Woke up to cracked fire brick and hanging gasket

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jzinckgra

Feeling the Heat
Hearth Supporter
Jun 12, 2009
268
Raymond, Maine
I've had a Hampton H300 FS for a few months now and other than the buzzing/vibrating noise that is kicked out from the fan unit, it has worked pretty well. I loaded the stove up last night and, as usual get the stack temp up to my usual ~800F (probe therm), then damper her down. I watch my stove like a hawk because I am always worried about the heat getting out of control. Had it happen once when I wasn't paying attention and stack temp was at 1100F. Anyways, stove was at 400F (probe), which is a good cruising temp.

I also have a condor magnet therm. that I have on the side of the stove, which is cast iron. That has never registered more than 350F. Last night when I went to bed, that was at 300F. I woke up this morning and open the side door and an 8" piece of gasket that seals the hearth top to the actual stove is hanging and on the far side, opposite the side door, the firebrick has an ~5" crack. I am not happy at all. We're in the dead of winter and this heep of garbage craps out on me. I don't know what happened. My initial thought was that the stove overfired last night. maybe the gasket fell out and the stove sucked a bunch of air and got the fire roaring, which then cracked the firebrick. This is a safety hazard as I could have had a chimney fire or worse and not even known about it until it was too late. :cheese:

I am calling the dealer that installed it today and voice my concern. I can certainly fix the gasket and replace the firebrick, but I need to take a flashlight and look inside more and see if there are any cracks. I a hope this is nothing more than a coincidence that two things happened at once, but doubtful. The dealer better not say I am at fault and not honor the warranty. Like I said, i watch the stove temps very carefully and there is no way this happened recently without me knowing. Not happy.
 
I have a Hampton 300 wood burner that is in it's second year. Last year I had the same problem with the gasket that fell off the top side ledge. I inquired about it on this forum, and many of the folks said that the manufacturer doesn't glue many of the gaskets as well as they should. I've since re-glued the gasket and everything is a-ok. Can't help you about the cracked brick. My totally novice guess is that it's not related. The bricks seem so light and fragile to me, so breaking one can happen thru regular use.

I don't measure my temps, nor do I fill up the box. I run nice hot fires with max three splits and only damp down to about 3/5 closed when the fire is going good. I' shoulda asked Santa for a thermometer though. I see so much talk on this forum about all sorts of temps, but I don't think they equate to me for my style of burning. I burn for evening fires and occasional day fires.
 
I suppose it is not safe to light another fire until the firebrick is replaced, correct? I will fix the gasket myself.
 
A few cracked firebricks is no beg deal, you can still burn with them. Some manufactures use the cheaper light weight pumice bricks because they reflect the heat back into the fire better but the down side is they tend to not last. I don't know what type you have but you can buy standard sized 4x9"replacements at local brick yard or hardware stores.
 
Upon further inspection it almost looks like the gasket serves no purpose. In the pic you can see it hanging. It basically runs around all three sides of the stove, just under the baffles. It's weird because the other side can be easily removed as well. It just sits on this little 1/4" ledge, but really isn't sealing anything that I can see.

The other pic shows the cracked firebrick. I guess I have been jamming some logs in there (or the wife has) as you can see the firebrick has some small dings in it. maybe I cracked it that way.
(broken image removed)

(broken image removed)
 
This is funny. You have the same EXACT things I had last year. It was the same gasket that fell off. And that little hole on your side brick I have as well. I'm sure that hole is meant to be there now that I see yours. I don't know why that hole exists, but it's not unique to your stove. Also the round hole in your brick on the door side to accommodate the handle turn is too big like mine. Again .... I'm sure not coincidental.

Also, you are correct about the purpose of that gasket. It seems to serve no purpose at all as there are no spaces it is filling. I just glued it back because that's the way the stove came ...lol. My stove this year is burning great. I'm sure it has all to do with reading this forum and learning little hints here and there about making your stove more efficient, and avoiding the common misconceptions.
 
Upon further inspection of that side firebrick, it seems like there's a small crack in the upper right side. Is that what you're talking about ? It don't look bad at all to me if that's what it is. Maybe go out and buy some brick and cut to size , so you're prepared to fix it right away in case that chunk falls out. I would not worry at all to run the stove with that small crack in the brick though. (nor call the manufacturer).
 
That gasket looks like it seals off your secondary chamber from the firebox. If you see flames licking that seem you will know.
 
I just took a look in my stove. It seems to me that the baffle is connected by those 3 bolts in the back, and then the sides of the baffle rest on those two side ledges. I bet the gasket is for the side of the baffle to not directly touch the iron ledge. What do you think ?
 
carlo said:
I just took a look in my stove. It seems to me that the baffle is connected by those 3 bolts in the back, and then the sides of the baffle rest on those two side ledges. I bet the gasket is for the side of the baffle to not directly touch the iron ledge. What do you think ?

Exactly what I was thinking. I'm thinking of taking it apart and reseating the baffle so it straddles the gasket. Doesn't make sense otherwise. Hard to figure why they would ship from the factory that way.
 
well ended up removing the top plate and baffle so I could reseat gaskets. Tightened up a few loose bolts on the inside and vacuumed her out. I must say, stove seems to be burning better. Woke up to a nice clean pane of glass on the door. Most of my previous fires would result in some dirtyness, but so far, looking good. I must have done something right by removing and reinstalling a few pieces.
 
jzinckgra said:
well ended up removing the top plate and baffle so I could reseat gaskets. Tightened up a few loose bolts on the inside and vacuumed her out. I must say, stove seems to be burning better. Woke up to a nice clean pane of glass on the door. Most of my previous fires would result in some dirtyness, but so far, looking good. I must have done something right by removing and reinstalling a few pieces.

I'm gonna have to take the baffle out so I can clean the flue right above the stove. Was it only those 3 bolts that take the whole thing apart, and then you just lift it out ? What's the difference between the top plate and the baffle ? Can you explain to me exactly what I have to do to gain access to the flue right above the stove, so I can clean it out with the sooteater ?
 
carlo said:
jzinckgra said:
well ended up removing the top plate and baffle so I could reseat gaskets. Tightened up a few loose bolts on the inside and vacuumed her out. I must say, stove seems to be burning better. Woke up to a nice clean pane of glass on the door. Most of my previous fires would result in some dirtyness, but so far, looking good. I must have done something right by removing and reinstalling a few pieces.

I'm gonna have to take the baffle out so I can clean the flue right above the stove. Was it only those 3 bolts that take the whole thing apart, and then you just lift it out ? What's the difference between the top plate and the baffle ? Can you explain to me exactly what I have to do to gain access to the flue right above the stove, so I can clean it out with the sooteater ?

carlo, I was surprised to find exactly how to do what you want to do right in the manual. It's towards the end. Sorry I don't have the page #. It was super easy.
 
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