Tribute Rebuild

[vernorz]

I picked up a Tribute last year for a couple hundred bucks, and am in the process of rebuilding it. Thought I'd share some pictures and the experience so far. Some of the stones were clearly broken, and a couple more not so obviously when I took it apart. The top casting had 2 cracks under where the top stones are set. New glass, new baffle, new gaskets, and new handle. Everything else looked good from my observation, nothing warped and nothing else cracked. The door latch still looks good, although I'll probably order the outer door frame eventually to be safe once I make sure everything is running well.

Taking the stove apart wasn't difficult. 3 threaded rods hold the top casting through the stove with a nut on the bottom. Lift the top off, making sure the stones aren't loose and gently flip it upside down and a soft surface. Once the top was off, the secondary burn system lifts right out. I put a couple shims under each corner of the top casting, just enough to raise it up a fraction of an inch. I placed a couple rags on the bottom of the stones, cut a 2x4 that fit nicely over the stone to distribute the force, and very very gently tapped the top stones loose with a rubber hammer. Everything else came loose with a gentle tap of the hammer. It certainly helped that the stove cement was weakened from years of hard use.

I used a drill and wire brush on all the cast pieces, cleaned it well with some acetone and put 3 coats of Stove Bright Satin Black on everything. I brought the top casting to a welding shop but they couldn't get a weld to take and didn't want to braze it due to the high temperatures it would experience. They suggested screwing a piece of steel to join each side of the crack to prevent any movement. I had some 3/8 steel plate at home so I drill some holes and put some stainless button head screws to hold everything in place. Maybe overkill, but I didn't want the steel to twist on me and was afraid anything thinner might warp. Time will tell how this will hold. If anything does twist, the top stones will probably pop loose so I should be able to find out pretty easily. I got 6 new stones from the dealer, apparently the last of Hearthstone's stock for the Tribute. I only ordered 4, but dealer wasn't happy with the condition of 2 stones they received, because they weren't polished and were stored outside for so long, so they just gave them to me. I'll save those for back ups if I need them.

The worst part of the rebuild so far was cleaning the cement off the stones. In between wire brushing and painting, I sprayed the cement with water repeatedly over 2 days to help soften it up. It certainly helped, but I would't say it was easy to get off. I took a wood chisel that was about the same width as the milled channels in the stones(where the metal splines go) and very gently chiseled out what I could. What remained I used a file that fit in the channel and worked back and forth until the cement was all gone. Once everything was cleaned up, I dry fit everything together in our fireplace. I will probably put the stove in the kitchen, but I just wanted to see how it would look in the fireplace. Not sure when I'll have time to cement everything together, but I'm happy with the progress I've made, and I think it looks great. Hopefully this might help somebody with a repair or completely dissuade you from attempting to rebuild or repair something. I'll answer any questions as best I can, but I do have one question if anyone can help. Does anyone know the size of the tadpole gasket that is between the top of the stove and the stones and where to get one? It's not listed in the parts diagram and I haven't heard back from the dealer yet.

 

[Todd]

Nice work! Stove looks great in that fireplace.

 

[vernorz]

Nice work! Stove looks great in that fireplace.

Thanks! I do like it in the fireplace a lot, but the kitchen needs the heat more. Who knows, maybe I'll find another Tribute in good shape for the fireplace too.

 

[begreen]

That's a nice improvement. It looks 100% better. Was the crack sealed? If not, it will leak air which is undesirable. Maybe seal it up, bottom and top, with some JB Weld extreme temp epoxy?

 

[vernorz]

That's a nice improvement. It looks 100% better. Was the crack sealed? If not, it will leak air which is undesirable. Maybe seal it up, bottom and top, with some JB Weld extreme temp epoxy?

It wasn't sealed, but the cracks are right where the stove cement is where the top stones set. I asked the welding shop about using extreme heat JB and they said to not use it due to the differences in contraction between the cast and JB. But that was before I added the plate to span the crack to prevent movement. Do you think the hearthstone cement is enough or should I still use some JB weld?

 

[Burnin Since 1989]

It wasn't sealed, but the cracks are right where the stove cement is where the top stones set. I asked the welding shop about using extreme heat JB and they said to not use it due to the differences in contraction between the cast and JB. But that was before I added the plate to span the crack to prevent movement. Do you think the hearthstone cement is enough or should I still use some JB weld?

Great Job. It really looks good! Not sure about sealing that crack. Interested to see what you decide to go with.