Steel baffle vs fiber baffle board. Quadra-fire 3100

[Fisherman-Travis]

Hi I picked up a cheap older Quadrafire 3100 to replace my quadrafire 1900. The steel baffle inside was installed crooked which causes it to warp and twist to the point it won’t sit flat and rocks badly. I googled the topic and see it looks like quadrafire switched to a ceramic fiberboard type baffle. It looks like there are some options available that will go right in place of the steel baffle. Question is would switching to a fiber baffle board and ceramic blanket be a upgrade in performance or efficiency over another steel replacement? Thanks in advance

 

[begreen]

Changing this will keep the firebox hotter which should increase efficiency and faster secondary combustion.

 

[Fisherman-Travis]

Ok well I made a prototype baffle board out of hardie siding today and put the old falling apart ceramic blanket on top. Sanded and painted the stove and burned a fire in it outside. Seemed to work well, lots of secondary action.
Thinking of ordering a sheet of ceramic fiber board to make a permanent baffle board out of. Has this been tried with any success? Seems like it could really help get a secondary burn going fast if that fiberboard surface heats up instantly upon flame contact

 

[Tylervt]

I think I'm in the same boat. Looking online this afternoon I saw this Quad. The sticker on the back states it was born in 2000 on the month of January but the top that shows the model is scratched beyond recognition.
Only issue with the stove is the metal baffle above the air tubes has a fist size hole blown in it. Looking online they are now $350. I'll have one made and look into this blanket that goes on top of it? Good thing the stove was free! It was up for an hour but I was the only one to get over to the seller. They said I was the 4th person to contact them and when I asked what happened they said the others just stopped communicating. He had taken the side panels off and couldn't figure out how to get that steel out. I presume the three baffles have to come out then the plate manages to come out? Here's a good explanation of the control's also in the video
Thanks for any and all advise!
Tyler

 

[3650]

Wow they are pretty proud of that piece of steel.

 

[begreen]

Wow they are pretty proud of that piece of steel.

Yes, it's nuts. Back in 2013 it sold for $180 and that was an ouch then. Have one fabricated at a heavy iron & steel shop out of 3/8" steel.

quadra fire baffle plate

Hello all. I'm new to this forum and coming into it with some questions. I was poking around here for a few weeks as I researched and purchased a new (old) stove. So, here I am, ready to learn. I just picked up a quadra fire 3100f, 1992. It's going into the questionably insulated basement...

www.hearth.com

 

[Tylervt]

Wow they are pretty proud of that piece of steel.

Take a look at the baffle in my QuadraFire It looks like a bomb went off.