Yeah its more than likely my own **** fault, my reeds are whatever Savoy puts into his accordions. I've had to tune them about once a year (and its always right around mardi gras for some reason, probably the horrible Missouri weather) and both times he said there was a reed broken in one of the Mid range reed banks.
Ehren, what kind of reeds does it have? Hohner reeds are known for breaking easily. Shutting a bank off does put more pressure on the the reeds most prone to breaking, but if you play reasonably, it still shouldn't be an issue.
i don't think too that playing with 3 stops could make damages on your box...
But like you, I notice players playing with 3 stops. I like it and I always imagine it sound very irish...especially with tunes like shamrock or others from the same kind...but this is just my point of view...
Whatever, there are 4 stops on our boxes, so sometimes it could be fun to play in a different way and trying to play with only 3 ;)