BIS 1.2 Replacement Parts

[doehunter]

Purchased a home last year which has a BIS 1,2 in it. I was able to locate and replace the rear, left, right and upper refractory panels. Now I am on a quest to find a replacement for another piece which sits just a few inches above the upper refractory panel.

It is made of steel and has some type of fireproof insulation the upper side. It rests on steel nubs on each side of the firebox area above the upper refractory baffle and the front edge rests on what is identified in the parts diagram as the air wash deflector.

The problem is it is rusting out. I think the original part number was PR-BAFFLE. The problem is all the parts sites state this is discontinued. Would like to know if anyone is aware why it was discontinued... was it deemed not to be necessary and the upper refractory baffle is sufficient?

I noticed the BIS 2.0 does not have this piece so perhaps the original manufacturer Security Chimneys of Canada deemed unnecessary or perhaps one of the other companies who later acquired the BIS line of products (Astria or Lennox) did so as well. It was listed at PR-BAFFLE by Security and the Lennox parts dealers/warehouses listed it as LHP-PR-BAFFLE1.2

Was this just part of the "air wash" deflector of the BIS 1.2 which was deemed as not needed and that is why it is discontinued?

Looking for the part or some advice from someone more experienced than I. Will the BIS 1,2 function ok without it? The fire box above this part looks fine as does the flue. I found this rusting part when I removed the upper refractory baffle to do the cleaning this year.

 

[begreen]

Older BIS info is in the Classics forum. Moving there for better responses. To find previous posts use the Search function to search on BIS in this forum.

 

[doehunter]

Older BIS info is in the Classics forum. Moving there for better responses. To find previous posts use the Search function to search on BIS in this forum.

Thanks. New to this forum.

 

[begreen]

No problem, welcome! The baffle design changed as this fireplace evolved. I don't think the rusted part is unessential though. Could you post some pictures of the rusted part and location?

 

[doehunter]

No problem, welcome! The baffle design changed as this fireplace evolved. I don't think the rusted part is unessential though. Could you post some pictures of the rusted part and location?

I will try to remove it tomorrow and get a picture of it to post.

This piece is not illustrated on any of the diagrams of the BIS 1.2 and I have the original manual (printed in Canada 1989) sitting in front of me on my desk. The manual is printed in English and French

It is not screwed in, it is supposed to rest on four steel nubs (2 on each side) which cause it to be a few inches above the upper baffle/refractory panel. The front edge of this rusting piece also rests on the edge of the metal air deflector (7B26A213) which goes across the front The upper refractory panel/baffle slides out, but I will need to remove either the left or right refractory panel to get enough room to turn it at an angle to where I can slip it out.

Removing the refractory panels is not hard, just time consuming and a sooty job I prefer to do in the daylight. Only need to remove few screws and the refractory panel retainer clip to remove one of the side refractory panels. I have had all of it out before because I have replaced the ash pan, the grate, the upper refractory panel/baffle, both the left and right side refractory panels and the rear refractory panel since we moved into the house in June of 2016. I have replaced the door gaskets and even have two ceramic glass panels in storage in my basement should one need replaced.

As you can tell, I would like to keep this puppy running for a few more years.

 

[doehunter]

No problem, welcome! The baffle design changed as this fireplace evolved. I don't think the rusted part is unessential though. Could you post some pictures of the rusted part and location?

Attached are pictures. I have put comments in each hopefully to explain what the pic is.

 

[begreen]

Nice documentation. Yes that piece is essential. It is the primary baffle. If you can't find a replacement I would have one made up by a good metal shop out of stainless steel that matches the original. The insulation may be reusable but if not, purchase a piece of kaowool ceramic blanket of the same thickness on eBay or Amazon. If the side nibs need replacement they can be fabricated out of a small piece of stainless stock, drilled and pop riveted to the side with stainless pop rivets. The new nibs don't look like they need to match the originals if they just support the baffle.

 

[doehunter]

Nice documentation. Yes that piece is essential. It is the primary baffle. If you can't find a replacement I would have one made up by a good metal shop out of stainless steel that matches the original. The insulation may be reusable but if not, purchase a piece of kaowool ceramic blanket of the same thickness on eBay or Amazon. If the side nibs need replacement they can be fabricated out of a small piece of stainless stock, drilled and pop riveted to the side with stainless pop rivets. The new nibs don't look like they need to match the originals if they just support the baffle.

Thanks for the prompt response. Starting to make sense now. The part I could not find illustrated anywhere in the book was called a heat deflector and had original BIS part/catalog number of PR-BAFFLE. Perhaps the PR was short for the word Primary. I thought the upper refractory panel which sits a few inches below this took the majority of the heat. The heat comes to the front of the BIS on the bottom side of the the upper refractory panel and then goes up and over it between it and this rusted piece of metal.

Wonder why it has been discontinued. I think I may have found one, but will not know for sure until tomorrow.

Do you think a 1 inch or 2 in thick piece of ceramic fiberboard would serve the same purpose? I have found it on the Skyline Components website at the below link. They also sell the high temp ceramic blanket as well.

http://skylinecomponents.com/In-Stock_CeramicFiber.html

I have read elsewhere on this forum, some persons are using in place of refractory panels.

 

[begreen]

It probably was discontinued as BIS developed more robust secondary combustion methods to meet stricter emissions standards. Ceramic board might work, but it does not bend. I'd prefer to match the original design.

 

[doehunter]

It probably was discontinued as BIS developed more robust secondary combustion methods to meet stricter emissions standards. Ceramic board might work, but it does not bend. I'd prefer to match the original design.

I have exhausted every supply lead in North America from what I can ascertain. There were a few sites which listed the Heat Deflector with a part number of PR-Baffle 1.2. One place on the East Coast was kind enough to give me their contact at Innovative Hearth Products (IHP) which virtually every supply house in the US orders their parts from. I talked at length with a person in Tech Support at IHP and what they had listed as PR-BAFFLE 1.2 had a weight of 35 pounds. It is actually the upper refractory panel which should be BIS 1.2 part number of 7B26A310. (the orig BIS part number in the BIS 1.2 manual was ZB26ZQ.

The IHP Tech Support person agreed the PR-BAFFLE or PR-BAFFLE 1.2 (whatever label you want to give it) is supposed to be the Heat Deflector which for some unknown reason has been discontinued.

So I have removed the rusted Heat Deflector and I am on my way to a local steel fabrication company to have them make me a replacement out of a sheet of stainless steel. Once I have the replacement made and put some ceramic blanket on the upper side, I will position the piece in the fire box and affix in place with stainless steel pop rivets (or should I use a stainless steel screw)? I am thinking ss pop rivets because I doubt I will ever need to replace this piece again, and if I do, then I could just drill out the pop rivet.

One more question for you. What adhesive would you suggest to use to fix a piece of 1 inch ceramic blanket to the upper side?

Thanks

 

[begreen]

One more question for you. What adhesive would you suggest to use to fix a piece of 1 inch ceramic blanket to the upper side?

I don't know of an adhesive for this temperature range. Is the old insulation blanket glued to the original heat deflector baffle or secured by other means?

 

[doehunter]

I don't know of an adhesive for this temperature range. Is the old insulation blanket glued to the original heat deflector baffle or secured by other means?

In looking at it, perhaps it was not glued down. It appears the original rusted piece had a small 1/4 inch lip on the front and back side. So it may be the blanket just rested on top of the shield.

Spent the entire afternoon trying to get a metal shop to look at it and agree to fabricate one out of stainless. The first one I stopped at said their people who to the metal brake work would not be in until tomorrow. So I call a large HVAC company in town which does sheet metal fabrication for themselves and others. Stopped by there this afternoon and they said they would duplicate the piece in stainless steel sheet metal stock.

I am now ordering the kaowool/ceramic blanket on the internet as I write this. The one I think I will order will have a density of 8# per cubic foot and is made in the USA. Prefer to stay away from the foreign made overseas stuff being shipped from Hong Kong.

One firm is offering a 50 square foot roll (1" thick, 24 inches wide and 25 feet long) way more than I need, but the cost is only $45 and shipping is free. It is the ceramic fiber blanket. It comes in two versions, one is bio soluble, the other is not. I have an e-mail in to the company to ask which version would work for my application.

The other vendor is offering a ceramic fiber insulation blanket 2300F Kaowool RT 8# in a 1"x12"x24" piece. 24 inches is wide enough, it only needs to be 23 inches, but the length is not enough so I would need 2 to cover the entire heat deflector. The shipping on it is about $12 so at $14.99 per piece plus shipping I am up to close to $44

Maybe by the end of the week or the start of next week, my BIS 1.2 will be back up and running again.

Thanks for all your help.

PS If it does work, then I will try to reach out to other BIS 1.2 owners to share with them and hopefully save them a lot of research and foot work.

 

[ChelseaMike]

doehunter, thanks for doing all this research. My heat deflector gave up the ghost after about 25 years and also couldn't find a replacement.
How did your fabricated deflector work out?

 

[doehunter]

doehunter, thanks for doing all this research. My heat deflector gave up the ghost after about 25 years and also couldn't find a replacement.
How did your fabricated deflector work out?

It is working just fine.

Took the old rusted piece to a local HVAC place which does sheet metal fabrication and also does a lot of stainless steel work as well. The person on the metal brake did a great job in fabricating a replacement (it was 26 or 24 gauge stainless). Attached are two pictures of side by side of the old and new deflectors which I had out in my shop before I mounted the new one.

The only other part I had to purchase was the ceramic blanket (1 inch thick) which I cut to lay on top of the new deflector. I used stainless steel rivets to mount the deflector in the approximate same position as where I thought the old one was. Just drilled holes in the mounting tabs (fingers) of the new deflector, held it up there, marked the holes, took it back out and then drilled one of the holes into the firebox wall, put it back in and then used the hand pop riveter to get the first mounting tab attached.

The worse part was I have 42 inch shoulders and trying to work in a firebox about 1/2 that width was slow and tedious on my head and arms as that is all I could get in there at the same time.

Been using the fire place, (I mean the Built In Stove BIS 1.2) on a daily basis all winter.

Not counting my time, It cost me about $130 total in parts (to get the deflector fabricated and to purchase a 2' x 2' ceramic wool blanket which I then trimmed to fit). A lot less expensive than a new wood burner.

Steve (aka doehunter)

 

[ChelseaMike]

Thanks Steve. I really appreciate the photos. I'll use them to show the fabricator what I want.
Fortunately, its nearing the end of heating season here so I should have plenty of time to get this done.

Mike

 

[Piankatank]

I am also in need of the upper baffle for BIS 1.2. I have not been able to find the part during my online search. Is it no longer made?

 

[Charby]

I am also in need of the upper baffle for BIS 1.2. I have not been able to find the part during my online search. Is it no longer made?

Security Bis 1, 1.2 Top Baffle Brick (7B26A310 old part# ZB26ZQ)​

It looks to be $150 in Canada , so likely half that in USA.
Any wood stove dealer should be able to get it for you.
Here is a couple quick searches:

https://www.stove-parts-unlimited.com/bis-bis-i-bis-ii-series-baffle-top-7b26a310-p/7b26a310.htm

7B26A310 Lennox Baffle Bis 1.2 | FireplaceParts.com

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