broken fire board in Quadra Fire wood stove

[jtbs]

Ok, so we just pulled the bone head move of the century and cracked the piece of "concrete looking board" that sits in the top of our Quadra Fire wood stove. It is midnight so we can't call our dealer and we are just wondering what purpose that board has. Is it ok to burn in it now that it is cracked? We of course will replace it ASAP, but we can't do it tonight and there is a roaring fire in it at the moment. We don't want to start a flu fire, but it is going to be 13 degrees here tonight with a wind chill of below 0 so we want a fire if at all possible too. As far as we can remember the board is just to help hold heat in the fire box. Are we right?

Thanks for the help.
Hoping someone is up this late.

JTB'S

 

[jtp10181]

If you still have the insulation blanket above it you should be fine using it with the crack as long as there are no chunks missing from it. Get ready for a surprise when you get the price from the dealer. Those boards are not cheap.

 

[jtbs]

Thanks guys....we were able to get it fixed this morning. Our dealer gave us the one out of his show room model. And yes you were right, it was not cheap. Our dealer made us feel better by telling us that we are not the first ones to do this. He also said that our stove is about 4 years old and he finds that he has to replace alot of them at this age. We really like our stove our only problem is that it has a small fire box and we are always trying to cram a little more wood into it. Hence the problem with the broken insulation board.

I wish, I had found this site 4 years back so that you guys could have advised me to get a stove with more room in the fire box.

I am amazed at all the info on this site. I'm sure I will learn a lot.

Thank you,
jtb's

 

[BrotherBart]

What did he charge you for it?

-

 

[jtbs]

Well, this is the other half of jtb's. I'm the idiot who kicked the piece of wood. The price for the fireboard and the insulation panel was $130.00. Cheap enough of a lesson I guess.

jb

 

[velvetfoot]

I'm on my second Quadrafire. The first one had the metal baffle. The new one is MUCH easier to take out.

 

[TMonter]

You can actually buy the ceramic fiberboard much cheaper from a insulation/refractory supplier but you need the cut dimension to have it made.

 

[velvetfoot]

Couldn't you cut it yourself?

 

[jtbs]

Couldn't you cut it yourself?

I'm wondering the same thing. We do happen to have an insulation company right across the highway from us. I wonder if they have the fire board. At the end of the burning season I will have to replace some of the fire bricks because they are cracked...any advise on that?

jtb's

 

[velvetfoot]

I have a beef about the crappiness of the Quad's bricks and replaced them all with standard fire bricks.
Hopefully everything is okay, but they are a lot more rugged.

 

[TMonter]

Couldn’t you cut it yourself?

If you have a tile or abrasive saw I'm sure you could but the dust is considered hazardous so having them cut it is a better idea.

I have a beef about the crappiness of the Quad’s bricks and replaced them all with standard fire bricks.

Quad's bricks are that way because of insulating value but I agree they have crappy longevity, especially the back bricks for the startup air. I've yet to have a set of the back two last a season without cracks. I usually replace them after three seasons. I should look into the local masonry place about getting the higher density ones drilled and made to fit.

 

[jtp10181]

Just curious... why did you replace the blanket as well? Was it torn or otherwise destroyed?

 

[precaud]

Couldn't you cut it yourself?

Yes, it cuts easily with a fine tooth saw blade or even a serrated-edge knife.

 

[velvetfoot]

TMonter,
I cut my own replacement fire bricks with an abrasive blade in a table saw.
I also drilled the hole for the one startup air pipe.
Not a big deal at all, but messy.