Santa fe quadrafire baffle is stuck

[dcw]

I need to vacuum out the exhaust blower, but I have not been able to get the top baffle that covers the heat exchanger off.
The maintenance video says "pull forward until the back edge drops down, then slide baffle back until the front
edge clears the shelf..." and it looks easy. But when I pull forward the front drops down and the right edge doesn't clear the frame of the stove door.

I have only used this stove for a few months, but it is sometimes vibrating or making a loud squealing noise that another thread suggests would be solved by vacuuming the exhaust blower.

Any ideas? or other ways to clean the blower? Thanks in advance

 

[kappel15]

You are suppose to pull forward towards the door, so bottom that is at back brick, drops down and then you can pull it out. Sounds like there is a build up of ash on that lip of door, now allowing it to go back far enough to drop back . You may need to wiggle it a bit or use a scraper to clean area a bit more, to get baffle to drop. Then you can clean the lip better. Any squealing is from either fan. Does it start when stove starts up, or later when conv. fan starts? Is this a newer stove, or older one ? kap

 

[dcw]

You are suppose to pull forward towards the door, so bottom that is at back brick, drops down and then you can pull it out. Sounds like there is a build up of ash on that lip of door, now allowing it to go back far enough to drop back . You may need to wiggle it a bit or use a scraper to clean area a bit more, to get baffle to drop. Then you can clean the lip better. Any squealing is from either fan. Does it start when stove starts up, or later when conv. fan starts? Is this a newer stove, or older one ? kap

Thanks for your response. It's an older stove that was in the house we bought this summer. Last night the squealing was louder than I've ever heard it during the shutdown phase. I vacuumed it again this morning after trying again to remove the baffle unsuccessfully. When I started it again was fairly quiet. I'm not sure where I would clean with the scraper, but I'll try that.

 

[kappel15]

The lip at the top of the door, or the ledge that the baffle sets on. If you can't move it far enough, it won't drop at the back brick as there is a flange on right side that fits in a slot above brick. Mine just acted up this winter. I was able to wiggle it a bit, till it moved far enough to drop the back by the brick. I then used a small putty knife to clean that ledge and vacuum it out. Also used a small paint brush to clean it. If the squeal starts right away when you start stove, it is the exhaust fan. If you don't have an owners manual, I highly suggest you download one from Quads website. Only way to clean exhaust fan is to remove it, and you will need a new gasket when you do. But if it is squealing, i would believe that the bearings are going, and the fan needs to be replaced. kap