Old stove question

[buildmyown]

I have a woodstove that is dated 1979 unsure of the brand maybe some of you can ID it for me. This stove has served us great for the last 30 years. Its in the basement and has no problem heating 1800+sf of living space upstairs not including the basment in a raised ranch so I really dont want to replace it. The stove itself is solid the pictures make it look rougher then it is.

Now to my problem I noticed last season that what im going to call a draft diverter you can see it in the second pic its the piece of 1/4 steel thats warped and rotted out. I know that this is causing me to loose some heat output from the stove right up the pipe. I would like to replace this part but there is no way to remove it in one piece. It is only held in with two pieces of angle iron and a couple of bolts. I already got those out. I im assuming that this part was put in before the top was welded on at the factory.

My plan is to cut it in half with a sawzall and make a template from cardboard and have a local metal shop cut my a new piece. To install the new piece I was going to have them cut the piece in half and drill a series of holes along the seam and have them make me a bridge with the same series of holes. The plan is to get the two new pieces in the stove and bolt them together using the bridge. The other idea I had was to cut the new part in half and just weld it back together once I have both parts in the stove.

Ideas, comments and concerms please.
Here are a few pics. Pic one is ove the whole stove, Pic two shows the part I want to replace and pic three is a rough drawing of the replacement.

 

[KsWoodsMan]

I can't help you identify your stove, Sorry.

It is a good, stout looking piece though. The firebox is plenty big enough looks like. Have you thought trying a "top down fire" in your stove ?

For me, burning a top down fire nearly doubled my burn time with no loss in heat and it burned at a very steady rate providing even heat almost the entire time it was burning.

While you have the 'draft diverter' out and the stove is hooked up give it a try with some decent wood. You might decide not to restrict the size of the firebox with the diverter.

YMMV

 

[laynes69]

I had my baffle on my woodfurnace pressed to straightened, then I had someone weld in some reinforcement steel to stop it from warping again. I would measure before considering piecing in a baffle. I know they wont come out easy, But I can bet that was placed in there after it was welded. Having a new baffle will make a night and day difference with the stove. If you can get it in 1 piece, I would do that just to be safe.

 

[laynes69]

I had my baffle on my woodfurnace pressed to straighten, then I had someone weld in some reinforcement steel to stop it from warping again. I would measure before considering piecing in a baffle. I know they wont come out easy, But I can bet that was placed in there after it was welded. Having a new baffle will make a night and day difference with the stove. If you can get it in 1 piece, I would do that just to be safe.

 

[olyman]

Have you thought trying a "top down fire" in your stove ?

For me, burning a top down fire nearly doubled my burn time with no loss in heat and it burned at a very steady rate providing even heat almost the entire time it was burning.

explain this concept,please. me no get!! and anything to burn less wood!!!!!

 

[buildmyown]

I can't help you identify your stove, Sorry.

It is a good, stout looking piece though. The firebox is plenty big enough looks like. Have you thought trying a "top down fire" in your stove ?

For me, burning a top down fire nearly doubled my burn time with no loss in heat and it burned at a very steady rate providing even heat almost the entire time it was burning.

While you have the 'draft diverter' out and the stove is hooked up give it a try with some decent wood. You might decide not to restrict the size of the firebox with the diverter.

YMMV

I had my baffle on my woodfurnace pressed to straightened, then I had someone weld in some reinforcement steel to stop it from warping again. I would measure before considering piecing in a baffle. I know they wont come out easy, But I can bet that was placed in there after it was welded. Having a new baffle will make a night and day difference with the stove. If you can get it in 1 piece, I would do that just to be safe.

I will have to take another look tomorrow night yesterday was a long day maybe it will come out whole. If that is the case I will just have the fab shop cut me something from 3/8ths and nothe 1/4 that it is.

Have you thought trying a "top down fire" in your stove ?

For me, burning a top down fire nearly doubled my burn time with no loss in heat and it burned at a very steady rate providing even heat almost the entire time it was burning.

explain this concept,please. me no get!! and anything to burn less wood!!!!!

You put the big logs on the bottom then some smaller pieces ontop then some kindling then your paper or card board the theory is that the embers will fall down and catch the tops of the big logs onfire. Wood burns cleaner and hotter of it burns from the top down the other plus can be an eaised starting fire do the the fact that the big logs dont smoother the fire out.

 

[KsWoodsMan]

You put the big logs on the bottom then some smaller pieces ontop then some kindling then your paper or card board the theory is that the embers will fall down and catch the tops of the big logs onfire. Wood burns cleaner and hotter of it burns from the top down the other plus can be an eaised starting fire do the the fact that the big logs dont smoother the fire out.

That about nails it.

It isnt the wood that is burning but the gasses(smoke) the wood gives off as it is heated (pyrolized).

The intense heat from the glowing coals breaks the gasses and tars down to much easier to burn gasses.

Since only the top of the logs are heated they dont give off as much smoke. The available air is at a much closer ratio for a cleaner burn and the fire only consumes the wood as it burns instead of most of it at once and then just the coals are left.

The top down method is counterintuitive to how we learned or were taught to build a fire. I learned that "a fire burns up, build it from the bottom, adding bigger stuff as it grows." It worked for me for quite a while. I had a friend try to explain top down and had dismall results because of wet wood. It was hard to light my way in the woods too.

In the last few years I ran onto the article he had probably seen and thought of trying it again with some known good dry seasoned wood. It worked ! It worked just as he described it would. It had far less noticible smoke, it burned hotter and was more consistant for a cook fire. This method now is how I heat my home and cook while camping with my sons.

The subject hasn't been touched on in the forums much that I have seen. Searching in the forums for "top down fire" should provide a few results. I just checked to provide a link and the search feature seems to be unavailable ATM. Searching google or your favorite search engine should give numerous results. For quick results from google click here

 

[buildmyown]

I had my baffle on my woodfurnace pressed to straighten, then I had someone weld in some reinforcement steel to stop it from warping again. I would measure before considering piecing in a baffle. I know they wont come out easy, But I can bet that was placed in there after it was welded. Having a new baffle will make a night and day difference with the stove. If you can get it in 1 piece, I would do that just to be safe.

You sir were correct it did come out just had to twist and lift and pull and push. Kinda like a rubix cube you no theres a way just takes time. There will be no pressing this to fix it replacement is going to be the only way. Ill drop it off tomorrow at the steel shop and see what they can do.

On a side note i tried a top down fire in the fireplace tonight it takes a little bit to get going but once it gets going it does burn a little cleaner and hotter.

 

[KsWoodsMan]

How did your project turn out ?

Something I didnt think about earlier was to have them put it in a 'brake'. A 3/4" bend accros the front would take a lot of the bow out and stiffen it without adding more weight/size to wiggle back in there.

Not sure how it attatches in the front or if putting a bend in it would affect how it mounts. Might be a moot point if already installed.

 

[laynes69]

Good! You will be suprised with a new baffle. Should be a night/day difference. I would probably use 1/4 steel. Like I said, mine was pressed out on a brake, it was warped by over an inch from corner to corner.

 

[buildmyown]

I hate that I always forget about my own threads. Heres a funny one for ya. I was having trouble finding a shop to make me a new one then I remembered that my dad had a piece of flat steel out behind the shed and low and behold I cen see where he had cut out a replacement from this same piece of steel. I talked to my mother tonight and now she remembers him making one some years ago. So this isnt the first time that it has been replaced. As long as I get another 15 years out of it and the stove ill be happy. I stated cutting the new one out today and will finish it tomorrow when I get more sawz all blades. Really wish I still had torches. Good thing this weekend is supposed to dip into the 40's and be nice to fire the stove up.

 

[buildmyown]

All fixed new baffle is in now i just have to clean the pipe. Thanks to everyone for the tips.

 

[Crofter]

Buildmyown, that is where the narrow Zip Cut blades for a 4 1/2 angle grinder really shine. Much easier and quicker than sawzall for that job. Not nearly so good though for splitting a beef or moose carcase into two sides, Lol! Glad you got it figured out!

 

[brisawyer]

Set up the water hose to keep water running across where you are cutting keeps the blade nice and cool. I cut a 8 foot wide flatbed with a 3/16 top in half I used 2 blades. I have had the best luck with Lennox blades.

 

[buildmyown]

I only used 2 blades and it only took about a 1/2 hour to layout and make all the cuts. I just used some pb blaster to keep the blade cool and lubed up. Wasnt that bad at all.

 

[brisawyer]

I love the sawzall

 

[buildmyown]

Thanks to treemandan I now know that I have a Garrison wood stove made by Garrison Stove Works they were located in Claremont, NH. The stove was made from 1978-1982. Looks like the company went out of bussiness shortly after that.