US Stove (Country Hearth) 2000 Ceramic fiberboard baffle

[char5]

Just moved into a new place with a US Stove 2000 (Country Heath 2000)
http://www.homedepot.com/p/US-Stove-2-000-sq-ft-EPA-Certified-Wood-Burning-Stove-2000/202815104

New to wood stoves and we have birds (sensitive respiratory systems aka canary-in-a-coal-mine), read the manual, and as a test burned one RedStone compressed hardwood brick, and while no smoke, did smell the smoldering in the house for a couple of hours. I blame the operator for closing the damper prematurely when there were only a couple of ambers left instead of letting them burn hot.

But, just in case it wasn't the operator, I got on the roof and swept the chimney (stove pipe).
Little did I know that it was directly on top of the $80 USD (ceramic fiberboard) baffle and I poke a dimed size hole in it.

So, I go to remove the baffle and the screws holding the air pipes broke, so I'll have to drill them out.


What I would like to know is....

1) $80 for a fragile fiberboard is nuts imo, can I replace it with maybe 3/8" steel plate (10" x 22.5") or something else more "reasonable" in price?

2) I saw mention of perlite and castable refactory cement to make my own, does that sound legit? and anyone know where I can find it (no store locally carry Rutland 600 12.5lb tub) or a recipe to make the cement?

3) Would hex drive stainless steel screws hold up to the heat of the firebox?

Any advice suggestions welcome.

 

[begreen]

The baffle material is a high temp insulator that keeps the fire hotter. Steel won't do this. If it is just a small hole, plug it with some furnace cement. Put some adhesive tape on the bottom so that it can set up. The tape will burn off.
Yes you can use stainless steel screws.

 

[spirilis]

How did you burn just 1 redstone brick? Usually you have to get the firebox pretty hot with kindling (or smaller style biobricks) and use them on the reload and it takes more than 1 in proximity (wood is a "community burner", the heat from one burning piece reinforces the burn of the others)

 

[char5]

@begreen
Thanks for the patch idea for the hole. Once I removed the baffle, I found that one of the corners is chipped and missing about 3" long and .75" wide rectangle.
I found this furnace cement http://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/rutland-black-furnace-cement-10-1-3-fl-oz

Says it "fills gaps", so maybe I can create a mold of sorts (cardboard form?) and repair the corner as well.
I have some blue painters (low adhesive) tape - lil better than the smell of burning plastic =)


@spirilis
Easy, cut in half and apply propane torch
Only 3/4 of the thing burned anyway, the last portion just smoldered out eventually.

 

[spirilis]

@begreen
Thanks for the patch idea for the hole. Once I removed the baffle, I found that one of the corners is chipped and missing about 3" long and .75" wide rectangle.
I found this furnace cement http://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/rutland-black-furnace-cement-10-1-3-fl-oz

Says it "fills gaps", so maybe I can create a mold of sorts (cardboard form?) and repair the corner as well.
I have some blue painters (low adhesive) tape - lil better than the smell of burning plastic =)


@spirilis
Easy, cut in half and apply propane torch
Only 3/4 of the thing burned anyway, the last portion just smoldered out eventually.

Haha, aye... figured it was something like that

 

[kennyp2339]

I would just get a new board, no sense in piecing something together that has more damage. Get a stove top thermometer, you want to run temps in the 550deg range, once you get there then you can start cutting the air supply down and then secondary's will take over.
Check your door gaskets with a dollar bill, close the door with the dollar between the door and stove, there should be resistance on the dollar if you try to pull it out, do this in multiple area's.
If you get into wood burning start look for a better stove, those screws that hold the air tubes in place will keep snapping and you will have to keep tapping new holes.

 

[char5]

I would just get a new board

That's $51 a square foot for ceramic fiberboard, I think I'll try the $3 solution for now.
If you happen to know where I can get ceramic fiberboard for a REASONABLE price, I'd be up for it.

those screws that hold the air tubes in place will keep snapping and you will have to keep tapping new holes.

Yeah, it was a poor design on US Stove's part <grumble>, I should have used WD-40 to break them loose before hand.
I'm just going to use stainless steel hex drive sheet metal screws, not like there is any weight/force on the air tubes, and I can use the leverage of the hex wrench to gently work the screw out back-and-forth instead of working against a philips head.


@ALL
Would it be beneficial to place a (1/2"? 1"?) layer of KAOWOOL on top of the baffle? Any drawbacks in doing so?

Also, what exactly is the function of the air pipes?
I couldn't find a diagram of the interior of the stove, so I can't really see the cavities/channels of where they fit into.
Links to pics/video appreciated

 

[kennyp2339]

When the fire box gets hot enough ( hence the ceramic fiber board insulating) the secondaries lite off and it looks like a gas stove flame coming out of those little holes, it's reburning the smoke to get a clean burn, make sure you aim the tubes in the right direction, those holes should be pointing ever so slightly in the down position

 

[Huntindog1]

Your stove will work better from full loads starts on hot coals.
Empty space in the stove is hard to get heated up.
As you fill the stove full you reduce the amount of ewmpty space and all that is usally left is a small space
up top for the secondary flames to burn.

I would not load a full load of bio bricks as it can over heat your stove.
As they start quick and burn hot as they are dry.

 

[edyit]

copper never seize on the screws should help as well

 

[begreen]

Your stove will work better from full loads starts on hot coals.
Empty space in the stove is hard to get heated up.
As you fill the stove full you reduce the amount of ewmpty space and all that is usally left is a small space
up top for the secondary flames to burn.

I would not load a full load of bio bricks as it can over heat your stove.
As they start quick and burn hot as they are dry.

Biobricks burned properly per mfg directions should not overheat the stove. They need to be packed tightly to burn slowly.

 

[char5]

I used the Rutland Furnace Cement ($4) as suggested, watered it down a bit and added some crushed perlite.
I let it air dry for a few days, hit it with a propane torch to remove any excess moisture, then reinstalled. Worked out well.

I was able to drill out the broken screws that held the air tubes in place. Replace with #14 SS screws with hex heads.
Couldn't find any copper screws in this area.

I did load 6 Tractor Supply bio-bricks tightly. It worked pretty good, but I'm still getting the hang of the damper and I had it open a bit too much and burned across all the exposed surface area's of the bricks a lil too quickly than preferred, but work nicely enough. Mind you, tightly packed 4-6" oak burned MUCH longer (all through the night) without having to be reloaded or attended to than the bio-bricks. Still get the hang of it all =)

 

[lexybird]

I would get a new ceramic board .sounds like yours is beat up . That is not all that expensive when you consider what it does and how it relates to the function of your stove . That isn't a place to skimp or jerry rig IMHO .

 

[begreen]

A dime-sized hole is not a big deal to patch. Glad the repair worked out.

 

[chris.ross212]

Rather than buying the new board I have also used fire bricks on top of the pipes. I've also used one inch ceramic insulation both are cheaper options and work just as good in my opinion.

 

[begreen]

That can sometimes work in stoves that have a generous clearance above the tubes that accommodates the brick thickness and blanket without restricting draft.

 

[chris.ross212]

What's your opinion on just using the fire blanket on top of the pipes by itself as a replacement baffle?

 

[WoodyIsGoody]

What's your opinion on just using the fire blanket on top of the pipes by itself as a replacement baffle?

That would be better than nothing assuming the blanket could handle the environment without disintegrating or sagging between the pipes. I would be concerned with the possibility of the gasses taking a shortcut through the blanket which could affect longevity. It also might not stay put during a vigorous fire.

It's kind of a screwy idea when you can replace it with a fiberboard for, what, $80, that can last many years with normal use/care.

 

[begreen]

I wouldn't trust just a blanket to stay in place and in addition to woody's points would be concerned about leakage around edges. With a dime sized hole in the current board I would patch it with refractory cement, or with stainless fender washers on both sides thru bolted with a screw to hold them in place.

 

[Gasgas]

I would just replace with factory parts instead of having a fire brick come smashing down while your sleeping breaking the glass and burning down the house lol...very old post I'm sure it's fixed by know

 

[Lobo Lee]

I use .47 Hardyboard with great luck. 14.95 per sheet n I get 7 pieces

 

[LampLighter]

Hey Lobo Lee, that Hardyboard still working out for you?