Ceramic Fiber Board (Englander 30-NC)
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To all check in your location if you have a firm that builds / repairs / services heat treat furnaces and kilns. Likely have what you need. Price won't be any cheaper but avoiding the crazy shipping prices makes it that way. And doesn't have to be of ceramic composition that is just one kind as long as it will maintain its integrity at 2300 degs. I forget the name of the stuff I got been working fine in another stove for 6 years. The sheet I purchased was minimum size they would sell, fixed the one stove have enough yet to do the NC30. At the time it was under $75.
You will be pinching off the space between the board and the stove top by 1/2 " Times the with of the stove about 10 sq in. Could affect the stove performance. Aftermarket boards are fine but i think id go with the 1/2 in ones.
brenndatomu
Minister of Fire
The 1800* stuff has been working well for me, over a year now, no sign of degradation. I would stick with the 1/2" thick stuff for most stove baffles, unless you know for a fact that you have a ton of room between the baffle and the stove top, but most do not. That's just asking for smoke roll out problems during loading!
lorbs21
New Member
- Jan 8, 2014
- 31
I already have back puffing due to a poor draft. eBay says that their ceramic fiber board is much softer than englander stoves product. That is why they recommend the 1" thickness one. I think I will get the 1/2" bc I am nervousr that I already have back puffing but I am not sure either the 1800 or 2300 degree one?
brenndatomu
Minister of Fire
It's not likely that you are gonna hurt a 1800* board. Most of the time it is seeing 1200* or so, max. Like I said, I've been burnin the stuff outta mine goin on over a year now, no change. It may be softer than the original, but the only way you are gonna hurt it is to physically hit it with wood or tools. If you want, they make a hardener that can be "painted" on to make the board more resistant to damage, I thought it was too expensive to mess with it though.
Don't forget, you are getting a piece that is big enough to make 2-3 baffles for your stove, depending on it's size/shape. Take your time, lay it out before you cut it, to make sure to maximize what you get out of the piece you get.
Don't forget, you are getting a piece that is big enough to make 2-3 baffles for your stove, depending on it's size/shape. Take your time, lay it out before you cut it, to make sure to maximize what you get out of the piece you get.
PLAYS WITH FIRE
Minister of Fire
It's pretty good stuff. My friends have been using it for over a month and looks like they just put it in. Englander makes awesome products and I know they don't make the fiber board. The replacement boards for my parents bowed up like a banana. The stuff from ebay does not, just my experience.
lorbs21
New Member
- Jan 8, 2014
- 31
do not get the 1 inch thick stuff, there's a baffle welded in above the fiberboards closing that space down IS going to restrict draft and will cause problems with performance.
I would expect it to warp significantly. There is a reason the baffles are made of ceramic.
The baffle boards also glow cherry red. They may reburn some wood gas that has escaped over thetop of them before it goes up the flue. I would not mess with design. Its not that hard to avoid hitting the board. the tubes protect it to some extent.
Huntindog1
Minister of Fire
Some stoves put a ceramic blanket of insulation on top of the baffle board to help keep the heat up around the tubes in the top of the stove where the secondary burn happens
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Not sure why Englander didnt do that. Its the high heat levels maintained in the firebox that increases efficiency. Some tube stoves have improved
EPA Test results might be how they insulate the firebox.
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Not sure why Englander didnt do that. Its the high heat levels maintained in the firebox that increases efficiency. Some tube stoves have improved
EPA Test results might be how they insulate the firebox.
mopar440_6
Member
For future reference, I found this out the hard way after breaking both of the baffles in my NC-30, the baffle boards for a QuadraFire 5700 are very close to the same dimensions as the ESW baffles. The Quad baffles were approximately 1/16" wider per board (1/8" total) and the length was about 5/8" longer. Because of the extra room on the width of the stove, I did not trim the width down on the baffles. After trimming the extra 5/8" off the length of the baffles they fit perfectly. I was able to get the pair of baffles from the local QuadraFire dealer for about $100. Just another option for anyone in a pinch or wanting to save on shipping over the ESW baffles.
This thread has good info on board source alternatives.
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads...-2-ceramic-fiber-board-for-baffles-etc.72354/
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads...-2-ceramic-fiber-board-for-baffles-etc.72354/
BCC_Burner
Feeling the Heat
My theory is that the gap between the two boards in the NC-30 is intentional. With that bit of a gap, when you bump the top of the stove during loading, the boards have room to move, reducing the likelihood of breakage. When you jam a steel rod in there and lock them firmly in place, they become a lot more fragile, as they have nowhere to go when they're bumped. I thought this through extensively before deciding against adding a piece of threaded rod.
I'm happy with the factory performance and emissions ratings, but by all means, jam that threaded rod in there, you'll help Englander sell more replacement baffles.
I'm happy with the factory performance and emissions ratings, but by all means, jam that threaded rod in there, you'll help Englander sell more replacement baffles.
Not likely to be an issue as long as one loads the stove properly and loads wood below the tubes instead of up against them.
First attempt with a full sheet of stainless was an epic fail with aforementioned warpage - second go round seen here has been burning 24/7 since November with no sigh of warping or wear and personally it gives me a little bit of insurance against baffle board failure. So if you are going to give it a try cut the plate into 4" strips - good to go.
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They continue to glow just as red as ever with the steel in there as well as the plates glowing red. The steel I had available has holes but that really shouldn't change much as far as performance. Also, it is only between the baffles and the tubes so if any reburn is actually happening because of the baffles getting hot on top prior to stove exit(I imagine very little of this takes place) it is not in any way effected by my mod.
I have both my 30s for about 5-6 years still on the original baffles. I have the steel rod in each one cuz the performance is oh-so much better.. Before i could not get the stove top over 550 no matter what, now it will cruise right up to 700 or above
I can set the air rod lower now thus sending less heat up the flue. perhaps it works so much better cuz i have a relatively weak draft to begin with so for those with a strong draft it may not make as much difference, but it does work so much better for me. I dont anticipate replacing any baffle boards for a long time as they still look like new.
I'm having trouble understanding what you added to your 30, do you have any pics of the mod?
Thanks,
HB - airwash plate is as straight as it came from the factory -probably an optical illusion from the strange angle of the pic.
Those are stainless plates I put up there. Originally(if you search my posts) I tried it with two plates. One large and one of the smaller ones you see. The large plate would flex something awful when heated and my guess was due to heating unevenly. The smaller plate never moved. So I cut it into the 4" strips and whola, works like I wanted. Thickness is probably 1/16th or a little over but certainly not an 1/8th. It was something I had at the shop from shelving material so I didn't order it or measure it beyond the plas cuts.
It has been cooking in there since October with no signs of wear and I am certain it has saved my baffles from a bump or two along the way. Just a little insurance for any oops moments.
Those are stainless plates I put up there. Originally(if you search my posts) I tried it with two plates. One large and one of the smaller ones you see. The large plate would flex something awful when heated and my guess was due to heating unevenly. The smaller plate never moved. So I cut it into the 4" strips and whola, works like I wanted. Thickness is probably 1/16th or a little over but certainly not an 1/8th. It was something I had at the shop from shelving material so I didn't order it or measure it beyond the plas cuts.
It has been cooking in there since October with no signs of wear and I am certain it has saved my baffles from a bump or two along the way. Just a little insurance for any oops moments.
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