Rear vent wood stove

[PeruDak]

I put up a 24’ PY this last year and purchased a beautiful used fire view cast iron wood stove. Its exterior had a few wet spots in transport which were dried and it was stored in a covered but open air exterior roofed and wrapped building for 5 months while yurt floors etc were worked on.

I’m in the Pacific Northwest and we’ve had constant rain and some freezes. In that time, even the interior of the stove began to melt with rust and all the cast iron became pitted.the soap stone full thickness cracked in the freezes.

I’ve been trying to find a rear vent steel stove and have no luck except for huge BTU monstrosities. Cape Town etc Despite soap stone cracking in cold I’m reconsidering hybrid steel.
Any ideas ?

[Jafo]

I have an Ideal Steel soapstone stove and love it. Never had a stove melt before. Sounds like you maybe over-fired it?

[PeruDak]

No I never used it. It was pristine when I bought it used.
By ‘melt’ the rust was dripping down interior walls of the stove, just from

moisture

in the air in room (4 walls, roof, windows but tarp covering where barn doors were yet to be hung)

I just looked at Ideal hybrid but they only sell their stoves with catalytic and said that using the stove without using it could warp interior. ?? I’m totally off grid
Oddly their larger steel hybrid only quote 10-30,000 btu which would leave me worried about poor burn off in chimney.

[Jafo]

My yurt is 100% off-grid and my Ideal stove has a catalytic too. It doesn't require power or anything, you just engage it manually by pulling a mechanical lever when the temp of the stove gets warm enough. It heats my entire 30' yurt when the weather is well below zero. I sometimes use it without the catalyst engaged, and I have never warped the interior, but I also watch the thermometer on the stove and adjust the air so it doesn't over-fire, like any other stove.

[PeruDak]

That’s awesome. I thought the catalytic WAS powered and it looked like electric cables on those that were optioned