Resurrecting an old Enviro

[begreen]

Lost power again. Will pickup on the thread in the morning hopefully.

 

[Mt Bob]

Know that feeling,being in the mountains.Have 2 empire dv wall heaters,cook with propane,camping lantern hangs in kitchen year round.

 

[begreen]

Power came back a couple hours later. We too are equipped and prepared. Coleman lantern in the kitchen and propane cooktop meant that dinner proceeded unheeded.

Back to the stove, I'm not a welder. JBWeld is about as far as I go. My understanding of a press fit it that it needs very precise match between the hole and the insert. I would think that there's no way grinding off the threads would achieve that kind of precise fit. Maybe if it was turned on a lathe, but that is out of my realm.

PS: 70 cents worth of fuses for $27? A strain relief for $32 This is beyond the defense dept's budget.

 

[Bioburner]

I wouldn't be that concerned about a perfect fit. Close and JB weld should be just fine. Theres no stress or torque involved, just holds a piece of hose.

 

[BrotherBart]

I'll sell ya a couple of fuses for $19 to save you some money. Shipping included.

 

[Bioburner]

I'll sell ya a couple of fuses for $19 to save you some money. Shipping included.

BB, your so generous.

 

[chamas]

PS: 70 cents worth of fuses for $27? A strain relief for $32 This is beyond the defense dept's budget.

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Yeah we talked about that in this thread:
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/watch-your-freight.121219/
Apparently the mfr. sets the lowest price the internet store can charge. Any lower and the store gets in trouble.

 

[begreen]

So are internet prices like a few magnitude greater than dealer store prices?

My concern is this. The original goal was to fix this stove up and sell it or at least put in into a home of need. But crazy prices for the tiniest parts make this dubious. I'm pretty sure that the stove is going to work fine once I fix the vacuum hose barb. But it should have the rusted interior cast plates replace (3@ $73 each) and will take a bit of labor to make it presentable and reliable. Is it worth it? How much would this stove be worth when done? Pics to follow shortly.

 

[begreen]

I'll sell ya a couple of fuses for $19 to save you some money. Shipping included.

Wow. At that price I should order a couple sets!

 

[Mt Bob]

Some parts are proprietary,can only get them from mfg.Now you see why on this forum a lot of info about "aftermarket"blowers,ignitors,etc.A lot of sellers and dealers sell at what the market is going for,period.Not enough competition.Your cast iron,if metal thick,can be bead blasted and painted.Sales can depend on what the seller wants to do,I have seen the same integra part vary from $110 to $179 from different suppliers,yet the part only comes from one supplier.Shipping/handling another story.Do not know what the stove is worth.Bob

 

[begreen]

The white enameled cast iron is in near perfect condition with nary a nick or chip in it. Just the steel and interior cast plates are rusted. Here is a stripped down view from a few minutes ago. I have to get some 3" exhaust pipe to test the stove with after I further clean and paint the hopper and auger. If it can run well and cycle I will attack the firebox itself.

PS: How does one remove the burn pot on this stove. I want to strip the interior for a good cleaning and repaint.

 

[Bioburner]

Wow. At that price I should order a couple sets!

Having some experience with limited income housing, a pellet stove would not be a good choice for their home. Maybe a gift to the Restore store and they can resell it and use the funds for shelter etc.

 

[begreen]

Powered up the auger and lubed the bearing. It all seems to work fine.

 

[Bioburner]

If you have it that far I would carefully pull the gearbox apart and freshen the grease too.

 

[begreen]

Does it leak grease?

 

[drtlvr]

that sounds just like my stove,I know my stove pretty well so if you need pics or help just ask, thats like a $4500 stove good score

 

[drtlvr]

View attachment 127725 View attachment 127727 View attachment 127728

The white enameled cast iron is in near perfect condition with nary a nick or chip in it. Just the steel and interior cast plates are rusted. Here is a stripped down view from a few minutes ago. I have to get some 3" exhaust pipe to test the stove with after I further clean and paint the hopper and auger. If it can run well and cycle I will attack the firebox itself.

PS: How does one remove the burn pot on this stove. I want to strip the interior for a good cleaning and repaint.

you could oil down the cast iron bricks with vegetable oil the burn them clean in a fire pit or with a torch, i wouldnt replace them you can save them .

 

[begreen]

It looks similar to your avatar. The main issue with this stove is neglect. I think it failed with a corroded and plugged vacuum barb and the owner gave up and put it on the porch where it sat for a year, poorly covered and internally rusting.The hopper had several inches of water that I bailed out when I got it. All systems seem alive, but it needs a lot of love for the inner steel parts. Crying shame really.

 

[drtlvr]

It looks similar to your avatar. The main issue with this stove is neglect. I think it failed with a corroded and plugged vacuum barb and the owner gave up and put it on the porch where it sat for a year, poorly covered and internally rusting.The hopper had several inches of water that I bailed out when I got it. All systems seem alive, but it needs a lot of love for the inner steel parts. Crying shame really.

yes it is they are very nice stoves, my friends all have harmann stoves and are always commenting on how much heat and how quiet the enviro is, you can barely hear it run

 

[chamas]

Does it leak grease?

Not leak so much as dries up, or sometimes not enough applied at the factory.

Don't go all out with restoring the stove yet-- run it enough to see how it performs, that will tell you what needs replaced/repaired. Compare the costs to what similar stoves are selling for on Craigslist in your area.

Observation: Used pellet stove prices on west coast are on avg. 25%-50% of east coast prices.

 

[begreen]

Checked local craigslist and didn't find anything by Enviro for sale.Took a wider seach to find a couple EF2s @$900-1000.

 

[Bioburner]

Does it leak grease?

Most homes will not get above 90 but that stove sat outside probably in the sun and the lube could have settled in the gearbox and wont protect what its supposed to. Ounce of prevention now could save$$$ a some skin.

 

[Mt Bob]

that sounds just like my stove,I know my stove pretty well so if you need pics or help just ask, thats like a $4500 stove good score

The empress,newer replacement model,was selling for 2900.Being used,over 5,fixed up ok,I'd say 1000.Replace all the steel and electronics,maybe 1900.

 

[smwilliamson]

If you have a Windsor, the necessary upgrades to it would be...

1. Newer door. The inside door needs a new hinge, door with glass and striker
2. You want to upgrade the exhaust motor to the EF-161-A (higher amps)
3. If you upgrade the controller for whatever reason, the high limit and vac sensor lines should be reversed, grey to the high limit and the orange to the vac
4. Some of the Windsors in the laters years had the auger which is fixed top and bottom with bushings, early models were free floating. If you have an early model stove and the stove has seen some use it will benefit from a new auger motor and bushing set up.

 

[smwilliamson]

It is white enameled cast iron jacketed, though it looks like a steel box inside the cast. It's a little hard to give a good picture right now because I have it all apart, but it looks like the Windsor from the manual.

I got the combustion and auger motors working. Tried plugging it in, but found one of the fuses blown. Replaced that and she lit up and tried running for about 30 seconds. Then red light flashing indicating vacuum switch failure. Oh well at least the control board appears ok. I found the silicone tube off the vacuum switch just flopping around in the back of the stove. It has a tiny aluminum barb that is corroded shut. Where does the orange silicone vacuum tube and this barb normally connect to? I can't find any port where it looks like it would belong. The barb is tiny, maybe 3/4" long and ends with an orifice. This is the part - note the price!! And that is the best price I could find!! Crazzy parts prices for this stove.
http://www.stove-parts-unlimited.com/Sherwood-Industries-Aluminum-Hose-Barb-p/ef-019.htm

Empresses take their vac sensor from the air intake to the burnpot via a metal hose attached to the vac line. Same WC switch. Just plug up the exhaust barb connection.