It is safe to say that a baffle plate is situated in the most challenging and the hottest area of your stove. This piece of metal has a very tough job, deflecting and reflecting heat back into the firebox to build up the temperature. The key to a successful wood-burning/multifuel stove is the ability to maintain control of the heat and ensure that it is circulated in a controlled manner. So, what might cause your baffle plate to warp and bend?

How to spot a warped baffle plate

In some cases the bend/warp of a baffle plate might be relatively small and not always visible to the naked eye. However, once you take your baffle plate out to clean and then replace it, you might spot some tell-tale signs. These might include:-

•    A hole on the baffle plate itself
•    Difficulty refitting the baffle plate
•    An unevenness when moving the baffle plate

It is neither difficult nor expensive to replace a baffle plate but obviously you want to ensure that your spending on spares is minimal and you get the best value for money. So, what might cause a baffle plate to warp and bend?

Those with an interest in wood-burning and multifuel stoves obviously know there is a difference but what are the specific differences. This is probably one of those stove related questions you would like to ask but it may be sound so simple that you don’t want to.

Basic difference between multifuel and wood-burning stoves

The most obvious difference is in the name, multifuel indicates you can use more than one type of fuel while a wood-burning stove denotes you can only burn wood. There are subtle differences in the make-up of the different types of stove and it is also worth noting that the multifuel stove can burn wood. So, in theory, a multifuel stove offers the best of both worlds?

We are asked many questions about wood-burning stoves (and multifuel stoves) but one of the most common is about stove paint and why it can start flaking off at a relatively early stage. Many people are obviously concerned about the flaking paint but it is often part of the curing process and extremely easy to rectify.

What causes paint to flak off a wood burner?

When you buy a brand-new wood-burning stove it is obviously the finished article but there is still one last thing, a curing process for the paint. This is specialist paint which is resistant to extremely high temperatures but with a new stove there will still be liquid in the paint. You will notice that over the first three or four days of using your new wood-burning stove there will be a chemical reaction within the paint. This is known as “curing” and is quite simply the process by which remaining liquids within the paint evaporate due to the extreme heat created by your stove.