Oslo ash pan door question

[pm01]

I have a 3-year old Jotul Oslo, and I tested the gaskets for the first time this fall. All were tight on a dollar bill except for the ash pan door. The dollar bill in the ash pan door pulled out relatively easily. The Oslo owners manual says the seal is too loose if the dollar bill can be easily pulled out.

Since I had never replaced a gasket before, I went to the dealer who sold and installed my stove to buy the gasket and cement. I like the dealer -- he's helpful, practical, and friendly. He sold me the materials, and then replaced the gasket right there for me in about 90 seconds.

When I got home and repeated the dollar-bill test, I found that I can still pull the bill out relatively easily all the way around the ash pan door. The top of the door is a little tighter than the bottom, but no part of the door holds onto the bill very firmly.

I called my dealer back, and he checked an Oslo on his showroom floor. He said he could slide a dollar bill out of the floor model's ash pan door and maybe that was normal for an Oslo. He said he'd call his Jotul tech rep and ask. When he called me back, my dealer said that the Jotul tech rep had told him that it was normal for the ash pan door to have a looser fit than the other doors. My dealer said that means my stove is probably fine. He said if my fires behave like they want to run away that I should shut down the air, then call him and he'll come out and take a look.

I'm almost an hour away from the dealer, so we both recognize that having him come out is expensive for someone. Any advice?

 

[begreen]

Check carefully behind the ashpan for impacted ash buildup. This can force the pan against the door which will prevent it from closing tightly.

 

[stoveguy13]

that test only works when the there is a ridge on the frame of the stove where the door closes(like on the side door) the ashpan door closes against the face of the ashpan frame that is flat even on a new stove you would be able to pull the dollar out you should be fine as long as you got the right size gasket.

 

[pm01]

Thanks for the responses. I double-checked for ash buildup behind the pan, and there is none. I even removed the pan and repeated the test with the same results.

stoveguy - that makes sense to me that a flat surface would allow the bill to slip more easily. Still, I wonder why Jotul put this in the Oslo owner's manual:

"To check the seal of the front doors, close and latch the doors
on a dollar bill and slowly try to pull the dollar bill free. If it can
be easily removed then the seal is too loose. Check several spots
around the door, and repeat the procedure on the ash pan door
as well."

To me, that means the manufacturer says the ash pan seal is too loose if the bill test fails.

Do other Oslo owners have ash pan doors that seal tight enough to hold a dollar bill firmly, or does everyone's ash pan door allow the bill to pull out easily? Thanks for your help!

 

[stoveguy13]

beacuse it is a good test but is not explained right in the text that you ""your door is fine dont worry best way to tell if you ashpan door gasket is good is by the burn time you get when the gasket goes the burn time will get alot shorter. i have never seen one you couldnt pull the dollar out and i have seen alot of oslo's

 

[Shari]

Well, I haven't had to have a fire in our Oslo since last night so stove was cold enough to give our ash door the test. It was tight all the way around the ash door. Our Oslo was installed 2/10 if that means anything. Does it count as a 'higher quality test' because I used a $20 bill?

Shari

 

[Green Energy]

Just checked my Oslo ash pan door - the dollar bill is held firmly top and bottom.

 

[SWNH]

Just checked my Oslo ash pan door - the dollar bill is held firmly top and bottom.

+1. As firm as the front and side doors.

 

[pm01]

So there are at least three people here who have ash pan doors that hold a dollar bill firmly. There are at least two people here (myself included) who have ash pan doors that don't hold the bill very firmly.

I stopped by another Jotul dealer today who took me over to a brand new Oslo he had on the floor. He showed me that the ash pan door on it didn't hold the dollar bill very firmly either -- about like mine. Just like stoveguy said above, this dealer said the ash pan door seal was entirely different from the other doors and wouldn't hold a bill tightly.

As I mentioned earlier, my original dealer has a new Oslo on the floor that also allows a dollar bill to slide out of the ash pan door.


If I've tallied correctly, that gives a total of 3 bill-grippers vs. 4 bill-slippers on the Oslo ash pan door.

I wonder what causes the difference. All I know at this point is that I can't get mine to seal any tighter with 3/8" gasket material.

 

[WOODBUTCHER]

I just checked my Oslo, the bill holds firmly and I haven't replaced any gaskets since buying it in 2004.
Is your stove running hot? in the deep winter months my stove will hit 650-675 quite easily.

WoodButcher

 

[pm01]

For those of you who've said your ash pan door holds a bill firmly, how "firmly" do you mean? Is it held tightly enough that it feels like you might rip the bill if you pulled it out? Or does it feel more like you're pulling a bill out from under a gallon jug of milk -- the bill can be pulled out but with some moderate resistance?

 

[Shari]

[quote author="pm01" date="1290096179"]For those of you who've said your ash pan door holds a bill firmly, how "firmly" do you mean? Is it held tightly enough that it feels like you might rip the bill if you pulled it out? Yes Or does it feel more like you're pulling a bill out from under a gallon jug of milk -- the bill can be pulled out but with some moderate resistance?[/quote

Shari

 

[WOODBUTCHER]

For those of you who've said your ash pan door holds a bill firmly, how "firmly" do you mean? Is it held tightly enough that it feels like you might rip the bill if you pulled it out? Or does it feel more like you're pulling a bill out from under a gallon jug of milk -- the bill can be pulled out but with some moderate resistance?

I can't pull the bill out at all, it's very tight........strange, different results here on the forum between Oslo's
Take a picture of your door/gasket, I'll post a picture of mine, my gasket is small. My BIL and FIL have an F600/F500........I'll check'em out next time I'm over there.
How about when you close the door, can you feel the latch catching...... making a snug fit?

WoodButcher

 

[logger]

My damn stove just sucked up my twenty and ran down the street.. S.O.B.!

 

[Green Energy]

My damn stove just sucked up my twenty and ran down the street.. S.O.B.!

LOL

When I turn the handle, it really cinches down on the gasket to the point that I can feel there is significant pressure being exerted. I don't even have to turn the handle to a complete vertical position to feel it tightening down. The dollar bill is firmly held even when the door handle is not fully turned to vertical (~ 15 degrees off vertical).

 

[Joe Matthews]

After reading this thread I felt inspired to go do the test. I have an Oslo that has still yet to have had a fire. The front and side doors on it both hold the bill very tight. In a few places it can be budged, but in other positions on the door it feels like the bill may tear before it would move. The ash door is still tight, but not as tight as the other doors. I think the gallon of milk comparison is a good reference to compare my ash door to.... Good luck with it all!