Crack on top of Varde

[Stubby]

3 minutes ago, Steven P said:

Aluminium - will be very light weight and a lot of camping kettles are (because of that weight carrying it 3m, from car to tent is too much). Not sure about the reaction between aluminium, steel (or iron), heat and water - is this happening were the kettle usuall sits?

 

I'd wire brush off all the discolouration and monitor what is happening, 

 

I agree with what you say but you are not quoting the OP so we don't know if they are putting a kettle on the stove in the pic .

[Bolt]

6 minutes ago, Stubby said:

I agree with what you say but you are not quoting the OP so we don't know if they are putting a kettle on the stove in the pic .

OP seems less interested in it than we were.

 

 

[Stubby]

2 minutes ago, Bolt said:

OP seems less interested in it than we were.

 

 

He might be one of those that fade away into the ether 🙂

[spudulike]

Fade away and radiate...you could write a song with that!!

[Paul in the woods]

12 hours ago, Stubby said:

He might be one of those that fade away into the ether 🙂

 

That'll be the carbon monoxide. 

 

Is it just me or does the original photo look like car body filler?

Edited November 4, 2022 by Paul in the woods

[Alycidon]

Normally tops on that design of stove just sit on the top,  yours looks like an integral part.

 

Talk to the stove manufacturer/uk importer ( Stovax) and check if this is part of the smokebox flue system,   personally I doubt it,  Varde stoves have a 5 year casing warranty,  how old is it ?. 

 

Cracks in cast iron are caused mainly by air bubbles within the castings,  over time the air heats up/cools down and eventually the part cracks.     This is where buying a high quality stove comes to the fore.  Many of the cast iron castings in products lower down the price scale are cast in the USSR then sent for finishing by the stove assembler.  This happens in the automotive industry as well with brake drums,  have seen a trailer drum come apart for exactly that reason after a few weeks use.  Cast in Russia, finished in France, sold as a French product.  

 

Obs if its a steel top and some are then ignore the above but I have never seen one crack like yours in steel or cast.       Rust on the underside caused perhaps by rain running down the flue could be part of the issue.

 

A

[Bolt]

 

[Bolt]

Unfortunately ‘top cover’, which looked encouraging, turns out to just be a chimney blacking-off plate.