I was a little overzealous stuffing a load this morning and now I have parts hanging. I can't really do anything about it until the fire goes out but if you can give me any advice on how this thing goes back together I would appreciate it.
Wish I had my old FV to see exactly what's going on there. It's obviously the screen that protects the cat but I can't understand how the support bar got so bent into a U shape, even from over zealous loading. You might be lucky enough just to be able to unbolt, remove, flatten, reinsert. I think it will be easy to tell once you can get in there. I would have thought this late in the year you would not need to stuff the firebox so high. I remember with my FV, I always felt like I wanted to get "one more piece in there".
Looks like you have the older cast combustor scoop, and it has warped. You could replace it with the newer stainless version with the mesh screen. It'll catch more ash but you'll have to brush it off once in a while....no big deal. But yeah, you've over-fired the stove. I used (and now use on the Keystone) a combustor probe and a surface thermometer on the pipe; Makes it easy to see when you need to cut the air back when ramping up a new load. I would run the probe up to about 1000 and hold it there for 10-15 min, then I could usually close the bypass and the cat would take right off. My flue meter is lying on the tee take-off on a rear-vent setup, so would read higher than if you had the stove top-vented and the meter 12" above the flue collar. That box is big, compared to the Keystone.
I'm gonna find out soon, I put a deposit on a refurbished Palladian, which is the same size as the Keystone. Still need to work out the flue liner part which I am having some trouble with.
What's the deal, 7" outlet on the stove? Keystone/Palladian is a great stove, with the big window, ash pan and ramp-up times are quick, the stove being smaller, and a bit less stone, than the Fv. And you can see the cat from the couch. I've got the rear heat shield on mine, which keeps the heat from being sucked away by my exterior brick chimney.
WS has tested the Keystone/Palladian with a 6" outlet, which would be my choice. The front hearth clearance increases from 8" to 10" with the 6" outlet. That's exactly what I need: quick ramp up times with less stone. It's going in a large living room with somewhat decent airflow to the rest of the house, intended to supplement the Progress during the brutal cold snaps. The family has been complaining the far end of the house is too cold 3+ months out of the year.
Good news bad news. For the good news I didn't overfire the stove. For the bad news: When I was shoving the logs in the fire box I ended up breaking the right scoop support Bad news I can't use the stove until I get the new piece good news I can get the part
Those stoves are built tuff, and when they break the fixes are not too bad. WS is really good about sending out parts quickly.
That is good to know. With shipping it is a 25.00 fix. I am going to get to get the mig welder fired up and stick the broken parts together until the new parts arrive.
I won't even try to guess what that fix would have cost for most stoves. WS is amazing. I remember trying to get simple parts for my VC Resolute and was astounded at the cost. Nice you have a mig welder. Comes in handy at times like this. sounds like you are barely going to miss a beat burning.
Another great thing about Woodstock is that they have pictures detailing what needs to be done to fix it on their website. I would have upgraded to the new combusted scoop but the web site said they were out of stock on them.
Good deal. If I'd read a little more carefully, it would have sunk in that you thought you did the damage while loading the stove, not ramping it up. Cast is pretty brittle....don't ask how I know. Heh-heh. Must be nice to have the wire welder on hand. But damm, I don't know if it's the pic angle or what....that sure doesn't look like a straight edge on that scoop at all! Yep, Woodstock parts are some of the most reasonably-priced you'll find. With that and the great support, once you've owned one you're reluctant to try anything else. It also helps that they have the best stoves (IMHO, of course,) and that they're built to the hilt. Is that the metallic blue? My favorite stock color on these stoves.
Looking back at the pictures the scoop does look warped. Must be the way the front of the scoop tipped down while the rear of it was still in the mounting groove. The hardest part was waiting 8 hours for the fire to go out to see what I had done. I'm real glad it was a load of pine.
gmule- The stainless steel scoop kits are back in stock and my colleague is updating that now on our website. If you've already placed your order for the cast iron plate and you would like to change the order, just give us a call (1-800-866-4344) and we'll get the order transitioned. Thanks, Lorin Day Woodstock Soapstone Co.
Wow not response I was expecting from a company on another web site. Talk bout great customer service u guys rock. Is there any advantage of one scoop over the other?
Brazing would work much better if its cast iron. MIG with a std wire like ER70S6 likely won't hold well, if at all.
Sorry for another post, it won't let me edit. I googled Woodstock since I had never heard of them, not sure if there are vendors around here? I had looked at a few soapstone stoves and they were nice but expensive....$3500- $4000 area. (Don't remember brand) I did find it funny that on their site they say "Most efficient stove made" at 82%. Blaze King also claims the same thing.
Nate, all Woodstock stoves are sold direct from the company to the customer. If prices are too high for your comfort, you can put your name on a list for a rebuilt stove. They are just like new, and significantly less expensive. I'm guessing, but may 60% or so of a new stove cost. Great company, beautiful and well designed, well built stoves. Great company service 6 day a week, only a phone call away. Shipping prices are very reasonable.
We changed to steel for part longevity and better catalytic combustor protection. Basically we wanted to do what we could on our end to reduce the amount of scoop warping issues and at the same time incorporate a better screen system to keep more fly ash off of the catalytic combustor. Looking at your pictures again, you may need to replace the bypass frame at the same time (~$17 part). The back of the scoop sets into the lip of the frame and it appears that the lip of the bypass frame is starting to bow downward as well. Call us if you have any questions (800-866-4344). Lorin Day Woodstock Soapstone Co.
What?!! You haven't heard of the finest stoves in all the land?? Where have you been living, Alaska? These stoves need no vendors; They sell themselves. You don't really need to worry about that. You are going to be burning at least twenty seven tons of wood a year up there; What's a few hundred pounds, more or less?
