Does anyone out there use their "trash burner" on their old gas oven/stove? We have an old Occidental, with a crack in the cast iron trash burner insert which I would like to use, as perhaps I could cook on the handy burners above it. I had a welder attempt to patch it (costly!) but as his equipment kept burning out our fuses, he just used two welds to hold the plate on. He said that having the plate attached, even in this minimal way, would prevent direct heat from damaging the stove part and that I could probably burn trash or wood even though the weld wasn't air tight. Does this sound plausible ? Does anyone have words of wisdom about using these or an idea of where to go to find info? Thank you very much!

-- Amy (canaryclub@aol.com), December 20, 1999

Answers

Amy,

is the 'insert' removeable?

If so, remove it and take to a weldor or machinist who can braze it together IN THE SHOP.

then reinsert into the stove.

'welding' cast iron is VERY tricky, and brazing is so much more reliable - if enough heat is used.

the secret is to make sure the parts are first CLEAN, then using enough heat to get the parts dull, cherry red; that's about the only way brazing alloy will flow into the crack and form a fusion bond in cast iron.

good luck.

shouldn't cost more than $40-60 if that - depending on the size of the part; the bigger the section, the longer it takes to get it hot and thus, the more it costs.

-- Perry Arnett (pjarnett@pdqnet.net), December 20, 1999.

Amy,

While it is a great idea to heat part of your home with combustable material like wood, it is extremely foolish to use "trash" as you intend to. You just don't know what kinds of synthetic materials are present in the material you are burning. If you survive the great rift to come you may die of smoke poisoning! Use your head. You are so smart for being prepared for the event, use it here too, burn only the good stuff from nature.

-- Frank McGraw (communic@excite.com), December 21, 1999.

Thank you Perry and Frank, for responding. Perry: Unfortunately the part cannot be taken out easily and so I had the welder in for a $140 house call (eep!). But if I can wrestle the part out, I will look into the technique you suggest. Frank: I am awfully glad you posted the caution about toxic materials in trash. As a chemically sensitive person, I am very cautious about these types of issues and had only planned to use wood if this part of the oven can be used at all (it's just that any repairman that works with the stove calls it a "trash burner," so I figured that was the common name for this component.) I think your post will have alerted other people to be very, very careful of what they are using for heat or how they are disposing of their trash. Many people in rural areas burn their plastics, which is very toxic. I have seen techniques posted for "newspaper logs," but as the inks in newspaper are often toxic, I would hesitate to use them, even outside. Thank you both for your help!

-- Amy (canaryclub@aol.com), December 21, 1999.