# Pellet Stove and Rust



## IHATEPROPANE (Aug 23, 2011)

Hello,

First off season with a pellet stove and it looks like there is some rust starting to show in the fire box.  I had some moisture absorbers in there but that did not prevent it from rusting.  Any suggestions on how to prevent it from getting worse or how to prevent it from re-appearing?

Thanks


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## Don2222 (Aug 23, 2011)

IHATEPROPANE said:
			
		

> Hello,
> 
> First off season with a pellet stove and it looks like there is some rust starting to show in the fire box.  I had some moisture absorbers in there but that did not prevent it from rusting.  Any suggestions on how to prevent it from getting worse or how to prevent it from re-appearing?
> 
> Thanks



Hello IHATEPROPANE

Where is the stove located? Is it in a damp basement? Do you have a dehumidifier going?

Have you seen this?
http://www.infobarrel.com/How_to_Cure_a_Damp_Basement

Maybe some good stove polish or paint will help?
https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/71407/

Is it like the pic below? Can you please post a pic so we can give better advice?


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## IHATEPROPANE (Aug 23, 2011)

Yikes!!LOL  Not yet any way.  It is in my living room


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## DexterDay (Aug 23, 2011)

Did you spray the inside of the Fire-Box with Pam cooking spray? Or some other oil, that works as a rust preventer?

I went as far as re-painting mine this year And putting on a coat of oil. I think I will do this every 3 yrs. Only took a couple minutes to tape it off. I ran the leaf blower outside and it sucked all the fumes right out of the house. Worked much better than I thought. 

Use an Oil of some sort. Some have had good luck with WD-40... I used my 1st year.. Needed  a 2nd application, later on in the year.


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## IHATEPROPANE (Aug 23, 2011)

I will try the wd-40.  Should I paint it first?


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## stoveguy13 (Aug 23, 2011)

Painting is the best option it will need to be done every year but is not a big deal


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## thz123 (Aug 23, 2011)

I now Paint the inside of my stove with high temp paint every year. I didn't like using Pam or some other type of oil. I have found if you cap your vent with a tight fiting 3" rubber plumbing pipe cap ($3 at plumbing shop-comes with hose clamp for air tight fit), that keeps the humidity outside. I also found that if I keep the glass door on the stove open (or in my case I take the glass door off), it will help the stove "Breath" or become stable with the rooms atmosphere. I have had very little rust doing this.


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## DexterDay (Aug 23, 2011)

Painting is not needed. But. It does do the best job protecting the steel. Over time they can rust from the inside out, similar to a truck or car. Rust is a steel killer. It may take a decade, but if I can prolong the life, I will. Many do nothing and have good results. But if you wanted to do the minimum, spray the inside with Pam cooking spray (better than WD-40) and Plug your exhaust and your OAK. I forgot to mention the plugging part. I do this also. I also put a moisture absorber (desicant)) in the hopper and another in my Ash pan. Along with a note reminding me that the exhaust and OAK are plugged, the stove is unplugged, moisture absorber in Ash pan, and no batteries in the remote or receiver for the thermostat.


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## thz123 (Aug 23, 2011)

Dexter,

I must compliment you on the photos of your stove. Your stove looks like brand new. I totally agree with you about the rust from the inside out. 

I own a 6 year old Quadrafire Castile. 

The only other things I would suggest beyond what we have mentioned above: 

Keep an eye out for the rust, sand and paint when you see it.

Monthly pull out all cleaning rods, trap doors, open the door, and the ash drop or anything else that YOU manually move. In previous years, I have had a few of these rust in place, and freeing them up come fall isn't easy. One year I had the door tadpole gasket stuck to the firebox, preventing me from opening the glass door. What a bummer that was.


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## imacman (Aug 24, 2011)

I have used the silica-gel moisture absorbers in the past, and they have stopped most of the surface rust, but this year after the final cleaning, I tried the Pam spray (firebox, firepot, etc)....so far, so good.   ;-) 

I think the stove exhaust will probably smell like popcorn this fall when i first fire it up...... :lol:


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## DexterDay (Aug 24, 2011)

thz123 said:
			
		

> Dexter,
> 
> I must compliment you on the photos of your stove. Your stove looks like brand new. I totally agree with you about the rust from the inside out.
> 
> ...



During the heating season I clean the stove about once a week and do Full Clean (Vent brushed, Scrape pot really good, run my special brush between Heat exchange tubes, Leaf Blower, etc) at least every ton. I open the door about once week, so the gasket sticking is never an issue. I actually had to replace my Door gasket this year, after 3 seasons. As for the Heat exchange rods, I use them almost daily and The ash drop on the burn pot, I use maybe once a month. Because I mainly run the Stove in Manual and let it sit on Low 24/7, I dont need to pull it that often. That and it gets a bad carbon deposit that needs to be scraped and chipped every other week. 

Here is my thread from May, Its my Spring Cleaning thread. Every year I do this. 1st year for painting the firebox, but I will prob continue to do so.  I also do a Good FULL cleaning, that involves pulling the combustion blower and cleaning the fins, among other things that I dont do on my weekly cleaning.

https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/75103/

Some say I am anal about it. But I look at it as Protecting my Investment. If I want to get the most money out of it when i sell it. Then I better do my best to keep it looking new. If anyone were to look at my stove right now, they would think that it has never been burned. Besides keeping it clean, I have an extra Combustion blower, Ignitor, Door Gasket, and an Ash pan gasket. Just in case it something were to break/fail. 

But to to do a quick summer job. Just vacuum, scrape with a 3M pad, and spray with Pam. Will work pretty well.


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## jtakeman (Aug 24, 2011)

thz123,

Has a good point. Most peeps just forget the stove during the summer months. I two open and close doors-damper and pull the cleaning rods anytime I go near my stove.


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## IHATEPROPANE (Aug 24, 2011)

Thanks for all the tips.  Looks like this weekend I will be busy.  I will try and sand the rust off and give it a fresh coat.  Then PAM.  Any brand of stove paint people prefer?


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## jtakeman (Aug 24, 2011)

Most popular will probably be stove brite.


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## imacman (Aug 24, 2011)

IHATEPROPANE said:
			
		

> ......Any brand of stove paint people prefer?



Most widely used is Stove Bright, but I have had good results with Rustoleum Satin black Hi Heat.


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## IHATEPROPANE (Aug 24, 2011)

Great!!  Thanks again.

PS

I kind of want to open all the doors and windows tonight so my wife complains it is cold and fire it up!!


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## imacman (Aug 24, 2011)

IHATEPROPANE said:
			
		

> I kind of want to open all the doors and windows tonight so my wife complains it is cold and fire it up!!


 :lol:


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## Polish Princess (Aug 25, 2011)

Hello, I am jumping in with a couple of questions. Can I use a silicone spray inside instead of Pam or WD? Also, what do you use to dissolve the carbon? (I think that is what it is called) it's that hard to chip out black stuff on the inside of the burn box.


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## imacman (Aug 25, 2011)

Polish Princess said:
			
		

> Hello, I am jumping in with a couple of questions. Can I use a silicone spray inside instead of Pam or WD? Also, what do you use to dissolve the carbon? (I think that is what it is called) it's that hard to chip out black stuff on the inside of the burn box.



I don't think silicone spray will stop rust, but I could be wrong.  As for the black, burned on carbon deposits, I use either an old flat-blade screwdriver, or a chisel while the burn pot is secured in a vice in the workshop.  Be sure to wear safety glasses while doing this.


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## Polish Princess (Aug 25, 2011)

Before scraping the carbon deposits is there anything I can spray on to dissolve? I don't have the strength you guys have to remove the deposits, so am trying to find something, for lack of a better word, to soften the carbon. Any ideas?


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## newf lover (Aug 25, 2011)

It's not that hard to remove. If you get any tough ones, get a small hammer and use the screw driver like a chisel to get rid of it. Unless you're using really crappy pellets, it's not too bad.


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## IHATEPROPANE (Aug 25, 2011)

So with the rain today and me on a long weekend I painted the stove.  Used the Rustoleum High Heat.  I would say I was able to get 90% of the rust off the sides and back and 50% off the heat exchange tubes.  I will probably do this every spring to prolong the life of the stove since the paint will probably burn off.  I do need to figure out a better way to get to the exchange tubes.


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## DexterDay (Aug 25, 2011)

IHATEPROPANE said:
			
		

> So with the rain today and me on a long weekend I painted the stove.  Used the Rustoleum High Heat.  I would say I was able to get 90% of the rust off the sides and back and 50% off the heat exchange tubes.  I will probably do this every spring to prolong the life of the stove since the paint will probably burn off.  I do need to figure out a better way to get to the exchange tubes.



Not sure on how your tubes are set-up. Mine are on an angle behind 2 baffle plates (left and right sides). I use an assortment of brushes to clean them. Probably have 12 different ones. Some are long wire brushes, others are the thin long dryer brushes, anytime I see one that may do a better job, I grab it up. 3M pads also work well for the section of tubes you can get to with your hands. 

And yes, the paint will burn off every year, but it only takes a minute. Did you use a leaf-blower on the outside vent? It sucks out all overspray and any paint smell. I have Paver's stack up on the side of my flue (Direct vent) so I have something to rest my leafblower on. Even when I clean the stove (monthly / during season). I run it the entire time to ensure a good cleaning and no ash mess in the house.


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## IHATEPROPANE (Aug 25, 2011)

My tubes are straight and its a little hard to reach up there.  But like you I will now buy every brush I think mightdo a better job!!  I only had one brush, 3m pad and a wire attachment for my drill.

As for the leaf blower I have not tried it yet.  I am afraid it will srew up the vaccum sensor.  I also have a diect vent and was thinking about ways to attach it.  I may end up doing the same as yourself.  What do you use to attach it?

Also, installed a room to room fan on the top of my stairway/bottom of bedroom to suck up some of the warm air.  Hope it helps


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## DexterDay (Aug 25, 2011)

Disconnect the vacuum hose, and your good to go. Only way I will clean my stove now. Leaf Blower all the way. 
I used a PVC adapter to put on the suction end of the leafblower, It slides on the end of the flue. I then put a wrap of tape on just to ensure a good seal and also so the blower does not vibrate off of the Brick Pavers. I will take a Pic later and post it for you. It was like $35-$40 for the Leaf Blower and $2 for the adapter. The Pavers cost a little more, but its better than having my Wife or Son hold it up for 20-30 Minutes


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## IHATEPROPANE (Aug 25, 2011)

Thanks for all the advice!  I will look int the leaf blower trick.  I had it professionally cleaned this year and was not impressed.  And it cost almost as much as a ton of pellets.


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## DexterDay (Aug 25, 2011)

Have to be quick. My sons football practice is in 5 min. Here are some quick pics. You can see the PVC adapter (4" to 3") insidethe end of vacuum side. I cut back the vacuum tube, slid it in, and then Liquid Nail's it in place. I didnt put tape on the adapter to theflue for the pic. Again, in a hurry. You can see the Pavers. I move 2 of the top ones sideways to hold up the Leaf-Blower. Then when I am done. I move them back up.


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## IHATEPROPANE (Aug 25, 2011)

Great!!  Nice set up.  Looks like another trip to Home Depot in the future.  

Good luck to your son!

Thanks again


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