Clydesdale Advice!

[ohiohearthstone]

So I cleaned out the stove (after 2 yrs) today! Last year I removed the cap (and all looked great) so I delayed until this year. We burned daily and hot last year. Wood is 1-2 year old seasoned ash.
The good news is that this all all of the "ash" that came out of the flue with the Sooteater. I swept top down.
It measured 1 cup exactly. I'm pretty sure this is all what you guys call flyash. There was no soot whatsoever and pipe is almost as clean as the day it went in.

The bad: When I was taking everything out, I noticed a cracked Soapstone that goes on the right side.
I'll probably have to replace it.
Additionally, I noticed the baffle has a hairline crack almost in the middle. Can I put some heat cement over this or does this HAVE to be replaced?
We always try to burn in the "burn zone" 400-600.
The baffle was never touched (only out to clean 2 yrs ago).
Thanks for the help/advice!

Was this:
a: from too hot of a fire
b: bad luck
c Poor Manufacturing

[ATTACHl]116690[/ATTACH]

 

[PLAYS WITH FIRE]

The baffle is some sort of "fiber board"? If so, furnace cement it if it is separated but it looks to be ok. The stone I believe is soapstone so you may also be able to furnace cement it together. That's what I'd do, I'd put it in, cement it together not to the stove, which may be ok others will chime, and install the holding band. Then I'd keep an eye on it...

 

[begreen]

The cracked stone is hard to say, but it is possible that it happened due to too rough slamming in of splits. Not saying this is so, but it is another possibility if anyone else sees this happening.

 

[ohiohearthstone]

We didn't spend 4k to abuse it. It's a member of the family.

 

[imalovesmax]

We got excellent customer service from HS. If I recall, they prefer you go through the installer or company you bought it from, but they sent out replacement parts for a few things we had problems with - our door hinges came off (which was scary as we had a big fire going!) and had problems with fan vibration. I would go to their web site and give them a call. Our installer put in a replacement fan kit of some sort and we replaced the door hinges. Nothing to lose by calling them directly. Good luck!

 

[Jags]

Cracked bricks and baffles happen. Fact of stove ownership. Neither of those cracks would stop me from using them. As long as they are reasonably intact they will perform their duty. Just one dudes opinion.

 

[Eaglecraft]

So I cleaned out the stove (after 2 yrs) today! Last year I removed the cap (and all looked great) so I delayed until this year. We burned daily and hot last year. Wood is 1-2 year old seasoned ash.
The good news is that this all all of the "ash" that came out of the flue with the Sooteater. I swept top down.
It measured 1 cup exactly. I'm pretty sure this is all what you guys call flyash. There was no soot whatsoever and pipe is almost as clean as the day it went in.

The bad: When I was taking everything out, I noticed a cracked Soapstone that goes on the right side.
I'll probably have to replace it.
Additionally, I noticed the baffle has a hairline crack almost in the middle. Can I put some heat cement over this or does this HAVE to be replaced?
We always try to burn in the "burn zone" 400-600.
The baffle was never touched (only out to clean 2 yrs ago).
Thanks for the help/advice!

Was this:
a: from too hot of a fire
b: bad luck
c Poor Manufacturing

View attachment 116685 View attachment 116689[ATTACHl]116690[/ATTACH]

ohiohearthstone:

Like you, I cleaned Clyde for the first time this fall - about two cups of fine ash. We burn hot with only dry wood. I will post photos of this event when I have the time.

The cracked baffle can be a result of the cleaning process. When cleaning from the top down, it's a good idea to remove the baffle - or at least place it at the bottom of the firebox - to prevent whacking it with the sweep brush. There is a YouTube video showing how to remove the baffle. On the other hand, the baffle could be cracked from hitting it with a split from underneath. The baffle is tough, but may not survive rough handling.

On the cracked soapstone inside the firebox - it too can be damaged by hitting it with a split. It can also be cracked from thermal shock.

Were it me, I would replace both the cracked baffle and the soapstone. But that's just one guy's opinion. To do this I suggest that you work through the dealer that sold Clyde to you, or an authorized dealer. They may give you a break (no pun intended) on the parts.

Goodluck with fixing Clyde.

On further looking at your photos again, its looks pretty clear that you did remove the baffle. So it may have cracked from just burning splits. Who knows? Still, since the baffle's part of achieving max efficiency, I'd replace it as it may get worse with time.

 

[webby3650]

A cracked stone happens from time to time, even without any kind of abuse. It's natural stone with tiny hairline veins, sometimes on will crack in this intense environment. I would reuse it, it's simply for thermal mass and firebox protection, it's still capable of doing it's job unless it won't stay put.
If that baffle is still intact like it looks in the pic, then it's not really a problem either. Some of their baffles require cutting in half and cementing back together in order to replace them.