Isle Royale Door Glass Slipping.....

[Nonprophet]

2nd season with our Isle Royale, absolutely love this stove! The only problem we've had with it is the glass pieces on the front doors sliding down to the point that the top edge of the glass isn't making contact with the door gasket. This creates a good 1/8" gap (or more) which obviously is going to suck in a lot of air especially once the primary air is shut down.

There are four clips with screws in each corner of the glass, but there is no channel or bottom "stop" for the glass, so the only thing keeping the glass from sliding down and creating the air gap on top is the tension of the screws. Not wanting to tighten the metal clips too hard and break the glass, this leaved me with checking the glass and re-tightening--which is kind of a hassle especially when the stove is in use.

Are any other IR having this problem? If yes, have you found a solution?

There is a 3/16" or so gap between the bottom metal clip casting on the door and the bottom edge of the glass when properly positioned, so if I could figure out a way to attach some sort of spacer there, this would keep the glass from sliding down, but right now I can't think of anything that would work as a space, be fire-proof, and not potentially harm the glass.....

NP

 

[northwinds]

I haven't had a problem with mine slipping down. No adjustments since I bought the stove. I could be wrong but it doesn't look to me like the gasket that the window rests against comes in contact with the stove. There's a door gasket a little above and a little below the door glass that hits the body of the stove when the door closes.

The glass still shouldn't slip. It would suck to break the glass by overtightening. I'm not going to tell you to tighten it some more. Those four clips aren't all lined up
in the same way. The bottom ones on mine are angled kitty corner which might help prevent slippage. I could post pictures if you think yours are lined up differently.

 

[Nonprophet]

I haven't had a problem with mine slipping down No adjustments since I bought the stove. I could be wrong but it doesn't look to me like the gasket that the window rests against comes in contact with the stove. There's a door gasket a little above and a little below the door glass that hits the body of the stove when the door closes.

The glass still shouldn't slip. It would suck to break the glass by overtightening. I'm not going to tell you to tighten it some more Those four tabs aren't all lined up
in the same way. The bottom ones on mine are angled kitty corner which might help prevent slippage. I could post pictures if you think yours are lined up differently.

Yep, I really don't want to break the glass........My top two clips run horizontally the long way, and the bottom two clips are vertical. I suppose making them kitty corner instead could help, but again I think the only thing keeping the glass from moving is the tension/tightness of the clips pressing the glass against the gasket.

I just found some high temp (i.e. 2,000 degree) threadlocker, I'm thinking maybe that might be a solution as the screws on the clips are indeed loosening over time/with use which is what allows the clips to loose tension and the glass to move......It's about $15 for a tube, so maybe worth trying.....of course if (god forbid) I ever need to replace the glass then I need to get those screws out.......

NP

 

[northwinds]

I think you can see how mine looks in this photo. Click on the thumbnail. Sorry about the little dirt in the one corner. I'm at the end of an 8 hour burn and haven't
cleaned the windows in a few days.

 

[Nonprophet]

Thanks for the pic! Mine look pretty similar in terms of orientation.....I might try angling them a little more and see if that helps. Stove is hot right now, so will have to wait....I also might call Quadrafire and see if they have a solution, I can't imagine that I'm the only one with this problem....Like I said, if I could figure out something to wedge between the bottom edge of the glass and the top of the castings for the bottom clip screws, I think that might solve it. It needs to be something reasonably fireproof or it won't last....I'm wondering about maybe a wedge or two cut from wine bottle cork? Soft enough not to damage the glass, maybe won't burn up?

NP

 

[Nonprophet]

Well, I looked up the ignition temp for cork--about 575-600 degrees. So, I think I'll try a few wedges made out of a wine bottle cork under the bottom edge of the glass and see how long they last.......

NP

 

[northwinds]

Well, I looked up the ignition temp for cork--about 575-600 degrees. So, I think I'll try a few wedges made out of a wine bottle cork under the bottom edge of the glass and see how long they last.......

NP

I hope that cork is seasoned. I think it might just go up in flames. Curious to hear what Quad says for the solution. They should have a suggestion. Maybe even advice for how tight to tighten.

 

[Jags]

Cork ain't gonna last. That firebox hits over 1100F. Also, don't use any thread lock. It will screw you in the future if you need to get the screws out or even to tighten again.

Yes, the friction provided by the screws/clips against the glass and to the gasket are all that holds it in place. I doubt that you have enough strength in one hand to over tighten it. They test the glass by swinging a steel ball into it (if I remember correctly it is a 6 pounds ball, but don't quote me on it.)

Just tighten it a bit more. If it slips, tighten it even a little more. Remember, you have the give of the gasket behind it.

 

[Jags]

Serious question...How does the IR compare to the F500??

 

[Nonprophet]

Cork ain't gonna last. That firebox hits over 1100F. Also, don't use any thread lock. It will screw you in the future if you need to get the screws out or even to tighten again.

Yes, the friction provided by the screws/clips against the glass and to the gasket are all that holds it in place. I doubt that you have enough strength in one hand to over tighten it. They test the glass by swinging a steel ball into it (if I remember correctly it is a 6 pounds ball, but don't quote me on it.)

Just tighten it a bit more. If it slips, tighten it even a little more. Remember, you have the give of the gasket behind it.

Yeah, I know the glass is pretty tough, but, I'm tightening the very edge of the piece at the corners.......I'm just really worried about breaking the glass by tightening too much--I think each piece is about $200........

 

[Nonprophet]

Serious question...How does the IR compare to the F500??

It's no comparison. The IR is a great stove. We never could get the Oslo to burn right, whereas with the IR from a cold start I can have her up to 650-700 in about 30-40 mins........

My only complaints with the IR are:

Wish it was one front door instead of two, wish the doors had a better way of attaching the glass (i.e. two tabs on the door to act as a stop for the glass, and, a better way of getting spare parts than their current system which favors the dealers over the customer by FORCING you to deal with your local dealer for parts......

NP

 

[Jags]

I will look at mine tonight to see if I can come up with any McGyver solutions.

 

[Nonprophet]

Now that I think more about it, perhaps lock washers might solve the problem........

 

[Hearth Mistress]

I don't have the same stove but had the same problem. No matter how tight the clips for the glass were (mine is one piece) it kept slipping down towards the bottom left corner making it sit cock-eyed in the channel. I just cut about a 1/2" piece of my extra door gasket and put the screw through it, so the gasket was wedged between the clip and the glass, like a washer would. It created the extra tension and haven't had a problem with it moving since.

 

[Jags]

Good idea Jeni. And the material will obviously take the heat.

 

[rideau]

beat me to it as I just started reading the thread. Gasket and lockwasher were the two thoughts I had, with gasket being first try.

I would definitely let the manufacturer know ther is a problem in the design, and that you onow of several people who have had the same issue with it. Also protects youa bit i terms of glass replacement if it becomes necessary because of breakage resulting from faulty design...especially if such breakage were to result in fire or omjury. I think this is a real safety issue and should be corrected by the manufacturer.

 

[Jags]

In that environment, it could be possible to take the temper out of a lock washer, turning it into a washer. Maybe not a big deal, just saying that it could loose its "locking" capability.

 

[Nonprophet]

Well, I tightened the screws for the clips as tight as I could, and the glass is no worse for the wear. I'll check it in a few days and see if the screws are still tight. In the past, I had worried about tightening them too much for fear of breaking the glass and just made them snug, so, now maybe that I tightened them as tight as I could now they will stay that way. If they start getting loose again, I'll try lock washers.

NP

 

[northwinds]

Glad to hear that the glass didn't break. Hopefully, it stays. Mine hasn't budged since I bought the stove five years ago.

 

[Jags]

That glass (its not really glass) is a lot tougher than most will give it credit for.

 

[Chrism]

fyi when i rebuilt my whole stove there are actual tabs that go between the metal tabs and the glass. Make sure the tabs are still there. As im sure you already know metal tabs against glass...no good. that will make the glass slide down...Make sure the tabs are still there. Before i rebuilt my stove the tabs from the heat over time fell apart.

 

[Nonprophet]

Thanks Chrism. I'll check mine and see if the "tabs" are still there or not. Any idea what they are made of? I sent an email to Quadrafire customer service 2 days ago asking about this issue, I've still not heard back from them......


NP

 

[Nonprophet]

Ok, I checked mine. Out of the 8 clips with screws (4 on each door) only one of them had the tab/pad I think you're talking about. The one I have is roughly 1/4"x1/2"x1/16" thick and it seems like a felt material. The fact that they are missing may indeed be the source of the problem with the glass slipping.

I suspect that Quadrafire won't be much help in getting these for me. If my experience with them in trying to buy a replacement burn tube is any measure of their response, I suspect that they will want me to buy the replacement glass, which, for a couple hundred dollars, will include the clips, screws, and pads "at no extra charge" or, at the very least they will want me to buy the set of 8 clips with screws and pads for, I'm guessing, $50. sorry to sound so cynical, but my experience with them in making me buy the entire $400 burn tube assembly (with 4 tubes) when I only needed one tube left a very bad taste in my mouth.....

So, in the event I'm right about Quadrafire's CS, what would be an appropriate substitute for these glass pads?

Thanks,

NP

 

[Chrism]

well i went through the same thing youre going through . Not one person could tell me what the tabs were made out of . i tried flat gasket material....didnt work. So upon further diassembling the of stove i found there is a flat material with gold like flecks in it used as a gasket on the seconday air control (the two tubes in the back of the stove when you look in the center of the tubes you see there is a gasket that covers the holes to stop air from feeding the fire when the secondary lever is pulled towards you) i had my dealer order the gasket material and cut 8 pieces out that would fit under the tabs. they are flat and can withstand the heat of the firebox.

 

[Jags]

Now that is using your noggin, Chrism.