Jotul F3 Door handle stiff / stuck

Hi there - this is my first post, my name is Dave, from a sunny, but not so warm, South Africa.

I'm mighty glad that I came across this forum as wood stoves are a rarity here, particularly Jotuls, and any kind of sensible advice even rarer.

I'm struggling with mine at the moment. The shaft that runs through the door seems to have clogged up with some gunk and the handle is hard to turn. I cannot turn it sufficiently to lock the door fully closed, so you can imagine this is a problem.

I see that there is what looks like a hollow pin holding the handle to the shaft. What I'm suspecting is that I need to drill this out, pull the handle off the shaft, pull the shaft out the door, clean it all up and refit it all?

Questions:
1. any idea why it gunked up?
2. what best do I use for a pin to replace the pin I drill out?
3. do I lube the shaft with anything, or will that just burn and gunk it up again?

Thanks
Dave

Edit: it got itself gunked up over summer - was working fine at the end of last winter...

The operating shaft for my door handle is fairly dainty as well and can get sticky with gunk. Lighter oils and lubes will free it up temporarily but I have found that 90 weight gear oil lasts much longer. Don't drill anything.

If necessary, you should be able to lift the door off of its hinges and perform the lube operation with the door laying flat on a bench so that the operating shaft is vertical. This should make it easier for the lube to flow down the shaft into the joint.

Yep, all the above is exactly right. I was going to post some pics but there's no point. Will take the door off and go mad with penetrating oil etc. Thanks for the help.

Just a catch up. I took the door off, laid it handle side up and dripped my favourite penetrating liquid (brake fluid - don't get any on to auto type paint!) onto the shaft so that it ran down to where the shaft runs through the door. This loosened it up, so I then followed this up the next day with a squirt of Q20 (light oil in an aerosol can - you guys might know it as WD40?), and then as per the suggestion above, 90 weight gear box oil.

The gearbox oil did the trick. The other stuff did free the handle, but it was still hard to shift. The gearbox oil took it back how it was when it was new.

Thanks for all your help.

Regards
Dave

PS: the brake fluid did not seem to affect the paint on my stove.

That gear oil will put off a light smell when you first get it hot. A bit like sulfur, cat urine, very temporary but I was about to kick something's butt when I first caught that smell. I still use it as needed for my pins.

If I'm not mistaken...WD40 attracts dirt!