Chubby Resto Thread.

I figured I should split this off from the other thread. I'll keep updating it as I go. Here's a few shots of the tear down. I already had to drill out two of the bolts holding the top on. Someone had it apart already because they were carriage bolts instead of the correct counter sunk type that were supposed to be there. I apologize for the quality, I had to use my cell phone because my kids stole my camera batteries for one of their video games or something. If they are too big, let me know and I'll resize them.

Off center hole in shaker handle boss



Is this how the shaker linkage is supposed to go? These two pieces were just sitting inside.


And what is this bracket?


Top off!


Crack in fire pot.



Is this out of round situation going to be a problem? And should I do anything about the hole? The bolts more or less lined up so maybe it's not a problem?


Found this under the ash pan. Does it go to the stove?


And it seems this guy was burning computers or something. This is one of the block off plates from a computer case. It was under the ash pan too.


And the data plate seems to have been painted over too.

It looks like you are going to need a new firepot, which is to be expected. I don't know about the shaker parts but I'm sure somebody around here does.

Jpete, congrats on your Chubby purchase.

I took some pics of the work I just completed on my Chubby, thought maybe you would be interested. This past winter was the first year I used the Chubby to heat my garage/shop. It did a nice job keeping the place warm so I could get some painting projects done. The main problem I had with it was in shaking the ash, the shaker was so stiff to move that it would move the whole stove while I was shaking the grate. So I just purchased from Larry Trainer the new style fire pot and installed it. Pic 1 shows the grate with its square center hole resting on the round centering pin of the new pot. It keeps the grate centered in the pot so that it doesn't put any pressure on the side of the pot like the old one did while rotating the grate. The square whole in the grate is tapered, wider at the top and narrower at the bottom, so I took a chistmas tree drill bit and just reemed the bottom edges of the hole which allowed the grate to settle down on the pin better and it also allowe it to rotate even easier. Also in pic 1 you can see the grate retainer ring, when I first put this ring in the pot it was positioned a little high leaving a pretty good space between the grate and the bottom of the ring so I asked Larry if this was ok and he told me that it wasn't neccessary but if I wanted to I could grind the outer edge of the ring for a better fit. He said that he does that on the stoves that he reconditions. This made for a nicer fit and very little space between the grate and the ring. Bottom line of all this is the grate just glides effortlessly now. Pic 2 shows the new cross piece of the pot and how the grate sits on the centering pin.

Jeff, when you showed the pic of the shaker rod hole I went out and looked at my and found that it was oval shaped like yours. That hole being that much out-of-round will allow a lot of air under the grate, so I took the idea F-Fred mentioned and slid a 3/8" fender washer over the shaker rod, Now when the ash shaking is completed I'll just push the rod in so that the washer will close up the hole ( pics 3 & 4).

So now that I have the the inside all taking care of I decided to clean up the outside. Pic 5 shows the stove after two coats of stove black polish. It looks so good now I think it is a shame that it's being used out in the shop.

Hope this will give you some insperation on your Chubby overhaul. Don't forget some pic when you have the stove completed. - Jeff

Awesome looking stove JB. And that's the paint scheme I'm going for too. What did you use to refinish it?

I was thinking of VHT brand spray bombs. I have some "Stove Black" that I used on my Harman that I think might be good for the body.

Jeff, I just used stove black polish on the body of the stove as well, The stove was in very good condition when I bought it, so it just needed a little cleaning up. If I had to paint it I would first spray it with Rust-Oleum "Rust Reformer" and then a finish coat of Rust-Oleum high temp. paint. That's what I used in my Harman 160 fire box and after a season and a half it's still looking good. Although the real test will be in Sept. after a summers worth of humidity. I didn't know what the stove polish would do to the steel body of the stove but I figured it couldn't hurt too much, so I tried it. It did take 2 coats to even the finish out.

BTW when I bought the stove, it came with a new grate as a spare part, good deal huh. I figured I might as well put that in the stove as well.

Now I have the old fire pot and the old grate which are both in good condition, If you want them I'll send them to you for the cost of the freight. But after installing this new pot I would highly recommend the new pot. It works that much better. - Jeff

BTW Jeff, If your cast iron parts have any rust on it, I just used a wire brush to get most of it off and then a couple of coats of stove black. Don't paint the cast iron. The legs are cast as well so just stove polish there also.

I was planning on sand blasting the whole thing. Then stove blacking the body and painting the cast stuff.

How did you get your cast parts silver? Are they just natural?

VHT is a high temp ceramic based paint used for engines and other cast iron things.

And I plan on just buying a new pot. I figure the upgraded design is better and the last thing I want to do it fight with this stove.

I'm getting way ahead of myself, but what size coal are you running?

After a little wire brushing I just used a couple coats of stove black polish, that's all that is needed on the cast parts. I would use the engine paint on the body of the stove.

Sorry, forgot the last ? I use nut coal in the Chubby. I use nut and pea in the Harman.

You didn't forget, I edited it in while you were replying.

I used to use nut in my Harman but last year I found that stove works pretty well. I'll probably go with nut to start in the Chubby and see how that works.

I'll be looking forward to seeing your Chubby all done.

I want to see it as well and also when you get it fired up for the first time. Take your time though, you have all Summer to get it done.

And it seems this guy was burning computers or something. This is one of the block off plates from a computer case. It was under the ash pan too.

He may have used the parts under the ash pan to lift it up a bit so the pan would slide nicely over the bolts on the bottom.

Adam,

Larry Trainor says to cover the bottom of the ash pan area with sand or ash thereby buring the bolts. I guess it also makes for a heat shield on the bottom.

Jeff

You had asked what that bracket is for?

I believe it is for the shaker handle. One side of the handle is supposed to hook through that bracket while it is fed through the eye loop. The part you grab would be on the right side.

One side gets fed into the stove through the hole on the side of the stove and hooked to the grate. Then the handle that you pull gets fed through the eye on the end of the rod coming out of the stove and gets hooked to the bracket.

If I am wrong, someone please correct me.