Hearthstone Homestead 8570 Repair

[SoVa]

So I was blessed with a free 9 year old Hearthstone Homestead 8570 wood stove today! (My first post). All of the stones are in great shape and the door doesn't sag at all, but there are a few repairs that need to be made and was looking for some advice again - particularly on the back panel crack. I believe they broke their baffle and the stove got too hot without them noticing. They said they were using it right up until season end last year. I'll focus on the current issues and get some advice on the install later. Below are the issues I think I need to address, but please let me know if you see anything else or have other recommendations.

• Replace door gasket
• Rear fire brick is cracked - does this need to be replaced?
• Back panel crack - this is the big one. Is this steel or cast iron? I have a friend who is a great welder and I plan to have him weld this crack and continue on. I don't want to spend $800+ s&h to replace this part.
• Not sure about the metal piece in the inside top of the stove. Looks fine, but not sure what I'm looking for.

Any advice, especially on the back panel?

 

[Highbeam]

I owned a heritage and that is not a heritage from 9 years ago. Are you sure it’s not really old or a homestead?

 

[SoVa]

You’re correct. It’s the Homestead 8570 model bought in 07/2010. I’ve edited my post.

The manual shows the rear panel as being cast iron. Any thoughts on making that weld repair?