1992 PE Super 27 Baffle

[Medman]

Hi all. I usually hang out in the Boiler Room, but I have searched the archives and come up dry on the following issue - I hope you can help.

I have a PE Super 27, blue enamel, built in 1992. It was in the house when we bought four years ago, and I believe it had little use because the elderly woman who was the original owner spent a lot of time down south. I relocated the stove when we renovated, and at the time I installed new insulation in the top. I was able to do this by removing what was left of the old blanket through the flue collar and inserting the new blanket into the collar. This was the direction my PE dealer gave me. At the time I noticed that the baffle was sagging a bit, but they said not to worry about it, because it was a pain to remove. At the end of my first season with the stove, I replaced all the firebrick. The baffle was a little lower in the middle, but not bad.

Now, the baffle is sagging down a lot and actually has a hole in the middle. I wanted to remove it to have a new one made, but I cannot get it out. It sits on the rails on the sides, and seems to have some sort of wire or pin holding it in the back. Any advice on how to remove the baffle? Any idea what size I need to make the new one? Also, did the original baffle have small holes drilled in it?

Thanks in advance for the help.

 

[begreen]

Should be a pin in the back that holds it in place. Try contacting Tom via PM (thechimneysweep). He has a long history with PE stoves and probably will have a good solution for you.

 

[GaryS]

I had the baffle out of my Super 27 while giving it a good cleaning. Mines a little newer, maybe 8-9 years old. I just had to slide it to one side and drop it down.

 

[Medman]

I just finished reading PaulD's thread about his Super 27. I think I'm in the same boat. My side rails are bent up, but I didn't know that they weren't supposed to be that way. The pin is rusted to the point that there is nothing to pull on, but I could not get the baffle to move at all. Possibly the rails are pushing up on the baffle enough to stick it in place?

I will try to get hold of chimneysweep. If its possible to put the stainless parts into my firebox I think I will go with all new.

 

[thechimneysweep]

Hi Medman,

Your 1992 model has a mild steel baffle and rails, and the condition they're in explains why PE has gone to stainless steel for those parts.

The original Super 27 baffle was welded to the air supply tube that runs up the backwall of the stove, and your dealer's instructions about how to replace the cera blanket indicates yours might be one of those. To remove that baffle, we had to take out the firebrick to expose a big U-bolt that held the air tube in place at the bottom. Then, we removed the rear heat shield to expose the backside of the U-bolt, and removed the nuts so we could pull out the U-bolt. Then, we had to maneuver the baffle/ tube assembly into exactly the right position so it could be dropped down past the side rails and pulled out through the door. Badly warped side rails would sometimes make this impossible, presenting two options: cutting torch, or dead stove. At last check, PE still had welded-airtube baffles available, although these are still mild steel.

I'm not exactly sure when PE switched to the "floating" baffle design, where the air tube is welded in place and the baffle sits above it on the rails and is held in place with a push pin under the baffle at center rear, but your reference to a burned-off pin indicates that yours might be one of these. If so, the removal job will be much easier, and the replacement parts will be available in stainless steel.

First, determine whether whatever remains of the pin isn't holding the baffle in place; drill out the stub if necessary to free up the plate. If it remains locked in place with the pin removed, it could be that the side rails have warped so badly they're wedging the baffle in place (if that's the case, refer to the options in bold above).

If you can get the baffle out, you'll find that the side rails sit in "keepers" welded to the sidewalls of the stove, front and rear. In early versions, the side rails were spot-welded to the rear keepers, and could be persuaded loose with a hammer and cold chisel. If you can get the side rails out without destroying the keepers, the new stainless rails will slide right in with no need to reweld.

 

[Medman]

Thanks, Tom. My baffle is free of the air tube. When I replaces all of the firebrick I didn't notice any U-bolt, just the burnt-off pin. I was reluctant to take the drill or grinder to the pin since I was not having problems with the stove. Now that the baffle is done, I am going to rebuild the inside. I will probably wait until after Christmas, though. I am still using the stove daily, but I have noticed that my wood consumption is higher this year. Until I get the EKO boiler humming, the PE is my primary heat source and I would hate to get rid of it. I hope I can rebuild, because the dealer wants about $2800 for a new one. My wife would like to get rid of the Wedgewood blue, though...

 

[Medman]

Just got off the phone with the dealer. Given my serial number, the side rails are not welded in place. I can replace the baffle, gasket, pin, and rails for $260.00 CDN. Sounds like a good investment to me!

Thanks for all your help.