Do-it-yourself Russian oven repair

Most of the townspeople believe that the Russian stove has long disappeared from the life of the domestic village, and only in fairy tales is the memory of it preserved. This is an erroneous opinion: as long as there is a Russian winter, a village and a peasant, the need for a Russian brick stove will be relevant. Therefore, more than ever, stone stoves are now popular, and not only in the village, but also in country mansions. And since everything deteriorates over time, sooner or later, the question arises: how to repair a Russian stove with your own hands?

Like any other heating unit, a stone stove, including a Russian one, needs maintenance and repair. Furnace repair, depending on the degree of wear, can be divided into three types: (See also: Do-it-yourself oven with a bench)

Maintenance is used as a means of preventing and protecting the furnace from serious damage. Repair is carried out in order to eliminate small defects that appeared during operation. Current repairs include work to strengthen weakened parts, seal seams and cracks on the surface of the furnace, and, of course, periodic whitewashing.

Minor repairs include such work that does not require rebuilding the furnace, but requires a serious attitude, because ignoring it can lead to disastrous consequences. Among such works, when it is possible to repair the furnace with one's own hands, one can include updating the furnace hearth and lining, repairing chimneys, etc. Each damage that requires minor repairs appears as a result of aggressive, tough operation. The lining, for example, is subjected to deformation under the influence of very high temperatures. This can be facilitated by the use of coal or anthracite. The so-called "under" wears out due to friction during regular movement of utensils on its surface.

Overhaul is a rather complicated process and requires certain knowledge. If the stove was built by you, you can fix everything that can break without any problems. Making repairs is not difficult, even when you have minimal knowledge in construction. Much more preparation is required if you are encountering masonry and furnace repair for the first time. The types of malfunctions that require major repairs are: (See also: Do-it-yourself Russian stove)

Any furnace repair will be effective and error-free if you first make the correct "diagnosis". Since major repairs are quite a serious matter and are fraught with certain difficulties, it is better to entrust this matter to the master.

In many homes, the Russian stove has served faithfully for several decades. Constant exposure to high temperatures causes one of the most common damage to the Russian stove - cracks and crevices on the surface. These cracks and crevices need to be repaired for at least three reasons:

• cold air enters the slots, which can significantly reduce the efficiency of the furnace itself;
• carbon monoxide can escape through the cracks, which can cause serious poisoning, suffocation;
• if small gaps are not repaired in a timely manner, they will expand over time and the furnace will require serious, major repairs. (See also: Chimneys for stoves)

Some gaps are quite wide. In order to close holes in the Russian stove, it is necessary to properly prepare the solution. This is a rather complicated process, it can be made from clay and sand, with the addition of salt, cement, and even horse manure. However, all these solutions may be ineffective.Modern manufacturers have released a special solution based on which fireplaces, barbecues, barbecues, and brick ovens are laid. A refractory mixture called fireclay mortar may be the option you need.

First you need to prepare a small amount of solution. The consistency of thick sour cream is what you need to close the cracks. You do not need to prepare a lot of the solution right away, as it can harden before you use it.

The gap is pre-cleaned of dust and dirt. And only after that, using a spatula, fill it with a solution. For leveling, you can use a wide brush soaked in water or a wide spatula. After a while, you can heat the oven, if small cracks appear, then they are rubbed with a solution. This procedure can be carried out several times with the continuous operation of the furnace. (See also: Furnace Mortar)

With through, deep cracks, it may be necessary to re-lay the site, since the cause of the occurrence may be initially incorrect dressing of the seams of the furnace masonry or “thermal shock” from incorrect installation of metal parts.

Finishing the stove with ceramic heat-resistant tiles or painting is an excellent means of preventing wear and tear of brickwork, and therefore cracks. You can veneer only a stove, which has a very simple shape. After such a finish, your Russian stove looks like new.

As a rule, the draft weakens (is absent) with a long pause or insufficient care for the stove. Aspen firewood is an excellent tool for kindling and cleaning the Russian stove. Summer residents who have a fireplace stove for heating the house always keep a supply of aspen firewood. Checking the effectiveness of the "work" of aspen "cleaners" is simple: you need to monitor the smoke coming out of the chimney. Dark smoke should go first, then light smoke. If such a transformation has occurred, then the walls of the chimneys have been cleaned. (See also: DIY rustic oven)

If the channels are clogged with combustion products, then they are cleaned by removing soot from small doors specially designated for this. To prevent the channels from becoming clogged with soot, it is strictly forbidden to burn various kinds of garbage, plastic, polyethylene, and raw firewood in a Russian stove. They can also serve as a source of soot formation.

Sometimes a cold air “plug” can form in the chimney, weakening and sometimes blocking the movement of air masses (draft). The reason for the formation of an airlock may be a long "simple" furnace, when it has not been heated for a long time. You can restore the normal functioning of the chimney by punching a way for smoke through the top of the outlet channel on the roof with a special device.

Lack of traction, smoke can cause another miscalculation that an unskilled stove-maker can make. This defect is called - insufficient thickness of the walls of the chimney. If the chimney is “thin”, it freezes and becomes damp, therefore, the hot air mass passing through the chimney cools quickly. This is followed by an elementary law of physics - cold smoke "descends" down, worsening traction, not letting hot smoke through and creating smoke. Such a drawback is “treated” simply: you need to plaster the Russian stove, or rather its pipe, increasing the thickness of the chimney walls.

In addition to serious and important shortcomings, there are a lot of small, but also unpleasant defects that need to be eliminated.

Of the minor annoyances, the most common are:

• fallen off furnace door;
• burnt grate;
• failure of the oven;
• broken plate.

To re-install the fallen door tightly, you need to upholster the plaster around the doorway, cleaning the seams between the bricks. Thus, carefully loosening the bricks, disassemble the masonry, attaching a metal strip or wire to the door, fold the bricks again.

Burnt - grate, oven and burst stove, you just need to replace with new ones, while observing the dismantling rules. All these and other tasks that arise as a result of the operation of the Russian stove can be solved quite simply, even without being a stove-maker or a construction specialist. The main thing is to find out what is required for repairs and find out how to eliminate this shortcoming.

It is very important to regularly monitor the condition of the furnace foundation. The Russian stove is a rather bulky part of the interior, and time can leave an imprint, especially destructive if the underground is damp. If necessary, it is desirable to lay an additional layer of roofing material.

Like everything that is created by human hands and has any history, the Russian country brick stove is perfectly repaired, so it can and should be updated periodically. Careful operation, in accordance with the recommendations, regular maintenance, cleaning, whitewashing will allow you to enjoy the warmth emanating from the Russian stove for a long time.

With improper or long-term operation of the Russian stove, certain problems may arise that require the intervention of the owner. In this case, it is not necessary to call the stove-maker, you can carry out repair work yourself, without the involvement of specialists. This article will talk about various problems and ways to solve them.

If you notice that the heating system has begun to function incorrectly, then a step-by-step solution to the problems should be carried out. This must be done in a timely manner so that the structure is not damaged, and the operation is without a negative impact on the atmosphere in the room. Let's figure out how to carry out a quick repair of the frequently occurring problems of the Russian stove, which is also called the current one, since it is necessary all the time.

The draft inside the chimney may disappear precisely due to insufficient care for the design of the furnace. To prevent the occurrence of this problem, since ancient times, aspen firewood has been used for fireboxes, which help to clean the chimney. Melt the stove with aspen chips, make sure that the smoke coming out of the chimney changes its color from black to light gray.

Try using aspen wood

The formation of soot inside the chimney occurs due to the use of low-quality raw materials during combustion in the furnace. The greatest danger is the garbage burned in the structure, so it is strictly forbidden to use it as fuel. Burning raw wood can also lead to the formation of a large amount of soot.

You can clean the brick oven through a special metal door, or with a special device through the chimney pipe on the roof of the building, which is presented in the form of a long cable with a heavy load and a brush at the end.

Use a chimney sweeper

Due to the occurrence of cracks and crevices in the design of the furnace, serious problems may arise during its operation:

• Cold air enters through the holes and the efficiency of the heating system is significantly reduced;
• It is possible for carbon monoxide to escape from the holes, which can cause poisoning and asphyxiation of those in the room;
• Small cracks can expand and if they are not repaired in a timely manner, then a major overhaul of the structure will be required.

But on the building materials market today you can buy a special solution for brick stoves and fireplaces, which covers the holes that have appeared. The most popular are: "TerraKot", "Pechnik", "Parade". The correct consistency is indicated on the packaging.

If visually visible damage appears in the furnace design in the form of cracks, breaks, crevices or other holes, then you should not panic - these problems can be easily solved without calling specialists. In advance, purchase a spatula and a special compound intended for repairing fireplaces and brick stoves, then you can proceed with the current repair of the heating system structure.

1. Clean the resulting damage from dust;
2. Prepare a solution of the desired consistency from the purchased mixture, in a small amount so that the excess solution does not harden;
3. Using a spatula, repair pre-cleaned cracks;
4. Let the solution dry; for visual beauty, the places of repair work can be treated with whitewash or special paint.

Under strong mechanical loads and high temperatures, gaps may occur between the masonry and the furnace door or hob, which lead to the fact that gases hazardous to human health enter the room. To eliminate this problem, it is necessary to seal the furnace door or hob with a special cord and a repair solution. All this can be purchased at a hardware store.

The Russian stove is a unique structure, one of the features of which can be considered a possible independent repair, without the involvement of a stove-maker, whose services are quite expensive. Sealing the holes between the masonry of the furnace door and the hob is one of the easiest jobs to implement:

1. Clean the area between the metal element and the masonry, from dust and dirt;
2. Rinse the gap, prime and treat with heat-resistant oven glue;
3. Purchase a specialized refractory cord in advance;
4. Insert the cord into the hole between the masonry and the furnace door or hob - it will compensate for temperature changes and protect the mortar from cracking;
5. After that, rub the hole with repair mortar using a spatula;
6. Let the composition dry for at least a day.

You can save on the services of a stove-maker not only during current repairs, but also during capital work to eliminate serious problems. Including with your own hands, you can carry out the shifting of the furnace, replacing the furnace door, restoring the masonry and solving other problems. In this case, only a specialized mortar and refractory materials should be used in order to prevent additional problems during the operation of the Russian brick kiln.

Despite the properties of refractory bricks, over time, it becomes unusable, so the timely replacement of this component of the structure is also necessary. Relaying the firebox with your own hands is a rather complicated process and is often entrusted to a professional stove-maker, but in order to save money, you can also carry out a major overhaul of the stove yourself.

If a slight damage in several bricks is revealed in the design, then a complete re-laying of the firebox can be omitted, making only a partial replacement. For this purpose, the damaged parts in the masonry are removed and after cleaning the surfaces, using a special solution, a new masonry is made.

Relining is one of the most common types of overhaul. In its production, only fireclay bricks are used. It should be remembered that the refractory masonry must not come into contact with the brickwork of the furnace body.

In order not to reduce the overall efficiency of the structure, you should purchase new parts with the same parameters and dimensions as the old ones. This also applies to the furnace door, which is most often made of cast iron material. When buying a door, measure the old one and when purchasing a new one, compare them in size. Also remember about the need to use only a specialized solution for fireplaces and stoves.

Dismantle the old part along with the frame, clearing as much space as possible for the new door. Then you can start replacing it:

1. Clean the masonry from the old mortar;
2. Attach the steel tabs to the new cast iron part and position it so that the strips are inside the masonry joint;
3. Between the laying of the furnace and the frame of the door, a pre-purchased cord with refractory properties should be laid;
4. All gaps are filled with a special solution;
5. The composition is allowed to dry for 1-2 days.

In the Russian stove, frame brickwork is rarely damaged, since by itself it does not come into contact with fire and is not threatened with damage due to temperature changes. But if the stove-maker did the repair work incorrectly, then it can be damaged. Frame restoration is a simple type of repair, it does not require special skills or specialized materials.

Due to the fact that do-it-yourself repair of a Russian stove is not difficult, whether it is current or major work, troubleshooting can be done without the involvement of a professional stove-maker, which saves money. The main thing is not to forget about their timely conduct and high-quality cleaning of the stove, so that the problems that have arisen do not lead to more serious damage to the structure.

We bought a house in the village with a stone oven, which turned out to be in a rather bad condition. I didn’t have any experience in this matter at all, so I didn’t immediately notice that it was “defective”. She was whitewashed and seemed quite decent. I was afraid to take on its repair myself, but I understood that if you invite a stove-maker, it will cost a very decent amount. In addition, I thought that if I repair it myself, then there will be experience and additional self-confidence. Therefore, I began to study on my own - everything worked out for me, and even not bad at all. I will say right away that while the final repair of the furnace is not completed, there are still all sorts of little things to be done in the spring, but it is already working, and working well. So do not be afraid and boldly take on the independent repair of a brick oven: I think you will succeed too. And now useful information from my experience on how to repair a brick oven with your own hands both in the country and in a private house.

• Brick. On the construction market, I bought a brick from the Tula brick factory, which was called “kiln brick”. Professionals say that, in fact, there is no special oven brick - any building ceramic brick of any brand will do, even M-75 - the main thing is that it should be without cracks. But by the way, I really liked the brick that I bought - even, without cracks, much better than ordinary building bricks. It cost 15 rubles apiece, and I took as many as 100 pieces. In some stores they are even sold for 25 rubles apiece. By the way, 7 pieces were not enough, and I had to use the old one, which I took out of the oven. I also bought 20 fireclay bricks for 49 rubles apiece. Fireclay bricks can withstand very high temperatures, as much as 1800 degrees. I wanted to line the furnace with them, but then it turned out that this would not work. So this expensive brick is lying and waiting in the wings - it will come in handy for a new furnace.

• Furnace casting. These are valves, furnace and blower doors, cleaning doors, and a cooking floor. The leader in quality is the so-called Rubtsovsk casting (Litkom Plant). There is also a supplier from Balezino, but the quality seems to be worse there. I took the Rubtsov furnace door, and the blower door, as less responsible, I bought the Balezin one. For all together gave 1500 rubles. I did not consider imported casting: it is, of course, much better, but it also costs decently: I considered that it was not advisable to buy it. I didn’t buy a cooking floor (stove): I decided to use the old one until spring - split. I didn’t buy a grate either - I used the one that was in the old furnace. By the way, he's homemade. Repairing a brick oven with my own hands has not yet included the replacement of valves and cleaning doors, so I did not buy them. I will be doing this in the spring.

• Basalt cardboard BVTM used for sealing when installing metal parts: cooking floor, door. I bought two sheets 5 mm thick for 156 rubles apiece. This was quite enough and even left, but I think that it will still come in handy: during the life of the furnace, it may well be required.
• Wire and metal tape. It is used when installing doors.I will talk about this in more detail a little later. I found the wire in the garage, and bought the tape in the store (gave 500 rubles for 20 meters) - such as in the photo.

• Drill with a nozzle "mixer" - used to prepare the solution.
• Brush (nozzle on a drill) - used to clean bricks from soot and old mortar in some places.
• Bulgarian + disc for metal + metal disc for concrete - mainly used to cut bricks. It turns out quickly, evenly, but hefty dusty, so buy another respirator. Sometimes it was necessary to cut the metal: either a corner of some kind of furnace sticks out - I cut it off completely, then I cut the grate. The photo shows an example of using a grinder when working with bricks. This is a castle brick, which is placed above the furnace door.

• Building level - it is clear why.
• square - it is better if it is long, I had a short one. I mainly used it to mark the brick.
• Roulette - for measurements of any.
• Marker - they marked out a brick. I took the marker from my daughters from the drawing sets and will not return it, because it has worn out into the trash.
• Trowel, spatula - used to work with a solution. I mainly used a spatula with a width of 70 mm, it seemed to me that it was more convenient for them to work than with a trowel.
• Wood saw (old) - used to cut a brick from the oven along the seam. An irreplaceable thing. Sometimes it was required to take something smaller, then I used a sheet for metal.
• Hammer - used to carefully fix a freshly laid brick. Well and so, for other purposes, the hammer will find application.
• Sponge for washing dishes - wetted the surfaces of bricks prepared for mortar with water.
• Buckets - for mortar and for soaking bricks in water.

• If you need to repair non-critical cracks, then, of course, it is not necessary to disassemble the furnace. We melt it - the seams expand. Then we carefully clean the old mortar until we clean the brick well at the crack site. It is convenient to work with a sheet for metal.
• If you need to replace a cracked brick, then an old hacksaw for wood comes to the rescue for cutting bricks from masonry along the seam. Then we carefully remove the brick and clean the bricks in the masonry, preparing them for mortar.
• If most of the furnace is in critical condition, then you have to take out a lot of bricks. It's very dusty. I didn’t think of isolating the stove from the room with a film, and my whole house was covered with a layer of dust. Bricks are removed until we reach those that hold tight. But turn on your head, otherwise you can generally disassemble the entire furnace. The fact is that some bricks that stagger a little can be left in the masonry. Then they will bond with their new neighbors, and everything will be fine. And, of course, we also take out all the cracked bricks, and also the burnt ones. Here, look at the photo, what my firebox looked like. It had to be taken apart and rebuilt. I took out about a little over 100 bricks from the whole oven.

After you have prepared the seams for repair (I wrote about this above), we wet the bricks with water using a sponge and put the mortar into the seam: we take it a little and “mint” the seam with a trowel - we seal it with the edge of the trowel until the metal practically stops penetrating into solution.

Do-it-yourself brick oven repair is very often a firebox repair. First of all, I took out all the burned-out bricks and prepared the firebox for new masonry. But there was one serious problem: one of the walls of the furnace turned out to be the carrier in the entire structure - let's say, the pipe rested on it. Therefore, I decided not to remove the bricks from this wall, but simply shifted the firebox half a brick to the side and laid out a completely new firebox wall. There is nothing particularly difficult in the masonry itself - just do everything carefully, take your time and try to ensure that all the bricks are bandaged. Under the grate, I cut out the bricks with a grinder so that it lay in the grooves, as it were.The grate must lie freely under its own weight with a gap of 5 mm from the bricks, otherwise it will expand from heating and begin to destroy the masonry. Some advise to fill these free gaps with sand, but I did not - they themselves will be filled with ashes.

All kinds of doors (furnace, blower, cleaning) are installed so that there is a gap of 5 mm between them and the bricks, otherwise they will destroy the masonry when heated. Fasten the doors either on a wire or on a tape. They are attached to the wire as follows: four pieces of wire are wound to the door (there are special holes in the doors), and then these mustaches are embedded in the masonry. Places for sealing (seams) are pre-cleaned. If the door wobbles a little after the mortar to be laid has dried, then bend the wire with pliers - as if pulling it. I fixed the blower door in this way. I did not like this method - the door is not very securely mounted in the masonry.

But the furnace door, as more responsible, I fastened with a metal tape. I riveted two strips to the door with rivets, which I made from cut nails, and immured this whole structure into masonry. It turned out perfect. Therefore, I almost forgot about the basalt sealant, which is placed between the metal of the doors and the bricks. You can close it right away, or you can then stuff it into a 5 mm gap.

The cooking floor was also installed with side gaps from bricks of 5 mm. It lies with me simply under its own weight, but along the perimeter under it there is a basalt sealant in two layers. So that the hob was flush with the plane of the stove, I sawed grooves in the bricks with a grinder along the perimeter of the stove.

This time I did not repair the valve on the pipe and the cleaning doors for soot - I postponed this matter until spring. But in general, the approach is the same.

Ideally, if the oven dries itself. This is quite a long time: it can take a month or two. Drying time will depend on the extent of the repair. Another drying option is gentle heating. In this case, it is important not to overdo it, otherwise the seams will crack. And so it happened for me: the top two rows of the slab, newly laid out, cracked at the seams, because I was in a hurry and went ahead of the set time (5-7 days) to the normal mode of the firebox.

In my case, this is not critical: in the spring I will lay five bricks anew, and in some places I will simply close up the cracks. But nevertheless, it's still annoying. And one more thing: the criterion that the oven is dry is that there is no condensate (water droplets) on the cleaning doors and on the valves.

Due to regular temperature fluctuations of large amplitude, the operation of the furnace sooner or later fails. Any owner with his own hands can repair a brick oven, having initial technical knowledge and skillful hands.

The main thing is to do it in a timely manner, then you will avoid troubles and fires.

Usually repairs divided into three types:

1. troubleshooting
2. medium troubleshooting
3. elimination of serious defects (overhaul).

We advise you to remember that regular oven inspection before the heating season and maintenance is a way to prevent possible serious damage to the structure in the future.

What are the minor problems you may encounter when operating the oven and how to eliminate them?

This problem may occur due to the following reasons:

• the stove has not been used for a long time, and cold air has accumulated inside the chimney;
• there is no air flow to support combustion;
• exposure to strong wind from the street;
• soot clogged the chimneys.

Solution: we kindle the stove not with paper, but with a piece of rubber or dry fuel.

Attention! The use of kerosene or other flammable liquids is prohibited.

In the event of a blocked chimney, the following activities need to be carried out:

• fire up the oven;
• pour coarse salt into the furnace (about a handful);
• close the damper immediately;
• pieces of soot will fly into the chimney pipe.

If this method does not help, then you need to clean the pipe yourselfby opening a special door, or taking out knockout bricks. Experienced oven makers will always leave doors or knockout bricks for cleaning.

To determine, where are these bricks located?, do the following:

• make an external inspection of the furnace; especially in places of passage of smoke channels;
• the knockout brick is usually offset slightly outward, in contrast to the main masonry;
• clean the old mortar and remove the brick. So the smoke channel will become available, and you can clean it;
• then put back the knockout brick and coat it with clay mortar.

causing the stove to smoke.

In addition, her appearance is spoiled.

Fire up the oven and you will notice cracks that need to be covered by hand.

Sequencing:

• soak the seams, and then clear them 2 - 3 cm;
• scrub the walls with a brush using clean water;
• prepare a solution by mixing clay, sand, asbestos fiber and salt (at the rate of 100 grams per 3 liters of the mixture); the indicator of a quality solution is the average viscosity. You can purchase a ready-made solution at a hardware store;
• fill the seams with a clay mixture, seal it, wiping all the voids;
• if necessary, plaster the walls, whitewash or tile.

It needs to be replaced with a new one.

Sequencing:

• clean the clay and dust from the place where the old brick lay;
• moisten the place with water and put a clay cake on it;
• wet a new brick, coat its top and sides with a clay mixture (prepare it in advance in the same way as for covering cracks);
• lay it in place of the damaged old brick.

Sometimes, if the furnace is damaged to a moderate degree, it is impossible to do without self-repair and strengthening of some parts.

Mechanical loads and temperature fluctuations can cause cracks to form around the firebox door or hob. As a result, dangerous gases penetrate outside.

These places need to be sealed.

Sequencing:

• clean the surface, remove the old solution;
• rinse and prime it with a heat-resistant adhesive diluted with the same volume of liquid;
• fasten an asbestos or ceramic cord around the door or hob, which will prevent the clay from cracking.
• wipe the necessary areas with a repair mixture;
• dry for at least a day.

Advice: in order to check if the fire-resistant cord has been tampered with, set fire to it right at the checkout.

You can eliminate the gaps around the hob using the same algorithm. Before removing the stove, heat the oven. Then pry off the metal with an axe. Asbestos cord can be replaced with basalt wool or felt. If the old stove is completely leaky, replace it with a new one.

This becomes necessary if cracks and cracks are located all around the oven. In this case, it is best to shift the masonry, but if there is not enough time, you can resort to screeding the frame with a metal wire.

Sequencing:

• we grind special channels in the furnace with a depth of 15 to 20 millimeters strictly horizontally;
• we lay wire in the strobes so that it provides a frame screed;
• we stretch the wire, twisting it with a beard or a thick nail so that it does not break;
• we plaster the oven.

When replacing the grate, please note that there must be a gap between the masonry and the grate. It must be covered with sand. The new grate should be exactly the same size as the old one.

This manipulation should be performed only when the sheets are perforated or rusted. Sequencing:

• removal of the old sheet;
• extraction of nails;
• laying a piece of felt that was previously soaked in a clay solution;
• nailing a new sheet.

Sometimes damage to a brick oven is so serious that it is necessary to restore its full working capacity, replace or improve broken parts.

Lining is nothing more than protecting the furnace surface from various mechanical and thermal damage. In our case, this is the use of fireclay bricks.

If the firebox lining is damaged, it must be replaced.

Important! For old and new masonry, use a homogeneous brick so that the coefficient of thermal expansion does not change.

Simple work can be done through the firebox door. To do this, it is enough to restore the damaged areas with a clay mortar or a factory refractory mixture.

Partial replacement of bricks is carried out in the following sequence:

• prepare the solution that was used during construction;
• soak and clean the old mortar in the required area;
• remove the element that was damaged;
• insert a new brick into an empty place and cover it well.

For these manipulations, a ready-made refractory solution can also be used - Fireclay Mortar, which consists of fireclay and refractory clay. Then the seams of the furnace will be able to withstand more than 1700 degrees.

Complete replacement of the lining is carried out only after the wall has been dismantled. The main masonry must not be affected.

Sequencing:

• disassemble the wall from the hearth to the ash hole; do not touch the stove ribs;
• remove the remains of rubble;
• lay out a new lining of fireclay bricks so that it does not bind with the material of the stove body. Observe the thickness of the seam - no more than two millimeters.
• if the oven is large, lay the brick flat. If small or medium - on the edge.

This may require plastering the masonry or even busting it in case of destruction.

The basic method is to line the walls of the firebox with fireclay bricks using a refractory mortar. Install slopes on the sides of the firebox. On them, hot coals will fall down during the combustion process and close the grate.

It is important to use only high-quality bricks.

Repair tools are best prepared in advance.

You will need:

• brick;
• double-sided hammer;
• Master OK;
• plumb;
• level;
• roulette;
• bucket for preparing the solution.

Not all the subtleties of the repair can be described in words, the video will show this clearly.

Didn't answer your question? Please leave your comments and wishes below. Thanks!

The effective functioning of any unit depends on its condition. Even despite careful and correct operation, sooner or later the time comes when the unit or its separate mechanism will require repair. Any oven is no exception. Consider some methods that allow you to repair a Russian stove with your own hands, both minor and major restoration, in the country house, in the house or in the summer kitchen.

Scheme of a traditional Russian stove.

As already mentioned, even with proper operation, repairs cannot be avoided. The thing is that some parts of the furnace always work in extreme mode. This is, first of all, the effect of high temperatures that appear during fuel combustion. As you know, almost all materials change their volume when cooling and heating, and cracks appear on the plastered surface of the Russian stove, and if there is no plaster, then the cracks are clearly visible at the seams of the masonry - the used mortar is deformed. Dark patterns often appear around dampers, doors, and metal parts as a result of the contraction and expansion of oven materials during operation.

It is important to understand that the oven does not consist of one material. Clay mortar for adhesion, fireclay bricks used, metal - they all have a different thermal coefficient. Even bricks among themselves have an unequal coefficient, because they are located at different distances from the fire. Therefore, some part warms up faster, the far part of the bricks takes longer.If it is simpler, then the furnace during operation, depending on the thermal regime, changes its shape all the time.

Usually, repair of a stove laid out with one's own hands in a country house or elsewhere is required when, for some unknown reason, its thrust suddenly disappears or starts to work inefficiently.

The quality of the draft is also affected by the correct arrangement of the chimney, and the ignition of the stove according to the rules, especially after its long downtime, as well as possible blockage of the smoke ducts.

Sometimes the masonry mortar cracks for some reason and the fallen brick can clog the channel - which will entail a rather difficult DIY repair, but what happens more often is the clogging of the channel with a piece of soot if coniferous wood is used as firewood: pine , spruce. Firewood from such trees splits very well, but when burned, due to the presence of resins in them, they form a very large soot.

To eliminate this trouble, we will proceed as follows: using firewood from aspen or alder, we heat the stove well, and when the firewood flares up well, we throw a couple of tablespoons of table salt into the fire. If soot is to blame for poor traction, this method will burn it out and traction will return to normal. Well, if the proposed method did not help, then in search of a fallen brick, the chimney masonry will have to be disassembled and repaired with your own hands.

Scheme of laying a Russian stove.

Experienced stove-makers for such situations leave a sufficient number of doors or the so-called knockout bricks (but also planted on mortar) to allow the chimney to be cleaned without dismantling it.

If a cottage or a house was purchased with a finished stove, then to find out the location of the knockout bricks, you need to do the following:

• carefully examine the smoke channels of the Russian stove;
• usually knockout bricks are mounted with a slight offset to the outside, a few mm, no more;
• when such a brick is found, it is necessary to clean the solution around it and then it will be easily pulled out;
• in this case, access to the channel is provided, and a stuck brick can be pulled out of it;
• it is necessary to prepare a mortar from clay - with the help of its knockout brick is put in place.

A fallen brick is a sign of the beginning destruction of the chimney, and it must be understood that very soon you will still have to do a major overhaul of the stove. She will survive the winter period, but when the heat sets in, she will need to think about the fact that without repairs, when cold weather sets in, it is highly likely that the house or cottage may be left without a Russian stove.

Scheme of laying a brick oven.

The deterioration of heat output and poor draft can be the result of not only clogging of the smoke exhaust ducts. Cracks in the furnace doors and walls of the furnace also become the culprits for the unit to malfunction.

In order to carry out the correct repair with your own hands, you must first of all determine the damage and evaluate them. The metal parts of the furnace are installed taking into account the expansion coefficient of the material when heated, but if soot appears around the doors over time, this indicates that carbon monoxide enters the room, albeit in small quantities.

Doors are installed during bricklaying, so it is not necessary to remove them from the structure. It will be correct to repair the masonry that allows waste to pass in this way: around the doors, scrape the solution to the brick, and carefully seal it with your own hands with a solution of cement and clay. This will require 1 part of cement, three parts of clay and ten parts of sand. These ingredients are very thoroughly mixed and diluted with water to the consistency of thick sour cream. This solution covers the seams around the doors.

Sometimes, when scraping the mortar, it turns out that some brick needs to be replaced. In this case, we prepare a whole brick and all other materials, and do-it-yourself tools for such repairs:

• metal brush to remove old mortar;
• sieve for screening sand for cement mortar;
• chisel for knocking out cracked bricks;
• Master OK;
• hammer;
• wooden float for grouting plaster;
• brush;
• sand;
• clay;
• cement;
• fireclay powder (if necessary);
• water spray for wetting the brick when installing it in place of a cracked one.

The deformed brick is carefully knocked out with a chisel from its place, a metal brush will help to completely get rid of the old mortar and clear the place for a new brick. The solution described above is prepared with your own hands, and applied to the wetted brick, which is then inserted into the place of the old one. The same solution is used to completely putty the brick, then the plaster is rubbed with a wooden grater, leveled and all this remains until it dries completely. During a hot period, a solution that dries too quickly on a Russian stove is wetted to prevent cracking in it.

There are cases when an unplastered stove in a country house is covered with so many cracks that it is impossible to repair it with ordinary plastering. To extend its service life, you will need to make a screed of the furnace frame with metal wire:

1. Channels with a depth of 15-20 mm are horizontally grooved in the furnace.
2. The gate must be made in such a way that it encircles the entire frame of the furnace.
3. After laying the steel wire, it must be pulled, this is done in several places with the help of a beard or a thick nail. You need to stop in time so as not to cause a break in the wire.
4. After that, the oven must be plastered.

You should be aware that any plastered stove will last longer than unplastered ones.

Repair of the furnace is also required if the principle of its operation changes. For example, in a situation where a gas pipeline is being built and you want to take advantage of its benefits, giving up firewood. With the connection of gas, gas stoves and heating systems corresponding to the time are installed, but many continue to use stoves after installing gas burners on them. This is convenient, and there is no need to clean the stove from soot, only problems with cracking of the connecting seams and skipping burning remain. Therefore, this topic will be relevant for a long time, as there are fewer and fewer specialists in laying and repairing stoves, and for a beginner it will be a real problem to repair an old stove in the country without the right tips.

The key to a good and long operation of the stove is proper operation, but the most important thing is not to use fuel that is not suitable for the stove. Many people burn household waste in it, and this entails environmental pollution and has a very bad effect on the functional abilities of the heating unit.