Jotul 118 hairline crack & inside burn plates

[sgsstat]

I have a jotul 118, circa 1980. I noticed a hairline crack, about 2.5" long in a butt of a reindeer on the side. It does not show light when examined with a flashlight from inside or out . I was going to use furnace cement to fill the crack applied on the inside of the stove.

Q1: how thick should the cement be applied. Should I fill the entire reindeer butt (probably 1/4") or cover thinly (1/16")? In either case, I would try and force cement into the crack? I am wondering if a thick application could have different heat expansion than the cast iron...

Q2: The inside burn plates are warped or cracked. I was thinking about replacing these with fabricated steel boiler plate and provide coverage from the door all the way to the back (original cast iron burn plates shield only 2/3 of sides). I did something similar with an Upland 207 that had a hairline crack; it is 20 years since that fix. Any comments on this? I see UL replacement burn plates apparently are available, but might they have the same 2/3 length?

 

[begreen]

Watch the crack closely to make sure it doesn't spread. Maybe mark the ends with pencil on the outside? If it spreads, drilling a small hole at the ends of the crack can sometimes stop it. No need to use a lot of stove cement on the inside. Clean the crack well and then press in the cement with your finger. A thin layer should be sufficient.

Yes, you can make your own plates, but they need to match the factory well enough that they hang true and also fully support the baffle with a level plane. They don't need to extend all the way to the front where the fire is cooler.

 

[sgsstat]

Watch the crack closely to make sure it doesn't spread. Maybe mark the ends with pencil on the outside? If it spreads, drilling a small hole at the ends of the crack can sometimes stop it. No need to use a lot of stove cement on the inside. Clean the crack well and then press in the cement with your finger. A thin layer should be sufficient.

Yes, you can make your own plates, but they need to match the factory well enough that they hang true and also fully support the baffle with a level plane. They don't need to extend all the way to the front where the fire is cooler.

Thank you. The cracks are towards the front of the stove, perhaps 6 inches from the door. the original inside burn plates did not shield this area, they were further back (surprising how deformed and cracked they were).

 

[begreen]

That's somewhat unusual. I can see why you want to protect it better. I added a rear heat shield for this reason on our 602.