Hurley's Gold

Wood stove (Earth Stove)

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  • wickll

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    Jan 22, 2022
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    I was wondering if anyone has any experience with wood stoves, specifically the "Earth Stove" brand. I purchased a used one a couple of years ago and put it in my deer camphouse. I have been struggling trying to get it to draft properly. I thought the damper was stuck closed (it is pretty rusty, but pretty sure I have it open now)

    But this particular model has the catalytic combustor. I believe it has gotten full of rust/soot/etc., preventing the stove from exhausting properly. Since this is just a stove I will use once "in a blue moon" (if that much) , I don't want to buy a replacement part . So my thoughts are to simply remove or cut out this restriction.

    Any experience, thoughts, etc.???
    Military Camp
     

    gll

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    Jan 22, 2016
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    I don't believe mine is an Earth Stove, but it looks similar in construction. Mine has a brick lined chamber with a ceiling that allows air to draw through a chamber (attic) to the stovepipe.

    The ceiling has two openings that are closed by bricks, and I have to remove the bricks to clean out the attic at least twice a year, as the buildup blocks air flow. The condition is made worse by the facts, this being Texas, my stove is often operating at low temperature high creosote conditions.
     

    MountainGirl

    Never underestimate the abilities of an old woman.
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    I was wondering if anyone has any experience with wood stoves, specifically the "Earth Stove" brand. I purchased a used one a couple of years ago and put it in my deer camphouse. I have been struggling trying to get it to draft properly. I thought the damper was stuck closed (it is pretty rusty, but pretty sure I have it open now)

    But this particular model has the catalytic combustor. I believe it has gotten full of rust/soot/etc., preventing the stove from exhausting properly. Since this is just a stove I will use once "in a blue moon" (if that much) , I don't want to buy a replacement part . So my thoughts are to simply remove or cut out this restriction.

    Any experience, thoughts, etc.???

    If by damper - you mean a damper in the stovepipe - that might be your problem re draft.

    Stoves with a catalytic combustor 'reburn' the gases created at a much higher temp than down in the firebox and ash will collect up there some but not much - and what goes up the pipe is a lot cleaner and should be left unimpeded. Translation: No damper in the pipe. Control the level of burn with whatever slide-type damper is on the stove itself (usually on the face). It's good that you got yours wide open.

    It's a bitch to clean that upper chamber; a shop-vac extension is what I used; but only needed to once a year (in the summer) and that was after burning mostly fir & pine 24/7 from Sept-April. I realize things are way different down here...temps and wood species.

    T'were me, with your situation, rather than cutting the chamber out (there's really no 'parts' to replace), I'd find a different stove (that doesn't have the chamber) or another way to meet the rare heating needs.

    Good luck!
     

    Ozzman

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    Aug 17, 2015
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    El Paso, Texas
    Necropost...

    Did the OP ever get the issue resolved?
    My 2 cents are to check for creosote buildup in the catalytic filter as stated above.
    Depending on the wood you used in the past will determine the amount of cleanup needed.

    Heat always "goes up", so something must be blocking the draft.
     

    MountainGirl

    Never underestimate the abilities of an old woman.
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    Necropost...

    Did the OP ever get the issue resolved?
    My 2 cents are to check for creosote buildup in the catalytic filter as stated above.
    Depending on the wood you used in the past will determine the amount of cleanup needed.

    Heat always "goes up", so something must be blocking the draft.

    Yeah - I thought about the "Necropost" issue, but here's the thing.

    What I have to offer falls in this subforum, and because most of the threads are older (being not the main purpose of TGT) - I'll wait for mod's/admin's guidance if they'd rather me start a new thread about something, or boost an older one, or just not contribute. Not being sure - I drew a line at 6 months, and some of the threads I have nothing to offer on, others - I do.

    Maybe the OP resolved the issue, maybe not. If so - hearing about his solution would be good, imo. And maybe others might run into the same problem/situation - which is actually why I spent the energy to share in the first place... but I'll yield to the honcho's thoughts here - and if you're a honcho, please accept my apologies for boosting an old thread and I thank you for your thoughts. :)

    @Vaquero or @benenglish - guidance re posting in older threads, please. Thanks!
     

    FireInTheWire

    Caprock Crusader
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    Ehh, two months is necro now? If it were say, six years, I'd agree. But not a couple or three months.

    Besides that, this is useful information regardless of when it's posted.
    I was just getting ready to post this^^^

    Nov 13 is not necro. It's still winter besides....
     

    wickll

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    Jan 22, 2022
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    Victoria, TX
    If by damper - you mean a damper in the stovepipe - that might be your problem re draft.

    Stoves with a catalytic combustor 'reburn' the gases created at a much higher temp than down in the firebox and ash will collect up there some but not much - and what goes up the pipe is a lot cleaner and should be left unimpeded. Translation: No damper in the pipe. Control the level of burn with whatever slide-type damper is on the stove itself (usually on the face). It's good that you got yours wide open.

    It's a bitch to clean that upper chamber; a shop-vac extension is what I used; but only needed to once a year (in the summer) and that was after burning mostly fir & pine 24/7 from Sept-April. I realize things are way different down here...temps and wood species.

    T'were me, with your situation, rather than cutting the chamber out (there's really no 'parts' to replace), I'd find a different stove (that doesn't have the chamber) or another way to meet the rare heating needs.

    Good luck!
    Thanks for the response. I am glad that someone with experience on these types of stoves has responded. I have a fair amount of experience, but probably from about 40 years ago when I was a kid. Our house's main heat source was wood for a number of years. But that was originally like the one pictured here. Eventually got an Ashleigh brand, but even it didn't have the catalytic chamber.
    I will look into cleaning it out if possible. I don't know when, but hopefully one day. The thing is, it is basically in my "deer camp" on land where I also run a few cows. Usually when I go there , there are so many things to do, I don't get around to working on the stove. Plus , it is close enough where if it is a cold night and I really want to hunt, I will just drive there in the morning.

    So the stove is more for nostalgic reasons, not for practicality. Thanks for the input.
    stove.JPG
     

    MountainGirl

    Never underestimate the abilities of an old woman.
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    Thanks for the response. I am glad that someone with experience on these types of stoves has responded. I have a fair amount of experience, but probably from about 40 years ago when I was a kid. Our house's main heat source was wood for a number of years. But that was originally like the one pictured here. Eventually got an Ashleigh brand, but even it didn't have the catalytic chamber.
    I will look into cleaning it out if possible. I don't know when, but hopefully one day. The thing is, it is basically in my "deer camp" on land where I also run a few cows. Usually when I go there , there are so many things to do, I don't get around to working on the stove. Plus , it is close enough where if it is a cold night and I really want to hunt, I will just drive there in the morning.

    So the stove is more for nostalgic reasons, not for practicality. Thanks for the input.
    View attachment 368461
    You're welcome - and the stove in your picture is what kept one corner of the garage/shop on the mountain warm.

    Here's a quick trick. Not sure on the model you have, but there might be a narrow drop down plate across the front of that combustion chamber...if not there should be a gap opening... just wide enough for you to get a hand held swiffer duster thingy in there and run it through a couple times to pull some out, or push the ash back and it falls into the firebox. It wont get it all - but it might help some. And then toss the duster. LOL
     

    wickll

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    Jan 22, 2022
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    Victoria, TX
    Just saw this...

    Did a boat load of reading about all things Flue, chimney and stoves past couple months. Learned a lot.

    I recommend going to https://www.hearth.com/talk/ research your model number and going from there. Best stove website on the web. I totally geeked out on it.
    Thanks, that is a great site with lots of info. Ozzman, I didn't get the stove working yet, but I have just been too busy with other things. But since I do have other means to heat the room, if I should need to spend the night, I probably won't work on the stove until summer time.
     
    Every Day Man
    Tyrant

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