Heat exchanger tubes keep falling down.
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They could be aluminum tubes in an aluminum bulkhead (if indeed they are that soft and scratchable). My issue with that is simply the high thermal coefficient of expansion and conctraction of aluminum and/or aluminum tubing in an aluminum bulkhead. if the tubes were mechanically swaged to the bulkhead (it appears that is how they are attached from the picture), thermal expansion and contraction cycles would loosen them over time, no matter what you did to insure that they wouldn''t loosen (the exception would be fusion welding (TIG or Pulsed MIG)
Theoritically, you could TIG the tubes in the end plates (but that ain't a cheap date). and something I could do in the shop but that still leaves the other end (hidden behind the lower plate) and whats occuring there..... The tubes are physically moving that means something has been compromised...at both ends.
Best scenario is scrap it but remove all the useable components and contact the OEM for a possible refund/replacement. I don't like the looks of it at all... ribbing aside.
My opinion as a shop owner and custom fabricatir is, it's a poor design. Lets let Kap chime in...
Theoritically, you could TIG the tubes in the end plates (but that ain't a cheap date). and something I could do in the shop but that still leaves the other end (hidden behind the lower plate) and whats occuring there..... The tubes are physically moving that means something has been compromised...at both ends.
Best scenario is scrap it but remove all the useable components and contact the OEM for a possible refund/replacement. I don't like the looks of it at all... ribbing aside.
My opinion as a shop owner and custom fabricatir is, it's a poor design. Lets let Kap chime in...
I imagine it does. My issue would be, would I trust the repair? I'm not so sure I would.
Lake Girl
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Sidecar ... check kap's signature line. I would suspect he knows what he is talking about "Quadra Fire service tech"
No problem in as much as well all go way back to IBC........
I still don't like the way the HX tubes are secured in the front bulkhead and how they are secured in the rear is only conjecture on my part. I kind of wonder what the 2 sheet metal screws that are screwed through the lower plate and (apparently) through the tubes are securing.... Interference fit is one thing, thermal expansion and contraction cycles are another animal... not something I'd do (swaged fit). Works with ammunition but even with ammunition, you crimp the edge into a cannelure to keep the bullet from physically moving in the brass.
Obviously Quadrafire realizes it's an issue if they equip their technicians with the tools to correct the issue. Next on the agenda would be a local to the OP' Quadrafire technician.
I still don't like the way the HX tubes are secured in the front bulkhead and how they are secured in the rear is only conjecture on my part. I kind of wonder what the 2 sheet metal screws that are screwed through the lower plate and (apparently) through the tubes are securing.... Interference fit is one thing, thermal expansion and contraction cycles are another animal... not something I'd do (swaged fit). Works with ammunition but even with ammunition, you crimp the edge into a cannelure to keep the bullet from physically moving in the brass.
Obviously Quadrafire realizes it's an issue if they equip their technicians with the tools to correct the issue. Next on the agenda would be a local to the OP' Quadrafire technician.
You just need to put tube back in place and use a dead punch to flare pipe again on front rack, to keep it from falling. You don't want a sharp punch so as to punch a hole in tube. Backside is usually within specs (tight fit) for no sealants. But, I would put an eye down the backside to make sure nothing is rotted. Lots of times people have used these stoves without the baffle in place, and melt or warp the pipes, which causes them to fall out. Aluminum pipes are used as that is one of the best metals for heat transfer. kap
I remember you from ibc sidecarFlip. Been a while. Still cruising and bruising?
Lake Girl
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Copper the best for heat transfer, aluminum next, steel last ... results from one of my boy's science fair projects many moons ago.
Good to know there is a fix...
So all you need is a dead punch and a BFH
cool! But, like you said, who knows what else the previous owner has done to it besides the presidential modifications.
Presidential modifications aside, I passed mine on to the cable company last January.
kap what do you give for odds that the other end is a mess given the build up on those tubes that we can see?
kap what do you give for odds that the other end is a mess given the build up on those tubes that we can see?
I am more concerned with the "Presidential modifications", and what might have been done down there. The build up may have saved things, all things considered. Bottom line is it needs to be professionally looked at to see if it can be repaired within reason, or strip it and replace it. kap
I called QuadraFire and they said that it was a limited lifetime warrenty. Which translates into 10 year warrenty on the heat exchange parts. It was put in this house in 1999. So she refered me to a local shop.
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Lake Girl
Moderator
Copper the best for heat transfer, aluminum next, steel last ... results from one of my boy's science fair projects many moons ago.
Good to know there is a fix...
You left out silver which was melted down for its heat transfer properties during the Manhattan Project IIRC.
Lake Girl
Moderator
Wasn't going to let him near any of the silver!
Little known fact on the Manhattan Project, disposed rock sent to Tonawanda, NY but not a "health hazard"
http://www.factsofwny.com/overview.htm
Getting to old to scrap. But I sure miss Stingtheives. I just go with the flow now. One question that puzzles me and thats, how do you locate the heat exchanger tubes and keep them from moving when you flare the ends to secure them?.... and, how do you insure the backend is an air tight / gas tight fit when the fromt is flared? Seems to me to be an exercise in guesstimation.........
Still burning an ugly black box and loving it... glancing across my shoulder, looks like a rocket ship across the room.....
I have a buddy from Tonawanda. That explains a lotWasn't going to let him near any of the silver!
Little known fact on the Manhattan Project, disposed rock sent to Tonawanda, NY but not a "health hazard"
http://www.factsofwny.com/overview.htm
!! 
You clamp or wedge them in place, and then flare. The back end is a zero tolerance fit. Or should be. Balmy 75 in my house. Running around barefoot!Getting to old to scrap. But I sure miss Stingtheives. I just go with the flow now. One question that puzzles me and thats, how do you locate the heat exchanger tubes and keep them from moving when you flare the ends to secure them?.... and, how do you insure the backend is an air tight / gas tight fit when the fromt is flared? Seems to me to be an exercise in guesstimation.........
Still burning an ugly black box and loving it... glancing across my shoulder, looks like a rocket ship across the room.....
With them loose and flopping around in there, my money's on them spreading that bottom hole out. It's still under negative pressure though so air should come in. I am amazed that the stove ran when those tubes were down because of the vacuum lose at the burn pot.
It's 70 in here. Thats warm enough. I prefer 70 with a bit of moisture in the air.
Still, an interesting design. I'm not sold on the externally (mechanically) secured HX tubes myself. Seems to me to be an exercise in planned obsolence but then my black box don't have any (at least not in that location). I'll stick with the welded in style thank you.
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