Chrisg - 14 February 2008 11:25 AM
Would it be possible to rebuild the refractory chamber on a dutchwest 2479 with any of the materials in the second link? If so how would you know what to use. I plan on taking the back apart this summuer to fix an issue with the soft refrac package and if I could do it without giving anymore money to VC CFM that would be outstanding. Not sure what the parts cost from them but it is probably expensive.
Don’t want to hijack thread this just really caught my attention when I read thru it. Thanks Chris
First - the soft (ceramic filament) portion of the refractory IS COVERED by warranty and should be replaced free of charge. There are no doubts about that since its not exposed and therefore you can’t ram a log against it, its covered.
That said, you should be able to repair/replace any refractory piece, although some will be harder than others. I too need the refractory piece for my load door. I know its not covered by warranty, because my wife repeatedly slammed the door against a log until the refractory cracked in half (rolling eyes). Anyway, I wanted to order a replacement, and balked at the ridiculous price. VC is shooting themselves in the foot if you ask me. I’m going to start a new thread with detailed instructions and pictures for how to make your own replacement refractory parts. But since I haven’t done it yet, I’ll just give you my notes thus far.
First of all, much damage can simply be repaired, you don’t always have to build a whole new part. Rutland sells some good products for this, in fact you can probably find their refractory repair product (in a tube, works with caulk gun) on clearance right now. I picked up two tubes from Home Depot for 50 cents. Follow the instructions, you need to wet the existing refractory before applying, you can stick both halves of a broken piece of refractory back together again with this stuff and it will hold pretty well.
OK - what if you want to make your own replacement part? You need castable refractory with insulating properties. Don’t use concrete - it can explode when heated. You can use another Rutland product, they sell their own castable:
http://www.hartshearth.com/productcart/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=6278
this can be found at many retailers that sell Rutland products.
But its more cost effective to buy a bag of castable refractory direct from a manufacturer. There are several manufacturers, and I think every state has at least one distributor. AP Green/North American Refractories/Harbison walker, has an online location search at:
http://www.hwr.com/
(click locations, distribution centers at the top)
You can also just use superpages.com and search on “refractory”, to find local suppliers.
There are many mixes that should work, but based on my research here’s a partial list of products that should be fine:
KAST-O-LITE 22 Plus
KAST-O-LITE 23 LI Plus
KAST-O-LITE 26 LI Plus
KAST-O-LITE 30 LI Plus
KAST-O-LITE 97-L Plus
GREENLITE 23 LI Plus DS
GREENLITE-45-L Plus
GREENLITE 75-28 Plus
GREENLITE-45-L AL Plus
GREENLITE CASTABLE 22 Plus
Sparcast LC32-AL
With Kast-O-Lite, the number in the name represents the temperature its rated to go up to, so 26 is good for 2600 degrees F (which is way more than you’ll need). 30 goes to 3000 degrees, but does not insulate as well as 26 so there is no reason to pay extra for it.
I just picked up a 55 lb. bag of kast-o-lite 26 today, it was about $35 and is enough to make many custom pieces. It also came with a separate printed set of mixing and using instructions. I’ll make a simple form, create the replacement refractory piece, and cure it according to directions and let you all know how it works out, but really I don’t think its such a big deal… Note that VC adds metal strands to their refractory to give it extra strength and prevent it from falling apart if it cracks, you can do this too, probably using any wire material you have.
With VCs prices, perhaps I should start selling custom refractory replacements!
Thanks for the info Tradergordo. Let me guess the door brick cracked right across where the mounting screw goes thru. I made a simple bracket that mounts with the screw that puts pressure on it and holds the pcs in place on my stove.
Watched your vids on 2479 stove operation liked them alot. I think very dry wood like you mention is the key to running this stove and getting optimum performance with extend burn times.
I am going to get some of the castable material this summer and make new pcs as well. Did you get the kastolite local or order it online?
I would still be interested in knowing what board material I would need to patch a hole in the soft refrac if anyone knows or were you saying there is something that comes in a chaulking tube to fill small holes in this part.
Thanks Chris
Would it be possible to rebuild the refractory chamber on a dutchwest 2479 with any of the materials in the second link? If so how would you know what to use. I plan on taking the back apart this summuer to fix an issue with the soft refrac package and if I could do it without giving anymore money to VC CFM that would be outstanding. Not sure what the parts cost from them but it is probably expensive.
Don’t want to hijack thread this just really caught my attention when I read thru it. Thanks Chris
First - the soft (ceramic filament) portion of the refractory IS COVERED by warranty and should be replaced free of charge. There are no doubts about that since its not exposed and therefore you can’t ram a log against it, its covered.
That said, you should be able to repair/replace any refractory piece, although some will be harder than others. I too need the refractory piece for my load door. I know its not covered by warranty, because my wife repeatedly slammed the door against a log until the refractory cracked in half (rolling eyes). Anyway, I wanted to order a replacement, and balked at the ridiculous price. VC is shooting themselves in the foot if you ask me. I’m going to start a new thread with detailed instructions and pictures for how to make your own replacement refractory parts. But since I haven’t done it yet, I’ll just give you my notes thus far.
First of all, much damage can simply be repaired, you don’t always have to build a whole new part. Rutland sells some good products for this, in fact you can probably find their refractory repair product (in a tube, works with caulk gun) on clearance right now. I picked up two tubes from Home Depot for 50 cents. Follow the instructions, you need to wet the existing refractory before applying, you can stick both halves of a broken piece of refractory back together again with this stuff and it will hold pretty well.
OK - what if you want to make your own replacement part? You need castable refractory with insulating properties. Don’t use concrete - it can explode when heated. You can use another Rutland product, they sell their own castable:
http://www.hartshearth.com/productcart/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=6278
this can be found at many retailers that sell Rutland products.
But its more cost effective to buy a bag of castable refractory direct from a manufacturer. There are several manufacturers, and I think every state has at least one distributor. AP Green/North American Refractories/Harbison walker, has an online location search at:
http://www.hwr.com/
(click locations, distribution centers at the top)
You can also just use superpages.com and search on “refractory”, to find local suppliers.
There are many mixes that should work, but based on my research here’s a partial list of products that should be fine:
KAST-O-LITE 22 Plus
KAST-O-LITE 23 LI Plus
KAST-O-LITE 26 LI Plus
KAST-O-LITE 30 LI Plus
KAST-O-LITE 97-L Plus
GREENLITE 23 LI Plus DS
GREENLITE-45-L Plus
GREENLITE 75-28 Plus
GREENLITE-45-L AL Plus
GREENLITE CASTABLE 22 Plus
Sparcast LC32-AL
With Kast-O-Lite, the number in the name represents the temperature its rated to go up to, so 26 is good for 2600 degrees F (which is way more than you’ll need). 30 goes to 3000 degrees, but does not insulate as well as 26 so there is no reason to pay extra for it.
I just picked up a 55 lb. bag of kast-o-lite 26 today, it was about $35 and is enough to make many custom pieces. It also came with a separate printed set of mixing and using instructions. I’ll make a simple form, create the replacement refractory piece, and cure it according to directions and let you all know how it works out, but really I don’t think its such a big deal… Note that VC adds metal strands to their refractory to give it extra strength and prevent it from falling apart if it cracks, you can do this too, probably using any wire material you have.
With VCs prices, perhaps I should start selling custom refractory replacements!
Thanks for the info Tradergordo. Let me guess the door brick cracked right across where the mounting screw goes thru. I made a simple bracket that mounts with the screw that puts pressure on it and holds the pcs in place on my stove.
Watched your vids on 2479 stove operation liked them alot. I think very dry wood like you mention is the key to running this stove and getting optimum performance with extend burn times.
I am going to get some of the castable material this summer and make new pcs as well. Did you get the kastolite local or order it online?
I would still be interested in knowing what board material I would need to patch a hole in the soft refrac if anyone knows or were you saying there is something that comes in a chaulking tube to fill small holes in this part.
Thanks Chris
