After 2 seasons with an Econo 1

The picture says a lot, but I will clarify.

I bought my Econo 1 brand new in July of 2008 from a dealer in Downeast Maine and I am approaching my third heating season with it. I filled the hopper and coal came gushing out of the back. When I summerize the stove the hopper is left empty.

Hard to believe it was left empty, but an easy fix. Any decent tin knocker can fix that quick. If you take that route, have some ramps put in the bottom to keep the coal from leaving the mountains on the sides.

It was left empty, at the end of the season I let it run until it is out of coal. When I dumped a new bag in tonight the back of the hopper gave way.

Upon closer inspection I am able to drive my finger through the side of the hopper of a stove that has seen 2 seasons of heating.

I bought a used Harman that was like that, its like our 77 chevy truck, the paint was all that was holding the bed together!

My Alaska channing is 5 years old I always empty it out and wipe it clean, dry it and spray a little stove paint on it, it still looks new. Acid from coal and humidity will eat metal up pretty quick. Just emtying the stove is not enough.

Bk

What does the manual say about prepping the stove for summer storage?

My manual says not to store coal in the hopper, and if in a damp location to keep a light bulb burning in the stove. My stove is in my living room.

bksaun wrote:I bought a used Harman that was like that, its like our 77 chevy truck, the paint was all that was holding the bed together!

My Alaska channing is 5 years old I always empty it out and wipe it clean, dry it and spray a little stove paint on it, it still looks new. Acid from coal and humidity will eat metal up pretty quick. Just emtying the stove is not enough.

Bk

I followed the manual regarding storage and I only got 2 seasons out of it.

Any chance the coal you were using was wet/damp...
Wet coal and metal soon make rot...

I have burned blaschak through it, which tends to be damp/wet.

I hate to bring another stove brand into the discussion but as a good comparison my father has been burning the same coal through his alaska for 15 years and his stove looks and runs new with no hopper issues. I do all of his stove maintenence and setup for him. Regardless I do not think that any coal should have done this in 2 seasons of heating.

you should make the new one out of thicker cardboard because that shouldn;t happen in two years

Wow, that's not good. My Hyfire is 1995, has some rust on the hopper, but still pretty strong. I believe alot of the rust was from a bad seal and the moisture was coming up thru the hopper when it was burning. Its all fixed and no moisture in the hopper anymore. My Keystoker has no corrosion in the hopper after 7 years....I think it's galvanized.

Johnshan wrote:It was left empty, at the end of the season I let it run until it is out of coal. When I dumped a new bag in tonight the back of the hopper gave way.

Upon closer inspection I am able to drive my finger through the side of the hopper of a stove that has seen 2 seasons of heating.

This is unnerving. I just bought a hearth the season and the hopper appears to be the same as your corroded one. I definitely will be watching closely for corrosion. I sure hope someone determines the premature cause of this. Thanks for posting and please let us know what your resolution is.

Good, at the end of season clean it out real good & put some penetrating/ old motor oil--whatever kind of lubricant you choose--this coal can get pretty acidic from moisture--it ain't magic---MAINTENENCE & a bunch of TLC--if you care for it, it'll care for you for a long time

There are lots of threads on here about the extreme wetness of blashack coal eating out every brand of stoves' hopper. You may also have a low draft issue which will make the situation even worse . many on here have gone as far a sliting the bags slightly before use so the coal can drain. Bottom line it is the extremely wet coal causing the issue. Also you need to clean the stove and hopper with baking soda water , then oil the stove and hopper for summer storage. Also the flue should be disconnected for summer as well

jpen1 wrote:There are lots of threads on here about the extreme wetness of blashack coal eating out every brand of stoves' hopper. You may also have a low draft issue which will make the situation even worse . many on here have gone as far a sliting the bags slightly before use so the coal can drain. Bottom line it is the extremely wet coal causing the issue. Also you need to clean the stove and hopper with baking soda water , then oil the stove and hopper for summer storage. Also the flue should be disconnected for summer as well

jpen1 may have a point about the low draft issue, do you have any water or moisture on the coal bin lid when you lift it to add coal? I'am on vacation this week and have been playing around with the stove, i cut my draft back some the other day just to see if the stove would burn any better ( Played with the baro- dampner ) and i lifted my lid to add more coal to the hopper and lots of water ( probaly moisture ) came off the lid. Never had that before, so i put the draft back up and havent had that happen again. Just a thought.