Need to Replace my Quad 2700i Baffle

[velvetfoot]

I've done some searches. Found a good price for OEM replacement at blackswanhome.com, 57.40 shipped.
Is there a less expensive generic replacement? I've read about Micore, but I don't think it's gonna beat 57.40, is it?
Thanks.

 

[velvetfoot]

Apparently this place near me sells Micore: http://www.atlanticplywood.com/usgmicore.asp?
Maybe I'll wait til tomorrow and give them a call.

A big chunk fell out, though, and I'm anxious to get it replaced asap.

 

[velvetfoot]

That place was a wholesaler who told me to contact Curtis Lumber (pretty big bldg. mtls outfit).
I ordered a 4' x 8' sheet of Micore 300 for $46.74, including tax. Should take a week.
Should get several baffles out of that if the material is good.
Next question is how to cut it without getting lung disease.

Of course, too, I'll have to drag out and assemble the collapsible trailer to pick it up, but that's another story.

 

[jtp10181]

I am not sure if micore will hold up very well in there, it is pretty soft. The baffle board is more dense than micore.

 

[velvetfoot]

I guess we'll see. The baffle board is pretty weak as it is. I think the heat gets to it as well, after a while.

 

[begreen]

Check eBay for ceramic fiber board.

 

[Bud21]

Please post your results. My baffle is also broken from front to back and I fixed a crack in it before I started off this year.

 

[velvetfoot]

Please post your results. My baffle is also broken from front to back and I fixed a crack in it before I started off this year.

Will do.
I'm not looking forward to assembling the utility trailer.
I would cut and snap the board in half at the store to fit it in the car, but the car isn't 4' wide.

 

[velvetfoot]

The experiment has begun.
I'm 3/4 through the first fire.
It seems to acquiring a curve in the front - not a good sign.
Otherwise, it's still holding together.

I think I might buy the Quad baffle, just as insurance.

 

[stoveguy13]

If you bought the stove new the Baffle should have a lifetime warr. on it call the dealer you got it from and get one

 

[velvetfoot]

Lifetime? I find that hard to believe. I'll check it out, thanks.

 

[stoveguy13]

It is where did you buy the stove?

 

[velvetfoot]

Lanesboro, MA

I poked at it a little with the poker, and it made indentations, so it got softer.

 

[stoveguy13]

quad will cover it call the dealer and have them do a warr. claim on it

 

[jtp10181]

The fiber baffle boards have no warranty. The lifetime warranty on them was a misunderstanding in the old warranty. The new unified warranty clearly excludes them from all warranty coverage.

 

[velvetfoot]

I looked at the paperwork that came with the stove and it does say lifetime warranty on the baffle. But heck, I'm not even sure if I registered. I wasn't looking forward to arguing with them anyway.

I moved the remains of the sheet downstairs to the basement. It's definitly lighter than sheetrock, and has a curve to it.

The makeshift baffle is still in one piece. I ordered a backup baffle and kaowool blanket from blackswan.

 

[jtp10181]

The refrence to the baffle in the old warranty was for steel parts. I think there is a line like this in most of the old warranties

"This limited Lifetime Warranty does not extend to or include paint, door gasketing, glass gasketing, firebrick, kaowool or other ceramic insulating materials."

 

[velvetfoot]

It seems pretty explicit:

LIMITED LIFETIME WARRANTY
The Hearth & Home Technologies limited Lifetime Warranty guarantees that the following components will work as designed
for the lifetime of the stove or Hearth & Home Technologies will repair or replace them. These items include but are not
limited to steel and cast iron components, all gas burners, gas logs, combustion chambers, heat exchanger systems,
stainless steel firebox components, plating, doors, glass damaged by thermal breakage, steel baffle supports, steel and
ceramic baffles and manifold tubes. Labor is for the first five years.

Here's the caveat:

This limited Lifetime Warranty does not extend to or include surface finish on the appliance, door gasketing, glass gasketing,
firebrick, pellet logs, igniters, kaowool or other ceramic insulating materials. It does not cover installation or operationalrelated
problems such as overfiring, use of corrosive driftwood, downdrafts or spillage caused by environmental conditions,
nearby trees, buildings, hilltops, mountains, inadequate venting or ventilation, excessive offsets, or negative air pressures
caused by mechanical systems such as furnaces, fans, clothes dryers, etc.



So, it does say "ceramic baffle", but then again, I still have to collect.

 

[jtp10181]

There is a new one, I did not remember seeing the old one where it specifically says "ceramic baffles". Seems they like to regularly change the warranty to cause confusion. Darn lawyers.

If I can remember I will email my contact at Quad next week and get the full story.

Just to make it more confusing, currently if you look in many of the current Quad manuals they have the new unified warranty from Sept 1, 2008. This version lists "baffles" in the warranty I think for 5 years, but then excludes "ceramic insulating materials". But if you go the customer care link on the site, and then to the warranty, there is a new version from 2009 which does not have this exclusion in it, which would indicate a warranty on the ceramic baffle board.

For a while we were giving them away, then when the new warranty came out we stopped, I think I even asked someone at Quad about it for confirmation. Now I will have to check again, since the new version from 2009 took the exclusion out.... I guess they can't make up their minds.

Personally I think this item should have a 1 or 2 year warranty at most. If it lasts one year without breaking there is no mfg defect in it, and if breaks after that it is from someone hitting it with something, or it is just plain worn out (like a gasket wears out over time).

 

[velvetfoot]

Thanks. When the stove was installed it had a cracked baffle that was replaced, so I thought I'd use it when I was trying to master my pipe sweating skills (on concrete). I was using the wrong materials (another story) so I was using the torch a lot. As I recall, it seemed the ceramic material broke down after a while. Maybe the baffle cracks in the stove in a similarly, as in heat over time, because this wasn't from hitting it, I believe. I agree with your philosophy, but there should be an effort to keep the price low on the consumables.

The micore is still hanging in there.

 

[velvetfoot]

Got the Quad replacement baffle and wool in yesterday.
The baffle actually looks to me like it could be cast, but what do I know.

The Microre 300 is still hanging in there.

 

[velvetfoot]

The Microre 300 is still hanging in there.

Perhaps I will suspend the weekly updates until failure or the summer's cleaning.

 

[velvetfoot]

Well, the Micore gave up the ghost today.
I replaced it and the insulation with the mfr's parts.

Impressions:
-What a mess cleaning out all the ashes
-How much more room for wood after all the ashes are out!
-The baffle looks like it is cast
-The blanket is less wool-like
-There is enough blanket material for two pieces for my 2700i
-There is a warning insert with the baffle on proper installation