Coal Chubby Sr. (Replacing Jotul 507)

JRLearned wrote:After some work on my stove and some discussions with Larry, I determined a few things:

3. I haven't seen anyone successfully weld a cross member onto the old style fire pot. I've searched the web, but no one has reported success. I'm not a welder, but my father is, but still I didn't attempt it. My 2 cents is, save the hassle and just order the updated fire pot, you won't be disappointed.

I had asked Larry about this. He had said it was possible to do but, when I took the old pot to have a rod welded on between the two tabs I was told it couldn't be done. The reasoning was that the heat from the welder might cause the cast to crack and break. Not sure how true this is but I couldn't get it done when I had my Chubby SR.

Thanks I'mOnFire, I too have had problems with the paint adhering. What I've found is I've spent some time firing, fixing, and refiring the stove to work out the spots that peel away. I've found 4 or 5 spots now that have peeled away. And once peeled away I found there was original black stove paint underneath. So far these have been areas where I didn't get the surface down to bare metal. Then, I've scraped it down to bare metal, repainted, and refired the stove. So far the spots I've fixed have not peeled away again. Did you have a different experience? Was your peeling more pervasive? Did it occur right away on high firing or was it after many days of firing that it started to peel?

In the end, I may have take the body and have it sandblasted completely and repaint again if the problems persist.

Yep, I took the stove body to Superior Sandblasting and $50 later the stove is roughed up down to bear steel inside and out. Seeing it now I realize the difference sandblasting makes. I plan to prep it with VHT prep spray I bought, and paint/cure it tomorrow. I just can't decide if I should attempt using the other can of redwood colored Stovebright I have, or just go with the tried and true Rustoleum high heat oil based black satin. The redwood looks so great, but if it still peels away I'll be really pissed after spending the money on sandblasting.

JR, there is that chance with no matter what you use-- just do it right- prep it properly, allow a lot of drying time between coats, etc.---it will be fine:) What????? no pix???????????????????????????????????

JRLearned wrote:Yep, I took the stove body to Superior Sandblasting and $50 later the stove is roughed up down to bear steel inside and out. Seeing it now I realize the difference sandblasting makes. I plan to prep it with VHT prep spray I bought, and paint/cure it tomorrow. I just can't decide if I should attempt using the other can of redwood colored Stovebright I have, or just go with the tried and true Rustoleum high heat oil based black satin. The redwood looks so great, but if it still peels away I'll be really pissed after spending the money on sandblasting.

Not to sound like a broken record, but Stovebright Paint does not get a primer...all new stoves are made of bare steel and then get painted with Stovebright directly without primer.
Don't look at skipping the primer as being a short-cut...primer is not recommened on stoves by the maker of Stovebright paint...do not try to re-invent the wheel.

I sprayed the sandblasted body w/Vht prep spray inside and out. It dried within minutes in the sun. I then spray painted the outside w/Stovebright redwood color like before. McGiever will be happy there was no primer involved. Largely because this paint was special order and I didn't have any primer left! The inside I carefully brushed with rustoleum high heat black. After a couple hours drying time I assembled the stove and fired a small wood fire, left and went hiking with the dog and fam and came back to find the paint looking GREAT. I then got a coal fire going and have been cookin along at 425 for hours. The adhesion looks consistent, no peeling so far, and the color is beautiful. Larry Trainer should consider a custom pallate option in his reconditioned sales. The Chubby looks awesome in this deep red/maroon.

Looks real nice JR. Ya gonna stand it upright when ya get it in the house?

freetown fred wrote:Looks real nice JR. Ya gonna stand it upright when ya get it in the house?

Thanks Fred, that explains why the coal kept falling out the door! Everything is just backwards up here in the North.

Ok here she is in her new home....the flash doesn't do it any justice.

JRLearned wrote:Ok here she is in her new home....the flash doesn't do it any justice.

20130811_192036_resized.jpg

Whooops.... you missed the hole

GG, looks unique & good!

Nice JR. Yep, easier keepin the coal in her that way

So far the only trouble I've had with the paint job appears to be with the lip of the door. I ran it through the night last night with just enough coal to keep it going most of the night. It ran pretty hot at 550-600 degrees. Around the lip of the door the paint has burnt away down to bare metal. This is area between where the door gasket sits and edge of the door opening. I was wondering if I should run some high heat black around the lip of the door and see if that would hold, but I suspect the extreme temps inside the stove would prohibit any paint from adhering in that location. Anyone have any experience with this specific issue? I wonder if a brand new chubby would have that problem over time?

no, that does not happen to such a degree as I see yours. It may be in part because charcoal paint color is more similar to bare metal so its not so noticeable (but NO, I don't notice that happen on any of my stoves). Good test for us.... get some charcoal stove bright or thermolox and as you said... paint that area and report to us what happens!!! this is a good opportunity!!!

I've kicked the question of painting this area around the door over to Larry. We will see what the master says. I don't want to risk too many touchups or having to sandblast this thing again. I think it best to seek advise from the maker of Chubby stoves before I proceed.

So Larry indicated he doesn't do anything special to get the paint to stay put in that location, and uses a 1200 degree stove paint. He indicated just drying overnight is sufficient. I only dried the paint 4 hours or so before curing the first time. This info, combined with other advice from Fred, I decided to sand the area around the door, scour with steel wool, and repaint with the same Stovebright paint as before. I'm letting it dry at least 24 hours before curing. We'll see what happens.