Fire grate cracked - Ideas please?

Cinders2001

Hello everyone.
I found a thread that has been since closed ( https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/1348879 ) giving some ideas why our grate has sagged and cracked.

Some of the ideas do not seem to fit our circumstances.
I wondered if anyone else had any ideas please.

We have an open fire place in an old house. We burn Wildfire coal and any wood we can get hold of.
We bought a brand new grate in January and it has broken already.
We haven't changed any burning habits eg changed coal or even dropped it or allowed the ash to build up at all (my hubby is 'fireman' in the house and he's always emptying it out very regularly).

So I wondered of anyone else had some ideas too please.
Thank you.
I cant seem to add a photo of it here or else I would.

A._Badger

Other than that it was a bad piece of casting, not really. And I'm afraid I suspect that is the cause of the problem. Did you buy it from a good source?

Cinders2001

A._Badger wrote: »

Other than that it was a bad piece of casting, not really. And I'm afraid I suspect that is the cause of the problem. Did you buy it from a good source?

Thank for replying.

Yes I bought it from a fireplace centre that's been around for years!
From what I understand, it has a years guarantee on it so I am covered.

They asked me to bring it in on Tuesday and they are going to return it to the manufacturers.

A._Badger

Cinders2001 wrote: »

Thank for replying.

Yes I bought it from a fireplace centre that's been around for years!
From what I understand, it has a years guarantee on it so I am covered.

They asked me to bring it in on Tuesday and they are going to return it to the manufacturers.

That's good news then. It would be interesting if you let us know what they say.

Cinders2001

Yes, ok. Will do!

manda1205

We used to go through loads of grates too. We only had an open fire as heating and used to burn wood and coal. We bought them from lots of different places and it made no difference. The only conclusion we came up with is they're just not made so well any more.

Cinders2001

I took the grate back in and got a replacement FOC as it was only a few months old.

The man didn't know why it had cracked and dipped like it had himself.
He did wonder if it had been made with thinner metal allowing it to be more vulnerable to heat extremes though.

He is sending it back to the manufacturer and they will probably do a test on the metal, he said, to see if there is a problem with it.

Also, he said that some cheap garage-bought coals can have irregularities in them that make the coal burn hotter and that can cause a problem.
But if bought from a coal merchant there shouldn't be a problem.

So that's all I can tell you. Sorry if it's not much!
If I get to hear about the manufacturers test, then I will post again here.

A._Badger

Interesting, thank you.

I think what he meant by irregularities was the inclusion of petroleum coke which is present in some smokeless fuels and is regarded as a no-no by quite a few stove makers. It can eat through grates in no time at all.

Good to hear they did the decent thing and replaced it for you. Let;s hope you have better luck with the new one.

twiglet98

I understand you are burning Wildfire fuel which contains petroleum coke, so perhaps an alternative fuel would be less likely to damage the grate? Does the manufacturer give any recommendations or caution against using particular fuels?