricks, little or no heat retention.

Planning to hook it up to outside air for the intake - not expecting any increased efficiency from the stove, but my old shack leaks enough without a woodstove sucking away at the interior - - hopefully drawing the air from the exterior will reduce the draft at my feet when the stove is going full bore - runs 24/7 from November thru May, clean the ash out while there's still enough coals left so "making" a new fire is unnecessary . . . . just toss in some more logs.

Regarding the space on top of the bricks - it's only about 3/4" - the "brick rails" above it are hollow, intended to have insulation it there - if you look close at the pic, you can see little bits of white poking out at the front corners, just above the top of the bricks. The baffle has (had) 1" insulation in it - mostly deteriorated now - air comes in the bottom, up the back of the stove (that's the square tube between the bricks at the back) and across the top of the baffle and insulation (covered with a thin plate) exits above all that close to the front of the stove - giving an air wash - keeping the glass clean most of the time, and creating an efficient flow.


It's those 2 side rails and baffle that need the insulation - on it's way from Amazon

When I get the masonry saw, I may just cut a few slices to fill that gap between the bricks and the rails - don't expect them to last very long tho, but I'll have leftover pieces when I fit the 2 bricks to replace the 2 old ones left behind. Those old ones, although not visibly deteriorated too badly, weigh about half of the new ones - so they've lost a bit of their density/efficiency methinks.

Yep - there's supposed to be a pin in that baffle tab, but it musta gone out with the ashes this past winter - It was there last fall!!

No biggee - that baffle don't move on it's own - it's a heavy bugger!



CH

 

[begreen]

If the goal is to maintain the efficiency of the stove then the replacement firebrick should have been pumice firebrick. That has a higher insulation value and keeps the interior of the firebox hotter. They can be found online for a decent price. There should be a gasket around the secondary feed collar to the baffle.

 

[WoodyIsGoody]

Thanx Woody - Ur profile says ur from PNW - Google takes me to Polska Nowa Wieś , (Poland), -

but I suspect PNW in ur case means Pacific North West - Washington, Oregon, Northern CA or such . . .

That's funny, The first hit in a Google search for "PNW" takes me to a Wikipedia page for The Pacific Northwest. Probably because I'm searching from the PNW.

Planning to hook it up to outside air for the intake - not expecting any increased efficiency from the stove, but my old shack leaks enough without a woodstove sucking away at the interior - - hopefully drawing the air from the exterior will reduce the draft at my feet when the stove is going full bore -

My theory is that a leaky structure is best without a cold air intake. Because the stove's regular air intake is constantly "vacuuming up" the cold drafts near the floor. I've even seen installs where the air intake plenum was extended to within a couple inches of the floor to do this more effectively. Because a leaky structure is going to leak whether you have an air intake or not. So you may as well use the stove's intake to "vacuum" it all up!

 

[bcrtops]

We often have a quick fire in the mornings. Here in the Coast Range, the temp gets down into the low 50's often @ night & house be pretty chilly in the AM -- like 60F. I have been burning bark scraps -- 1/2 load of dry bark, burns very hot & fast, giving off nice radiant heat for an hr. & is usually out in a couple hrs. (Fir & Hemlock bark). Only when the daytime temps are in the 70's -- when in the 80's - 90's, there by no AM fires.

 

[CanukHermit]

We often have a quick fire in the mornings. Here in the Coast Range, the temp gets down into the low 50's often @ night & house be pretty chilly in the AM -- like 60F. I have been burning bark scraps -- 1/2 load of dry bark, burns very hot & fast, giving off nice radiant heat for an hr. & is usually out in a couple hrs. (Fir & Hemlock bark). Only when the daytime temps are in the 70's -- when in the 80's - 90's, there by no AM fires.

I just started that this year - burning only bark scraps for those brief quick warm-up fires in the AM. I no longer have to "fight" the woodstove later on with the AC to stay comfortable. Haven't used so much as a piece of kindling since May - boxes of scraps saved in the shed and garage,

and no mess in the yards anymore!



CH

 

[bcrtops]

Going to be hot this coming week here ( in the 90's), so did the yearly chimney sweep using the new soot-eater. We did it from the top down, as the grandson was here to give me a hand. Cleaned up the baffle & innards, then re-installed & replaced a couple firebricks = good to go for the fall / winter with that respect. Still need to do some work on the door--- hinge repair, glass replacement, & new gasket. Will get that done soon.

 

[Squirrely]

Last week was 100 degrees every day but it's starting to cool down now, only 87 degrees today.

The Morso comes with a louvered cast iron front grate bar. I noticed that the retainers on each side were made tall enough to stack a second grate bar on top of the first one. So I ordered another one from the UK (no one in the US sells them) and slid it on. They have tabs which interlock into each other quite solidly for a nice snug fit with no rattlling.



The second grate bar makes the firebox into a deeper bin so it's a lot easier to fill it up without anything spilling back out. It was 65 degrees last night which for us is "cool" enough for a trash fire, so I lit it up. Wow... the two extra angled louvers on the second grate made the flames go all the way around in a South/North circle driven by the door glass airwash. The design features on this little stove are quite cleverly thought out.

Greg

 

[Twolfe278]

Started telling the wife she will have to take her "stove decor" down soon. Did my usual visual checks of stove then went out to check the OAK intake and WHAM! Got lit up soon as I touched metal. Thermo controlled stove blower was still plugged in the wall (swear I unplugged it) and was turned on. Guess I'll find a short somewhere.

 

[WoodyIsGoody]

Did my usual visual checks of stove then went out to check the OAK intake and WHAM! Got lit up soon as I touched metal. Thermo controlled stove blower was still plugged in the wall (swear I unplugged it) and was turned on. Guess I'll find a short somewhere.

Well, that's a shocker! Glad you made it through.

But this thread is about "What have you done to your stove today, not "What has your stove done to you!".

 

[VirginiaIron]

cleaned the vertical portion of the chimney with the soot eater today. But have not vacuumed the base yet. After cleaning the cap I realized it was more restricted than i originally thought. The soot eater did a good job and the screen looks real clean now. This soil is about three cords if I remember correctly. That's enough work for today.

 

[RobbieB]

Insulated my liner with the Everguard pour down mix.

 

[yooper08]

This was over the weekend, but got a few things done.

First was ordered new gaskets for the door and glass. Second was added some Roxul in the air gap between the iron and steel of the old Heatilator form. Third was added some furnace cement to the liner-stove connection to ensure a good seal there.

Next will be regasketing when those arrive and perhaps a Sooteater to do some cleaning. Not sure it will be necessary, only burned slightly more than a cord last year. Looking to double that as I have 2+ cords ready for this winter so want to start off right.

May also add some sheet metal to the firebox to make a true block off plate. Currently just left over liner insulation with the foil face towards the stove that I was able to cut and slide on top of the cuts that were made at install.