door hinge pin holes oblong

[crtodaro]

Hi folks thanks for the invite.
I'm having issues with my 2004 Jøtul F 500 Non-catalytic Wood Stove front door hinges. the face of the stove has two tabs for the door hinges. the holes are getting oblong now and the door is scraping the air lever below it. If i lift the door when closing it seals fine but I'm looking to correct this the right way. I can't find any info on fixing this and the dealer told me no one has ever had this issue(I can't believe that). So has any one on this forum come across this & if so would you please share what my option's are. I can rule out welding the holes shut and re-drilling, trying to find a used front will surely be buy as is and you know how that'll go. So thanks for reading and I'm hoping someone has come up with a cleaver fix. thanks, Carlo

 

[begreen]

It's been reported before with some other stoves. The F500 has a big heavy door. I'm wondering if there is enough meat to drill out enough to fit a sleeve to fit the hinge pin.

 

[Todd]

Not sure if this would work but could you fill the holes with JB weld, let dry then drill out proper size hole?

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Larger diameter pin if there’s enough meat?

 

[begreen]

Not sure if this would work but could you fill the holes with JB weld, let dry then drill out proper size hole?

The door hinge gets hot. There is a JB Weld high temp epoxy putty that is rated to 450º continuous, but I am not sure if that would suffice. Maybe?

 

[crtodaro]

It's been reported before with some other stoves. The F500 has a big heavy door. I'm wondering if there is enough meat to drill out enough to fit a sleeve to fit the hinge pin.

thanks for the reply, that was a thought at first. Problem there is that the hole is oblong and I'd never get it dead center. It would have to line up with the bottom hole. And if it didn't line up it would through the entire door off. And if that isn't enough strikes the top of the stove sticks out so you can't even drill straight down. You'd need to have that stove front on a drill press to drill straight thru. Also the tab is to close to the wall of the stove.

 

[Wisco Shepherd]

Got a photo? Drilling out to a larger pin may work but you may not have enough material.

 

[crtodaro]

Not sure if this would work but could you fill the holes with JB weld, let dry then drill out proper size hole?

thanks for the reply, JB weld is probably going to be my only solution, some how. But the tab is to close to the wall and I can't drill straight down. Besides the hole is oblong from wear and it would be a 1 in a million shot to get it dead nuts.

 

[crtodaro]

Larger diameter pin if there’s enough meat?

not enough meat Matt the tab is to close to the wall. I'd be worried it would be to close if i could drill a larger hole. that is a heavy door and i wouldn't want to crack it.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

The only thing I can think of then is to tack weld a new sleeve to the existing one and add a longer pin. That would align the sleeve to the door and fix the wear issue.

 

[EbS-P]

Looking at my Jotul. I don’t se how one could drill the top hinge on the front face. Other stoves use eccentric pins to align the door. I would try to make one then insert it up from the bottom and a quick small weld of the pin on the bottom so the door can be lifted off the pins from the top. I’d lube the pins each year with a small dab of high temp anti seize.

A new pin could be soldered or brazed in the same way maybe. Welder is better as door could be in place and aligned while welds are done.

It’s probably not worth a rebuild with new front. How much lkngare you wanted to keep this one running?

 

[crtodaro]

I wanted to answer all the reply's first & say thanks. I've come up with 2 choices last night & I'm thinking these are my only two options. Other than finding a brand new face to the stove, and that's not happening. I did find out last night that if I close door it sits flush and is in the right position. I pulled the top pin and am able to look straight down through the door tab and the stove tab. I can't see where the hole is oblong so the pin must be sitting in the right position. the pin hole on the door is not damaged and is perfectly round. So it must be sitting in the lower tab with space around it which I'm going to need to fill with JB weld. The pin is 6mm option 1: Fill the bottom tab with JB weld and tape the bottom so it doesn't run out. then I take a wooden dowel the same size place it down through the the hole and let it cure. After that remove door and try to drill or chip away the wooden dowel. I may have to clean it up with a round file.
my second option: Is to fill stove tab with JB weld put tape under hole so it doesn't run out. Then I can carefully put door back on using the lower pin to shut the door tight. then I'll take the hinge pin and grease it up a bit and push down through both the door tab and front stove tab. I'll let it cure for an hour or two and pop the pin out up through the bottom while leaving the door closed. Hopefully the pin will come out without any issues. If someone has a better idea or a better way to tweak my idea I'd love to hear it. I'm doing this next monday or tuesday and I'll post some pics. If it works it may help someone else, thank you ladies and gentlemen, Carlo

 

[crtodaro]

The door hinge gets hot. There is a JB Weld high temp epoxy putty that is rated to 450º continuous, but I am not sure if that would suffice. Maybe?

they make a 1000 degree extreme heat one also

 

[crtodaro]

Looking at my Jotul. I don’t se how one could drill the top hinge on the front face. Other stoves use eccentric pins to align the door. I would try to make one then insert it up from the bottom and a quick small weld of the pin on the bottom so the door can be lifted off the pins from the top. I’d lube the pins each year with a small dab of high temp anti seize.

A new pin could be soldered or brazed in the same way maybe. Welder is better as door could be in place and aligned while welds are done.

It’s probably not worth a rebuild with new front. How much lkngare you wanted to keep this one running?

Being everything is cast iron I'm not really looking to drill or weld, to risky. What are eccentric pins have you a pic of one ? And I am going keep the pins lubed from here on in. I can't buy a new front and a used one(if you can find one) would probably have its own issues.
If I took my front off there's no way way I'd be able to (line bore ) or drill the two tabs like it was done at the factory. As far as how long I want to keep the stove well I'm 75 and I'm hoping to take it to end. It's a good stove this is the only issue I've had in twenty years. The gaskets are all good and the original ones. I posted two things I'm going try let me what you think. thank you, Carlo

 

[stoveliker]

In your second option I'd be concerned about breaking off the hinge when you tap out the pin "hopefully without issues".
If that breaks off you're done and need a new face

 

[crtodaro]

In your second option I'd be concerned about breaking off the hinge when you tap out the pin "hopefully without issues".
If that breaks off you're done and need a new face

yeah I thought about it. I'm thinking to give it an hour or so. Any less than that might pull out all the JB weld. I'll keep testing it , maybe put some of the same material on a scrap piece of metal and monitor how quick it's drying. thanks for heads up

 

[begreen]

they make a 1000 degree extreme heat one also

Worth a try. Better than scrapping the door. Just keep the pin lubed with neversieze or dry graphite.

 

[begreen]

Might be worth a call around to large Jotul dealer to see if they have a use door. I would start with Preston Trading Post in Preston, CT.

 

[crtodaro]

Worth a try. Better than scrapping the door. Just keep the pin lubed with neversieze or dry graphite.

begreen thanks for posting, It's really not the door at all. The holes in the door are straight it's the tabs on the front of the stove. the top one in particular it's oblong. I'll give that preston trading post a call. At least they're in Connecticut, I can drive there and inspect it. If I search the web and buy one that way I know the deal is going to be as is.
I think my plan may work, I'll post how the fix went and come winter I'll share how it's holding up.

 

[MongoMongoson]

Regular JB Weld stinks when it gets hot. I don't know if the stink ever goes away. I made a small aluminum alcohol burner stove for backpacking years ago (10?) And use it yearly. It still stinks like hot JB Weld when I burn it. It does not get fired daily like a wood stove, so for all I know the stink would go away after a month or two of firing.

But, I would look at the 1000 degree material begreen suggested. JB Weld Extreme Heat.

I would also do a test run with a greased rod set into the material before I tried it with the door, just to make sure you can break it free after the material sets.

If it does not, a 6mm diameter chunk of polyethylene like HDPE or UHMW would make a good temporary alignment pin. Not many adhesives stick to polyethylene.

 

[crtodaro]

Regular JB Weld stinks when it gets hot. I don't know if the stink ever goes away. I made a small aluminum alcohol burner stove for backpacking years ago (10?) And use it yearly. It still stinks like hot JB Weld when I burn it. It does not get fired daily like a wood stove, so for all I know the stink would go away after a month or two of firing.

But, I would look at the 1000 degree material begreen suggested. JB Weld Extreme Heat.

I would also do a test run with a greased rod set into the material before I tried it with the door, just to make sure you can break it free after the material sets.

If it does not, a 6mm diameter chunk of polyethylene like HDPE or UHMW would make a good temporary alignment pin. Not many adhesives stick to polyethylene.

 

[crtodaro]

thanks for the reply, I'm going tackle this tomorrow. I have a new set of pins and some shims. I'm going to make sure the door is as level as I can get it. There's a little gap in the top hinge(between the door tab and stove tab) that could use a couple of shims. I think that'll help carry some of the door weight using some of tab as reinforcement . I have a couple of types of JB Weld, including the 1000 * rated one. I took a wooden dowel and turned it down to 6mm which is what the hole size should be. My only concern with coating the pin or dowel with some kind of lubricant is if it pulls or pushes the JB Weld out of the hole when I remove it. That'll contaminate the hole and it'll be tuff trying to clean it. I may change my mind but my thinking right now is to use the wooden dowl without any lube on it. Then let the JB weld set, and then I'll come back and try to pick or drill the wooden dowl out of the hole. I also plan on testing my plan with a piece of tubing with the wooden dowl. I'm going to try and turn the dowl ever so slightly to see if tears up the JB weld. I'll post what happens when it's all said and done.

 

[Highbeam]

So did it work? I hate worn out hinges! Had this with a cast iron hearthstone and sold the stove as a result.

 

[bigealta]

Drill out the dowl. Take the top of the stove off. Get a drill bit extension to reach all the way to the hinge and just drill the wood after it has set. That's if you go the jb weld route.

 

[bigealta]

Even better use a straw or some thing plastic or foam that can easily be drilled or pushed out.