RSF Opel AP Baffle removal

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JG84

New Member
Mar 16, 2020
1
Minnesota
Hello everyone! I’m recently new to chimney sweeping. I was certified in September and have no prior experience chimney sweeping. I haven’t really come in contact with too many difficult fireplaces until today. It was an rsf opel ap.
Long story short, I couldn’t get the baffle to come out. The homeowners were my friends so I was doing this for practically free as a friendly gesture. They found the manual for me and I flipped to how to clean it.
Page 7:
Baffle removal
1. Remove the secondary air tube and the refractory liners
2. Slide the baffle towards the front of the fireplace and rotate it so that you can lower it to the bottom of the fireplace opening.
3. Remove the baffle through the door opening.

Simple right? Wrong

It seems as though the secondary air tube is too long to slide out. I took the screw out on the left side, slid the tube to the right, dropped the left side and positioned it every which way I could. It will not come out. Suggestions?
I also tried removing the refractory liners to make more space, but they seem “stuck” in place. They also seem brittle. I don’t want to have to replace them or have them have to replace them as the new set costs 330.00.
It seems as if that is the case, they will have to replace their bricks every time it gets serviced. They burn a lot too, so every year there is a chance of having to replace them.
If this is how it has to be done, this just seems like a really bad design in my opinion.
 
Hello everyone! I’m recently new to chimney sweeping. I was certified in September and have no prior experience chimney sweeping. I haven’t really come in contact with too many difficult fireplaces until today. It was an rsf opel ap.
Long story short, I couldn’t get the baffle to come out. The homeowners were my friends so I was doing this for practically free as a friendly gesture. They found the manual for me and I flipped to how to clean it.
Page 7:
Baffle removal
1. Remove the secondary air tube and the refractory liners
2. Slide the baffle towards the front of the fireplace and rotate it so that you can lower it to the bottom of the fireplace opening.
3. Remove the baffle through the door opening.

Simple right? Wrong

It seems as though the secondary air tube is too long to slide out. I took the screw out on the left side, slid the tube to the right, dropped the left side and positioned it every which way I could. It will not come out. Suggestions?
I also tried removing the refractory liners to make more space, but they seem “stuck” in place. They also seem brittle. I don’t want to have to replace them or have them have to replace them as the new set costs 330.00.
It seems as if that is the case, they will have to replace their bricks every time it gets serviced. They burn a lot too, so every year there is a chance of having to replace them.
If this is how it has to be done, this just seems like a really bad design in my opinion.
I have the exact same question and would love an answer. I am worried that I am going to break something if I pull hard enough. I can't get the secondary airtube removed. I would love to know if you found the answer. The user manual was fairly useless for this problem