first time wood stove purchase - quad 3100i

[halg]

so....i've been looking into wood stove inserts for about a year.

i've never owned one so the only stuff i know is from reading sites like this and looking at them in stores.

last week a used 3100i showed up on craigslist and i picked it up for $75.

it is showing some surface rust from sitting outside for a week & a couple bricks are cracked in the back (but not crumbled).

no blower.

who has one of these?

it appears to have a set of tubes running horizontally across the firebox. on top of these tubes is a ~1/2" thick, brick (fire box brick) like board with what appears to be fiberglass insulation (????) on top.

what is this stuff? it was the last thing i was expecting to see inside the stove. it appeared to be designed into the stove but i can't imagine it would not melt during a firing of the stove.

anyone know what i'm describing???

 

[Pagey]

The top part of the stove you are describing is called the "baffle". Modern EPA approved stoves use a baffle with secondary burn tubes to burn the smoke and volatile compounds released from seasoned wood as it burns. Those tubes "inject" pre-heated air which is usually pulled up the back/sides of the stoves fire box. The pre-heated air is "injected" onto the top of the primary combustion to cause the gases released from the burning wood to combust, thus ensuring a cleaner burn and more heat. The stuff on top of that baffle is a special type of "wool" used for its insulating properties.

 

[halg]

gotcha. thanks for the reply.

so this would qualify as 'non catalytic' secondary combustion. is that correct?

also, is there a concern with damaging this baffle while cleaning the flue?

 

[Dix]

Hal, take some pics. This way, everyone knows what they are looking at, to offer more advice, and we satisify our picture craving

Plus house dimensions, air flow issues (open floor plan or other?) Ranch, cape, etc.

Welcome to the forums !

 

[Pagey]

gotcha. thanks for the reply.

so this would qualify as 'non catalytic' secondary combustion. is that correct?

also, is there a concern with damaging this baffle while cleaning the flue?

Yes, you are describing a non-catalytic stove. Most stoves require that you remove the baffle before you clean the flue. My stove, the Lopi Endeavor, uses what is called a "bypass damper" that slides out of the way for cleaning. Other stoves require that you simply remove the baffle before you clean.

 

[halg]

Hal, take some pics. This way, everyone knows what they are looking at, to offer more advice, and we satisify our picture craving

Plus house dimensions, air flow issues (open floor plan or other?) Ranch, cape, etc.

Welcome to the forums !

thanks. will do.

my house is a 1 story rancher ~1300 sq foot. not a very open floor plan but from what i read, it appears this stove should be more than adequate.

 

[halg]

gotcha. thanks for the reply.

so this would qualify as 'non catalytic' secondary combustion. is that correct?

also, is there a concern with damaging this baffle while cleaning the flue?

Yes, you are describing a non-catalytic stove. Most stoves require that you remove the baffle before you clean the flue. My stove, the Lopi Endeavor, uses what is called a "bypass damper" that slides out of the way for cleaning. Other stoves require that you simply remove the baffle before you clean.

thanks again.

i will be cleaning the stove up myself. at what point are fire bricks in need of replacement. as i said earlier, none appeared to be crumbled but some in the back were cracked. do i run any risk of damaging the stove by firing with bricks that need replacement?

also, can anyone recommend a good place to buy paint for the stove? i suspect ordering paint from quad is not the cheapest route.

 

[Pagey]

Most manufacturers will say that as long as there is not a significant gap in the fire brick, you can continue to operate the stove normally with a cracked brick or two. I'd see if I could locate a .pdf of the manual online to be sure, though. As far as damaging your stove, again, the operators manual will tell you the overfire temperature for your stove. It will also tell you how to remove the baffle prior to cleaning. Painting is usually accomplished with some high temp stove paint.

 

[begreen]

Good advice. The manual is the missing piece of information. Here's where to find it:

http://www.quadrafire.com/Customer_Care/Installation_Manuals.asp

The insulation on top of the baffle is ceramic and designed to help keep the firebox hotter. Treat with care and replace if it's in bad shape.

 

[jtp10181]

WOW $75? That's a hell of a deal. I'm curious when it was manufactured. Can you still read the rating plate on the side?

I would study the manual over good, and then give it a good sanding and repaint it with some metallic black or flat black stove bright paint. (Or you could paint it green or something if you really want).

Just FYI you will need at least a partial stainless steel liner to install the thing. Check out the manual for the details.

 

[halg]

thanks for all the replies.

i'll post pics once i get it in the shed to work on it.

the tag said it was manufactured sometime in 2003.

i'll probably be posting reconditioning questions in the near future.

i'll also be posting flue install questions once i get to that stage too.

 

[Pagey]

Sounds good. Keep us up to date, and when you do the install you'll find plenty of knowledgeable members who can help. And welcome to Hearth.com. Oh, one final thing: do you have your supply of wood ready for the heating season?

 

[begreen]

Another note, if working with Stove Brite paint, be sure to do this in a VERY well-ventilated space, outdoors if possible. It's a good product but a strong paint, rots brain cells. Wear a mask.

 

[halg]

here are some pics...

i took the bricks out to move it.

i've got about a half a cord left over from last year. however, though i asked for it small (18"), some pieces seem longer than that. the specs for the stove say 16" recommended with 18" max. will i be unable to fit any longer than 18"? even corner to corner?

i'm sure many questions will follow when i get into cleaning & installing it. here are a couple right off the bat:

1. should i really try to get 16" pieces of wood? that seems awful small. is 18" a pain or do you think they would fit fine?

2. does anyone have a paint source? someone mentioned stove brite. i'd like to stay as close to the factory color as possible. would just searching for stove brite black paint be pretty close to factory?

3. does anyone have any tips for cleaning up the gold trim? as you can see from the front pic of the door, there is rust on the gold trim. this is probably the biggest concern. is the trim just a thin veneer i should be careful not to removing with heavy polishing? any trim cleaning tips or just silver polish & a cloth?

4. no blower. is it worth investing in one? right now, i'm thinking of trying it without one and then buying one if i want more heat.

thanks again!

 

[Pagey]

My Endeavor calls for a max split size of 18" as well. Though it is possible to get a couple of longer pieces in at a diagonal, you can't really bank an overnight fire like that. It's okay during the day to burn an odd piece or two that way, but I just go for 16 to 18" splits. It makes loading so much easier.

 

[BrotherBart]

For the paint part, Northline Express carries the whole Stove Bright line so you will find something that is either exact or close to the manufacturer's color. Lots of stove companies use Stove Bright at the factory. BeGreen is right. The stuff is acetone based and you should not use it in an enclosed area and you have to use a mask. We don't want you to start posting stuff like member Pook does from the brain damage from the acetone.

http://www.northlineexpress.com/category/high-temp-paint.asp

Be careful with the firebrick in that stove. Quad uses a special pumice firebrick that you have to get from them and it is expensive. And fragile compared to ordinary ceramic firebrick.

Congrats on a hell of a deal on that stove.

 

[halg]

thanks for the tip on the bricks. i was surprised how light they were. they did seem very fragile but i didn't know they were special order.

 

[jtp10181]

If you really want QUAD paint I have half a box at our store. Its really nothing special though. I usually repaint any stoves with the stove bright metallic black and it looks really sharp that way.

The gold is a VERY thin plating (yes its real gold). You could buy a new door if you really like it and want it looking new, or just rough it up and paint it all black. The standard door does not have the gold trim on it, thats and upgrade.

If you have a lot of damaged bricks it would be most cost effective to order an entire set for the unit, or get a 6-pack which has a much cheaper "per brick" cost.

Looks like you are missing the top section of the surround panel.

The blower will help kick the heat out into the room a lot better. We sell them with most installs we do unless there is no good place to plug it in.

 

[karl]

You got a heck of a deal. Oh, and put a blower on that thing. You're going to be warm this winter.