Baffle plates warped, resting on air chamber

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white_ash

New Member
Dec 23, 2018
6
Minnesota
Hi, I've been burning wood in a Jotul F 600 for about 3 years and I really enjoy it.

Just recently I had my chimney and stovepipe swept and stove "inspected". Just tonight I noticed that my baffle plate is very warped and it seems like the whole air chamber is sagging on one side.

I plan on replacing the baffle plate, if I don't have to replace the stove.

My question is, how safe is the stove operating like this? I've attached photos.. let me now if you need more.
 

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I'm no expert, but that doesn't look good to me.
It looks like the secondary air header on the left side gave way.
Broken welds? Worse?
 
When It was cleaned did they remove the baffle for some reason? It’s pretty common for sweeps to reassemble incorrectly or even break parts on modern stoves. Most don’t know anything about new stoves unfortunately. They sure don’t mind pretending they do though!
 
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I have a 500. My manifolds and secondary burn tubes look to be the same as yours. If yours are not solidly in place that's not good. As to the burn plates. Mine are two identically cast iron plates. They are flat with a 1 inch 90 degree bend toward the back. About 1/4" thick. There is a seam in the middle that overlaps. They rest directly on top of the burn tubes. Nothing is very well sealed, but a 1/2 insulation blanket lays on top so all the exhaust needs to go to the front to go up and around. My type cast iron plates are know to warp. I don't run my stove very hard, so a lot of years and they're relatively flat.

It looks like yours has a reinforcement angle in the middle. Are these the cast iron or vermiculite type plates? It's had to find what you think the issue is.
 
xman23 said:
I have a 500. My manifolds and secondary burn tubes look to be the same as yours. If yours are not solidly in place that's not good. As to the burn plates. Mine are two identically cast iron plates. They are flat with a 1 inch 90 degree bend toward the back. About 1/4" thick. There is a seam in the middle that overlaps. They rest directly on top of the burn tubes. Nothing is very well sealed, but a 1/2 insulation blanket lays on top so all the exhaust needs to go to the front to go up and around. My type cast iron plates are know to warp. I don't run my stove very hard, so a lot of years and they're relatively flat.

It looks like yours has a reinforcement angle in the middle. Are these the cast iron or vermiculite type plates? It's had to find what you think the issue is.
Click to expand...
It looks like the whole manifold is hanging down on the left side and the iron baffles are heaved up in the middle. The 600 never used a vermiculite baffle, only the 500 went to that.
I’m betting the sweep just didn’t get everything back in there correctly.
 
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So I've put two and two together and I'm guessing the chimney sweep and his assistant forgot to put everything back together. We moved the stove about 3 feet in order to improve clearance and shorten the stovepipe, but I dont think it was a hard enough move to get the cast iron plates to move like that.

On top of that, he tried to get my wifes phone number, and she was NOT having it! Schmuck.

I've attached a better picture.
 

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As you've noticed, the baffle boards are not together and the blanket is improperly placed. Don't let that guy near your stove or chimney again.
 
The plates look ok. The blanket is very fragile. Hope he didn't tear it up. I replace mine about every 3 years. The plates, If like mine, lift them up and slide out the front. You will see how they sit across the back, and lap over each other in the middle. When you get them in correctly It will all be closed up. The blanket is a bit hard to get in place.
 
white_ash said:
So what does the extent of the damage look like? can i get away with replacing the baffle boards only?
Click to expand...
I'm not sure there is any damage, though there may be. From this angle it looks like the baffle boards have been separated and need to be placed back together again so that they overlap at the shiplap joint in the middle.
 
Here are some better pictures of what the baffle boards looked like as well as the air chamber. I'm more concerned about the entire air chamber sagging on the left side. And all of that ash was resting on top of the blanket and came down when i pulled it out. I'd say about a half a cubic foot of it.IMG_20181224_151221.jpg IMG_20181224_151142.jpg
 
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I have a Jotul insert and the cast baffles can be installed out of place. Get in there are lift the cast sections and see if it all falls into place. Personally I would pull it all down and sweep and clean it out. Probably needs it and then you can better see. Can take some time to see exactly how everything is supposed to sit.

After that you can probably live with using the damaged baffle plates until you get some new ones. Your sweep ain't nothin' to write home about.
 
Probably a good idea to take the top of the stove off (4 10MM bolts) and look at the sec air chamber. They may have just come loose at the top of the manifold (they are bolted in place and have furnace cement on the sides). Then you can put the new set of cast baffles in place and get the blanket back in place properly. you'll reach up and into the top and bring the top back down then. Check the top plate gasket and recement the four corners at the top so no air leaks can occur. She was mistreated a bit, but with a little TLC, will burn proper again.
 
Tried to get your wife's number? That's being a world class a-hole.
 
He already had my phone number for the invoice, and asked my wife for her number "because I just know a great family like yours and I'm such a matchmaker whats your number sweety?"
 
white_ash said:
Here are some better pictures of what the baffle boards looked like as well as the air chamber. I'm more concerned about the entire air chamber sagging on the left side. And all of that ash was resting on top of the blanket and came down when i pulled it out. I'd say about a half a cubic foot of it.View attachment 236552 View attachment 236553
Click to expand...
Yes, not sure what has caused this. The firebox is asymmetrical because of the right side loading door. Wondering if that has contributed to the problem along with the decimated baffles. For sure the stove needs new baffles and insulation blanket.
 
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white_ash said:
He already had my phone number for the invoice, and asked my wife for her number "because I just know a great family like yours and I'm such a matchmaker whats your number sweety?"
Click to expand...
Not professional, what's wrong with some people.
 
Now that you have it apart, the burn plates are shot. Hope the rest of it salvageable.
 
I think my sweep knows how to sweep my chimney and I know that he doesn't know how to disassemble or assemble my fireplace. I remove the baffes and some of the burn tubes before he gets here and put them back in after he leaves. It is easier than teaching him how to do it or repairing his damage.
 
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