Repair Waterford Trinity or Replace

[Allison145351]

We purchased our home over almost a year ago. We do have a fuel oil furnace, but it is not economical to run all day. There was an existing wood stove but we were afraid of it at first. After going through December being cold, we decided to call a chimney sweep to inspect the stove and get us on the right track. We replaced the firebrick and had the pipes swept and happily burnt wood for the remainder of the winter. We really love burning wood, lol.

Our stove is a 1994 Waterford Trinity Stove in Green Porcelain. There are no cracks or chips anywhere. This stove heated our 1700 sq ft home to a comfortable 72 degrees. When I was cleaning it out in the Spring, I noticed that the plate above the air tubes was warped. My husband just got around to tearing the top of the stove apart and the warped pieces happen to be the right and left baffles. These parts are cast, so fabrication is not an option. I found one store that has aftermarket baffles available but they are $290 and $260 respectively. With shipping this will be probably over $600 for the baffles. All of the gaskets need replaced on the top part of the stove (where my husband took it apart).

Should we invest in fixing this stove or search for a nice used cast stove to replace it? I've found a Jotul F600 for $400 and a Vermont Castings Defiant Encore for $650.

 

[begreen]

The Trinity was a decent stove. It's 24 yrs old at this point and needs rebuild. You will have to decide whether to rebuild at this point so that you essentially have a new stove, or start with a different stove. Most likely the F600 and Encore need something done to them also. Of the two, the Encore will be the more expensive to rebuild and maintain. The Jotul could be good but if the F600 has a serious issue like a cracked base then that is also going to cost about $600 or more. So inspect very carefully, especially inside the stove around the corners of the grate and around the flue collar for any sign of cracking.

 

[Allison145351]

Is there any downside to keeping the waterford besides parts availability? It's a very pretty stove and we like that it is very simple. When you say rebuild...do you mean gaskets and seals to all the parts taken off (which is basically half the stove at this point). The bottom half was taken apart before we began burning in it. I agree on the VC encore after doing some digging on other threads. Annnnndddd the Jotul was just marked sold. I feel like I should change the title to "Rebuilding Waterford Stove".

 

[begreen]

If the desire is to give it another 20+ years of life then yes, all gaskets and seals redone and baffles replaced. That said if you just want to extend its life for a few more years then replacing the baffles would do that. You should be able to recoup the $600 when selling the stove.

 

[Allison145351]

We will most likely replace the baffles and of course the gaskets and seals due to the fact that they have crumbled. Is there a good youtube video or reference to guide us through that part?
20 years! That seems more than worth it. We will discuss it and move forward. I have yet to find attractive stoves in our area that don't need the same amount of work.
BTW for reference, the only place that I found that has cast aftermarket parts for Waterford stoves is Woodmanspartsplus.com.

 

[begreen]

You could ask Woodmans if they have a repair manual for the Waterford. If they do ask if could they make a copy for you.

 

[kermitbrunelle]

I have a manual. Just replaced the baffles ($610) myself. How'd your project go?
I used igneous rock for a while two layers of 1/2 granite. It will crack, but hopefully not in exactly the same place so integrity of the concept of forcing the smoke to be reburned at the level of the airtubes ( 1100 degrees F ). then pushed to the front of the stove then up and over the baffles to the chimney.

see attached