Woodstock Fireview Rebuild

[gellenb]

Well, here I go. With a bit of encouragement from Todd, I decided to buy and rebuild a Fireview dated 12/2001.
The stove was in better shape than I expected, and just as heavy as I thought it would be. It's home now waiting for me to start fixin it up. I do see some things that need to be fixed, and some that I am not sure about. So I'm going to post a bunch of pictures here and see what others find, since I don't have one myself to compare it to.

Exterior looks good, mostly surface rust.
Top of stove, it is not cracked but a vein in the stone. However stained from a cast iron kettle that was kept on top. Guessing that can be cleaned up...?
Back of stove I can see the Bypass Cover from the flue, it does not fully close and sits at an angle. Should that fully close?
Combustor not seated, looks like there are bolts that are missing. But the combustor looks warped. Can see light through the catalyst.
Under the Combustor it looks like the metal has rusted/deteriorated on the edge. I'm thinking that is the combustor pan? Image combustor 2 shows it better.
Fire bricks all look good
Will need a full set of gaskets.

So next I need to rip it all down. This will end up taking a while as it's only one of too many projects I have. So any thoughts, questions, answers, whatever...let me know. Thanks!

 

[Todd]

Nice find, looking forward to your rebuild!

Stains come out easily with some fine sandpaper and polish up nicely with some 000 steel wool.

Underneath the cat is a frame that bolts to the air duct baffle. Yours looks like it needs replacing.

You’ll have to take a closer look at the bypass. It could just need an adjustment with the U bolt or the bolts that attach it near the cat. Yes it should fully close and seal on top of a gasket.

I would send pictures to Woodstock and get their advice on what you need. They have all the parts and instructions for your rebuild.

Take your time and ask questions. When you start taking it all apart spray all your nuts and bolts with a good penetrating oil the day before. Tie a rope or strap around it so parts don’t fall off and break.

The four corner tie rods will be a pain if they have the flat heads on top and may be rusted and need replacing. These four rods run from the top to the bottom legs and hold the whole stove together.

Take lots of pictures as you take it apart it will help when you put it all back together.

 

[Todd]

You may not need to take it all apart down to bare bones. I did because I had to replace some deteriorating and cracked stones. Also easier to wire wheel the rust and spray paint all the parts.

 

[DBoon]

Great to see another person taking the time and care to bring a good old stove back to life. Looking forward to seeing the progress pics.

 

[gellenb]

Well it's now in pieces. 99% apart...just a few left waiting on the oil to loosen up the bolts a bit more on the andirons and a few others. It's seems to be in good condition with the exception of a few parts. It was definitely fired hard. The combustor or the iron around the combustor is warped. The bypass door is badly warped, and the bypass frame is also damaged. The back interior soapstone is also cracked through, top to bottom. Handled that with care to keep it from falling apart when I took it out, so I'll be replacing that too. Overall it wasn't hard getting apart. Really the only bolts that I have not take out yet are around the bypass cover. If the oil doesn't help in a few days when I get back to it, I'll apply some heat.

 

[Burnin Since 1989]

Who's got the popcorn? I'm inspired by rebuilds of old woodstoves!