Hello This burnpot similar to but not the same as the US Stove 5660 steel burnpot and many others, is burned through in the middle of the bottom just below where the hot Igniter air comes in. The Saranac has been out of production for many years and not fully supported anymore. Some parts are still available, but parts like an Auger is no longer available so a small fix like this may help to keep it going longer. Therefore since I do not like the slats in the bottom, I just got a sheet of 11 Guage perforated Steel with 1/4” holes. Enviro uses 1/4” holes in their high Ash Burnpot. Burning fuels other than wood pellets, the hole size maybe smaller. You can get it in stainless steel also from metalsdepot.com The Pot is 11 Guage so 11 Guage for the bottom is thicker! I order a 1 foot by 2 foot sheet so I can fix a lot of pots. Anyway, the easiest way to cut it is to just zip it out with a Plasma cutter but those cutters do not like perforated material unless you get a Hypotherm with extended mode. So we just put a small piece of aluminum flashing over it to keep a nice arc and cut them both! Then just cut out the bottom of the Burn pot and weld the new piece on. Grind and paint for good looks. The Plasma cutter when the trigger on the cutter gun is depressed should be 75 PSI to get a good arc and cut. An yone else do this? Pic 1-3 - Burn Pot with burned out slay in the middle Pic 4 - trace burn pot bottom on aluminum on top of perforated Steel. Pic 5 - Set up Plasma cutter to 40-50 amps Pic 6 - cut out perforated Steel Pic 7 - burnpot with bottom cut out Pic 8 - grind flatter to accept new bottom
That will work just fine. On our AD 2T I cut out a piece of 1/8" stainless steel (scrap sitting in the corner) that just lays over the grate (Old bars were eroded badly) and drilled rows of holes that are lined up with the slots. The holes I chose are 5/32" and work well with the shells. Easy to pull the stainless piece out during cleaning (FOR OUR APPLICATION) Looking good
Correction on 1st post The original pot is 12 Guage so the new bottom is 11 Guage which is thicker and should last longer. Here is the link to the metal https://www.metalsdepot.com/shape/Perforated-Sheet
Very nice - Fabricating and Welding SS & having a drill press is big league stuff. I am starting with Steel & C25 , do not have a TriMix yet. :-( Do you use a Mig with TriMix Jay?
Nice,As I have posted here before,been welding up BIL St croix prescott burn pots for,what,15 years.His house is huge,poor insulation,sad windows,so stove runs at max.We used(he still does) use mild steel,weld in a bottom,drill holes in it.He used to go through 2 a winter.now,usually 1,depends on the winter.I bought him a welder,6-7 years ago,and trained him,so he welds them himself.Dons metal looks so much easier,and,thanks for the link,Don.Could not find that stuff years ago,easily.Could usually weld in 3 bottoms,then the sides got thin,and warped.
I had problems burning through my burn pots on my Englander... wasn't even getting one season out of them cheap azz burn pots. On my 3rd by the end of year 2 and figuring I'd be out of warranty from there on out I decided to fab one up. I just bought scrap 1/8" & 3/16" bar stock on ebay, or maybe it was 3/16 & 1/4 I can't remember. I don't have any fancy equipment, just cut it with cheapie Harbor freight cut off saw, and welded with cheapie Harbor Freight plastic <$100 arc welder lol. Welds aren't load bearing or air tight so not to worried about my lack of welding finesse, works fine for the job. Had to grind down the welds on the outside so it'd fit in the cradle properly. Drilled out all the holes to match the original. On 3rd burn season and working great! Spent less on this fully stainless steel one than a single factory replacement burn pot made of cheap steel!
Nice thread going on here I'm going to get through this season with my current burnpot then I'm going to make two ,one an exact copy of the original and one with some modifications I've been thinking about I'm a machinist by trade so no biggie...just been waiting for a piece of scrap 304 stainless to snatch from the scrap bin at work...but I like what has been accomplished by the posters in this thread
