Hearthstone Mansfield baffle replacement

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blackmeadowloghome

New Member
Oct 26, 2022
3
Chester, NY 10918
I know this has been talked about before but not for a while. I have a Mansfield 8011 model. I'm trying to replace the baffle and the blanket on top of the baffle. Can anyone tell me the easiest way to do this bc YouTube has nothing about this model and it needs replacing at this point. Thank You in advance!!
 
Sometimes the tubes need a little persuasion. Stick an awl in a tube hole and tap it with a hammer to move it to the left. If that does not break it free, then a vice grip on the tube may be needed and a more forceful tap to move it to the left. Don't clamp the vice grip too hard on the tube, just enough to get a firm grip.
 
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Just became a member, so thanks to everyone in advance for advice and assistance! I am helping my 82-year-old dad fix his Mansfield 8011 and came across this forum and this post. BlackMeadow, I was wondering how your baffle replacement went and if you have any advice? Does the ceramic baffle actually sit on the four tubes or is it supposed to somehow mount above them? I haven't found anything on the net explaining it either! After looking at the secondary air tubes, I am wondering if I will need to replace them as well.🤔
 
Just became a member, so thanks to everyone in advance for advice and assistance! I am helping my 82-year-old dad fix his Mansfield 8011 and came across this forum and this post. BlackMeadow, I was wondering how your baffle replacement went and if you have any advice? Does the ceramic baffle actually sit on the four tubes or is it supposed to somehow mount above them? I haven't found anything on the net explaining it either! After looking at the secondary air tubes, I am wondering if I will need to replace them as well.🤔
So I finally found a good video on yt that helped immensely. I got my baffle and blanket on Amazon. It was alot easier when I watched this guy. Good luck

 
So getting the secondary air tubes to loosen up as well as the retainer bar was a PITA! Took over an hour of hammering, prying, and WD40ing, but got them out. The ceramic baffle disintegrated in my hands and the blanket was almost non-existent. I think the engineers who decided to put a cotter pin and the retaining bar detent at the rear of the stove should have to assemble them from the front before building stoves. You need to be a 3-left armed monkey to do anything in there.

Two of the air tubes had major corrosion damage and the other two had started to crack. Since they cost $650+ for all four, I decided to make them. They are 1"OD x 19.5" long, 16GA, and the air holes are 3/16" diameter on 1/2" centers. I just ordered four 14GA tubes from Metals Depot cut to length for $38 with shipping. I think I will turn down the ends 1/32" to give them a little more room in the manifold holes as well as mill the retaining bar slot 1/32" wider for the same reason. Both of those places were where they locked up and I had to hammer and WD40 to break loose, so I though a little lower tolerance might make it easier to remove in the future.

Anyone have any thoughts or recommendations about my plan? Everything else inside the stove looks good.

Ceramic Baffle Decay.jpg Secondary Air Tube Corrosion.jpg
 
I have to say that removing the cotter pin on the third burn tube was an adventure. I found myself partially inside the stove, inverted with a needle nose pliers for more time than I want to ever do again. As this was a new to me (used) stove so the baffle was only partially there. Pro tip: Pull the baffle board apart from below. It going in the trash so no worries there. Pull what is left of the baffle blanket as well. Position a flashlight inside the stove pointing at the magical cotter pin. Use a long flat head screwdriver inserted through the top of the stove to bend the split ends of the cotter pin as straight as possible to allow for removal. Reposition yourself back into the stove and insert one side of your needle nose pliers into the head of the cotter pin. Gently tap on the side of the pliers to remove cotter pin. A few strategic taps will allow for removal of all tubes. Use a sharpie to mark INSIDE the end of each tube as a gentle wire brushing of the ends and ports of each tube is necessary to aid in reassembly and air flow. If you mix up your tubes, a good starting point is that tube #3 has the extra hole for the cotter pin. My recommendation is to place a high quality hose clamp on that 3rd tube instead of that horrible cotter pin to aid in disassembly for future chimney/stove cleanings.
 
Two of the air tubes had major corrosion damage and the other two had started to crack. Since they cost $650+ for all four, I decided to make them
$650! Just for tubes. I’ve never replaced tubes that I remember, baffles pretty often though. A set of SS Lopi tubes are around $125 last I heard…
 
Yes, I was surprised to see a set of 4 tubes for the big Quads running over $400.