This 5 minute baffle plate install is the easiest way I've found to reduce smoke and prevent intense heating of the rear outlet elbow or pipe. (20 years late, but better late than never) And possibly the best solution for anyone who can't afford to upgrade to a new stove; Approximate cost under $25.
This pertains to a rear vent, but can be altered for a top vent as well. Simply measure across the inside of your stove width. Obtain a piece of steel plate 5/16 thick from a local steel fabricator or supplier 1/2 inch shorter than this measurement. I made mine (15 long X 8 inches wide for a Mama Bear. Mine cost 1.42 / lb. weighing 11 lbs. Cost $15.62) The only other materials required are 2 firebricks available at mason supply or stove retailer. (the type that line your stove 4 1/2 X 9 X 1 1/4 thick) Papa is the same height stove for brick supports, just a little longer plate to reach across the stove.
1). Simply set the firebrick on edge against the side walls on top of the first course a couple inches from the rear wall. Upright for a Mama or Papa works great, sideways for Baby.
2). Insert the plate through the door, tilt it sideways and rotate until it is between the side walls.
Raise it to the top, and set it on top of the firebrick.
3). By sliding it rearward, you can let it tip down in the back until it's at about a 45* angle in front of the rear vent. Many rear vented stoves have a short shelf under the outlet pipe to set it on as well.
4). Make sure the opening above the plate to stove top is an acceptable size opening.
This can be adjusted by moving the bricks fore and aft to change the angle and opening if required.
The only technical measurement is the opening above the baffle plate. This must be at least as large as the square inch area of your outlet. (6 inch round formula is pi X r squared or 3.14 X 9 =28.26" square inch opening. An 8 inch Grandma or Grandpa would be 3.14 X 16 or 50.24 square inch opening) This is about 2 inches from the top, all the way across any model Fisher Stove. You can adjust it to your exact size, but I find it doesn't make much difference making the opening exact.
I found once in place, this is quite solid and doesn't want to move. It also doesn't noticeably decrease firebox size.
The intense heat that normally would heat the rear outlet elbow now goes up the plate and burns the unburned smoke particles before they get to the outlet. This also directs the heat to the stove top instead of in the direction of the exhaust. (rearward) Huge reduction in smoke. (about 90% reduction as calculated in EPA testing with and without baffle) Nothing permanent is added to the stove. This would also be the perfect area to add a secondary burn tube to admit oxygen at this hottest area.
I was going to fabricate an angle iron frame to support a baffle plate, and realized I had some old firebrick laying around that the plate could set on instead. Much cheaper than angle iron, and some single door stoves use this second course of brick above the first at the rear anyway. I positioned the new baffle plate that cost a total of $16 and 2 bricks in the stove in less than 5 minutes. I expected to need to cut the corners of the bricks on angles, but the plate sat right on the full bricks in the Mama Bear shown below. Extremely simple !
You will notice less smoke right away. Before it is even up to temp.I plan on adding a baffle to my Mama Bear soon but since I don't burn it much (it's my back up heat source) I probably won't notice the difference.
If the stove is undersized it will need baby sitting. The scenario described with the neighbor's Endeavor is similar to what we went through with the Castine. The T6 doubled capacity and with the cast iron jacket it increased latent heat. The difference is day and night. But if the house is losing heat faster than the stove can recover it then all bets are off. There are a lot of variables besides the stove in this equation.My issue with the new EPA stoves is the usable heat burn time. They are great to fire up, close down as soon as the top reaches secondary combustion temp, and you have a smokeless fire. Until it burns down enough to require more wood and you open them up to get the temps back up before going into another secondary burn cycle. How long that cycle is depends on the stove and how much heat you require. 3 hours when cold is what I found before reload. So the house temp drops with a glowing mass of coals compared to the older stove producing heat much longer. I don't understand how people with only wood heat keep it comfortable. My definition of comfortable is normally 68 in the morning, no lower than 66 (it will hit 64 when not cold enough to burn hard overnight, like right now) and try to stay below 72 during the day. The colder it gets the closer I can keep it. This is measured in a room farthest from the stove.
My neighbor bought a new Lopi Endeavor last winter. He has to baby sit it every 3 to 4 hours to keep his house constant. After work he has a cold house. Mornings he has a cold house. He added electric baseboards for back-up. We have the exact same house. Log cabin kit brought from Finland in 1972. He lives in his full time. Mine is a secondary home. I don't have electric, only a Mama Bear that keeps the place warm overnight and if I'm gone 10 hours during the day. He also has a blower and outside air intake. Yes, his is "more efficient" and burns less fuel. His also creates less usable heat in the cabin. I also cook on my Fisher, and heat wash water in a tub. His Lopi will not boil water and the top does not get hot enough to cook on.
His heat is IN the firebox to burn off the smoke particles. My heat is on the stove top to use. Mine is in the center room radiating in all directions. His is in a corner with a blower to distribute heat. He froze up under kitchen last year and added the extra electric baseboard for this year. I thought he was doing something wrong, showed him a moisture meter, his wood was fine...... and tried his myself. Same results. I could actually heat mine with a Baby Bear, but since I don't live in it full time, it's cold when I get there, so keep the oversize Mama there. It also gives me a larger cook top that I need.
My second issue is with wood. If I were to stack premium dry wood for a year or more, how much would be there if I'm not around for months at a time in the summer? I would need it to stay over a weekend in the winter to find someone burned it in their EPA stove ! I cut standing dead, split and season it a month before use. Burns fine and I can't tell you the number of times we have both been outside when I pointed to my stack with a very light haze that doesn't make it past my roof edge compared to his smoking away because he lost secondary combustion and he has to go play with it. I have under 3 feet of 6 inch Dura-Vent chimney above roof (it should be 3 feet min) and he has TWO sections outside with guy wires and it turned blue after one season. Looks terrible. Maybe more efficient, but you'll never convince me they are better.
You have the angle iron going longwise, did you do that to help with the warping?
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