Bought Another! $50 Stove, Busy Prepping for Install. Lots of Pics!

[ifixmy2]

Hey,
I would steer clear of using any kind of metal, that is galvanized!
I know that if the galvanizing get too hot, there are poisonous fumes that
can come from it. I can't say at what temp it happens, but better to be safe than sorry.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Hey,
I would steer clear of using any kind of metal, that is galvanized!
I know that if the galvanizing get too hot, there are poisonous fumes that
can come from it. I can't say at what temp it happens, but better to be safe than sorry.

Well above that which it should encounter in the proposed usage. Normal concern about metal fume flu etc. associated with galvanized products occurs when they are being welded or torch cut. Use of galvanized products to handle any acidic food stuff is also a problem.

 

[chamas]

Here is the small firebox, also showing the burn pot and manifold it sits in.

 

[chamas]

Wonder what's behind the secret compartment. Owner's manual says to clean behind here after every 25 bags of pellets. Rusty sheet metal screws had me scared they would snap off and need to be drilled out, but they all came out. I applied anti-seize on them upon reassembly.

2nd and 3rd photos: Whoa, packed with ash!

 

[chamas]

All cleaned up. Now, is that another secret compartment inside the secret compartment?

Yep, this one not too bad.

 

[chamas]

Look at the dinky ash pan. No chance to confuse this with a Harman!

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Be certain you also get above those little hidey holes all the way up.

 

[chamas]

Found a useful cleaning tool at Lowes, $10, in their appliance replacement parts section

 

[chamas]

I may still yet be persuaded to replace it, but poking, pressing, and light scraping on the motor heat insulator pad felt quite solid. That edge is a little hairy but in the main it is not crumbly and held up to prodding. Guess it looks worse in photos than in person.

 

[imacman]

Found a useful cleaning tool at Lowes, $10, in their appliance replacement parts section

Yep, I have one of those too.....great for getting into the plenum after the comb. blower is removed too.

In regards to what Smokey said just above, you might want to give the steel around and above those openings some whacks with a mallet and/or a small hammer.....you might be surprised what falls down from above.

 

[chamas]

Ya, I fished all up around in there with a metal coat hanger wire, tapped all over with the hammer, then vacuumed it all up with the small hose computer cleaner attachment.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

I may still yet be persuaded to replace it, but poking, pressing, and light scraping on the motor heat insulator pad felt quite solid. That edge is a little hairy but in the main it is not crumbly and held up to prodding. Guess it looks worse in photos than in person.

I was having visions of what happened to a poster on here when he removed all of that stuff from the stove he was refurbing, then forgot to put it back, changed his firing setting on the control board, fired the stove up and cooked his blowers and controller.

 

[chamas]

And here's what's behind the exhaust stub flange. The combustion fan housing outlet is narrower than the rectangular opening on the exhaust stub flange. I wonder how they sealed this one up at the factory? We'll see if I can seal it up good and tight with some sheet metal and hi-temp gasket material.

 

[DexterDay]

Looking good... Great job cleaning it. Gonna be good as new.

Congratulations on the stove.. Still jealous............

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

That certainly wasn't air tight was it :zip: ?

 

[Wi Thundercat]

Nice Find Chamas :coolsmile:

 

[chamas]

More progress. Sealed up the exhaust stub flange to the combustion fan housing. Used aluminum sheet instead of the galvanized; it was much easier to work and cut the opening to match the size and shape of the housing. Al sheet was actually some leftover flashing material from a siding project. Made a sandwich of the aluminum flashing, gasket, and used some red hi-temp silicone sealant for extra credit, buttoned it back up.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Much better. Continue on.

 

[chamas]

Before I hear any more "Jealous of your $50 find!" comments, let's say I found another one of those "Whup, I don't think that's supposed to be like that" surprises.

Remember the earlier pic of the combo convection/combustion fan motor and housings? Before installing the stove (getting close!) I wanted to take a peek under that insulation clamped in there with the plumbers tape. When I see plumbers tape in an application like that I get curious. Could be OK but then again maybe it's an indication of some shady business.

Removed the "clamp," the insulation, and found a big gap between the squirrelcage fan housing and the heat exchanger box. That insulation is not airtight. The gap was too large and irregular to attempt to make another metal flanging. I had some of that good hi-temp aluminum tape so used it to seal up that connection.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

You never know what you'll find in a $50.00 bargain.

Make absolutely certain that before you fire that thing up that it is on a hearth with a high resistance to heat value. Just don't want to see pictures of this unit in one of Don's posting on pellet stove fires.

 

[chamas]

It will be halfway in the fireplace, halfway sitting on the 2-1/4" thick flagstone ledge that extends 18" out from the front of the fireplace. The ledge is 1 foot up from the floor.

 

[chamas]

Speaking about the fireplace, earlier today, after most of the snow melted, I was able to work the SS flexvent chimney liner into the chimney flue and down thru the damper. How important is it for the flex vent to be straight, instead of crooked here and there. It ended up not quite like a corkscrew, but not exactly straight either. Sorry, photos couldn't show much further than the damper.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

It will likely be fine, just get it fairly straight without any sharp bends, don't forget to block things off. You don't want any drafts up the chimney except via your new venting. You can loose a lot of heat up the chimney.

 

[chamas]

Here is the fireplace and ledge. Also, a closeup of the OAK tube thru a plate I made to block off the ash dump.

I plan to stuff fiberglass insulation into the damper opening, around the flex vent. Not quite sure how to fashion an adequate damper blockoff plate that can deal with the damper lever bracketry.

 

[chamas]

I stuck the camera up thru the damper attempting to get a pic up to the top. There's at least one dogleg in that flexvent. You may be able to make out the underside of the top cap flashing, at the top.