Vigilant has a crack in it

[1RadCJ]

Hi long time listener first time caller.

I have a VC Vigilant (~25 years old) that I noticed has a crack in it. I think that the previous owner did not put the sand or ashes or whatever on the bottom resulting in warping and a crack. The crack runs from the corner of the ash edge on the front of the stove, down the front and along the bottom about 4 inches. When I get a fire going I think the crack gets larger from the heat and if I look underneath the stove I can see ever so slightly the glowing coals threw the crack.

The crack is probably 1/32 of an inch and I am not concerned about embers or fire getting through but then again I have not really got the stove cooking along for a long period of time. The question is if I fill the crack with furnace cement and put play sand on the bottom should I be ok? Also is this common thing for this stove? Any ideas on how to make it better? Other then this the stove is mint.

Thanks for any advice.

 

[webbie]

You should be OK by doing as you say. Most hairline cracks like this rarely get much bigger. I have never heard of a bottom completely falling apart. etc.

 

[slindo]

Once cracks start, they tend to keep growing, as the hot/cold cycling of a wood stove encourages it. You can sometimes stop the crack from growing any further by finding the end of it and stop drilling it - drilling a small hole, say 1/16" or so, across its path. This is standard practice in aviation where cracks are a real hazard. Then fill the crack and the hole with stove cement.

This is also a good time to access how fireproof whatever is under your stove is. While it is unlikely to happen, there is a small possbililty that the stove my decide to drop a load of smoldering embers on it!

BTW, its funny how some people can't stand having ashes left in the bottom of the stove after they clean it. A good layer of ashes is the stoves friend - it not only protects the stove metal from the heat, it also makes it much easier to start the next fire, by keeping the metal of the stove bottom from sucking all the heat out of the new fire.

Hi long time listener first time caller.

I have a VC Vigilant (~25 years old) that I noticed has a crack in it. I think that the previous owner did not put the sand or ashes or whatever on the bottom resulting in warping and a crack. The crack runs from the corner of the ash edge on the front of the stove, down the front and along the bottom about 4 inches. When I get a fire going I think the crack gets larger from the heat and if I look underneath the stove I can see ever so slightly the glowing coals threw the crack.

The crack is probably 1/32 of an inch and I am not concerned about embers or fire getting through but then again I have not really got the stove cooking along for a long period of time. The question is if I fill the crack with furnace cement and put play sand on the bottom should I be ok? Also is this common thing for this stove? Any ideas on how to make it better? Other then this the stove is mint.

Thanks for any advice.