Equinox internal pieces, one piece cracked...

[mackvision]

Upon burning for one week and letting it go out as the temps here in Ohio got north of the 55 degree mark, I let the stove go out, to find that the picutured piece is cracked. It is a very light material in nature. I thought it was concrete at first, but after pushing on it, it is light, and craced all the way through, up and down. Guessing a piece of wood might have gouged it. Need to know:

Is this a safety concern before relighting?
Will this effect burn performance?
Does anyone have a contact phone # for Hearthstone as I cant seem to find one on the Net anywhere?

Any input from you "oh wise ones" is greatly appreciated.

Hopefully this piece can be swaped out easily without removing stone!....hopefully it can wait till spring!

Thanks again all!

Note that pics are shot through the front door lookin at the top underside of the burn box where thermal tubes run horizontally. I was laying on my back with the camera stuck in the main door if that give you a better perspective of the pictures and what we are discussing.

 

[johnstra]

That is your ceramic baffle. It's a necessary component for secondary combustion. You probably did hit it with a piece of wood. The manual has a big, bold caution about this being a fragile component and that it will break if you hit it.

It looks like your stove will continue to burn fine for now - as long as you don't lose a big chunk of the baffle. Go ahead and contact your dealer and order a replacement, though. You can replace it yourself or have your dealer send someone out to do it. It's a pretty simple procedure to swap in a new one.

Oh, and be careful when loading wood not to hit that baffle... it'll break ;-P

 

[Highbeam]

That item is called your baffle or baffle plate. It broke right above the cotter suggesting a hit from below. Most models of stoves these things are easily replaceable. My Heritage is sort of a mini Equinox and I've pulled mine out several times for cleaning by straightening the cotter and . The new part is under 100$. Not a safety issue and it looks like a tight break so I would burn it while waiting for the replacement.

 

[sauer]

My offer still stands.

I had to replace the baffle on my mansfield when I rebuilt it. I used 10g stainless. factory baffle is a two piece 1/8inch mild steel baffle on the mansfield. I thought that was kind of weak for such temps it gets exposed to. Mine had a hole burnt into it when I bought it

 

[BrotherBart]

Yeah that crack is tight enough that it won't affect burning. My stove, a different brand, actually has a two piece ceramic baffle that meets in the middle and burns with no problem.

 

[mackvision]

Thanks again. With all that said...I put it back in service 2 hours ago! Only other thing I noticed with it, is the air control sticks when full right and u go to move left to open it up. It sticks when moved from closed to 1/4 open. To move it further is a very abrupt jerk to the left then move back to the right to finely adjust. Seems to have very little difference in air control from full to half. Only when you get down a little past half is there a noticable difference in the immediate burn rate. Is this normal for this model?

 

[BrowningBAR]

Thanks again. With all that said...I put it back in service 2 hours ago! Only other thing I noticed with it, is the air control sticks when full right and u go to move left to open it up. It sticks when moved from closed to 1/4 open. To move it further is a very abrupt jerk to the left then move back to the right to finely adjust. Seems to have very little difference in air control from full to half. Only when you get down a little past half is there a noticable difference in the immediate burn rate. Is this normal for this model?

The air control on the Heritage has two spots in which it sticks. For the most part I can control the stove with my foot, though. Tons easier than the Vigilant and Intrepid.

I notice some difference between full open and half open. Not a big difference for the most part. Depends on the wood load/burn.

 

[mhrischuk]

Hello everyone.

I just picked up a used Equinox and it has a hole punched in that baffle. Is this a simple through-the-door repair?

Thank you,
Mike

 

[woodmiser]

Hello everyone.

I just picked up a used Equinox and it has a hole punched in that baffle. Is this a simple through-the-door repair?

Thank you,
Mike

Yes mhrischuk... I did it in about a half an hour.

 

[begreen]

mirror mirror on the wall…

 

[woodmiser]

Silly isn't it. Thanks for understanding.

 

[pen]

Silly isn't it. Thanks for understanding.

No understanding. Just tolerance; and that courtesy has just about expired.

pen

 

[Dakotas Dad]

I realize this is an old thread.. but just out of curiosity, anyone else notice the OP is running an Equinox in a 1126 sqft home? Seems like it's "a bit" to much stove.. Our local shop won't sell an Equinox to anyone with under 3000 sqft to heat..