Hearthstone Mansfield with cracked Stone

[ctiberi]

Hi All, Been sitting back reading the posts for quite a bit , need some advice now though.

Bought this house a year ago and it has a Mansfield from 1995, that from what I have been told has been burned 24/7. I just noticed a few days ago that there is a stone in the rear of the unit that has multiple cracks in it, one of them is all the way through as I can see it cracked in the fire box. Not sure if my burning habits last year or early this year caused it or if it was like that when I bought the house. I try not to have temps above 600 Only once or twice did it accidentally get to about 650, while in my possission.

Question is how do I repair it?? Spoke to the local Hearthstone dealer they have stones available but apparently replaceing it is very difficult because of the location Rear, middle, lower stone. They do not offer any services to take on this job and I do not feel too comfortable doing it myself. Was thinking of trying to repair it with refractory cement, Anyone try this before?

Right now I have been burning the stove only when I am home - kind of worried to leave it alone. The cracks do not seem to be letting in air, I am able to control burn rate with primary control.

Any Advice, comments would be appreciated

 

[JonOfSunderland]

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/28533/

 

[Cath]

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/28533/

RI Woodburner,
In the post directly above JonOfSunderland provides a link to a thread of mine on a similar question. This is the info he gave me in post # 3:

I just bought a 1996 Mansfield off of Craigslist and before looking at it I emailed Hearthstone to ask about the possibility of cracked stones and what to do. This was their response:

"Hairline or surface cracks are natural and do not affect the integrity
of the stove. Even a crack all the way through can be sealed with stove
cement and the stove can be burned in this condition indefinitely. The
stone can also be replaced with some tear down and reassembly of the
stove.

Tech Support"

He emailed me the parts diagram for 1995-1999 model Mansfield and you can order stones individually. The soapstone is fine, so the only thing I plan on doing is replacing the gaskets.

With Craig's (Webmaster's) help I was able to get low resolution pictures posted of the stove I am interested in. If the info Hearthstone gave Jon is accurate then even a crack that goes "all the way through" is OK and that you can use refractory cement to repair it. It's hard to tell from my pics but it looks like someone has already done that.

However, you may be able to get better feedback if you post pictures of your stove and/or give a better idea of what you are describing. Are you saying that you can see the cracked soapstone as you look in the firebox? Does that mean the firebox itself is damaged? If so, I'm guessing that could be a problem.

Good luck.
~Cath

 

[frwinks]

as suggested, fill the crack with cement and let'er burn....
I fixed two or three cracks that way and so far so good, going on second season.

 

[ctiberi]

thanks for the sugggestions - where the cracks all the way through frwinks? meaning you could see them in the fire box.
If so did you fill the craks on the outside as well as the inside with stove cement?

Thanks

 

[Cath]

thanks for the sugggestions - where the cracks all the way through frwinks? meaning you could see them in the fire box.
If so did you fill the craks on the outside as well as the inside with stove cement?

Thanks

RIWood Burner,
Can you be more specific? It doesn't sound like the soapstone tiles are the issue. I'm no expert, but if you are looking inside the fire box and you can see the cracked tiles through cracks in the firebox, then the real issue is a cracked fire box.

If so, you may want to edit the title of the thread to reflect that because you'll probably get more responses from people who know something about cracked Hearthstone fireboxes. And it may be helpful to describe how extensive the cracks in the firebox are.

Just a suggestion.
~Cath

 

[ctiberi]

Cath, unless I am mistaken the actual soapstones make up the firebox. I can see the outlines of each stone inside the stove.

 

[Cath]

Cath, unless I am mistaken the actual soapstones make up the firebox. I can see the outlines of each stone inside the stove.

RWB,
I took another look at the "exploded parts" diagram that Jon PM'ed me and that makes sense. I don't see any fire brick on the inside. I suggest you do what Jon did and email Hearthstone with a more detailed verbal description. How many cracks are there? How far apart are they? How long are they? Can you see light or flames through them? Better yet, include a couple of pictures if you can.

Good luck and keep us posted.
~Cath

 

[frwinks]

thanks for the sugggestions - where the cracks all the way through frwinks? meaning you could see them in the fire box.
If so did you fill the craks on the outside as well as the inside with stove cement?

Thanks

yes, I had two of the stones split in half (you could see the flames through the crack :roll: ). After talking to Jim at Hearthstone, I cemented the entire stove, stone joints/corners and all cracks. You want to squeeze as much of the cement INTO the crack as possible, from inside and out, but clean the excess on the outside. Then you "parge" the inside around the crack.
here's a pic of what it looked like after cementing. Left back corner stone had a small crack forming, the right side stones were the ones cracked in halves.
You are correct, there are no firebricks, steel and stone only.

 

[cgarmor]

This is an OLD Mansfield! Without the secondary air tubes and the air wash door. You're lucky in that aspect as it made your repair simpler. I have to replace the primary air manifold on mine. I'm waiting on the parts and the instructions. How'd you get your top off...by unbolting the rod that runs up the corners?

Chris