A friend has a damaged Jotul... long winded: damaged stove, need help!

[fishinpa]

Whelp, I'm new to wood heat, but I've got a mentor as my brother out in western PA has been heating his 3500sf home for about 15 years this way... and this website to lean on.

I did some research, mostly around here for quite a while before coming to the conclusion that I did not want the maintenance associated with either a cast iron or catalytic type stoves. I went with a Quad 4300. (OFF TOPIC: I'm wondering if I should have went with a Napoleon now and saved a few dollars)

I have a friend locally who has what I think is a catalytic Jotul. As I spend time floating this forum I'll come across lets say a faq about cast iron stoves needing to be dis-assembled every 2 to 3 years to be inspected and re-cemented at the seams, OR another one about inspecting and replacing the cat component. I'll forward the links over to him because I know he does NO maintenance on his equipment and then I never hear back from him on the subject. I'm just trying to get him interested in running efficiently and not burning down his house. We talk on the phone regularly and I'll bring up the subject of the link I sent and whether he read it or not and he's not. I'll stress I thought it was important and relevant to his stove situation and he just won't read it. I'm well aware that you can lead a horse to water.....

Here's that real question now that I've posted the scenario behind it:
He called me last night and said now he's spotted a crack in his stove! (Go figure) I'm going to help retrieve a few truckloads of wood with him today and he's asked I look at his stove for him.

I guess I can assume that if the crack is at a seam, it can be repaired, but if it's on a plate somewhere, can that be repaired without taking it to a shop? Where is the general location of a cat on a Jotul and what am I looking for as far as it being healthy or not? (actually expecting it to be GONE)

Thanks all!

 

[Dune]

Some, but not all, cast iron stove parts can be welded. Sometimes the metal is too "burnt". This mostly occurs in areas subject to intense heat such as grates in coal stoves. A good welder should first determine why the crack ocured ( missing baffle plate, missing fire brick, overheat) for to effect a repair which will not be relatively permanent is a waste. Repairing cast iron is an art and science; not all shops are capable. Finaly, there are many correct ways to repair cast iron, however, brazing and bronze welding are NOT acceptable for use on a firebox or any other area subject to high heat.

 

[cmonSTART]

If you want it welded well, find an old guy who's been doing it for 40 years.

 

[fishinpa]

How about the cat inspection, issue? Is it some thing I can just "look up" and should be able to see?

 

[EatenByLimestone]

I'd worry more about where the crack is than the cat.

Cats are usually right near the flue exit. All I have seen are accessible from the stove top. Under a griddle or something.

Matt

 

[karl]

Here's an idea, as well as a question to all the really experienced stove owners and metal repair guys in here.

If the crack is small and hasn't separated. Why can't you drill a small hole at both ends of the crack to keep it from growing, then patch the crack and two small holes with stove cement?

 

[Dune]

The main problem is whatever caused the crack in the first place. If this is not resolved, the crack will propagate regardless. The other problem is that when the cement fails(which it will) then the sides of the crack will erode, causing the type of metal burning I discussed earlier. The safty issues are just to great to risk. Fix it properly, or replace it. Insurance may replace a home, but not a life.

 

[fishinpa]

I had a look at it today. It's the right side front where the corner frame piece is and the rigt side plate. They are separating. I couldn't get my hand in there because the stove was still pretty warm. It pi$$es me off how unconcerned he is about it.

Yes he did seem to know that there's 4 bolts that allow the top plate to be removed so you can see the cat from the top. There a steel plate (cast maybe) that covers it from the inside that almost looks like one of those 'tornado' things you see on tv for the intake on your vehicle.

I'm done (not really) with trying to DRIVE HOME the importance of this maintenance to him. The bastard is going to burn himself up and I'll feel guilty for not punching him in the face over this. (Sorry about the outburst of violence, don't let your kids read that)

PS: He's never had his chimney inspected either and this is his third year of burning this stove.

Does anyone have pictures of a home after a chimney fire I can send him? Maybe that will light the bulb for him.

Oh yeah, thanks everyone!

 

[InTheRockies]

fishinpa,

Your friend is an adult and you can't assume responsibility for him. You've pointed out potential problems to him. If he doesn't follow-up and there's a problem as a result, you can't blame yourself. Like the old saying goes, "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink." Try to relax and not worry about him.

 

[fishinpa]

I just spoke to the friend in question from the origional part of this post and he said: "Wow, I think I 'might' have had a chimney fire last night. I heard this "explosion" and the chimney was rumbling for a good while". Needless to say as I passed his house during this conversation, he must have just fired up for the evening because there was smoke everywhere. It's pretty wet & drisley today so I know it's going to linger a bit more than usual. I persuaded him to call the chimey guy, "but their closed for the day".

 

[LeonMSPT]

Newspapers are full of them... unfortunately there are few pictures, but if you search long enough I am sure they're there.

Fortunately, the majority of chimneys people are using are in decent repair at least, and heavy enough to contain the blaze until it can be broken up and extinguished by the fire department, or burn themselves out.

We had one when I was a kid, that was bad enough to call the F.D. for... we had several smaller ones over the years that did burn themselves out. Sometimes, you might go out in the yard and find ash and black soot all over the snow in the yard. Yes, Dorothy, you've had a chimney fire.

They have the potential to be deadly, and devastating. They are nothing to fool around with. If you're not sure, get the chimney cleaned.