Rusty Wood Stove

[Dave Fritz]

We have a Jotul wood stove that we have cleaned each summer by the dealer. This fall when I went down to start a small fire to take the chill off the house I couldn't open the door. I finally got it open using a dead blow hammer and found it rusted all around the door. The opening latch is rusted solid. I have two questions: One how would you clean off the rust and two what do you think caused it? I suspect the person that cleaned it used a cleaner and left some moisture inside the stove. The only other option I can think of is I had knee replacement and never got around to setting up the dehumidifier in the basement which I usually do. Could it have been too moist in the basement? I'm calling the dealer Monday and see what they have to say. Thanks for your thoughts.

[Maurice Mcmurry]

I just picked up some stove polish to work on a similar problem. Moisture coming down the chimney was the culprit in my case.
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[Jim Koepke]

In my area we occasionally have a very chilly night followed by a rather warm morning. The chilly night is very effective at making all the cast iron in my shop very cold. Then the warm morning is exceptional at raising the moisture content of the surrounding air. The moisture then condenses on all the cold cast iron.

Being aware of this weather occurrence has taught me to go into my shop and wipe down tools and other items as needed.

This could be the cause or a partial cause of your rust problem. Especially if your weather has had a lot of fluctuations.

jtk

[Steve Demuth]

I strongly suspect it's something the dealer did or left in the stove. A dampish basement could certainly cause some surface rust, but not the kind of corrosion that freezes doors shut. That sounds like a corrosive agent, as you suspect. And, I would expect that if it were the atmosphere in your basement, you'd see a lot of rust on the outside as well, unless the paint/polish is perfect.

As for cleaning it: I would take the doors off, and wire brush the whole thing down to bright metal, then repaint with a good high temperature stove polish. You'll likely also have to replace gaskets, if it's a gasketed door. (I am doing exactly the above right now for the stove in our sauna, which is covered in surface rust, after a few years of neglect. Still nothing like the corrosion you describe, though).