My vermiculite board leaves about a 1/2 in gap to one side where some heat/smoke/flame is escaping instead of rolling out towards the front. Has anyone tried to close this gap and with what? Secondly, does it really improve anything or is it really a nothing burger?
Gap Between Baffle Board and Side Wall
- Thread starter yooper08
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Yep, I centered the boards and then threw some fat welding rods up there on each side to fill the gaps. It worked but I don't know if it really matters. Over time the flux falls off and it's just the steel rods.
Easy Livin’ 3000
Minister of Fire
If I recall correctly, Brother Bart has discussed sliding a steel rod in fiberglass gasket rope to fill the gaps on his stove. Been meaning to try it myself since I read about it.
If it makes you feel better, it's worth it, whether there's any tangible benefits to the burn or not. This is our happy place, so, shoot for the moon!
If it makes you feel better, it's worth it, whether there's any tangible benefits to the burn or not. This is our happy place, so, shoot for the moon!
Also be sure to notice that the gap shrinks as the stove heats up. You don't want to fill the gap on a cold stove only to have the stove shrink and buckle/crack/destroy the baffles that are famously fragile. You need to leave a little space!
Easy Livin’ 3000
Minister of Fire
Is this the case for all baffle materials? I have vermiculite one in right now, and a c-cast one that I need to trim to fit. Don't want to leave it so large that it buckles if it expands a bunch.
I don't know if it the baffle material expanding so much as the stove shrinking. The gaps around the boards just shrink when she's really chooching.
I also notice the door latch can be tightened as the stove heats up and then the next morning when it's cold the latch will be really tight. In other words, the door tension loosens with heat.
This is on my NC30.
There’s an idea. I have extra 5/8” from redoing my door gasket. That would be able to take the thermal expansion and contraction. I’ll try that the next time the stove is shut down and see if it fits. 1/2” was a guess while ooing and awing some secondaries.
That’s what I kinda thought should be done in the actual design - just some iron/steel plates on either side for it to rest on.
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