Using Hearthstone with Broken Ceramic Baffle?

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cuttiebearmom

New Member
Nov 20, 2010
3
Northern MA
Hi everyone!

We have a Heritage by Hearthstone that has a 4" piece broken out of the ceramic baffle. I just noticed it today (while lying basically on TOP of the stove to get warm after running!).

Before I can get a replacement out I am just making sure that it is ok to run the stove with the piece broken. It is out primary heat source.

There is nothing hanging or obstructing anything. I'm not even sure how long it has been broken, it still appears to be running perfectly in every other way, very clean out the chimney, etc. My guess is that it may have been broken when the chimney was cleaned because I haven't seen the actual piece anywhere in the box.

Thanks!
 
May have gotten broken during loading.. and the piece is up on top the baffle somewheres.. I can't think of a reason it would be bad to run it until you can get a replacement, but I would fix it. My guess is your secondaries may not fire right.. and you may find the temperature a little higher than normal over that spot on the stone top..
 
I was thinking that a piece of wood may have settled strangely when it was full and knocked it. We try to be careful when loading, really careful :)

I'm going to order the new piece Monday and just keep an eye on it until it comes in, which I imagine may take a while.... Like I said, appears to be working totally as normal.

Thanks for the input Dakotas Dad!
 
I have had my baffle out many times. It is thick and quite sturdy. Not particularly brittle. I do not thing settling wood will break it, rather, an impact while loading or while cleaning the chimney is more likely.

No big deal to replace it. Should be under a hundred and can be done through the front door.

I would keep burning it unless I detected a particularly hot spot on the stove top. Remember that there is a stainless steel shield under the stove top to help minimize this effect.
 
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