Welding on a 25-pdv

[Murphy118]

Hey gang, haven't posted in a yer or 3, mostly because my stove was acting flawlessly,,, but about 2 weeks ago I noticed a crack on the plate behind the impingement plate, just below the heat exchanger opening.(hopefully pic will load).
Question is, hoe critical is this, how unsafe, if at all, and can I let it go till spring to weld it. Also, I will assume that before I weld it, ( I can do either tig, mig, or arc), I will want to totally disconnect the control panel, and all electrical components, ie, motors, ignitor, etc.

THanks in advance for your opnions and help.

 

[Dr.Faustus]

if thats the only spot, it should be fine for a while but i wouldnt wait till spring because it could get worse. right behind that panel thats cracked is hollow space, then another metal wall. make sure behind that is ok too if you can see back there.

the air travels in between the cracked wall and the wall behind it where heat is picked up by the convection blower. the air then travels out to the exhaust blower. the hole the air exits through is (when facing your pic) on the bottom left in between the 2 walls.

 

[3650]

If you want to try and wait until spring, drill a hole where that crack terminates and just keep an eye on it. The hole should stop the crack from spreading. If a crack forms in the hole , probably have to weld her up. I'm not familiar with that stove so I don't know whats behind that panel. If it's the hopper, you might want to weld it up now so it doesn't cause a fire in the hopper.

 

[Cedarjunki]

Personally i would get it welded up now. If you let it go and it completely splits apart then you will need to deal with it warping and curling.

Is it a pvd or pdvc? If its a pvdc as your sig states. Is this possibly caused from extended overheating in mode C? Im just curious what may have caused it.

 

[Bioburner]

Your going to have a nice break in the weather so I would get it out and have it welded. A stitch in time saves 9
I would get a picture of the issue to Englander ASAP

 

[gfreek]

If you want to try and wait until spring, drill a hole where that crack terminates and just keep an eye on it

Agree, should stop from spreading..

 

[Murphy118]

It is a PDVC,, about 6 or 7 years old, I believe it is set on heat "C", as I remember a few years back getting info to change it to C, since I felt it wan't heating enough, so it has been set there for at least 3 or more years. I will check it tomorrow for sure when stove is cold before we fire it up, ( it only runs about 6-8 hours a day during the week, all day on weekends, and never overnight.

I will also check the lower 3 settings, but accoding to My notes i kept over the years, I believe it is set at 3-4-1.

Will also drill the hole tomorrow as well, and contact Englander at My first opportunity,,,,
Anyone else have this issue that you know of?

Thanks guys,,,

 

[Cedarjunki]

It is a PDVC,, about 6 or 7 years old, I believe it is set on heat "C", as I remember a few years back getting info to change it to C, since I felt it wan't heating enough, so it has been set there for at least 3 or more years. I will check it tomorrow for sure when stove is cold before we fire it up, ( it only runs about 6-8 hours a day during the week, all day on weekends, and never overnight.

I will also check the lower 3 settings, but accoding to My notes i kept over the years, I believe it is set at 3-4-1.

Will also drill the hole tomorrow as well, and contact Englander at My first opportunity,,,,
Anyone else have this issue that you know of?

Thanks guys,,,

I doubt it is from running mode C then since it doesnt even run full time. But i wouldnt rule that being the cause out completely until you talk to Mike at esw. (Try to speak with Mike)
I have not ran across any discussion on these stoves cracking in the hours of reading online.

 

[3650]

It's probably just a bad piece of steel. This steel goes under a lot of stress during a heating and cooling cycle. One failure that most any of us have heard of is surprising.

 

[Snowy Rivers]

Unplug and remove the main control panel from the stove.

Any odd flux fields generated by the welding could cause issues, but if it's sitting on the the kitchen table, not so much worries.

First, as mentioned, drill the end of the crack to stop progression.

If there is room I would place a doubler plate over the crack and then weld it up.
Span the crack about an inch or better on top and both sides with the doubler plate and that should fix it up dandy.

Weld it in short skip welds, allowing the area to cool between welds.
Is this stainless steel or plain steel ???

Good luck

 

[Murphy118]

Regular carbon steel,,,dont think I can plate it, as the impingement plate needs to sit flush there,,,,or at least it does now, in front of the crack..then was going to grind it flat...

I'll try Mike at ESW tonight after work....

 

[Snowy Rivers]

K

 

[gfreek]

3 years old. I'd be surprised if he/they do anything for you, but hey you never know..

 

[Cedarjunki]

Hey gang, haven't posted in a yer or 3, mostly because my stove was acting flawlessly,,, but about 2 weeks ago I noticed a crack on the plate behind the impingement plate, just below the heat exchanger opening.(hopefully pic will load).
Question is, hoe critical is this, how unsafe, if at all, and can I let it go till spring to weld it. Also, I will assume that before I weld it, ( I can do either tig, mig, or arc), I will want to totally disconnect the control panel, and all electrical components, ie, motors, ignitor, etc.

THanks in advance for your opnions and help.View attachment 172998

You apparently werent the first one...

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/crack-in-my-firebox-summers-heat-55-shp10.76965/

 

[Dr.Faustus]

Unplug and remove the main control panel from the stove.

Any odd flux fields generated by the welding could cause issues, but if it's sitting on the the kitchen table, not so much worries.

First, as mentioned, drill the end of the crack to stop progression.

If there is room I would place a doubler plate over the crack and then weld it up.
Span the crack about an inch or better on top and both sides with the doubler plate and that should fix it up dandy.

Weld it in short skip welds, allowing the area to cool between welds.
Is this stainless steel or plain steel ???

Good luck

No room on that model for the doubler plate. If he does, the impingment plate wont sit flush,

 

[Dr.Faustus]

You apparently werent the first one...

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/crack-in-my-firebox-summers-heat-55-shp10.76965/

The stove in that link looks like it has been seriously overfired many times. Look how wavy the steel shelf is. Everything is all bowed and crooked. Murphy's stove doesnt look overfired, just like a piece of bad steel.

 

[Murphy118]

I talked to Jeremy at Englander this evening, and he simply advised me, being as I have the resources, to weld the crack closed, and since it is about 1 year out of the 5 year warranty, wished me luck, and asked me to send him pictures of the fault, which I did. What I have an issue with, is why, after 6 years of pretty much exemplary behaviour of the stove, did it crack like that now?
Jeremy did say that he had experienced hull cracking on stoves, but contibuted most of them to the condition of the stove being a bit clogged, with nowwhere for the heat to go,,,,,I told him that I do all the maintenance and cleaning on the stove myself, including running the vacuum with a hose on it to the depths of the heat exchange ports below and to the sides of the cracked area, so I did not think that was an issue.
Anyway, the stove is pulled, and on the back porch, and the arc welder is pulled from the trailer and in the shed, ready to do it's job tomorrow after work,

BTW, the hardest hit by not having the fire is my 11 year old yellow lab, Quinto,,,, who I swear had tears in his eyes as we rolled it out of the living room this evening,,,,,

 

[Dr.Faustus]

HAHA, poor quinto. My dog absolutely loves the stove. I dont know how be doesnt roast himself. Sometimes after hes been in front of it for hours, he comes over to me and hes *really* hot to the touch.

 

[Murphy118]

 

[Dr.Faustus]

Not bad considering i've never welded anything in my life. Looks like you got the job done there.

 

[Murphy118]

Done,

Stove is welded, and putting out that beautiful hot air,,,,

and Qinton is happy again,,,,,see,,,,,