Side Heat Shields for Englander NC-30 Wood Burning Stove

[15Katey]

Okay, I've seen this wood stove called both the Englander NC-30 and the 30-NC. I'm assuming it's the same stove, just slightly different names. Anyway...

Last week, I ordered a set of side heat shields (AC-30SHSB) for my Englander from Mountain View Hearth Products. They're located in Montana. Here's the product page, if you're interested. I got the set for $117 and free shipping. I thought that was a pretty good price, so it was a no-brainer. I've seen these heat shields for upwards of $140.

Here's the thing. The shields I received came with the holes drilled on the wrong side! If you look at the product page (or any other photo you can find online) at the photo, you'll see that the attachment holes are supposed to be drilled in the wider bend side. This is because that wider bend needs to reach behind the stove and attach to the rear heat shield that comes standard with these fireplaces. Mine are drilled on the more narrow bent side. Take a look.

If anyone has one of these stoves, you know these shields can't be attached this way.

I called the company and told them about the problem. They asked me to send them a photo so they can reach out to Englander Stove Works to see if they could ship me some replacements. I hope this happens soon, as I was excited to receive these and install them on my stove. I do want to mention that customer service for this company has been helpful and shipping only took a few days. I don't think this product actually came from Montana, so it must have been drop shipped or something like that.

Anyone ever experience this type of a problem? I was going to just go ahead and drill my own holes to attach this to the back of the stove, but if they'll send me replacements, I'll take 'em. Plus, I really don't want to see these already drilled holes facing the front of the stove. They're rather ugly.

 

[15Katey]

I haven't made an update on this issue in a few days. After I began this thread, I was contacted back by customer service and was told that Englander was going to be sending me out some replacement shields. They also mentioned that these new shields will be inspected by the plant manager as to avoid any further mistakes. I received those replacements today. They were inspected by Roger. They shipped from England's Stove Works in Monroe, Virginia. Do you want to see what I received?

Can you believe it? I got the exact same things. I am beginning to think that something larger is going on here. I suspect that if these shields were made in China or something, the entire batch has the holes drilled or punched on the wrong sides. Just to make sure I wasn't going crazy, I checked the part number, which is AC-30SHSB, against a number of seller's pages online. Every single seller shows these shields with the holes drilled on the wider bent sides, not in the narrower ones. It's got to be a mistake by the manufacturer. Check for yourself. Please. Compare my shields in the photos with what you find online. Here's the seller's page. Take notice of where the holes are drilled.

It's actually not the seller's fault here. They've been great. Somewhere along the lines, something got screwed up at the plant or somewhere else. I have no idea.

I was going to say screw it and drill the holes myself, now that I've got two sets of these things. No one asked for the old ones back. Probably because they're really cheap to make and the shipping costs more than the product is worth. Also, they're junk, so the manufacturer can't really do anything with them. But then I thought better of it and contacted customer service again. If I can get a new set with the holes punched properly, then I can install them and not have those ugly holes facing forward on these existing shields. I'll also (hopefully) have two extra sets, so I might be able to sell them with a caveat that says the holes are in the wrong spots. I'll update this thread with the response I receive. Good thing it's going to be 80 in my area this weekend. I was excited about trying these things out, but I suppose I'll have to wait.

 

[15Katey]

Okay, I think we've almost gotten to the root of the problem. Support from Mountain View Hearth Products has informed me that England's Stove Works in Virginia stores flat pieces of steel in their warehouse with the holes already punched in them. When someone makes an order, they bend the metal on the spot and ship these shields out. Apparently, someone down there is bending them incorrectly. The very nice woman from support has once again emailed my photos of the messed up shields to Englander and she'll get back to me with their response. Someone is gonna get a talking to down there. I have a feeling... I feel bad. They're surely not making any money on this sale.

 

[15Katey]

I just received word from Mountain View Hearth Products. Kimberly informed me that a batch of these heat shields were bent incorrectly at the England's Stove Works warehouse in Virginia. They pulled the bad shields and set them aside, but somehow shipped one of those sets to me a second time. They'll send me a third set either today or tomorrow. What a shame. I hate to see them spend all this money, not only on the product, but on the shipping as well. I guess these things happen though. Other than this mishap, I've gotten great support from Mountain View and England's Stove Works has rectified the situation and shipped the products out very quickly.

 

[15Katey]

After some delay, I have received the proper heat shields for my Englander 30-NC wood burning stove today. What a relief. When I opened the package that was delivered by FedEx, I was pleasantly surprised to find two wonderfully crafted shields that had the holes in the correct positions. I went ahead and found six self tapping screws that I had lying around to install the stove with (the screws that came with the shields weren't self tapping and therefore couldn't be used because the holes on the stove weren't threaded) and went to work. I quickly attached the side shields to the rear shield and now this project is complete. I even took a few photos for you. Since it was getting dark outside and the indoor light didn't help the lighting situation much, I used a flashlight to brighten things up. If you click on the thumbnails below, you'll see the installation. Also, if you have any questions, please ask.