Crack in Fireback on VC Defiant Non-Cat 1610

msbree · Nov 19, 2011

Mornin' All,

My son noticed a crack on the fireback this morning as I was lighting the stove! I have no idea how long it's been there, and have also not noticed the stove operating any differently the last month since I've been using it daily! I've already e-mail the photo to my installer (who also sells VC stoves), and will give him a call shortly as soon as the office opens! I never load the stove high, so it's not possible a piece of wood fell on that area! Has anyone ever experienced anything like this? My main concern right now is, is it safe to run the stove?...and how could this have happened? I normally burn between 500-650F!

https://picasaweb.google.com/116257668274360114602/WoodBurningStove#5676707965826736082

I just added a short video of the crack...so just click the next arrows from the image!

If anyone can answer my questions and ease my mind until I hear from my installer, I'd really appreciate it!
thanks so much !!!

!!

schortie · Nov 19, 2011

We had the same stove and almost the exact same crack in the firebrick. There should be no problem continuing to burn. We were told, and discovered that beyond aesthetics, it was a non-issue.

msbree · Nov 19, 2011

schortie said:
We had the same stove and almost the exact same crack in the firebrick. There should be no problem continuing to burn. We were told, and discovered that beyond aesthetics, it was a non-issue.

schortie....did you hear my big sigh of relief? lol Thanks so much for your reply! Just curious, but did they say what caused it? Wonder if this crack will get worse over time! You wrote 'We had the same stove'....did you end up buying a new stove?

webbie · Nov 19, 2011

When lightning strikes a couple time in the same place, it usually indicates a problem with the design of the part......maybe too big of a casting and should have been made in two pieces instead of one, etc.

The only way to really know this would be to see if it happened to a lot of other owners.
This was a common problem in very early Defiants and in Upland stoves and others with large back castings.

msbree · Nov 19, 2011

Webmaster said:
When lightning strikes a couple time in the same place, it usually indicates a problem with the design of the part......maybe too big of a casting and should have been made in two pieces instead of one, etc.

The only way to really know this would be to see if it happened to a lot of other owners.
This was a common problem in very early Defiants and in Upland stoves and others with large back castings.

I completely agree that this must be a design problem! I purchased this stove brand new from the dealer in September of 2007, so maybe it qualifies for 'an early model'! Just found this on the net: http://vermontcastingswarranty.com

Already heard back from my installer's office! Stove IS safe to use, but they consider 650F overburning? She's gonna call VC Monday morning to find out if this is a product recall, and if it's covered under warranty....if so, then I'll have it replaced....BUT if it's no longer covered under warranty, this part costs $385.00 to replace, plus labor! hummmmm....don't think it takes a rocket scientist to figure out that if I spend $385 to replace the part, and history has shown it's an issue with this stove model...do I keep wanting to spend $385 everytime it cracks when the stove is safe to use with the crack??

joninvermont · Nov 19, 2011

Had the same problem with mine. VC paid 100% for new refractory piece, plus labor for dealer to re-install it. I burned with the crack for about 3 months without problems before getting it fixed.

I felt that the factory gaskets on the Defiant (last year was first year with it) were very leaky and caused the fire to be hard to control, which I suspect was the cause of the crack (overfiring). Replaced gaskets solved the trick for me.

msbree · Nov 19, 2011

joninvermont said:
Had the same problem with mine. VC paid 100% for new refractory piece, plus labor for dealer to re-install it. I burned with the crack for about 3 months without problems before getting it fixed.

I felt that the factory gaskets on the Defiant (last year was first year with it) were very leaky and caused the fire to be hard to control, which I suspect was the cause of the crack (overfiring). Replaced gaskets solved the trick for me.

WOW....this is sure getting interesting !!!

Not that I'm happy about it, but I am relieved to see this is a common issue with this model! That crack is BAD...are you saying that you've only had this stove for one year and got a crack that bad? Sorry if I misunderstood! Did they also replace the gaskets at the same time, no cost?

For now, I won't say anything and will wait to hear back if VC is going to replace this on their dime, including labor! If not, well we'll see about that! lol

webbie · Nov 19, 2011

In my experience, user firing is not the problem in these cases....that is, you can't help but use the stove in a certain way in most cases. Also, overfiring tends to lead to warpage and orange color castings, etc - a simple crack in an otherwise good piece is stress of some type - sure, caused by heat, but it's a woodstove! It's supposed to get hot.

As you say, if it is fine with the crack there is no problem - and, if the replacement is the exact same thing it is likely to happen again. But, if they tell you that they changed the fit of the piece....etc. to avoid this, then you are good to go.

In the upland 207's, virtually 100% of the backs cracked because the casting was simply too large - which means various levels of heat on it in different areas. The solution in that case were liners which were hung inside the back...it took enough heat off the back to avoid most cracks. Even in those cases, a back rarely had to be replaced....most folks just put the liners in and used it for years...or, at this point, decades.

joninvermont · Nov 19, 2011

MsBree said:
joninvermont said:

Had the same problem with mine. VC paid 100% for new refractory piece, plus labor for dealer to re-install it. I burned with the crack for about 3 months without problems before getting it fixed.

I felt that the factory gaskets on the Defiant (last year was first year with it) were very leaky and caused the fire to be hard to control, which I suspect was the cause of the crack (overfiring). Replaced gaskets solved the trick for me.

Click to expand...

WOW....this is sure getting interesting Not that I'm happy about it, but I am relieved to see this is a common issue with this model! That crack is BAD...are you saying that you've only had this stove for one year and got a crack that bad? Sorry if I misunderstood! Did they also replace the gaskets at the same time, no cost?

For now, I won't say anything and will wait to hear back if VC is going to replace this on their dime, including labor! If not, well we'll see about that! lol

That crack happened after about a month of use. Replaced gaskets and everything at no charge. But this was just dealing with dealer, not VC directly. VC provided parts at no cost.

schortie · Nov 19, 2011

Ours was not as bad as joninvermont's, but it did get a couple other small cracks over the year so so that we had it. We didn't see it as a big deal and didn't do a warranty claim on it. There were other parts that we did have replaced under warranty and whoever was running what used to be VC at the time paid for parts and labor.

schortie · Nov 19, 2011

MsBree, we did replace the stove after about a season and a half.

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Crack in Fireback on VC Defiant Non-Cat 1610

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