End off burning season

[joop]

bholler camp vacuum stove clean flue in the fall and burn.

 

[Ashful]

I want to look behind the firebricks to see what is going on. Any rust, any corrosion. I want to know what is happening with my stove. I do not want a 'surprise' someday when I don't need it. As I mentioned before, I believe ash is corrosive. I want to know what has happened during the heating season. I also do not want to leave the corrosive ash there during the non-heating humid season.
I have never had any problems removing bricks. For me it is easy to remove and replace them without damage.

But.....To each his own.

Agreed, on all points, in theory. But I do wonder if cleaning behind the bricks has a positive, if any, effect on corrosion. Keeping the stove dry is key, and while ash can hold or react with moisture, I do wonder if you'll ever get the stove truly clean enough to eliminate this factor. I wouldn't be completely surprised if cleaning the stove might actually accelerate corrosion, by eliminating a potential desiccant layer that is the ash bed, as there's always going to be enough remaining after any cleaning to hold some moisture against the metal.

Overall, it probably doesn't matter much, if you're managing to keep things dry. My stoves are 7 years old now, and the prior stoves they replaced were 30 years old. None ever showed any appreciable corrosion, no matter how they were treated, their service life ended due to other issues.

 

[Eman85]

Predictions of 30's next few nights so I'll be burning. Too early to clean the walnuts haven't leafed out yet.

 

[Ashful]

Predictions of 30's next few nights so I'll be burning. Too early to clean the walnuts haven't leafed out yet.

Funny to hear I'm not the only one who uses the "walnut tree barometer". I was just looking at mine today, and about half of them have small leaflets, the other half are still dormant.

 

[WiscWoody]

I just take out the burner tubes and the vermiculite shelf piece above them so I can brush the soot above all that then from the roof I brush down the stack to the stove, that’s it, bricks stay in.

 

[Eman85]

Funny to hear I'm not the only one who uses the "walnut tree barometer". I was just looking at mine today, and about half of them have small leaflets, the other half are still dormant.

Most people don't pay any attention to the world around them. Every year the produce stand sells plants early so people can plant them, have frost kill them, and they can come back and buy more plants. Every year we have 3 or 4 returns of cold temps yet every year people are caught off guard.
I'll clean my stove and chimney in May, still cool enough to work on the roof but I know the season will be over.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

I plant stuff early on the chance it doesn’t see a cold snap. Maybe I’ll get a month ahead of normal.

It’s not a big deal if they don’t make it.

 

[vap0rtranz]

Agreed, on all points, in theory. But I do wonder if cleaning behind the bricks has a positive, if any, effect on corrosion. Keeping the stove dry is key, and while ash can hold or react with moisture, I do wonder if you'll ever get the stove truly clean enough to eliminate this factor. I wouldn't be completely surprised if cleaning the stove might actually accelerate corrosion, by eliminating a potential desiccant layer that is the ash bed, as there's always going to be enough remaining after any cleaning to hold some moisture against the metal.

Overall, it probably doesn't matter much, if you're managing to keep things dry. My stoves are 7 years old now, and the prior stoves they replaced were 30 years old. None ever showed any appreciable corrosion, no matter how they were treated, their service life ended due to other issues.

Interesting. So a build-up of ash might be good. I don't know.

My stove is 20 years old now. 2nd owner. Older things need maintenance.

I use an old shop vac with dust filter and vacuum out the box after scooping out ash. Vacuuming let me find gaps between firebox stones that needed furnance cement.

My manufacturer (Woodstock) has lots of owners manuals that suggest looking for failures and replacing parts as needed every year.

I did a full gasket replacement this season as well.

 

[Ashful]

Interesting. So a build-up of ash might be good. I don't know.

Maybe. I was more implying that even a "cleaned" stove isn't all that clean. So, if there's compounds in the ash that promote corrosion, and that's going to be left behind on the metal whether you clean the thing or not, then maybe there's no benefit.

But yes, I do suspect a thicker layer of ash may keep the metal dry if there's a momentary spike in humidity, such as isolated rain events among dryer normal weather.

 

[scaryflame]

Do I need to get my flue pipes cleaned out?
I only had the Stove installed in Feb, lit maybe 20 fires or so.

 

[bholler]

Do I need to get my flue pipes cleaned out?
I only had the Stove installed in Feb, lit maybe 20 fires or so.

Probably not but not a bad idea to check it

 

[Ashful]

Last night was the first time I left the stove cold overnight, and now it's 68F in my office this morning. Thinking of sparking back up, right now.

 

[BigJ273]

Agreed, on all points, in theory. But I do wonder if cleaning behind the bricks has a positive, if any, effect on corrosion. Keeping the stove dry is key, and while ash can hold or react with moisture, I do wonder if you'll ever get the stove truly clean enough to eliminate this factor. I wouldn't be completely surprised if cleaning the stove might actually accelerate corrosion, by eliminating a potential desiccant layer that is the ash bed, as there's always going to be enough remaining after any cleaning to hold some moisture against the metal.

Overall, it probably doesn't matter much, if you're managing to keep things dry. My stoves are 7 years old now, and the prior stoves they replaced were 30 years old. None ever showed any appreciable corrosion, no matter how they were treated, their service life ended due to other issues.

I removed the bricks on my four year old Regency this spring, for the first time, just to look. I was shocked how much creosote was behind the back bricks, where the stove is the coldest. It resulted in a large rust area. I’m pretty anal about keeping my stove clean, but never really thought about it hiding back there. I suppose it contained moisture and since it was sitting there for years it created the surface rust. The rust was gone after the first fire after I cleaned it all out (or covered w soot so it’s not visible). I’ve attached a pic of the area. So I’m definitely now a fan of removing the bricks and cleaning behind them.

 

[Itslay90]

I removed the bricks on my four year old Regency this spring, for the first time, just to look. I was shocked how much creosote was behind the back bricks, where the stove is the coldest. It resulted in a large rust area. I’m pretty anal about keeping my stove clean, but never really thought about it hiding back there. I suppose it contained moisture and since it was sitting there for years it created the surface rust. The rust was gone after the first fire after I cleaned it all out (or covered w soot so it’s not visible). I’ve attached a pic of the area. So I’m definitely now a fan of removing the bricks and cleaning behind them.

View attachment 312943

This is the reason I take the bricks out

 

[Wildflush]

Spoke to my PE dealer. They said PE does not recommend taking out the bricks. I’m guessing there might be a risk damaging them. I just vacuum the fire box end of season.

 

[bholler]

I removed the bricks on my four year old Regency this spring, for the first time, just to look. I was shocked how much creosote was behind the back bricks, where the stove is the coldest. It resulted in a large rust area. I’m pretty anal about keeping my stove clean, but never really thought about it hiding back there. I suppose it contained moisture and since it was sitting there for years it created the surface rust. The rust was gone after the first fire after I cleaned it all out (or covered w soot so it’s not visible). I’ve attached a pic of the area. So I’m definitely now a fan of removing the bricks and cleaning behind them.

View attachment 312943

Why does that matter though? That's pretty much how every stove looks behind the bricks and it never causes a problem

 

[BigJ273]

Why does that matter though? That's pretty much how every stove looks behind the bricks and it never causes a problem

That’s good to know. I’m glad to hear that. I guess for me it’s just an OCD thing. And it gives me a chance to really inspect everything. It puts my mind at ease I guess. But it makes me feel a lot better knowing it’s normal to see that surface rust behind the bricks. There’s a small amount behind my side wall bricks too. Nothing like this shown in the photo though. I’ve put a moisture absorber in the stove this off-season

 

[Itslay90]

Why does that matter though? That's pretty much how every stove looks behind the bricks and it never causes a problem

So the rust doesn’t hurt anything?

 

[bholler]

So the rust doesn’t hurt anything?

That small amount of surface rust? Absolutely not

 

[Ashful]

I removed the bricks on my four year old Regency this spring, for the first time, just to look. I was shocked how much creosote was behind the back bricks, where the stove is the coldest. ... I’m pretty anal about keeping my stove clean...

My point, exactly. I was arguing that 2" of ash laying in there might actually act as a desicant layer, possibly preventing this. By being anal and cleaning it out, you've ensured the only hydrophyllic corrosive element remaining in your stove is the thin layer of ash and creosote remaining between the brick and the metal. You might have done better to just let it sit full of ash all summer.

BTW... I'm not pretending I know, as I really don't. My summary point is it doesn't matter. The last 2-3 weeks of ash is sitting in my stoves right now, and probably will be until September. If your stoves last longer than mine, it won't be because of this.