Leaking Crown Royal OWB Stove Burner

[millson]

I bought a Crown Royal owb in 2008. The burner had a made in Canada label on it with a 2007 date. The stove is suppose to be Titanium enhanced 409 stainless steel, and as of today's date has multiple leaks along both weld seams were the water jacket walls meet the wall of the ash bin. Has anyone else had any such problems with their Crown Royal Stoves. The company will not honor the warranty because a water sample from the burner was not sent in every year even though I used boiler treatment and flush the system every year. I have been doing research and found that Northland Distributing & Manufacturing Inc now called GTM Greentech Manufacturing Inc did not even make their own stoves back then, and had them shipped in from Canada. Is it possible the wrong weld wire was used to weld the stainless together. Not only does it look like it rusted outwards where its leaking but the rest of the welds on the outside look rusted also?

 

[Whiteash]

. Not only does it look like it rusted outwards where its leaking but the rest of the welds on the outside look rusted also?

Relative of mine and his wife have one of about the same vintage. Paid almost 12 grand for the whole setup (I dont know if this was a discount or not honestly) and last winter all of a sudden no heat. Jeff went out to check the fire and opened the door and got a bath. Same deal, big leak, no warranty. Leak was directly up and to the left of the door so obviously it wasn't abused by being hit with big logs repeatedly. Ended up cutting the losses and stuck in a forced air wood furnace in their basement.
Shame considering the return on their invesment was still well into the negative.

I thought stainless wasnt supposed to rust so the first question I have is, what is it really made out of.
Perhaps if the material isnt what they say it is you have some recourse in that manner at least. Problem is most likely you will get a replacement unit as a remedy for the problem but then if it was me I would not want it if this is the standard problem.

Sorry for your dilemma :sad4:

 

[millson]

Leaking Crown Royal Stove OWB Burner

The stainless steel is 10 gauge inner and outer drum walls, and what they call a high grade 409 stainless steel titanium enhanced. Found out that this is what they make car exhaust out of, and we all know what happens when you drive a car short distances on a daily basis and the moisture is not blown out - ITS RUST YOUR EXHAUST. Plus I have been learning from others who sold and bought these older models that mild steel wire was used to weld the stainless steel instead of stainless steel wire. My welder was dumb founded when could stick a magnet to the stainless. He said a magnet should not stick to stainless and when I stuck it to a stainless steel frying pan the magnet would not stick, so i think this is deceptive sales tactics using the word stainless, and it really is not a good material to be having water sit in it for years even with a water treatment in it? I thought I was doing good, and bought it from someone I trusted locally. Here he was new to the business too, and bought ten units, so he could get his for free. There was no one even in the area to have install the damn thing. I am going to keep up the fight though, and see where the path takes me. I have all summer.

 

[CrappieKeith]

Not all stainless is equal...there are different grades. For example the 304 we use is a high nickle content stainless...like what counters are made of in kitchens.Don't rust.

An inherent issue with OWBs is oxidation.

 

[millson]

Not all stainless is equal...there are different grades. For example the 304 we use is a high nickle content stainless...like what counters are made of in kitchens.Don't rust.

An inherent issue with OWBs is oxidation.

What do you think if they used mild steel wire to weld the stainless steel together? My research is showing that in their earlier units they used mild steel to weld instead of stainless steel wire. My welder has recommended sending out a sample of the steel and weld to determine its quality, and since I gave this company $10,000.00 I am leaning towards doing that.

 

[Whiteash]

What do you think if they used mild steel wire to weld the stainless steel together? My research is showing that in their earlier units they used mild steel to weld instead of stainless steel wire. My welder has recommended sending out a sample of the steel and weld to determine its quality, and since I gave this company $10,000.00 I am leaning towards doing that.

Sounds like a whole lot of hassle but then again a good manufacturer would stand behind their product. Basically if they knew it was going to fail, (which I doubt this is a surprise) you should have been notified. When I replaced my Ashley/US Stove with a BigJack Forced air I have been always been satisfied that I bought exactly what they said I was buying and it does what they say its going to do.

 

[3fordasho]

Many 400 series stainless steels will hold a magnet. 304 and 316 are used through out the food and medical processing industries and are much more resistant to corrosion with 316 a bit better than 304. Even 316 will rust a bit at welds even if TIGed with 316 filler rod. The welding process brings impurities to the surface that can rust. Even the weld must be cleaned with a stainless steel brush because a carbon steel brush will transfer steel that will rust. We passivate SS welds to prevent them from rusting. Passivation is the use of a very strong acid to remove those impurities that came to the surface of the weld.
I suspect 300 series SS may not be good choice for an OWB due to heat stress cracking. And that's about all I know about SS materials....

The stainless steel is 10 gauge inner and outer drum walls, and what they call a high grade 409 stainless steel titanium enhanced. Found out that this is what they make car exhaust out of, and we all know what happens when you drive a car short distances on a daily basis and the moisture is not blown out - ITS RUST YOUR EXHAUST. Plus I have been learning from others who sold and bought these older models that mild steel wire was used to weld the stainless steel instead of stainless steel wire. My welder was dumb founded when could stick a magnet to the stainless. He said a magnet should not stick to stainless and when I stuck it to a stainless steel frying pan the magnet would not stick, so i think this is deceptive sales tactics using the word stainless, and it really is not a good material to be having water sit in it for years even with a water treatment in it? I thought I was doing good and bought it from someone I trusted locally. Here he was new to the business too, and bought ten units, so he could get his for free. There was no one even in the area to have install the damn thing. I am going to keep up the fight though, and see where the path takes me. I have all summer.

 

[sam-tip]

There is a lot of prep work to weld stainless correctly. Everything must be perfect and clean. The biggest problem is once heated it shrinks more than steel. Plus stainless is softer which leads to cracks.

If Stainless gets very hot it will become magnetic. Almost melting hot. I don't think that would have happened in a OWB.

Doug