Regency 3100 warped baffles

[KB007]

700-800 stove top might be a little bit high, but not out of the question. Me, I'd run it more like 650-700 stove top and see how it runs.

The baffles in our I3100 look more or less like that, maybe a 1/4" gap at the front for a couple of inches and then overlap the rest of the way back.

I get the concept of the plenum and register, but I'd want it higher for sure. I might even consider taking the plenum out completely and just leaving the register to allow heat up. I presume it was installed over the old stove, which probably made significantly less heat. The Regency is capable of huge amounts of heat (3 cuft firebox plus secondary burn) I can see it getting very hot and the plenum reflecting a lot of heat back downwards.

Where are you taking your flue temps (and stove top ones too)? is it from the magnetic thermometer on the front of the plenum? or on the pipe (single or double wall?) Have you calibrated your thermometer either by comparing to an IR gun or by using the oven method? Those things are notoriously off and can be out by 1-200 degrees easily.

 

[bens_igloo]

papa-d,

I have the slightly smaller i2400 (insert) and have not had any issues with my baffles warping. I have a thermometer in the front above the door and regularly 550. I would assume stove top is even higher. At that temp, the secondary tubes are all glowing red but no issues on the baffles.

I noticed your baffles are really discolored - mine turn bright as new every time I get hot temps. Silly question but you're not burning any treated or painted wood are you?

Also, do you fire your stove really out on the first time you use the baffles? I believe they might have some moisture in them from the factory that needs to "cook" out slowly.. I might be wrong on this one though.

 

[Jeff1957]

I bought a new Regency 3100 wood stove to upgrade my 23 year old wood stove that had become a creasote maker. The new stove took care of my creasote problem ( epa cleanburn technology ). I burned about 3 to 4 cord of wood thru it and the baffles over the air tubes in the fire box have warped twice. The second set they put in warped on the first fire. I start my fire and get stack temp to about 500 degrees then damper back to run 300 to 400 degrees. I do this morning and night. I have a plenum over the top of stove leading from basement to first floor. Regency is saying that the plenum is overheating the stove and makes the baffles in the firebox warp. The plenum rests against the back lip of stove and has at least a 2 inch air gap all around the other 3 sides. the plenum is back away from the front of stove so heat from glass doesn't go into plenum. It has a 1 foot square register in top going into main floor. Has anyone had similar problems with a plenum or is Regency just blowing smoke.

Hey Papa Ive had a regency 3100 for 7yrs first set of baffel plates lasted 5 seasons replaced with new one warped right away replaced them warped also. third set @ start of this season they warped after first fire, they are also smaller then the original set so the overlap is no existent, id say regency is blowing smoke, I might get an answe next week I am filling papers to sue them unless they can supply with proper plates ceramic does not warp if fired properly.

 

[Retreadsme]

This is an old thread, but since Jeff1957 has resurrected it, I will add to it. Regency replaced my 7 yr old I3100 insert this summer due to metal cracks. Along with the new insert came new ceramic baffles as well as low density firebricks. After three break-in fires the ceramic baffles warped, with one of them warping lengthwise as well as across the width. Interestingly although one baffle faces down and the other one up, they both warped in a convex manner to the widest side.

The inserts in the old I3100 never warped with 6 yrs of good burning. I will be interested in knowing what Regency tells you.

Hey Papa Ive had a regency 3100 for 7yrs first set of baffel plates lasted 5 seasons replaced with new one warped right away replaced them warped also. third set @ start of this season they warped after first fire, they are also smaller then the original set so the overlap is no existent, id say regency is blowing smoke, I might get an answe next week I am filling papers to sue them unless they can supply with proper plates ceramic does not warp if fired properly.

 

[Jeff1957]

This is an old thread, but since Jeff1957 has resurrected it, I will add to it. Regency replaced my 7 yr old I3100 insert this summer due to metal cracks. Along with the new insert came new ceramic baffles as well as low density firebricks. After three break-in fires the ceramic baffles warped, with one of them warping lengthwise as well as across the width. Interestingly although one baffle faces down and the other one up, they both warped in a convex manner to the widest side.

The inserts in the old I3100 never warped with 6 yrs of good burning. I will be interested in knowing what Regency tells you.

Good morning after 4 sets of baffels all of them warping as yours I was told my wood was too hot, burn nothing but fir and cypress both of which are not as hot a wood as anything in the hardwood catagorie both burn with the top plate never gettin above 550 , what I did find was the baffels are smaller then original messure 11 1/8 and are a different colour, the last set they sent was a cream colour with what looked like a honeycomb pattern on top and 11 5/16ths other then a corner broken off they didn't warp hopefully the replacements they send this time are right, getting a little tired if been told I'm doing something wrong

 

[Jeff1957]

I bought a new Regency 3100 wood stove to upgrade my 23 year old wood stove that had become a creasote maker. The new stove took care of my creasote problem ( epa cleanburn technology ). I burned about 3 to 4 cord of wood thru it and the baffles over the air tubes in the fire box have warped twice. The second set they put in warped on the first fire. I start my fire and get stack temp to about 500 degrees then damper back to run 300 to 400 degrees. I do this morning and night. I have a plenum over the top of stove leading from basement to first floor. Regency is saying that the plenum is overheating the stove and makes the baffles in the firebox warp. The plenum rests against the back lip of stove and has at least a 2 inch air gap all around the other 3 sides. the plenum is back away from the front of stove so heat from glass doesn't go into plenum. It has a 1 foot square register in top going into main floor. Has anyone had similar problems with a plenum or is Regency just blowing smoke.

Did you ever get a set of plates that havent warped I've now gone thru 5 sets since my originals

 

[Retreadsme]

Oh me .... I've never been told to burn wood that doesn't get as hot. I'm afraid someone would have to send me some that burns cooler. If the fir or cypress are split and placed in the fireplace correctly I'll bet it can burn as hot as red oak.

The baffles in my 3100 are warped slightly, but not such that it will adversely affect the performance of the appliance. The baffles serve to keep the fire from going straight up the flu and they do this function whether perfectly flat or not. I also put 7/8" round door gasket in the overlap crack of the 2 baffles, with the baffles pushed all the way to the left/right sides; thus, the heat/fire is staying in the firebox as long as possible.

 

[carey1932]

Found this thread and very glad I did. We are long time (25yr) wood stove users -- just wanting to clarify right off the bat that we are not novices here. We had a Regency i2400 (which we loved) for 13 yrs and just replaced it with the larger i3100 in Dec 2016. The baffles warped on the first night. The dealer put in a warranty claim for us and just installed the new set yesterday, which again, warped on the first night. There was NO over-firing I can assure you.
We never had any issues like this with the smaller unit. Regency told the dealer that they had NEVER seen this warping issue before and now I find several threads full of them. Very frustrating. These images of the left side baffle are from within 24 hrs of the first fire from BOTH sets of baffles and they just continued to get worse.
What are they made of that they cant take even a small fire in a wood stove? Why would Regency claim they've never heard of this issue before? How ridiculous is this that you have to worry about babying a wood insert?

 

[begreen]

That is pretty warped all right. Is this only on the left side baffle, each time it has happened? Or are both sides warping? Seems like Regency may need to pull their supplier of these baffle out on the carpet. Shame to have this component become a weak link in a good product.

 

[webby3650]

Found this thread and very glad I did. We are long time (25yr) wood stove users -- just wanting to clarify right off the bat that we are not novices here. We had a Regency i2400 (which we loved) for 13 yrs and just replaced it with the larger i3100 in Dec 2016. The baffles warped on the first night. The dealer put in a warranty claim for us and just installed the new set yesterday, which again, warped on the first night. There was NO over-firing I can assure you.
We never had any issues like this with the smaller unit. Regency told the dealer that they had NEVER seen this warping issue before and now I find several threads full of them. Very frustrating. These images of the left side baffle are from within 24 hrs of the first fire from BOTH sets of baffles and they just continued to get worse.
What are they made of that they cant take even a small fire in a wood stove? Why would Regency claim they've never heard of this issue before? How ridiculous is this that you have to worry about babying a wood insert?

Bummer..
Sounds just like Lopi when my Cape Cod warped all over and the stove cracked. They said "this is this first they've ever heard of an issue". Ya, and a bunch of other users! If they don't admit there's an issue then the liability is reduced, that's big business for ya!

 

[carey1932]

That is pretty warped all right. Is this only on the left side baffle, each time it has happened? Or are both sides warping? Seems like Regency may need to pull their supplier of these baffle out on the carpet. Shame to have this component become a weak link in a good product.

No, both the left and the right side are warped. The left side is definitely worse and warping in a convex manner while the right side is warping in a concave manner, on BOTH sets, on day one.

I agree, why is this supplier still providing these baffles if this has been going on for several years now, while Regency claims this was the first case they've ever seen?

 

[begreen]

Yes, bummer for everyone including the dealer. It sounds like the dealer is trying to help, what do they have to say?

The problem could be that Regency bought hundreds or a thousand of these defective cast baffles and has no inventory that isn't defective. Seems like the dealer either needs to remedy the issue asap or take the stove back for credit on a replacement brand that doesn't have this issue. If they have no replacement then return the money.

 

[lazer 46]

No, both the left and the right side are warped. The left side is definitely worse and warping in a convex manner while the right side is warping in a concave manner, on BOTH sets, on day one.

I agree, why is this supplier still providing these baffles if this has been going on for several years now, while Regency claims this was the first case they've ever seen?

Had my regency F3100 installed last Saturday. I am 40 year wood burner and this is my 2nd EPA stove. I don't over fire and after a couple days my baffles look just like yours. Funny thing is they are both warped in the same manner. left is worse than right and they warped in different directions. My baffles are going back to the dealer tomorrow as I have to take them out and return them.

 

[moresnow]

Wow Regency. Might want to chime in with a remedy. The cat is definitely out of the bag now!

 

[webby3650]

Wow Regency. Might want to chime in with a remedy. The cat is definitely out of the bag now!

That will ever happen!

 

[bholler]

Wow Regency. Might want to chime in with a remedy. The cat is definitely out of the bag now!

They are supposedly going back to vermiculite board baffles. Yes they occasionally have issues but they seem to address them fairly quickly. All manufacturers have issues from time to time it is all in how they deal with those issues. And so far regency has been pretty good. We will have to see how things go now that they have been bought out.

 

[lazer 46]

They are supposedly going back to vermiculite board baffles. Yes they occasionally have issues but they seem to address them fairly quickly. All manufacturers have issues from time to time it is all in how they deal with those issues. And so far regency has been pretty good. We will have to see how things go now that they have been bought out.

so there's a good chance that when I get my new baffles tomorrow they will be the same material as the ones that warped?

 

[webby3650]

Usually for a while the replacement parts will be OEM. When my Lopi was self destructing they just sent the same old parts and pretended there was no problem with the old parts. Good luck

 

[bholler]

so there's a good chance that when I get my new baffles tomorrow they will be the same material as the ones that warped?

I have no clue my rep said they we ere changing but dont know when. To be clear most of the stoves we have installed with ceramic baffles are just fine. But a few have warped.

 

[lazer 46]

I have no clue my rep said they we ere changing but dont know when. To be clear most of the stoves we have installed with ceramic baffles are just fine. But a few have warped.

update. I picked up my new baffles at the dealer today. What a surprise when I got home to see they are not made out of the same material as the ones that warped. They have a marble like texture to them on one side. My dealer said this problem is new to him but gladly gave me the new baffles. here is the part that is strange. The box had a date on it. march of 2012. So did I get the old stock which lasted years and years or a new type that didn't last at all. i guess I will find out. they are installed and a small fire is burning.

 

[begreen]

Good luck, hope the new ones work out well. Keep us posted.