Cast Iron and cracking

[Bill]

I am at our local home show yesterday and low and behold I see Lopi stoves. So I walk over to pick the brain of this guy. He says he's the factory rep for them. I tell him I have a cabin, it's very cold when I arrive, and I liked the Leyden. He says "I never recommend a cast iron stove for a cabin, it can crack, go steel."

So this makes me wonder, does this guy really know stoves, or is he just a salesman? When you go into a fireplace store, you can get some unusual answers to questions. But this person is the factory rep and I would expect him to be knowledgeable about his product. How often does someone try to sell you something that's not right for your application, just to make a sale?

The big questing is let's say you crack this stove and they deny warranty coverage because you fired up a cold stove?

 

[webbie]

I have sold many thousands of both cast and steel stoves, and I think most of the info above is accurate.

Uncle describes the hot and fast - perfect description for a Jotul #3 (ak BeGreen) - but overnight is tough in such a stove.

As to the cracked bottom plate, this is a replaceable part in many Jotul designs (without bolts and dis-assembly), but if you keep a layer of ash in the bottom of the stove, it certainly should not happen. Steel stoves usually have firebrick, which takes the shock away.

One place I will agree about steel stoves is this - if one is going to ABUSE a stove, then I would suggest a heavy welded model with firebrick lining. This does not mean that Cast will not take abuse, just that if I had to choose I'd go steel....

A stove company cannot turn a warranty claim down because you started the stove cold - after all, what other way is there to start a stove?

IN my experience it is NOT relatively easy to crack a cast stove...but actually the opposite. I do have to agree with the former post that said "It's all in the design" when you build a bad stove cast, it will automatically crack (early Defiants 1976-79, Early Upland 207, etc.). Even in most of these cases, the stoves will continue to function for years and decades afterwards.

 

[webbie]

I am at our local home show yesterday and low and behold I see Lopi stoves. So I walk over to pick the brain of this guy. He says he's the factory rep for them. I tell him I have a cabin, it's very cold when I arrive, and I liked the Leyden. He says "I never recommend a cast iron stove for a cabin, it can crac

A factory rep does not by any means know more that you or a dealer. They run the gamut of humanity, just like everyone else. In the case of Lopi, that probably means they are lucky (big sales numbers)....

But they are not engineers nor do they know everything about stoves.

 

[begreen]

Some cast iron stove manufacturers (Jotul, VC) recommend a few break-in fires at the beginning of the season or after the stove has been idle for a long time to avoid thermal stress. Others don't(Lopi, Haman, Morso). Not sure why the difference. Is this mostly with a new stove that has been shaken in transit and all its cast pieces have not seated completely under heat? Perhaps a steel stove is a better stove for occasional use where you want to fire it hot right away?

From the VC Encore manual:
Cast iron is extremely strong, but it can be broken with
a sharp blow from a hammer or from the thermal shock
of rapid and extreme temperature change.
The cast plates expand and contract with changes in
temperature. When you first begin using your Encore,
minimize thermal stress by allowing the plates to adjust
gradually during three or four initial break-in fires following
Steps 1-3 below.

 

[Gooserider]

Some cast iron stove manufacturers (Jotul, VC) recommend a few break-in fires at the beginning of the season or after the stove has been idle for a long time to avoid thermal stress. Others don't(Lopi, Haman, Morso). Not sure why the difference. Is this mostly with a new stove that has been shaken in transit and all its cast pieces have not seated completely under heat? Perhaps a steel stove is a better stove for occasional use where you want to fire it hot right away?

From the VC Encore manual:
Cast iron is extremely strong, but it can be broken with
a sharp blow from a hammer or from the thermal shock
of rapid and extreme temperature change.
The cast plates expand and contract with changes in
temperature. When you first begin using your Encore,
minimize thermal stress by allowing the plates to adjust
gradually during three or four initial break-in fires following
Steps 1-3 below.

My understanding is that the break-in fires are mostly for when a stove is brand new or newly rebuilt, mostly to allow the various plates to seat in and get comfortable with one another.... It also drives out any moisture that may have built up in the pores of the casting.

In addition, when a stove of any sort, but particularly soapstone or cast is first started at the beginning of a season (long time idle) it is also reccomended to do at least a short version of a break-in fire, again to drive out any moisture. (also probably to encourage any bugs or other critters to vacate :lol: ) I don't think this would be an issue with a short idle period of a week or two like the OP was talking about.

Gooserider