Cracked Englander :(

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Rusty

New Member
Feb 22, 2007
21
I have a 28-3500 wood furnace and noticed last night that on each side of the door opening at the bottom are cracks.They are on the front and u can see the light from the fire until it gets hot and the crack closes.Its only 3 years old, and im trying to find the info on the 5 year warrenty.
Should I quit using it?
Does anyone know how it can be repaired?
Would Stove Cement fix it?
Or would it need welded?
Alittle sad right now...Ive had 3 other stoves in my life....have never had this happen..
 
Bummer. It's probably best to be welded. Can you post a picture or two?
 
There is a five year warranty on the firebox. What did England's Stove Works say when you called them? The warranty is on page 15 of the manual. Their phone number is on page one.
 
I will get pics up in a few hours...
 
O.K...how do I make the pic size smaller?
 
If it were me, and I wanted to keep using the stove, I'd drill a small hole at the end of the crack to stop it from spreading.

Regardless, being under warantee, I think that Englander should be the next ones to be in contact with. I am sorry to hear of your problem, but look forward to hearing how Englander decides to fix this problem.

pen
 
Give'em a call. They will take care of it. Not one doubt in my mind based my prior experience.
 
I have receipt in hand..I will be calling Monday morning...Love the stove, (i grew up with wood stoves, never had an issue)wish me luck..
 
It looks like this on both sides of the bottom of the door opening
 

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I'm still working on it...Have had 2 welders look at it.Both say the metal is not "good" metal, should have never cracked.One says he would weld it, but no guarantee.And the other wont touch it, says it will crack again...I'm suppose to get a quote and send it to englander, and they will reimburse me.
 
Ibjamn said:
I'm still working on it...Have had 2 welders look at it.Both say the metal is not "good" metal, should have never cracked.One says he would weld it, but no guarantee.And the other wont touch it, says it will crack again...I'm suppose to get a quote and send it to englander, and they will reimburse me.
I would tell them it isn't good enough after what the welders said.
 
I agree it will likely crack again. you might be better off drilling a hole at the tip of the crack to keep it from propagating, then weld a plate over it or fill the hole/crack with stove cement.
 
what did England stove works say?
 
I'd weld it.

Take a 1/4" shanked carbide burr and cut a u-groove along the crack, centering the crack from end to end. Go deep enough to where you've removed 2/3 rds of the base metal thickness. Have a reputable welder lay down a bead of LH7018 electrode via stick, then take a small grinder with a Tiger wheel to the raised weld bead and smooth it back to the stove surface height. Paint it with a high heat flat black.
 
Frostbit said:
I'd weld it.

Take a 1/4" shanked carbide burr and cut a u-groove along the crack, centering the crack from end to end. Go deep enough to where you've removed 2/3 rds of the base metal thickness. Have a reputable welder lay down a bead of LH7018 electrode via stick, then take a small grinder with a Tiger wheel to the raised weld bead and smooth it back to the stove surface height. Paint it with a high heat flat black.

Im with ya Frosty. Find a good rig welder that does pressure pipe. They will know what to do with it. ;-)
Good luck.
 
I would just weld it. It's not a structural issue. You're just trying to keep the fire contained (and excess air out).
 
Peter SWNH said:
You're just trying to keep the fire contained (and excess air out).

Actually i think the big concern is making sure it wont crack again.
 
I had the same issues with my old daka furnace. Actually it was in the same spot. I tig welded it 2 times without fixing the issue. the second time welding it I really got it hot, thinking the first time I didnt get enough penetration. Same issues as you where the crack closed up after the furnace gets up to temp. Steel shouldnt crack like that being that thick but on mine I had an inside 90 degree cut where it meets the door.
 
After seeing this thread, I figured that I'd check my Englander 28-3500 to make sure that there was no cracks like the ones posted here. To my surprise, I found that mine is cracked in the exact same spot as the one in the photo. In order to see it, I had to get eye level with the crack while I had a fire going inside. To those of you who have the same issue with this stove, please keep us updated with how the company handles the problem. I will be contacting England Stove Works since my stove is less than 1.5 years old. Here is the warranty as listed in the stove's manual:

"LIMITED 5 YEAR WARRANTY FROM THE DATE OF PURCHASE TO THE ORIGINAL OWNER

The manufacturer extends the following warranties:
Five Year Period:
1. Carbon steel and welded seams in the firebox are covered for 5 years against splitting.
2. The cast iron door, hasp and hinges are covered for 5 years against cracking."
 
This is strange. They have building that thing since the early 80's at least. That is when I first looked at one.
 
Called England Stove Works today to report the crack in my stove. They said that usually these issues are resolved by having someone weld the crack. I was told to email them pictures of the crack and to get an estimate to have someone weld it. I asked how this would affect the 5 year warranty in the future and he said that once it's welded, it should be fine and should not crack again. I'm not sure that I want to take the chance of having it welded and then have it crack again after the 5 year warranty is up. Should I be pushing for a replacement stove here?
 
ronoz said:
Called England Stove Works today to report the crack in my stove. They said that usually these issues are resolved by having someone weld the crack. I was told to email them pictures of the crack and to get an estimate to have someone weld it. I asked how this would affect the 5 year warranty in the future and he said that once it's welded, it should be fine and should not crack again. I'm not sure that I want to take the chance of having it welded and then have it crack again after the 5 year warranty is up. Should I be pushing for a replacement stove here?

That is the problem with stove warranties. I have never seen one that didn't say it was their call whether it was repaired or replaced, and the stove owner is on the hook for freight if it is replaced or sent to them for repair. Get included in the estimate lugging that sucker to the welding shop if they can't do it on site.
 
Thanks for the info BrotherBart. Well, I had a welder check out the cracks today and he pointed out some additional cracks that I had not yet noticed. One was inside the door frame on the lower left corner near the crack in the front plate and the other was on the opposite side of the front plate near the lower right corner of the door. This crack extends all the way over to the lower right door hinge. The welder stated that he could not guarantee that these areas would not crack again even if he welded it. I just sent Englander an email and am requesting either a refund or a replacement wood furnace. We'll see how they respond.
 
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