Quadafire 4100i warped? Need help

[MofoG23]

Guys - I'm a bit concerned with my Quad insert. This insert was installed professionally last year (October I believe) with a SS insulated liner. I followed the recommended process given by the installers to have a few "break in fires". Start very small, let the stove cool off, then gradually increase the temps and size of the fire. A few weeks later, I called my dealer and asked them what the recommended temperature range would be to avoid damage. They said there is not a specific temp reading and that I should go by the user manual. I told them the manual did not have a specific temperature, just to avoid an overfire. Since my dealer could not give me an answer, I e-mailed quadrafire and received the response below. When I called quad directly, they gave me the same answer as my dealer and that I should call them for technical support questions....so I e-mailed quad directly and got a better response.

The 4100I front and top of the stove maximum temperature is 600 degrees.

The Glass is rated for 1200 degrees.

The Flue pipe is rated to 1700 degrees.

Thank you for your inquiry

I was not too happy with this answer as I needed specific measuring points, so I asked again....

500+ degree temperatures are about all we like to see above the glass. The
flat shelf above the doors would be the area I would concentrate on. Most
people wouldn't have a thermometer so the rule is if the glass stays dirty
while you are burning then the fire isn't hot enough or the draft is poor.
The glass generally will get sooty when the fire dies out but then cleans
back up when you get a good fire going again. You might see the tubes at the
top of the insert glowing but that is fine. No metal should show signs of
turning red.

Basically this is what I used to operate the stove last year and this year. I have a pretty nice (high quality) IR thermometer which I used constantly - my wife says I have OCD with the insert.

I will load the stove up and when the top of the door area (center) gets around 400-500, I will pull all of the air out and let the stove cruise (nice secondary burns). When I shut the air down, the top of the door area could increase anywhere from 500-600. There have been a few times where it will climb a bit above this (usually no higher than 650) then it will settle down between 500-550. The burn tubes will occasionally give me a dull glow, but I have NEVER seen any other part of the insert glow red. My glass is usually clean and only needs to be wiped down once a week at the most. The flat shelf she/he refers to never sees temps much above 300, which makes sense as there is a gap between the actual stove top and shelf (this is where the air blows out).

I get great burn times as I can load this up with well season white oak at 9pm and wake up at 6am to find a nice bed of coals and stove temps around 250 degree's.

Below is a picture of what I found when I removed the top plate to view the actual "stove top". Its hard to see, but in the center of the stove top, it is slightly bowed upwards. I decided to take some measurements and found that when the face (above the center of door) is around 500-550, the actual stove top is 650-750+ in certain spots. The stove top does have hot spots as I can read 700-750 in the center, then measure 550-600 off to the sides of the top.

Since the center area has bowed upwards (very slightly - maybe 1/8" at the peak), I'm concerned this has been damaged. I plan to call the dealer, but I'm scared to hear them tell me its been overfired and the warranty is void. I've been burning most of my life as I grew up with a wood burner in my parents house. We spent a good amount of $$$$ buying this and having it installed by the dealer. I also went out of my way to get accurate measurements directly from quadrafire, which was like pulling teeth. When I called them directly, they always referred me to my dealer for the answer. Only via e-mail would they give me actual readings.

What are you thoughts on this? Could the stove top be made from weak/faulting steel plate? The stove top is normally covered by shelf (where our steamer sits) and not something you can easily measure. It appears to be sealed up and I can't find any broken welds. The only thing I noticed is that I have a small gap around the top of the door in the center - it still passes the dollar bill test but you can clearly see the difference in the gap.


Is my insert ok?

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide!

Eric

 

[ControlFreak]

Mofo,

"Since the center area has bowed upwards (very slightly - maybe 1/8†at the peak), I’m concerned this has been damaged. I plan to call the dealer, but I’m scared to hear them tell me its been overfired and the warranty is void. I’ve been burning most of my life as I grew up with a wood burner in my parents house. We spent a good amount of $$$$ buying this and having it installed by the dealer. I also went out of my way to get accurate measurements directly from quadrafire, which was like pulling teeth. When I called them directly, they always referred me to my dealer for the answer. Only via e-mail would they give me actual readings.

What are you thoughts on this? Could the stove top be made from weak/faulting steel plate? The stove top is normally covered by shelf (where our steamer sits) and not something you can easily measure. It appears to be sealed up and I can’t find any broken welds. The only thing I noticed is that I have a small gap around the top of the door in the center - it still passes the dollar bill test but you can clearly see the difference in the gap."

A minor distortion in the steel at this point will cause you no problem at all. Relax and enjoy your fire. It's only a problem if you're not able to close your door or something like that. This is most likely 3/16" thick steel at this location. It's fine. Really.

Enjoy,
Dan

 

[MofoG23]

Thank you! I can now sleep a bit easier as this has been bugging me for the past week...

I've been trying to compare this to an old stove we had in our basement at my parents house and the stove top was VERY flat - after 15-20 years of service (and quite a few HOT fires by my father throughout the years). When I saw the bow on mine, I freaked out....

BTW I measured the stove top to be 1/4" thick steel.

 

[offroadaudio]

I have the same stove and the same bow - not to worry

 

[iod0816]

Ditto on the bow for me. I've not measure but found this to be something that ebbs and flows with a fire. I burn oak, ash, sugar, cherry - the hot stuff and it realy only gets "bad" if I don't have the blower on when it gets above 450. So I put it on above 450 and don't keep the knobs all the way in above this temp. Glad to see others see the same thing though I don't feel it should happen as it is. Oh well probably just part of the design as I inspect the welds every so often with no signs of cracks or breaks.

 

[BrotherBart]

If ya notice, with free standing stoves they either have 5/16" inch top plates for flat tops or a step top bend in the top plate with 1/4". I have always figured that the step top bend was for structural rigidity. Looks like it is.

 

[MofoG23]

Thanks guys...I'm back to worry free burning.

 

[MofoG23]

Ditto on the bow for me. I've not measure but found this to be something that ebbs and flows with a fire. I burn oak, ash, sugar, cherry - the hot stuff and it realy only gets "bad" if I don't have the blower on when it gets above 450. So I put it on above 450 and don't keep the knobs all the way in above this temp. Glad to see others see the same thing though I don't feel it should happen as it is. Oh well probably just part of the design as I inspect the welds every so often with no signs of cracks or breaks.

Yep, I noticed the same thing - as it heats up, it does bow a bit more.

I also do not think this would be normal as the constant movement would degrade the life of the steel...I would think.... but I'm far from being an expert on steel!