Hey all, I was wondering if there were any other Northstar owners out there. This was made by/for Northern Tool and was sold for only a few years (as far as I can tell).

I have 2 questions. 1. How in the world do you get the stirrer rod out to get the burn pot out. I am relatively mechanically inclined and it seems no matter how I try (without dismantling 1/2 of the stove) it will not come out.

and 2. I want to wire in a switch to run the stirrer when needed. This unit is controlled by one knob, and it is hooked to a timer that regulates corn feed and stirrer frequency. Has anyone done this before? I guess the principle would be the same no matter what brand, right?

Thanks in advance. You have all helped a lot already!

Do you have your stove manual? This is the link to it so you can download it.

custom.buyitsellit.com/18938/Guides/Corn%20Burning%20Stove.pdf

To remove the stirrer you have to slide the "tumbler collar" back off the end of the tumbler/stirrer. I suspect it has a set screw that holds it in place. The set screw has to be loosened with an Allen wrench. Good luck. The stirrer will have to be operated to turn the screw to a position that you can engage the Allen wrench. If you get the collar moved then the tang on the stirrer can be turned vertical so the burn pot with the stirrer can be raised up. Then the stirrer can be pulled to the right, then the left end of the stirrer can be raised up and the stirrer then will slide to the left and out of the burn pot.

If you get the stirrer out, when you reinstall it, don't tighten the set screw, just slip the collar over the tang. I think it will stay put.

As for the switch on the stirrer motor, I would mount it where you can get to the switch and at the same time see the stirrer so you know when to turn off the motor. The manual shows a wiring diagram.

These pictures show the stirrer drive and the collar. If you can't get the set screw loosened then there is a problem. I had to cut the collar in half with a cut-off disk to get it off. After I got it off I could remove the set screw. I welded the collar back together and re-bored the hole on a lathe to add some clearance. I think there are several sources of replacement collars but not sure about it.

I also show pictures of removing the clinkers. The fingers on the stirrer have to be positioned to be able to get the pliers on them.

I think a clinker burn pot might fit and work in this stove and that would eliminate a lot of problems but then the clinker would need removing a regular intervals. That isn't all bad.