Modification for Hearthstone baffle.

[KeithinWoodstock]

I've seen lots of posts on damage to brittle baffle above Hearthstone Heritage firebox. Has anyone come up with a reliable replacement or modification? Recommendations or research would be appreciated. I'd prefer not to have to baby this stove.
Thanks much

 

[wkpoor]

I have a friend with a Heritage and he does not recommend loading firebox after a few beers. Just last week we discussed the baffle and how easily it can be damaged during reload. Burn tubes are right there too. Sounds like its a be careful situation and don't try to stuff it full.

 

[Dakotas Dad]

I wonder why a person coudn't go to lowes or whatever, and get a sheet of say, 22g steel, cut a piece to fit, and place it between the baffle and the tubes?

 

[DAKSY]

I wonder why a person coudn't go to lowes or whatever, and get a sheet of say, 22g steel, cut a piece to fit, and place it between the baffle and the tubes?

A piece of sheet metal that thin, in the middle of what is arguably the hottest part of the firebox,
would distort within in the first couple of good fires. Once that happens, the potential for
moving the baffle out of it's correct positioning is increased. If you use the ties to hold the
baffle to the burn tubes, you'll hafta drill thru the sheet metal. Now you have a piece of
metal - which IS going to distort - anchored to the baffle. That baffle has minimal flexibility
& is going to fracture. I'd say that if you went to a steel distributor & got yourself some
perforated (not expanded) stainless steel, you'd probably have better success...
Just my $.02 based on 25 years in the metal machining industry...

 

[Highbeam]

This is not unique to the heritage at all. Almost all non-cat stoves have their "roofs" covered with pipes and a relatively fragile board on top of that. The board can be damaged from above by poking it with a chimney brush or from below by hitting it with fuel. The pipes are not going to be damaged in any case. They are stout. That board can take many mild hits and show damage without actually being broken or punctured as it is quite thick.

The board isn't terribly expensive and if you aren't careless then you won't need to replace it at all.

So just don't hit it with anything. Kinda like your groin area.

 

[wkpoor]

This is not unique to the heritage at all. Almost all non-cat stoves have their "roofs" covered with pipes and a relatively fragile board on top of that. The board can be damaged from above by poking it with a chimney brush or from below by hitting it with fuel. The pipes are not going to be damaged in any case. They are stout. That board can take many mild hits and show damage without actually being broken or punctured as it is quite thick.

The board isn't terribly expensive and if you aren't careless then you won't need to replace it at all.

So just don't hit it with anything. Kinda like your groin area.

After recently looking over a Heritage it appears to me to be more vulnerable than other stoves. The door is large and the tubes and baffle are very close to the opening and as my buddy pointed out loading from the side it is fairly easy for a split to hit. I think this post is valid however I agree its just a be careful situation and a new board if needed is the way to go.

 

[Stump_Branch]

I saw a regency...2400?, at a buddies. They have a two piece hard, almost like firebrick material for a baffle.

I wonder if something like that can be cut and adapted for duty in a hearthstone.

 

[DAKSY]

I saw a regency...2400?, at a buddies. They have a two piece hard, almost like firebrick material for a baffle.

I wonder if something like that can be cut and adapted for duty in a hearthstone.

IIRC, The Hearthstone Baffle is about 1/2" thick. The Regency Fire Brick or Vermiculite Baffles
are more like 1-1/2" thick with a rabbeted lap for adjusting the width. I don't think the Heritage
has the room for that thickness...

 

[Stump_Branch]

I saw a regency...2400?, at a buddies. They have a two piece hard, almost like firebrick material for a baffle.

I wonder if something like that can be cut and adapted for duty in a hearthstone.

IIRC, The Hearthstone Baffle is about 1/2" thick. The Regency Fire Brick or Vermiculite Baffles
are more like 1-1/2" thick with a rabbeted lap for adjusting the width. I don't think the Heritage
has the room for that thickness...

Good point, was thinking out loud. Been a long time since i peaked in a heritage. How much room is there up there?

 

[TX-L]

Depending on duct size, 22 ga metal might be used for air handler ductwork (26 ga typical for a residential furnace installation); but it wouldn't work at all for this application.

The older Quadrafires had a plate steel baffle (not removable) that was fairly thick and a piece of ceramic blanket on top of it. My friend has a 3100 step top that is 14 years old, never warped the baffle plate or burn tubes. The blanket was replaced once, however. Those are some good old stoves. A piece of 3/8" steel or similar might be able to be retrofitted into the OP's stove, as long as it would fit and was sealed around the edges.

My older Lopi (and new ones too) use a firebrick baffle that seems to work very well; I've never damaged any of the baffle bricks.