Hearthstone Warped Grate

[Valkrider]

Hello.
I have a question about our moveable grate in our Hearthstone. Is it supposed to be bowed up? We always just clean the ashes out from the inside of the stove and never slide the movable grate. But when I was cleaning the ashes I noticed that the grate is bowed up and does not close tightly over the bottom grate. Just wondering if anyone else has noticed this. Thanks!

 

[webby3650]

It’s not normal, do you open the Ashpan door to help get the fire going?

 

[Valkrider]

Thanks for the reply. I didn’t think it was normal but I wasn’t sure. The goofy thing is though is that we never open the ash door to try and get the fire going. I am thinking about just putting a steel plate down and removing the grate.

 

[webby3650]

How is the gasket on the Ashpan door?

 

[Valkrider]

I was thinking about that during the night. I will check it out. Thanks.

 

[Brewsterlewster]

I fixed the issue!!

Well apparently this is a known problem that should have been compensated by company and perhaps partly why it was discontinued. I went through two expensive upper grates. Finally, I got a local Blacksmith to cut me a 1/2" steel plate to cover that central area with an off center hole for the lower grate door bolt (see pic, I hope). $90, done! ALSO, importantly is YES, the problem appears to be 1. The ashpan door warps over time and the seal sucks (literally) so I permanently sealed it with fire cement caulk (for metal and brick). 2. The upper grate freezes in time preventing closure of slats.
Find a Blacksmith and get black cement for gasket. Easy fix. Do it before the lower grate warps!

 

[begreen]

Another option, before the grate warps, is to run the stove with the ashpan full of ash and shovel out the ashes instead. This effectively stops air from coming through leaky ash doors.

 

[Brewsterlewster]

I never used the ashpan, ever. It was always packed with ash, but still air gets through. Complicating it, the darn grate never completed slid closed and got worse over time.