Piazetta Monia Removing Iron Back Panel? - need comments

Hello

I was just working on cleaning a 1990 Piazetta Monia. It is a very nice pretty red stove and worked well with all original parts! The only issue I had was removing the iron back panel for cleaning. The manual had some simmple instructions of just rotating the hold down clips and lifting the panel up to pull the tabs out of the slots on the bottom and pulling the bottom out and pushing the top down below the rotating hold down clips. Sounds simple but due to the coefficient of thermal expansion being different for the iron back panel and the steel firebox side panels it was Absolutely brutal to get in and out! #$%@!!!

I had to use a screw driver, mini crowbar, tons of PB Blaster and a rubber hammer with lots of banging and prying to take out and get back in!

Monia Owners manual see diagram 50 below
7.3 Cleaning the firebox
Once a week clean the firebox as follows. Fig. 50
--Remove the grate baffle and draw out the grate.
-- Turn the eccentric clamps to free the internal baffle.
-- Lift the baffle slightly, gripping it by the two outer tabs to free it at the
bottom and then turn it, bringing the bottom outwards, and remove.
--Using a vacuum cleaner remove the ash from the firebox.
--After having thoroughly cleaned the firebox, remount the internal
baffle proceeding in the reverse order to above.
-- Ensure that the tabs are properly inserted into the relative notches
in the sides of the firebox and secure the baffle by turning the two
eccentric clamps.
--Replace the grate, pushing it to the.
--Replace the grate baffle plate.

Has anyone seen this problem??

 

Ya gotta wonder about such over engineering.

Maybe a couple 5/16 bolts, one on each side, would have done things better ????

 

Yes and make the iron panel smaller so it is not pushing against the sides of the firebox! Harman iron fire brick panels have a nice space on each side, top and bottom that allows for expansion and makes for easy removal!

 

Wonder Why they did not use the Cerra board or similar stuff.

Iron is gawd awful heavy, does hold the heat though.

 

The iron panel does last longer.

After wire brushing the panel with a wire wheel on the drill and using moly spray it was still way to tight going back in.
Looks like the problem is in older Monia like this one.

Grinding the sides or getting a new back panel looks like to be the solution. Thanks for your comments.