Premature Rusting ?

I thought this warm weather might be a good oppurtunity to shut the Hearth model down for some in season maintenance. While vacuming out the stove I noticed some rusting beginning and paint flakeing off.I understand the corrosive nature of coal and moisture but I just bought the stove Nov. 1. Since I started it , Its' been running non stop. I've burned about a ton and a half so far. My question is this normal? My comment, I can see how important the baking soda treatment is at the end of season.

Regards

rust on the inside or outside?

inside.

Hmm...not sure how it could rust inside if it's been burning the whole time. Maybe it had some rust in it when you got it? They can sit around, especially the Hearth model. I was told the Hearth is the model that they sell the least of.

I think the dealer I bought it from said they make them as needed , I gotta believe they paint them as needed, mine is brown. I hope Jerry will respond.

After a ton and a half of flaming anthracite, yes. It could be considered a reasonable expectation to see some paint peel.

cosmo wrote:I think the dealer I bought it from said they make them as needed , I gotta believe they paint them as needed, mine is brown. I hope Jerry will respond.

Mine is black and I know it sat around for at least a year...but other colors could change that thought.

The rust must have been in the stove before. I can't see how it could rust with heat in it every day. Also, if it's in the living area of your home where could it get that much moisture ?
Jerry

I noticed rust on the inside of mine also when I shut it down and cleaned it. It was on the inside welds in the top corner's. I've only burned 45 bags so far.. Hopefully it wont be a problem maybe mine was sitting around before I bought it...Maybe a good cleaning at the end of the season with baking soda, light sanding and some paint will help.. Jerry after properly cleaning the inside of the stove out at the end of the season do you recommend spraying a light coat of wd-40 on the inside?.

WD-40 is next to worthless for stopping rust. The only thing left behind on the surface after the spray volitiles evaporate is a very thin layer of silicone. Which is not an effective rust preventative.

For summer storage, the baking soda wash-down followed by a complete drying. Then coal with a good rust preventative product. LPS-3 is a very good one. It leaves a waxy layer that seals out moisture and oxygen.

Greg L

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Leisure Line wrote:The rust must have been in the stove before. I can't see how it could rust with heat in it every day. Also, if it's in the living area of your home where could it get that much moisture ?
Jerry

I've been burning constantly, this is the first time I shut it down. This stove is in a partially finished, dry basement vented into a fireplace. I have an additional fan that helps to distribute upstairs. As the heat stream heads up the stairwell I have a humidifier directed to the airstream. The digital humidistat normally reads about 20 - 25 at the humidifier. The main level humidistat usually reads 40%. Now with the stove off , fan off ,downstairs also reads 40. It seems like the humidity is rising with the heat. You don't think this could somehow be the problem. I keep a window cracked for combustion air.

My thought is the rust was there before the stove was painted and now that you have heated it up it has caused the paint to come off and expose the rust. It is nothing to worry about just clean up the stove in the spring and touch up the paint or just apply some LPS-3 as Greg has suggested.

All coal stoves rust inside, as has been posted by others there are many methods to keep them looking good and preserve the steel. So the following in no way represents the only answer, but I offer it based on my personal preference.

I paint the inside of the stoves I rebuild with duplicolor 1200* silver ceramic header paint. It works great and the aluminium particles grab onto the little bit of rust that might be left behind and keep it from spreading. The paint will eventually burn off the parts that get direct flames but if you clean the stove each season before storage it will not rust, or at least the one I did a year and a half ago is still lookin purty.

Matthaus wrote:All coal stoves rust inside, as has been posted by others there are many methods to keep them looking good and preserve the steel. So the following in no way represents the only answer, but I offer it based on my personal preference.

I paint the inside of the stoves I rebuild with duplicolor 1200* silver ceramic header paint. It works great and the aluminium particles grab onto the little bit of rust that might be left behind and keep it from spreading. The paint will eventually burn off the parts that get direct flames but if you clean the stove each season before storage it will not rust, or at least the one I did a year and a half ago is still lookin purty.

Matt:

Do you have a pic of the inside of a silver painted stove? I'd like to see one with the stove cold and one burning (through the glass is fine) I'm not sure I'd like the silver inside....

Here is the Alaska pic when it was first painted last year. The paint quickly dulls down and the fly ash makes it look brown or white soon anyway.