Drolet Baltic Wood Stove Cracked

[J&J]

I have Drolet Baltic wood stove for about 9 years, and it developed crack on the left and right side of the chamber. The crack is like think hair line and about 3-4 inches long. I plan to repair it and have questions as follows:

1) The manual and website doesn't provide information about material of the chamber. It looks and sounds like steel to me. Can anyone confirm it?
2) I plan to weld the crack with a stick welder. Is it OK for the thickness of the metal sheet of the stove? Again I cannot find information about the thickness of the metal sheet.
3) I can remove the shield and have access to the crack from both inside and outside. Should I weld it from inside or outside or both?
4) Someone said to drill small holes at the end of the crack to stop it from spreading. Do I still have to drill it before welding?

Thanks in advance for all responses

 

[begreen]

Can you post some pictures of the cracks? It depends on where they are located. The welds in the combustion chamber have a lifetime warranty. I would take good pictures and discuss with Drolet support before proceeding.

 

[J&J]

Thanks for the answer. i'll try to get some pictures after I get home.

 

[J&J]

Pictures with the red circle on the crack on both side.

 

[begreen]

Odd location. Are these behind the firebrick?

 

[edyit]

i'm gonna guess that this model doesn't have 2 rows of fire brick?

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Looks like firebrick along the bottom. Can you post a pic of the area from the outside?

 

[J&J]

The crack is in the area above the fire brick. As edyit suspected, this model has only one row of firebrick. The crack can be seen from the outside as well. I will post the pictures from outside when I get home.

Quick question. Can I put in the second row of firebrick myself? It's pretty easy to buy more fire bricks. How can I keep the top row of fire brick from falling down?

Thanks everyone again for your responses.

 

[edyit]

my older stove only had 1 row of brick, i added a second row of bricks on top, had to do some trimming to get them to fit, a tile saw worked nicely for that. you can add a second row of bricks. technically you are altering the stove by doing so but IMO its a change for the better. definitely get those cracks fixed though. if you are the original owner you might want to look into "Limited Life Time" warranty that is on it.

 

[J&J]

Thank you edyit for the tip. How did you make the top row stay in place? Did the top row sit flush on top of the bottom row?

 

[begreen]

It's a clear defect. The stove should be replaced. Who knows where or when other issues will show up? Pursue this course with Drolet.

 

[edyit]

the top row did sit flush on the bottom row. but as begreen said, i'd take this up with Drolet, those don't look to be spots that would normally crack.

 

[J&J]

Thank you. I have contacted Drolet about the crack. I have sent them some pictures and also informed them that I couldn't find a receipt or invoice. I know that it's my bad on receipt but it was a receipt from 9 years ago.

Let's see what they say, and I'll provide update on the claim.

 

[J&J]

I just heard back from Drolet. They are willing to pay for the repair, and it will be done by welding. Is it a normal choice of repair for this type of defect?

As for welding how should it be done? Should it be welded from inside, outside, or both sides? The information will help me check if the welder knows what they are doing when I talk to them.

Again thank you for all responses.