What make or model pellet stove for a very damp area?

[Don2222]

Hello

Have a friend with a pellet stove in an older home located above a dirt crawl space. Last spring the dampness got in a fused the ash to completely block the air intake tube under the burn pot and freeze up the versa grate and block every single hole in it! It took a screw driver and hammer to remove the ash in chunks!

The stove is a nice cast iron St. Croix Hastings. Also the vertical mount combustion blower has more noise and vibrations. It just seems like it is not the best stove in this environment. I was thinking a Quadrafire with the jam proof auger may be a better choice.
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I know moisture is the pellet stove's worst enemy! Any suggestions or comments here?

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Never put a stove away in a damp environment without doing the deep clean, oil, and cap routine.

 

[DexterDay]

If it happened to that stove, its likely to happen to any other stove he owns.

Some people just wont keep them clean. In the right environment, it only hurts performance. In the wrong environment, it can.do what you just described.

I would add a stove upstairs. If its a Dirt crawl space, why the need for heat? Just put it where its needed?

Never put a stove away in a damp environment without doing the deep clean, oil, and cap routine.

Love it. Poet and don't know it!

 

[Don2222]

If it happened to that stove, its likely to happen to any other stove he owns.

Some people just wont keep them clean. In the right environment, it only hurts performance. In the wrong environment, it can.do what you just described.

I would add a stove upstairs. If its a Dirt crawl space, why the need for heat? Just put it where its needed?



Love it. Poet and don't know it!

The heat in this case is needed to heat the kitchen, the stove is on a hearth on a old wooden floor above a dirt crawl space. This house was built 2 centuries ago!

Good point about happening to other stoves, but the Santa Fe I found was heating a dampish basement for many years and even though the sides and front and back of the stove about 6 inches from the bottom was rusting it performed flawlessly. So I have alot of respect for Quadrafires and their jam prrof augers!

It just seems the versa grate was not good in this environment and other's say it must be torn apart and greased once a year just to keep it working!

 

[Don2222]

Never put a stove away in a damp environment without doing the deep clean, oil, and cap routine.

That is True Smokey and probably was not the case here.

 

[DexterDay]

That is True Smokey and probably was not the case here.

But you said the stove was rusted, stuck, and had caked ashes in it?

So your buddy did deep clean it, oil it, and cap the Exhaust/OAK?

And Quadrafire augers are not jam proof? Not at all. Bridging can still occur and I had a buddy at work (same Quad as mine) that had a bad jam after leaving pellets in the hopper over Summer. And his stove isn't in his basement. A full hopper and an unplugged stove is a recipe for disaster. 80 lbs of pellets is a lot of pressure, then add some moisture through the vent and up the auger chute. Now the pellets start absorbing the moisture and it can be a mess.

Yoi had a Santa Fe that was in a "dampish" basement, but what about the Classic Bay that you had to chisel out the auger flight? That stove was in a damp spot? No stove should be put in a damp location like that.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

That is True Smokey and probably was not the case here.

That ash didn't cake up in a dry environment Don.

This is like the rusted out critter guard in the vent allowing a sparrow to get to the combustion blower and ... (https://www.hearth.com/talk/posts/1190864/) that can't happen if the vent was cleaned and capped after heating season as 1. The damaged critter screen would have been seen and fixed and/or 2. The vent wouldn't have been open to allow the bad screen to admit the wittle birdie .

 

[Don2222]

That ash didn't cake up in a dry environment Don.

This is like the rusted out critter guard in the vent allowing a sparrow to get to the combustion blower and ... (https://www.hearth.com/talk/posts/1190864/) that can't happen if the vent was cleaned and capped after heating season as 1. The damaged critter screen would have been seen and fixed and/or 2. The vent wouldn't have been open to allow the bad screen to admit the wittle birdie .

No, I meant you are correct in saying the stove was not properly cleaned under the burn pot. That is why the ash got damp and then dried like cement!
The intake air tube was completely clogged and the versa grate looked like cement was poured underneath it to make it frozen! There is no OAK on the stove either.

 

[Don2222]

But you said the stove was rusted, stuck, and had caked ashes in it?

So your buddy did deep clean it, oil it, and cap the Exhaust/OAK?

And Quadrafire augers are not jam proof? Not at all. Bridging can still occur and I had a buddy at work (same Quad as mine) that had a bad jam after leaving pellets in the hopper over Summer. And his stove isn't in his basement. A full hopper and an unplugged stove is a recipe for disaster. 80 lbs of pellets is a lot of pressure, then add some moisture through the vent and up the auger chute. Now the pellets start absorbing the moisture and it can be a mess.

Yoi had a Santa Fe that was in a "dampish" basement, but what about the Classic Bay that you had to chisel out the auger flight? That stove was in a damp spot? No stove should be put in a damp location like that.

Good point that Classic bay I rebuilt had all the pellets in the chute completely lose shape and meld together for the worst auger jam I have seen. However I was able to take it apart and fix it like brand new. In this case the pellets in the hopper were left there all summer but were OK. So it seems that the open OAK pipe on the back of the stove let moisture in and hardend the ash that was not cleaned out under the burn pot.

So I think the Santa Fe would do fine there but my friend is thinking of switching to a gas stove. I can get a nice VC gas stove for her but to extend the NG line in the basement and change the 25' venting up thru the roof is big bucks!

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

No, I meant you are correct in saying the stove was not properly cleaned under the burn pot. That is why the ash got damp and then dried like cement!
The intake air tube was completely clogged and the versa grate looked like cement was poured underneath it to make it frozen! There is no OAK on the stove either.

OAK or no OAK the stove is going to attempt drawing air from somewhere unless the air path is plugged and during the off season if that air is not dry you get things crudded up.

 

[Ernest Smith]

Can your friend put plastic over top of the crawl space to reduce the moisture penetrating the house? Or seal the floor from below? I have two additions that were built off the main footprint of my ranch home and both have dirt floor crawl spaces. I took advantage of the MassSave program and they hired a crew to come in and put plastic over the dirt. They used foam to adhear it to the block walls and seal the seams. It made a hugh difference in the basement dampness and cut down on the wear and tear to my dehumidifer.

 

[Don2222]

Can your friend put plastic over top of the crawl space to reduce the moisture penetrating the house? Or seal the floor from below? I have two additions that were built off the main footprint of my ranch home and both have dirt floor crawl spaces. I took advantage of the MassSave program and they hired a crew to come in and put plastic over the dirt. They used foam to adhear it to the block walls and seal the seams. It made a hugh difference in the basement dampness and cut down on the wear and tear to my dehumidifer.

That is a very good idea. I will ask her.

 

[Chain]

You could just put a heavy contractor grade poly plastic down (which you should be able to pick up at any hardware store usually in rolls several feet long) over the dirt and weigh it down with some crushed stone over the top of the plastic. You'll notice a huge difference in not only the moisture content in the crawl space, but it will also eliminate any mold or mildew that may grow in that area. Depending upon the size of the crawl space, you're looking at a relatively inexpensive way to solve your problem.