"Summer" storage- Cleaning Coal Stove

jrn8265 wrote:I also keep a lightbulb on in it with a bucket of damprid as well as diconnecting the flue and covering the hole.

jrn8265 wrote:I am really debating the whole baking soda wash thing if your stoker is in a "normal" not very high humidity basement.

I performed a test on metal that had the ash wiped and then washed 4 months ago compared to metal that had the ash and just wiped no baking soda wash done on it.

Today the non-baking soda washed metal has NO rust. The Baking soda washed metal does.

So, I am going to just vacume and wipe down my koker real good inside from this point on and forget the wash.

Just sharing my experiences here with this.

brckwlt wrote:[


what are the benefits of cleaning out the inside of the stove with baking soda?

****I'm told the baking soda detoxes the acid found in the coal ash. When I did my stove with the baking soda the first time it foamed. I don't know that it stops the rust but it stops the pitting that the ash creates.

couldnt i just vacuum out the inside of the stove and coat it with lps 3 and be done with it?

****yes, you can whether you do anything or not the stove is going to have a life span of 25 or 30 years. The problem with just vacuuming it out and coating it with the lps3 is that you haven't done anything to stop the existing rust. I went to the Auto parts store and got some Rust Stop, which kills the rust and turns black. It will burn off in the fall but in the meantime, I've stopped the rust from spreading or getting worse.

if there is rust inside the stove is it alright to wire brush the rust off?

***Sure, why not? It's just awkward and has many nooks and crannies.

Also i saw mentioned earlier about removing the fire brick from the stove? is it necessary and why?

****You may find deposits of ash behind the bricks which in time could eat through the metal. Obviously, you'd want to avoid that. Also some of your fire bricks maybe cracked and need to be replaced. I replaced six of mine this year because I didn't want to have to deal with them breaking all the way during the heat season.

instead of taking the chimney pipe off the stove could i just jam insulation in the baro opening if i take the baro off?

****How much humidity does the basement have. I always disconnect my chimney connector pipe from the stove and thimble and put a pipe end cap on the thimble. That keeps the outside air out of the house. I also put a pipe end cap on the stove's pipe exit. That keeps any humidity from the room out. I take the barro off the pipe and clean it really well in baking soda wash. Then I put all the stove equipment, gloves, barro, pipes, etc, inside the stove with a damp rid and close the door. It works for me; i know where everything is in the fall and I've had no new rust since I started doing this 3 years ago.

his basement has a lot of humidity in it and he runs a de humidifier that doesnt seem to do the trick My o

****All the more reason to clean everything, do something to stop and control the rust and then shut everything up in the air tight stove with a damp rid. You may also want to check the outside for signs of rusts and treat them as well and be sure to check the door gaskets. Good Luck, Lisa

thanx for any and all help

brckwlt wrote:i went to the auto store and bought duplicolor rust fix http://www.duplicolor.com/products/rustfix.html . Is this the same as you were describing earlier. the can says ... Rust Fix® rust treatment destroys rust on contact. It sprays on clear and turns to a black metal-protecting coating to fight future rust from forming.

****That's the stuff I used. I used it last year too and did not have any additional rust form over this past summer.

I just want to be clear on this. should i first vacuum out the inside of the stove,take out the fire brick and inspect it, wire brush off the rust, then wash it down with the baking soda mix ( what ratio of water to baking soda?) then coat it with the duplicolor rust fix?

****I vacuumed really well, removed the fire bricks, vacuumed some more, didn't do any wire brushing or sanding. The Rust Fix is supposed to penetrate and kill the rust without it. If it looked ugly I might have done some sanding/brushing but I caught it early so there wasn't any surface roughness in my stove. Then I washed it down with baking soda mix/water mix - 1 cup to 1 gallon is the ratio I heard. After that is dry, I use a damp rag and vacuum again to get up any residual baking soda. Then I spray Rust Fix on the fire box walls where the rust is starting or had been in the past. Replace the fire bricks. This year I notice the loading door was getting some rust so I treated that, too, but general I don't treat things I can replace easily, like the grates or the black pipes.

do i also want to be careful not to get any of the duplicolor rust fix on the burn pot?

***I asked my husband who works with a similar product in his job and he said that it shouldn't matter. It is all going to burn off the first time it is fired in the fall anyway. Supposedly, rust won't form in the hot stove so it's the humid summer air you are worried about. When it burns off in the fall it will have already done its job. I usually lite my stove in early Oct so I can have the windows open to eliminate the any fumes.

what should be done to clean the motors? the stove is a harman magnum

Rex wrote:I will spray the inside with Pam cooking oil...

LsFarm wrote:H Iggy, welcome to the forum.

In addition to the washing with baking soda, a thorough wire-brushing, vacuuming, there is another idea that I heard just last night.

Member EuropaChris was here picking up a Keystoker stove I brought partway home to him. We were discussing summertime corrosion. He suggested buying some of the small buckets of moisture absorbant from Home Depot or Lowes, And sealing the flue with plastic and tape, the inlets to the blower motors, and seal the doors real well: make sure the door gaskets are complete, with no gaps.

I think the surface of the steel gets impregnated with the acidic ash when it is hot, and the summer humidity is enough to activate it. The Baking soda wash helps, but doesn't stick around long enough.

If you want to coat the surfaces with an oil, WD40 is not the product to use. WD is a very good product for lots of uses, but months-long rust prevention is not one of them. WD leaves a very thin layer of silicone, and this doesn't block oxygen from getting to the steel.

Check out the LPS-3 product, it leaves a thicker, slightly sticky layer of oil that will stick on th esteel for months. It is designed for long term protection of ferrous metals.

There are other products available, hopefully several other members can add to a list of good rust preventative products and proceeedures.

Hope this helps,, Greg L

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