Thinking of purchasing a Alaska Kast Console...

I'm thinking of purchasing a used Alaska Kast Console for restoration (strip down, paint, replace worn parts, hardware...). I've been reading that these stoves are virtually indestructable... but are there particular problem areas I should look at? The electrical (the motors) I think I can manage through without problems (background in electronics) but this would be the biggest metal working project I've taken on in a while and of course it's got dire consequence if i screw something up.

Yea, go ahead, it'll be fun!

Alaska Kast Console Is Home

Jump right in. It is a rewarding experience. All parts are readily available. You get to know the operation of the stove intimately. And last but not least,you'll enjoy the pride and warmth the stove will give you,at a fraction of the cost of a new stove. I rebuilt an earlier version (Kodiak stoker II) and I love my stove. It's the best time and money I have ever invested.

I will be painting with a different color than the original. Will the paint need to be stripped down to bare metal inside and outside the stove before painting or is a good surface pres sufficient? I was going to use naval jelly to remove all the rust, then lightly sand/wire wheel/sandblast/steel wool to prep the surfaces smooth to receive paint. I would like to limit the use of chemicals to the Naval Jelly if at all possible. Especially this time of the year.

Also... how does one go about getting documentation on these stoves? I'm really after an exploded diagram with a parts list. It seems the Alaska website is a little lacking on support information.

You can call Alaska stove they have a generic manual for all there stoker stoves. I gives directions for proper set up and use,it also has diagrams.

I painted right over the original paint after taking a grinder with a wire cup to remove all the rust. I used black Rustoleum high heat utra. But there are plenty of other paints rated for 1200* that come in other colors.

Some surface rust and not my color but in working condition for $475.



It's a back vent... it may not work for as me but I figured for the price I'd buy it and figure it out later.

Nice looking stove.I would say it is worth the price as long as the stoker motor/combustion blower and the convection blower are working. How is the grate? Mine is a top vent but there are quite a few here that have the bottom vent. These are very durable stoves. Not much that can go wrong with them. Even if you replace all the gaskets like I did, it is a very small investment.

Note that my pipe goes right to the Masonry Chimney about 6ft up. I need to figure how to make this work with a back vent stove. My preference is to still have the stove centered. The chimney protrudes about 16" from the back wall so I can be right up against it and still have plenty of clearance. Think I'll post it to the venting forum...

I have the same stove! Bought it used just like you! You will definitely love the heat. Make sure you get a new carpet a replace those gaskets!

crochunisclan wrote:I have the same stove! Bought it used just like you! You will definitely love the heat. Make sure you get a new carpet a replace those gaskets!

I'm budgeting ~$3-400 for the rebuild/paint (inside and out), gaskets, replacement parts, hardware, new pipes, baro and manometer. The (stove cost $475). I can probably get at least $4-500 for my old Vigilant. So for a little sweat equity I think this will be a cheap sex change operation (Manly-Man to Girlie-Man).

I want an extremely quiet stove so I'll make whatever modifications required to dampen the 2 blowers short of placing them outside of the room. My biggest concern is with the convection blower on these units... It's part of the hopper door. What were they thinking???!!!

Quite honestly, I have had no trouble with the blower being on the hopper door. It's fairly quite and efficient. It blows the air across my living room to my exposed staircase and right upstairs. If you want to keep the dust down, just turn the stove off for a minute while you fill it. It's a great stove. If you have any questions regarding it, please don't hesitate to ask!