Air control valve hard to move - Oslo 500

[pccorrig1]

First of all, let me say this is a great site, with plenty of information which I'm finding useful.

I installed my new Oslo late this past January, and from the beginning found the air control valve extremely difficult to close down below 1/3. This became even harder as the stove became hotter (not to mention how hot the lever actually gets - gloves needed) Searching through past posts, I noticed several Jotul owners, various models, have reported similar problems, but could not find any reports of recommended solutions or replaced parts that solved the problem.

After several warm days here in the northeast, I decided not to have an overnight fire yesterday, so the stove had completely cooled down this morning. So I removed the inspection cover(24) to access the air valve(7). The underside of the air valve showed wear marks which corresponded to burrs in the bottom(8). These I removed with a dremel tool, then reassembled. To my dismay, I still had the same problem.

On closer inspection, I noticed that the air valve handle(58) was attached to a bolt(44), and moved up and down about a full thread length on the bolt when operated. Because of the screw action, moving the handle to closed position effectively put more downforce on the air valve(7).

The fix: I loosened the bolt(44) and put a quarter between the contact point of the air valve and air valve handle when in the fully closed position. Then I tightened the bolt back down. This put a slight upward bend on the air valve handle at the contact point. Finally, I removed the quarter, reassembled everything, and was happy to note smooth, one finger operation from full closed to full open. After building a fire and giving the stove time to come up to 500d, (and metal parts time to expand) the air valve still operates smoothly, with no binding. Success

Now, If I didn't have to use stovetop glass cleaner on the viewing window every 3 - 4 days...

BTW, part numbers are from the Oslo F500 owners manual.

FWIW

 

[MountainStoveGuy]

also, take of the cover of the slide mech (10mm) and make sure the track is clear of cement or debris. While your in there sprinkle some graphite lube.. it should work pretty smooth then..

 

[begreen]

Good to hear you worked it out. I'm surprised they missed this at the factory. But, the good news is that this is a simple mechanism and when working right, it's easy to use. It's one of the nicer air controls I've had on a stove.

 

[chad3]

I have the same problem with mine. It is sometimes almost too hard to even move. You figure with the few moving parts that this stove has and the cost, they could get them right.
Now on to the stupid washers on the bottoms of the doors, anyone else loose them yet?
Chad

 

[MountainStoveGuy]

most doors have washers, and if you take off the door, you need to keep track of the washers. there easy to replace at just about any hardware store.

 

[chad3]

Oh, I know, but finding them is just soo much fun under the furniture.

 

[MountainStoveGuy]

he he he, there small. I magnatize them in the show room then they stick to the frame, the heat will eventually demagnatize them though...