Pleasant Hearth 1800 baffle issue

[BroRalph]

Hello everyone. I hope all is well with you.
Our Pleasant Hearth PH1800WS baffle handle/assembly is acting oddly.

In the pic you can see that the rod is out a tad and the peg (?) is not in the slot. The baffle inside on the top is closed. When I push the rod inward so the peg is in the slot (as it should be) the baffle opens a little bit...but it shouldn't.
To rotate the handle/rod to the left to fully open the baffle it is very hard to turn...I can do it with a wrench.
Any ideas as to what is wrong?
Thank you.

 

[begreen]

Pushing it in locks the handle. Don't try to turn it in the locked position. The rod is pulled out to rotate it between open and closed, then pushed back in to lock it in position

 

[BroRalph]

Yes, but pulled out it is hard to turn. Sorry... that's what I meant. While pulled out it won't turn.

 

[begreen]

It sounds like it may be binding. Have you called Pleasant Hearth support about this? It sounds like a defect that should be covered under the warranty.

 

[BroRalph]

Not yet. It didn't used to do it. It just started doing it. I was wondering what could be causing the binding. Maybe soot or creosote?