Englander 30 use after fire?

[naturelover]

This winter, the detached garage my Englander 30 was heating caught fire (deemed electrical and wasn't the stoves fault, wasn't overfired, or a dirty chimney. Could tell that it had started in the corner of the garage)

It was fired up though, and was still burning as the fire department put out the fire, dousing the stove of course and then and opening it up and spraying inside it.

Is it still safe to use? I plan on giving it a paint job, and replacing any bricks that might need replaced. Then maybe fire it up ouside and look for leaks around the welds.

Based on timing, it was most likely past the secondary stage and into coaling mode, but can't say for sure as I wasn't present when the fire started.

Thanks for any info.

 

[Highbeam]

Are you afraid it got hot from the fire or is it the shock from cold water into a hot stove.

Unless you see cracks or physical sagging from a melted stove, I would fire it up.

 

[bholler]

i think testing it outside is probably a good idea

 

[Jags]

Inspect it. If there is no obvious damage, cracks or warps I wouldn't be afraid to fire it up. Make sure the glass is in good shape, also. (its not really glass but I would still check it for thermal shock).

 

[Highbeam]

The ceramic baffle board might turn to oatmeal when it gets wet. Be sure it is dry and solid feeling. Rapidly heating a soaking wet ceramic board might make it disintegrate.

Small fire first to dry the bricks out.

 

[naturelover]

Well Highbeam, mostly from thermal shock, but it was really hot in there. My ATV suffered the worst, and was nearly melted to the ground. The stove was beside it, and near the most intense part of the fire.

It looked okay, no obvious signs of damage, but haven't really inspected it closely. I do need to get it painted up though, before it rusts.

I'll try and get to it this weekend maybe, and do a good inspection.

Interestingly enough, it wasn't covered under the insurance as contents, as it was deemed "attached" to the structure.

 

[naturelover]

Well, after a looong time, lol , but won't leave the thread hanging.

I did finally get around to this last weekend, looked over it really well and all seems okay. I removed the baffle boards, and they are warped upward a little bit, not soft or crumbling however. No broken welds around the outside, none of the bricks were cracked, nor was the glass, hoping it will come clean though.

Fired it up with some kindling and couldn't see any smoke escaping. Added some more wood and 8' of chimney pipe to it to try to get it warmer, but didn't really get it up to burning temps. Plan is to paint it today and try to get it a little hotter to see how the welds are, but the 8' of pipe may not be enough to get it to the secondary stage. Even the door seal seems to have survived, though should probably replace it.

Looks like it'll be fine however, must be a pretty tough stove....

Will paint overspray on the glass come off, or would I be better off to try and remove it before painting? Can scrape off paint on regular glass, guessing you can do the same with the door glass? Those little screws holding the glass in there look prone to breaking, but would I be better off to replace the glass seal also?

 

[spirilis]

I'd remove the glass and plan on replacing the screws and gasket seal too.

 

[beatlefan]

Well, after a looong time, lol , but won't leave the thread hanging.

I did finally get around to this last weekend, looked over it really well and all seems okay. I removed the baffle boards, and they are warped upward a little bit, not soft or crumbling however. No broken welds around the outside, none of the bricks were cracked, nor was the glass, hoping it will come clean though.

Fired it up with some kindling and couldn't see any smoke escaping. Added some more wood and 8' of chimney pipe to it to try to get it warmer, but didn't really get it up to burning temps. Plan is to paint it today and try to get it a little hotter to see how the welds are, but the 8' of pipe may not be enough to get it to the secondary stage. Even the door seal seems to have survived, though should probably replace it.

Looks like it'll be fine however, must be a pretty tough stove....

Will paint overspray on the glass come off, or would I be better off to try and remove it before painting? Can scrape off paint on regular glass, guessing you can do the same with the door glass? Those little screws holding the glass in there look prone to breaking, but would I be better off to replace the glass seal also?

I agree with spirillis, remove the door & glass and paint with glass out. If you scratch the glass it can be prone to break when it heats up.

 

[Highbeam]

I razor blade clean my glass every time. It's not easy to scratch at all. It would be hard to clean the overspray from the gasket/glass joint but if you can tolerate that line of overspray remaining then it will save a lot of work and risk.

Mask well, spray, then burn the stove. Don't fix anything that's not broken.