Good evening gentlemen,
I have been a long time lurker on this forum. It was instrumental in helping me learn about drying wood, moisture content, and even research on stoves.
December 2022 my wife and I purchased a regency f3500.
I believe the door may be bent but I am not sure. Also any help with the draft control lever would be appreciated. I have blown compressed air in there and loosened the bolt underneath. How does it come out? Maybe I should polish it?
I included a rather long back story but it clarifys why I am posting this on here instead of going through the dealer or calling regency.
-Back Story-
Last year we loved the stove but had problems with the door sealing and closing the door. I had to remove a shim almost right when we got it because the gasket wouldn't make a tight seal. Then it worked fine but the handle was always difficult to close. I notified my dealer about it and they said they would get back to me. Then I notified them that the draft control lever gets stuck when the stove heats up. They said that was unusual and never followed up with me. Eventually I was tired of texting and calling about it. Everything worked just not that great and the season ended.
Fast forward to 2023 and the door handle became so grindy and the gap opened up again on the door. I replaced the gasket and still couldn't get a good seal. Finally the door handle basically got stuck in the closed position and bent the bracket when I opened it.
I finally got a hold of the dealer on the phone and this time they asked for pictures of the handle. Regency sent me a new handle and latch assembly.
I picked it up and installed the assembly and everything worked okay but it was still hard to close. I replaced the gasket again because now it didn't even reach the stove outside wall. I ordered a gasket on amazon because the dealer didn't have anything in stock or on a role. Now the new 5/8 gasket made the door not close without adding some washers onto the shims to get it further from the face.
Today I bought another gasket while at tractor supply and the stove door closed without the shims.
After adjusting the shims so the door closed alright (still grinds to close) the seal looked okay.
I waited an hour and fired up the stove. It quickly developed what you see in the picture of the gasket. The middle of the gasket does not touch the face of the stove. I put a straight edge on the door and the front is not flat. The face of the stove is flat I have already tested that a while ago. I always thought the bow in the front of the door was supposed to be there because the back looks flat.
I recently contacted regency about the sticking draft lever because I already asked my dealer 2 or 3 times. I left two voicemails to customer service and never got a call back. Next I emailed them and received a snarky reply saying how easy it was to adjust the draft lever and I was pretty much an idiot who should have asked my dealer about it.
I loosened the bolt like they said to do which helped a little but the thing still requires forcing it to move. I can't even recall how many times I have called my dealer who can't be bothered to reply or pick up the phone. Regency cannot be bothered to help their customer.
One of my trips to the dealer I opened and closed the f3500 on the floor to compare to mine and it opened like the door on a Cadillac. They know nothing about anything I have ever asked them. I know that sounds ridiculous to say and I would like if it was not the case. The owner talked me out of the blower and airmate when he was at my house going over what stove we needed and where to put it. I bought both of those after the heat basically stayed in the corner of the basement and did not move. It would have been nice to get the tax credit with our original purchase.
-Question-
In a nut shell can someone please confirm if the front of the door is supposed to have that bow in it? Also is there anything I can do to the draft lever or slider because I cannot see in there or where it comes out.
I have been a long time lurker on this forum. It was instrumental in helping me learn about drying wood, moisture content, and even research on stoves.
December 2022 my wife and I purchased a regency f3500.
I believe the door may be bent but I am not sure. Also any help with the draft control lever would be appreciated. I have blown compressed air in there and loosened the bolt underneath. How does it come out? Maybe I should polish it?
I included a rather long back story but it clarifys why I am posting this on here instead of going through the dealer or calling regency.
-Back Story-
Last year we loved the stove but had problems with the door sealing and closing the door. I had to remove a shim almost right when we got it because the gasket wouldn't make a tight seal. Then it worked fine but the handle was always difficult to close. I notified my dealer about it and they said they would get back to me. Then I notified them that the draft control lever gets stuck when the stove heats up. They said that was unusual and never followed up with me. Eventually I was tired of texting and calling about it. Everything worked just not that great and the season ended.
Fast forward to 2023 and the door handle became so grindy and the gap opened up again on the door. I replaced the gasket and still couldn't get a good seal. Finally the door handle basically got stuck in the closed position and bent the bracket when I opened it.
I finally got a hold of the dealer on the phone and this time they asked for pictures of the handle. Regency sent me a new handle and latch assembly.
I picked it up and installed the assembly and everything worked okay but it was still hard to close. I replaced the gasket again because now it didn't even reach the stove outside wall. I ordered a gasket on amazon because the dealer didn't have anything in stock or on a role. Now the new 5/8 gasket made the door not close without adding some washers onto the shims to get it further from the face.
Today I bought another gasket while at tractor supply and the stove door closed without the shims.
After adjusting the shims so the door closed alright (still grinds to close) the seal looked okay.
I waited an hour and fired up the stove. It quickly developed what you see in the picture of the gasket. The middle of the gasket does not touch the face of the stove. I put a straight edge on the door and the front is not flat. The face of the stove is flat I have already tested that a while ago. I always thought the bow in the front of the door was supposed to be there because the back looks flat.
I recently contacted regency about the sticking draft lever because I already asked my dealer 2 or 3 times. I left two voicemails to customer service and never got a call back. Next I emailed them and received a snarky reply saying how easy it was to adjust the draft lever and I was pretty much an idiot who should have asked my dealer about it.
I loosened the bolt like they said to do which helped a little but the thing still requires forcing it to move. I can't even recall how many times I have called my dealer who can't be bothered to reply or pick up the phone. Regency cannot be bothered to help their customer.
One of my trips to the dealer I opened and closed the f3500 on the floor to compare to mine and it opened like the door on a Cadillac. They know nothing about anything I have ever asked them. I know that sounds ridiculous to say and I would like if it was not the case. The owner talked me out of the blower and airmate when he was at my house going over what stove we needed and where to put it. I bought both of those after the heat basically stayed in the corner of the basement and did not move. It would have been nice to get the tax credit with our original purchase.
-Question-
In a nut shell can someone please confirm if the front of the door is supposed to have that bow in it? Also is there anything I can do to the draft lever or slider because I cannot see in there or where it comes out.