Crack in wood stove

[Hilbilly]

sounds like you're on the right track though. were it cast, much more problematic
you might post before & after repair images, good luck
also, after repair, (sounds very tacky) but wonder if you could tack a baffle plate on the door interior to help avert future issues?

What do you mean by a "baffle plate"? Perhaps a reinforcing plate at those weak points. These cracks are not on the door but on the front faceplate just outside of the angle iron that the door seals against.

 

[big bubba]

images would save a lot of ink spilled on this subject

 

[Hilbilly]

here you go.

 

[big bubba]

thanks. i notice the small crack to the right as swell. looks doable, seems to me some grinding, welding, then an 1/8 cover plate would make it secure. can't really tell, i'm assuming this in the interior of firebox. best regards, & post a repair image after fire season.

 

[Hilbilly]

This is on the outside of the stove. I'd burn my hands pretty bad trying to get a pic of the inside, lol.

That thing to the right actually looks like some kind of blemish, up close. Not sure though. It appears to be slightly indented and a bit of a pit in the middle.

I agree with your process and will likely weld a cover plate on the inside of this crack then finish up the outside. I will have to take a closer look at that blemish from the inside to see if there are some tell tale signs of what is going on there, once the heating season is over. It's -20C today and the stove needs to keep running.

To replace this stove is around $7,000 so I will do my best to keep it operational and do it with safety in mind. Although I don't see how anything I do would make it unsafe.

 

[big bubba]

ouch, be careful. noooo, don't replace. think you're on the right track & have the luxury of time before repairing. keep us informed. best regards

 

[Skeletor]

You could probly just weld it up while still kinda running. Just drill it and grind it when the wood is low or a bed of coals. I don’t think it’s a huge deal it’s just another place the stove will suck air in. I welded mine up so it wouldn’t spread any bigger than it was. It’s a metal box with wood in it. I wouldn’t over think it.

 

[Cycledude]

Main heat source for my house is Blaze King add on wood furnace in the basement, its about 40 years old and has a crack below the door for atleast 35 years, started small but the crack is about a foot long now, I have never attempted to fix it and don’t think I ever will, it does a good job keeping the house warm.

 

[Wombat Ranger]

I repaired a Quadrafire Isle Royale which I bought for cheap before installing in my house. It replaced a late 70's Earth Stove which now happily heats my garage. The Quadrafire had been overheated by what looked like an extreme amount, cracking the top plate in several places, warping the main internal baffle, and 2 out of 3 of the secondary burn tubes were missing altogether. It is a cast iron stove and thus was a little more tricky to weld, but my point here is that pre-heating and then controlled cooling is very easy with a wood stove. Just burn a fire in it lol.

 

[Hilbilly]

I drilled a hole at the end of the crack and put a small bolt in it. When the temps warm up a bit I will grind and weld. I want to clean the back side of the crack before welding it again, to avoid any contamination. So I will have to let the stove die down some first but not now. It's still too cold.

I don't believe I am overthinking it. I just want to see if someone with more experience with repairing wood stove cracks knows of a method that would produce a more durable result. I can just keep welding it but would prefer to do it once. Apparently what I did last time did not last more than a couple of years so I'm thinking there may be a better way.

I've had a lot of good suggestions here and will use some of those when I fix it.

 

[Topzide]

Do you have TIG available? If so, you could do a fushion weld without filler rod. Just wire brush and clean well with acetone. Then just use filler on drilled hole. Then on inside, add plate to hold and add extra metal to heat.

 

[rScotty]

I drilled a hole at the end of the crack and put a small bolt in it.

Good to hear. I think you are on the right "crack track". You just might have stopped the crack growth right there.

 

[lilranch2001]

If it was me, I think I would go ahead and v out the crack, n welderup… the re drill the hole, put a nut n bolt in it torque it and call it done.

 

[Rockbadchild]

this is what i would used to grind the crack, the zip cut to make a groove down and the straight grinder to V it out.… how good are your welding skills? I hope they are really high to clean the inside of a used stove grind it and weld a plate in position, unless you flip it over but still, it will be a dirty job and hard to execute… but if you pull it of good on ya.

I also agree this crack could be a lot worse so you have time. My dad stove had a crack by the chimney hole for years, we could see through, it would let a puff of smoke if it was out of air so we would open it up a bit then it was fine.

 

[I’m the Tim]

I run Jotul cast iron wood stoves. Have burned out the very good airtight steel stoves from the ‘70’s. Love them, but modern Jotule stoves make the same heat and burn clean

 

[I’m the Tim]

Welding steel is easy and your fix is doable. If it is steel, welding cast iron is a different thing,

 

[Hilbilly]

The cracks aren't spreading so I will leave well enough alone for now.