Need advice for Vermont Castings Resolute Acclaim #0041

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hillswoman

New Member
Jan 4, 2009
1
Western MA
Hi, just found the site, looks great...

I have an old reliable stove which I accidently over-fired this fall/winter (broken thermometer, not paying enough attention, yes I should have known better... etc.). I've used it for 6 years (got it used, refurbished) and it has worked well. It clearly needs new refractory, upper and lower firebacks and arch inserts (I have replaced all these parts in the past, the refractory 4 years ago). Parts will cost over $500 (incidently, parts are getting hard to find...).

There is also a crack on the right inner "wall" coming vertically out from the bolt. This part is not available from the place I get parts and I don't know if it is available at all.

My question is: can I cement this crack or do you know if the part is replaceable (if it can be found)? The rest of the stove looks good (without taking it apart -- granted, I may find some nasty surprise!), doesn't seem to be warped or cracked elsewhere.

Or is the stove ready to be junked? Would be tough for me to afford a new stove now, but if it's a safety issue, so be it. Also, I'd rather not throw good money after bad...

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Hey Hillswoman!

<>I have an old reliable stove which I accidently over-fired this fall/winter (broken thermometer, not paying enough attention, yes I should have known better... etc.). I've used it for 6 years (got it used, refurbished) and it has worked well. It clearly needs new refractory, upper and lower firebacks and arch inserts (I have replaced all these parts in the past, the refractory 4 years ago). Parts will cost over $500 (incidently, parts are getting hard to find...).<>

CFM/VC/Monessen/Majestic or whatever they call themselves these days, still has some inventory, but maybe not everything for each unit in the Vermont Castings line...

<>There is also a crack on the right inner "wall" coming vertically out from the bolt. This part is not available from the place I get parts and I don't know if it is available at all.
My question is: can I cement this crack or do you know if the part is replaceable (if it can be found)? The rest of the stove looks good (without taking it apart -- granted, I may find some nasty surprise!), doesn't seem to be warped or cracked elsewhere.<>

Your best bet is to drill thru the inner plate at the end of the crack AWAY from the bolt. This will stop the crack from further propagation...
Then plug the hole & the crack with furnace cement. The hole can be as small as possible as long as the diameter of the hole is slightly larger than the width of the crack.
Does your manual indicate what the part number is for that item? If it does I may be able to track it down thru my parts guy...

<>Or is the stove ready to be junked? Would be tough for me to afford a new stove now, but if it's a safety issue, so be it. Also, I'd rather not throw good money after bad...<>

If you can rebuild it or repair it safely & at a reasonable price, do it. If you can't, it's time for a new one...
 
Dasky,

I am new to this forum and am here trying to find a place/source for a VC Resoule 0043 parts. This is a drop down door stove. It has 2 pieces of glass and a oval/oblong type hold down for the glass. I've been to two VC dealers and they tell me it is not available. They are both somewhat new dealers. I am trying to find the part. It is part #49 in their books. Do you have any suggestions on where to try and track this down. I really don't want to junk this stove. I will make some calls today and see if I can get a welder to weld it. It is a cast piece so not every welder will be able to weld it. I remember from my past that cast has to be heated up b4 welding.

Any thoughts?
 
Firestarter.. Have you thought about tapping screw holes for clips? I have used a tap set to put back on a door latch that I broke off while trying to adjust. I would think you can place several clips around the glass to hold it in tightly like a storm door window. Let me know if this helps. Also Blackswan link above helped me out with items I thought I couldn't get. There is also another place in Monroe CT called Trading Post and another place I've bought from is up in Maine(Stove Supply). The number is 2075966496. Good luck!!
 
Bikins: If this is Cast Iron then it may be repaired by Brazing,,,depending on the thickness of the peice, one might want to open a groove about half way through,,,braze it up and then flip over. Open up a u-shape down to the brass then fill this side up, sand down to original shape. Preheating a must, but also the piece would need to be wrapped in a fire proof cloth in order to facilitate slow cooling. One would have to see the piece, but taking the time to bolt the piece down will help in allignment when all is done.

hillswoman: I actually get paid to repair cracks in cast steel engine blocks. They, just like stoves are subject to expansion and contraction, You can bet the bank, that the crack started at the predrilled hole for the bolt and worked away from the bolt. I`ll stand corrected if that should be the case,,,but theres a good chance the two sides of the crack are no longer in allignment with each other, or wont be after expanding from the heat. Once the bolt is refastened and torqued, it will apply more pressure to one side than the other and may cause the high temp cement to fail. In our repairs we strive to remove the crack by grinding a u shaped groove the entire length of the crack, up to no less than 90% of the thickness of the plate. A root pass will penetrate the remaining 10%, and from there a welder would finish applying the fillet weld. The out of position work and tight quarters involved,, along with type of rod and size all come into play and unless you have a friend who is fairly accomplished it could become expensive to get a successful repair! Short of a 100% crack removal, I couldnt guarantee this repair. It sounds like a short crack so too much heat from the welding process shouldnt be an issue,,,however to guard against Thermal Stress,,one should not make the second pass until he can leave his bare hand on the previous weld for at least one second. I`ll gladly help anyone you might find to make your repair,,just PM me. John
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hillswoman said:
Hi, just found the site, looks great...

I have an old reliable stove which I accidently over-fired this fall/winter (broken thermometer, not paying enough attention, yes I should have known better... etc.).

??

This particular model has an almost 100% failure rate of the parts you mention when used relatively hard - even without overfiring. For that reason, VC completely changed the interior design many years ago. They used to have a complete rebuild kit to convert the old model to the new model. If your unit has cast interior side panels it is the old model - the new model have firebrick (refractory)....

A complete rebuild can be a difficult and expensive job, but if you can get the parts for less than $600 or so and enjoy (or can enjoy) doing the work DIY, then there could be a case for rebuild. However, do not rebuild using the old parts - either rebuild with the complete upgrade or not at all.

Again, I don't think the old parts (interior sides, etc.) are available anyway, since the company made us update all model even way back when (a decade or more ago).
 
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