Thread: Cracked Firebox !!

Well the day has finally come! Gonna have to replace the Energy King indoor wood furnace. Its around 25+ yrs old, and the back wall is starting to split like a grape, from the abuse of throwing rounds bouncing off the back wall not helping.

I would love to get another EK, but not for $3,000 price tag! I think I will go with a Fire Chief for $2,000 , they look pretty durable and have the cast iron baffles in front and back to protect the burn chamber when throwing in wood.

Does anybody have any good or bad things to say about the Fire Chief indoor furnace?

I would buy nothing less than a super jack.. Great warranty

Thanks Eric!
Fire Chief is one of the better wood furnaces out there,but they do not hold a candle to a Jack unless your set on burning coal as they have shakers....then again so does our Klondikes.

Do the FireChiefs have the biomass tax credit available? They do not because they are not that efficient...75%
We do.

there warranty is lifetime but....
There is no warranty on electrical components
caused by power failure.
NOTE: OVER-FIRING OR DELIBERATE ABUSE CAN EASILY BE DETERMINED
UPON INSPECTION AND WILL VOID YOUR WARRANTY.


We do not say any of this.



Victorian Sales warrants the firebox to be free of defects in material and workmanship
for five (5) years from date of purchase. The cast iron grates, fuel door, ash
door, cast iron front and rear baffle are warranted from breakage for the life of
the Fire Chief Furnace so long as the furnace may be operated safely in accordance
with the owner’s manual. Cast iron grates and air baffle are not covered by warranty
for burn through caused by the accumulation of ash build-up. The manufacturer
warrants all electrical components one (1) year. Please be advised that the
firebrick and door gaskets are excluded from this warranty. Over firing the furnace
will cause the front face of the furnace to expand and contract which may cause the
face to crack and therefore is not covered by warranty. Furthermore, some aesthetic
deterioration can be expected as the result of normal operation, therefore
the physical appearance is not guaranteed to remain unchanged.


It looks like they never have to honor a warranty.
You'll also be buying from a retailer who will mark up the furnace.
Buying factory direct puts more furnace in your hands for less money.

My furnace has a double back wall, so is it still fairly safe to use or should I replace it ASAP?

The only way to repair it would be cut the back wall out and weld a plate to the backside of the cracked wall, then weld the outer wall back in.

any thoughts? should I just replace it?

If you're not sure whether its sealed I wouldn't use the furnace like that. After having a standard wood furnace for years and upgrading to a furnace with advanced secondary combustion I wouldn't go back no matter the cost.

The same thing happened to our old furnace last spring, replaced it with a Kerr scotsman, have been very pleased with it. Got a great deal on it and the installation, from a buddy in the bussiness.

It's really not safe.Smoke will exit and the blower will push it through your ducting.
Welding could be an option however at it's age it's lived it's life. There are other splits just around the corner.
Give it a gracefull burial and choose a more effcient furnace.
If you look back at all of the $$$ you have saved by not burning liquid fuel...I'd think this furnace has already paid for itself and it had put $$$ back into your pocket for a new one.
I'm not sure how old you are but chances are that the new furnace would be your last.
So get your studing in and pick a good one.

I would cut a perfectly round hole 1" larger than the crack and weld a new plate in it! All done for another 25 yrs.

Originally Posted by CrappieKeith

It's really not safe.Smoke will exit and the blower will push it through your ducting.
Welding could be an option however at it's age it's lived it's life. There are other splits just around the corner.
Give it a gracefull burial and choose a more effcient furnace.
If you look back at all of the $$$ you have saved by not burning liquid fuel...I'd think this furnace has already paid for itself and it had put $$$ back into your pocket for a new one.
I'm not sure how old you are but chances are that the new furnace would be your last.
So get your studing in and pick a good one.

Well, I just kicked on the blower and it is blowing air into the firebox. My FIL gave this furnace to me so I did pretty good there and got alot of use from it! Im 33 now, so I think a new one should be the last one I will have to buy, I hope! I will do a repair and put it in the garage to replace a smaller one I got out there.

Originally Posted by kstill361

Well, I just kicked on the blower and it is blowing air into the firebox. My FIL gave this furnace to me so I did pretty good there and got alot of use from it! Im 33 now, so I think a new one should be the last one I will have to buy, I hope! I will do a repair and put it in the garage to replace a smaller one I got out there.

Sounds like a plan. I'm nursing an old wood furnace as well, I've welded a few cracks, and like someone else said, the next one is waiting to happen.

A small 110V wire feed should get right in there and patch it up for now, if you need to use it until you can get it replaced. Judging by the (lack of) flatness of the back wall, I'd probably not go with the patch panel, and just drill a couple small holes at the ends of the cracks to keep it from spreading further, then lay a bead of weld to fill it in.

Originally Posted by Steve NW WI

Sounds like a plan. I'm nursing an old wood furnace as well, I've welded a few cracks, and like someone else said, the next one is waiting to happen.

A small 110V wire feed should get right in there and patch it up for now, if you need to use it until you can get it replaced. Judging by the (lack of) flatness of the back wall, I'd probably not go with the patch panel, and just drill a couple small holes at the ends of the cracks to keep it from spreading further, then lay a bead of weld to fill it in.

I thought about that, drilling a hole on each end and grinding a grove in the crack , i have a Millermatic 211 i can weld a bead over it. I wonder how long that would last ?

It would last longer than it will be for the next crack to arrive, would be my guess.
Thought about a repair myself, I feel much better after bitting the bullet and replacing..........should be problem free for the next 25 years.
PS
and they don't come much cheaper than me

I have been talking to an Energy King dealer that has 2 480EK's and wants to move them out and get the energy efficient 385EK in stock.
I can pick one up with shaker grates and auto draft for $2700, seems like a pretty good deal to me, and I know they are built heavier than the Fire Chief. I need to make up my mind quick though< been running the gas furnace for a few days, and hate the hot and cold cycles!

My folks just had the same thing happen to their wood furnace. Make sure you consider the Yukon Eagle folks. GREAT PEOPLE!!! Once you see the quality of their product you WILL buy one. We got the "big jack" So far, so good. Like Ford motor company used to say " Quality is job #1" Tech support at Yukon is top notch too.

Oh and you know who you are... Feel free to negative rep me for this!!!
LOL

Sorry to hear your boiler cracked.I am sure it can be repaired the way the fellas suggested. I too have an energy king and love the hell out of it. Its 4 years old and I do baby it as much as possible. Makes me feel good to hear you got 25 years out of yours. Get her fixed and fire into the future.