Hearthstone Baffle replacement

Hopefully someone will chime in who knows for sure.. But are you sure you have to remove the top? I know on my stove I have to, but not all Hearthstones require it. If you remove your secondary tubes, can it be lifted/tilted out? I don't think I would bother unless it was actually perforated.

I am noticing some wear of the baffle

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How did you notice the wear? What is a baffle?

A baffle is the expression on your face when you don't understand something...the OP is wearing one.

vixster said:

I am noticing some wear of the baffle

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How did you notice the wear? What is a baffle?

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If you look inside your stove.. look up^^ there you will see some pipes with holes in them, those are the "secondaries" just above that is a fiber board (the baffle) that "holds" the heated flame and smoke from the fire up near reburn/secondary tubes. Where it is mixed with preheated air that causes a sort of spontanious combustion of any left over gas and particulates, thus lowering emissions.

Someone with a few more years experience with EPA stoves may step in here if I am wrong, but I don't think a baffle "wears out" but generally gets damaged when loading the stove. I know mine has a couple dings in it. I do believe from watching how hard and how hot the secondaries burn, my guess is the tubes can and do "wear out".

So, I looked up and see nothing above the tubes, I can see the top of the stove. There is a slight lip/bevel from tubes heading up, so maybe it's behind that? Could it be that the shelburne doesn't have a baffle? I'm baffled ;-)

vixster said:

So, I looked up and see nothing above the tubes, I can see the top of the stove. There is a slight lip/bevel from tubes heading up, so maybe it's behind that? Could it be that the shelburne doesn't have a baffle? I'm baffled ;-)

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Since the factory instructions to replace the baffle are linked above, I am pretty darn sure it has one.lol

It's just a flat sheet of fiber board of some sort, would in fact look like the top of the stove I guess. You could post a pic of the inside of your stove, maybe yours is missing, I would think the stove would burn like doodoo without it though.

My Shelburne certainly has a baffle. With the door open fully, I can shine a flashlight up toward the secondary burn tubes and see the white baffle above them. I have to be careful not to disturb the baffle when loading splits, since it has the consistency of a potato chip and can be easily cracked or broken.

P.S. The above link to the factory instructions is for the Craftsbury, not the Shelburne. I don't know how to access the Shelburne's baffle, since the stove is not here in Richmond and I can't check it out to see if it similar to the Craftsbury.

P.P.S. I just Googled and found this exploded parts diagram for the Shelburne, which I hadn't seen before. It appears the Shelburne has two baffles (cleverly named upper and lower ceramic boards), both of which are located above the three secondary burn tubes. I can't tell from the diagram how to replace the baffles (I'm baffled, so to speak).

http://woodheatstoves.com/images/Hearthstone Shelburne 8370 exp view.pdf

I don't get it.. I see the tubes, then nothing but the ceiling of the stove.. my tubes are mounted onto metal then I can see over the mount and see the roof.. something certainly sounds different or not right.. Thanks for the exploded parts pdf.. I will go investigate that further.. I definitely don't have what you are seeing with yours.

I'm even more baffled (;0) because on the explode view , I don't see ceramic.. or soft material.. 31-33 Baffle Support Heatshield, Top, Stainless Steel Throat Baffle, Stainless Steel... it's is all metal in mine..

vixster said:

I'm even more baffled (;0) because on the explode view , I don't see ceramic.. or soft material.. 31-33 Baffle Support Heatshield, Top, Stainless Steel Throat Baffle, Stainless Steel... it's is all metal in mine..

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In the exploded diagram, item 42 and 43 are baffles. ceramic board, upper and lower.

Perhaps you should take a picture and post it of the inside of your stove, and other Shelburne owners can compare.

Did you buy your stove new? perhaps they were not installed? Or bought used, and they were removed by PO?

Yes, how long have you had the stove and where did you buy it?

P.S. This thread has been officially hijacked, but the OP shouldn't mind, since it appears that his/her issue has been resolved.

Bought it new from a dealer... just 2 months ago. I gave them a ring...The dealer checked one out on the floor. it's spray painted black. when the stove cools down, i'm going to touch my baffle and see how see feels.. to me look metal. but I could be wrong.. so glad to have this discussion and put a bit of concern/fear into my psyche. I'll post back when she's cool enough to touch.... she has been running 24/7 now for the 2 months..
thanks!

For what it's worth, the lower (visible) baffle in mine is white. Maybe Hearthstone changed suppliers and the baffle material is black (since I doubt that spray paint would hold up under 2 months of 24-7 burning)?

For what it’s worth, the lower (visible) baffle in mine is white. Maybe Hearthstone changed suppliers and the baffle material is black (since I doubt that spray paint would hold up under 2 months of 24-7 burning)?

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good point! Black is the new white... I just stoked the stove, and forgot to touch it. Next time it's cool enough, I'll use a blunt object to touch it and will report back here. thanks

Careful what you touch it with. It's very brittle and will gouge or break easily.

Okay, 24 hours later...what'd you find?

I discovered that my brain is lame and I keep forgetting to check. I think because I spent so much time shoveling, and less dickering with the wood. Before next load (hopefully) I shall poke it with a tooth pick!? Thanks for checking in! I'll post in the next 3 hours...

vixster said:

Before next load (hopefully) I shall poke it with a tooth pick!? Thanks for checking in! I'll post in the next 3 hours...

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Apparently not... :lol:

hehe

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Well, last night, I poked it and was NOT convince of it's material. Then I forgot to post. What a surprise. However, this AM, when It just had overnight coals I was able to touch it with my hands before lighting her up. I am still NOT sure of its material. The only reason why I give it thought that its not steel is that when at knuckle it, it doesn't have the "steel" sound. Much more hollow and less metallic sounding, but there is nothing above it. But it hard, very hard and durable. When I tried poking it with toothpick, the toothpick broke. When I give it a good look, it looks like steel. I am not sure what else to say. There is no flaking or white to it. It's smooth in nature. Next time I will take a picture and post it. Perhaps tomorrow. Stay tune. and if you have an idea to verify, let me know. However, the blowout schematic does say ceramic..

There won't be any steel up there, it's cast iron, which would probably give more of a "thud" than steel would. The baffle on mine has a few gouges in it where I've accidentally touched it with a split when loading the stove (note to self: don't do that again), so you should be able to dent it. Don't push up hard in the center if you think it's ceramic, though, or you may crack it in half.

How about trying to scratch it with a sharp needle? That should easily distinguish between ceramic and cast iron.

P.S. I just sent a message to another Shelburne owner, asking him to check out this thread and see if he can help you, since my Shelburne is 200 miles away.