Pacific Energy Pacific Insert Cracks

[iceman]

i think so too. They still just wanna weld....- reweld my stove. So yes those cracks on the inside def was the diff. I plan on getting a mirror and checking mine. If there are no interior cracks I will reweld.
I change door gasket every year, and burn like we discuss here so if its overfiring its doing it on its own. lol
I am starting to believe maybe my wood is to dry. So will mix it up this year.

 

[iceman]

lumberjack, where did u get that surround with the holes in it?

 

[Lumberjack]

lumberjack, where did u get that surround with the holes in it?

Iceman, I reworked the factory "large" surround. I felt that the stove threw more heat without the surround, but liked the look better with it installed. So I printed out the hole pattern on paper, center punched all the holes and then drilled them out. If i did it again I might get more creative with the design. I can't say that it worked or not, tough to tell but it made me feel better!

Also, regarding your cracked firebox. I am guess that you pulled it and took a wire brush to it to look for cracks. To inspect mine I stood it on its back, that really helped. That's the only way I found my interior cracks. I suspect the crack propagated from the inside out as the interior welds were not nearly as well done as the exterior. Use a good light as well. I am sure I am preaching to the choir here....

Heck if it wasn't for this forum I would be burning my old one right now, totally unaware of all the cracks, for better or worse.

 

[Lumberjack]

UPDATE

Hi All

It has been 2 months now since I received my new PE Super Insert to replace my failed Pacific Insert. I have to say that I am really liking this stove! It seems to be a whole lot more predictable than the Pacific was and has better air control. I also feel that this stove does a better job of getting the heat into the room than the Pacific did. It could be the additional cast iron on the stove or it could be the dual blowers instead of the one large blower creating better air circulation around the firebox.

I think the biggest thing was the purchase of the IR gun. I found that the face temp can really lag behind the top / collar temp, in the range of 200-300 deg F. I have also learned things like the blowers will drop the top temp 100F in 5 min or so when you go from 3/4 power to full power on them.

I have been running it with the collar hitting 650F during startup/reload and then cruising around 500 F stove top temp (with the blowers on). This seems to be a happy zone for the stove. I haven't seem any buildup on the inside of the stove or the glass so I am thinking I am in a good place temp wise.

Anyone else who is running the Super I would love to hear your thoughts on them.


Stay warm!

 

[begreen]

Thanks for the update Lumberjack. I had a suspicion that the door face temps were underestimating the top temp. Good to hear that you have the new insert dialed in and are getting nice results.

 

[Sisu]

Hi Lumberjack! My Pacific insert was replaced with a Super too and I am getting the same results. It seems a bit more controllable and has nicer aesthetics with the cast iron.

 

[tim1]

I rebuilt a old summit free standing stove. No cracks inside, but the baffle was really warped. Just welded it and braced it with stainless rod and works great. If you have that 5/8th hole on bottom for ebt, it is not open all the time, just start up, and end of burn for more air. Rebuilt my ebt mechanism and tested it. Tim

 

[certified106]

Lumberjack, glad to hear it was made right and you are back to burning in a great stove. I am still thoroughly enjoying my T6

 

[Lumberjack]

I rebuilt a old summit free standing stove. No cracks inside, but the baffle was really warped. Just welded it and braced it with stainless rod and works great. If you have that 5/8th hole on bottom for ebt, it is not open all the time, just start up, and end of burn for more air. Rebuilt my ebt mechanism and tested it. Tim

Tim: As far as I know, the Summit is the only insert that PE made with EBT. On both the Pacific and Super there is always a hole to feed the fire. Can shut if off unless you modify your stove / add a damper to it.

Sisu: Totally agree! Did you tweak your air control lever at all to allow you to close the stove down a bit more?

Regarding the baffle cracking and warping. My dealer told me you get one free replacement over the life of the stove and then they are ~$100 after that. I believe that baffle gets very hot if your stove top / collar hits 700F, glowing red hot that is. It seems like an area PE should redesign to better reinforce it. It must weigh at least 20lbs.

 

[Sisu]

No I haven't tweaked anything. Although a higher degree of control would be nice, I not sure how the manufacturer would respond during a warranty claim if the inner workings of the stove/insert have been modified.

 

[Fort Wisers]

Just found this thread as we have a PE Summit Classic that has a cracked baffle and now realise (did chimney clean and stove clean / inspection just last week) there are cracks around the door area and intake.
We never burn this thing too hot (air intake always on low or just slightly above), door gasket gets checked every month or so and replaced every year or two.
Very disappointing as we totally love this stove. It throws a nice even heat, the view of the fire is great and the look of the red shrouding is gorgeous. We contacted Pacific Energy directly about three weeks ago but they mentioned we have to go through the dealer. Our dealer closed down for good (unfortunately) so now we have sent the information to a different dealer (this morning). When we first contacted PE we only knew about the baffle. The baffle crack we noticed toward the tail end of last burn season. When I started my fall stove routine (sweep chimney, inspect stove etc etc) I noticed the cracks near the door. Fingers crossed we can get something done before the burn season, which is fast approaching.
As mentioned, we're disappointed as we like the stove but also don't want to run something that is unsafe.

 

[saydinli]

Just found this thread as we have a PE Summit Classic that has a cracked baffle and now realise (did chimney clean and stove clean / inspection just last week) there are cracks around the door area and intake.
We never burn this thing too hot (air intake always on low or just slightly above), door gasket gets checked every month or so and replaced every year or two.
Very disappointing as we totally love this stove. It throws a nice even heat, the view of the fire is great and the look of the red shrouding is gorgeous. We contacted Pacific Energy directly about three weeks ago but they mentioned we have to go through the dealer. Our dealer closed down for good (unfortunately) so now we have sent the information to a different dealer (this morning). When we first contacted PE we only knew about the baffle. The baffle crack we noticed toward the tail end of last burn season. When I started my fall stove routine (sweep chimney, inspect stove etc etc) I noticed the cracks near the door. Fingers crossed we can get something done before the burn season, which is fast approaching.
As mentioned, we're disappointed as we like the stove but also don't want to run something that is unsafe.

View attachment 200371
View attachment 200372
View attachment 200373

How long have you had the Summit? I've heard the PE had some issues with cracks in the past , but I believe they have been rectified.

 

[begreen]

What year was your stove made?

 

[Fort Wisers]

What year was your stove made?

Sorry gang, meant to mention that. Date of MFG is Sept 2013, we bought new from a dealer.
Its a series A in case the helps as well.

Edit: Sorry everyone, was down looking further at the stove. My wife made a comment last night about when we got the stove so I looked at the sticker on the back again and both Sept over the 2013 and 2009 section punched out. Yesterday I only noticed the punch over the 2013, so assumed it was Sept 2013. I see now that is just indicating the month, then the second punch-out indicates the year. So it turns out the true date of MFG is Sept 2009. Terribly sorry for the confusion.

 

[begreen]

Some of the series A units had this issue. It is covered under warranty. Be pleasant with the new dealer, but persistent.

 

[saydinli]

Some of the series A units had this issue. It is covered under warranty. Be pleasant with the new dealer, but persistent.

Hey Begreen, has PE ever acknowledged what the issue was with the A series that caused the cracking? Do they replace the whole stove under warranty or just repairs?

 

[begreen]

Hey Begreen, has PE ever acknowledged what the issue was with the A series that caused the cracking? Do they replace the whole stove under warranty or just repairs?

I think they take the body cracks on a case by case basis. Some are welded and some are replaced. The baffle is a definite warranty changeout, but that point is moot if they replace the whole stove.

 

[Fort Wisers]

Some of the series A units had this issue. It is covered under warranty. Be pleasant with the new dealer, but persistent.

Thanks Begreen, that is our plan, so far the email exchanges have been great. Pulled all the firebrick tonight and inspected for interior cracks....didn't find anything. We will keep everyone posted on our outcome. Really hoping PE comes through.

 

[Hogwildz]

Thanks Begreen, that is our plan, so far the email exchanges have been great. Pulled all the firebrick tonight and inspected for interior cracks....didn't find anything. We will keep everyone posted on our outcome. Really hoping PE comes through.

It's as if I was looking at my old Summit, which I still have, but not hooked up or in use. The other place to look is at the corners of the door opening at the knife edge, and the upper welds in the corners inside the from of the door openings. They paid to weld mine. I had a certified union steelworker welder, who is my neighbor, grins them out and weld them. I also had him beef up the welds at all 4 door opening corners, they never had an issue since, but the right & left upper face areas cracked again. I filled them with furnace cement and kept going. No issues as they are exterior & separate from the inside stove box. Annoying to look at yes, but still completely functional.
Here is a some photos of mine when it happened.

 

[Hogwildz]

Repairs

 

[Hogwildz]

Repairs

 

[Hogwildz]

Finished repairs

 

[Hogwildz]

The face cracks that came back, that I filled with furnace cement.
They did make changes in the next body styles B&C. They sent me a new B. The one difference I noticed was the air wash plate at the front inside the door, was full length and welded on both ends on the A body. The B seemed to have a small gap on each end of the air wash plating, and no full welds. I believe this was the issue with the A bodies, as it takes a lot of heat there from the air wash & the jets from the baffle, and when it expanded, it pushed on both ends and caused the outside panel cracks. I have not heard of these issues with the B&C bodies.

 

[Fort Wisers]

Hey Hogwildz, thanks for the information. I was looking at our PE Alderlea T5 last night. Although I know it's a different firebox then our Summit the construction is very similar, just smaller. Anyhow, its a B series and I did notice the change around the air wash, same as you mentioned, no welds on the outer edges. There are no cracks in our T5 BUT, the stove is newer and we only use it occasionally. The issue I see is if there is an inherent design issue causing opposing forces during the heat/cool cycle of the stove, it will always end up cracking / re-cracking at these stress points. The fact that you had a certified welder repair the welds only to have the cracks reappear pretty much confirms this.
I wonder if it would be best to grind out the welds where the airwash meets the door sides and leave it floating?
I'll have to take a closer look at ours later today.

Looking at a contingency plan in case PE doesn't come through, what paint did you use after the repairs? The colour match looks really great in your pictures.

Thanks again everyone on this board, helps knowing you're not alone with an issue!

 

[Fort Wisers]

Sorry everyone, was down looking further at the stove. My wife made a comment last night about when we got the stove so I looked at the sticker on the back again and both Sept over the 2013 and 2009 section punched out. Yesterday I only noticed the punch over the 2013, so assumed it was Sept 2013. I see now that is just indicating the month, then the second punch-out indicates the year. So it turns out the true date of MFG is Sept 2009. Terribly sorry for the confusion, I placed a similar note in my post above, hard to get my head back there to see!