Jotul F3CB Broken and Stuck Handle

[River19]

So, I went to light the first fire of the season and the handle was stuck on my F3CB, I tried a little force which turned out to be too much force and the handle/spindle broke or sheared off. The problem is that the door is stuck in the closed position. The latch appears to be stuck in the last little bit of the travel and the spindle/pin won't turn with pliers etc.

I tried WD-40 to de-gunk a little rust but nothing.

I was thinking of running a clamp from the back of the stove to the latch area to possibly compress and close it under pressure to see if that little bit might allow the latch to come free. Either way I have a new latch on the way but the stove is useless at this point......

Any ideas on how to get it open without breaking the glass?

 

[begreen]

Remove the top. Label front/back first so that it goes back on the same way. There is an allen set screw at the top of each side holding it. Then spray kroil or a lubricant on the latch area once every few hours.

 

[River19]

Aaaaand those set screws won't budge either. Hitting them with penetrating oil......broke off an Allen wrench already almost stabbing myself with it.......

Tried to get a small screwdriver into the crack in the door to see if I could flip the latch the last little bit......nope......

Contacted a local stove company but I doubt they will actually support this.......

I'm almost at the point of just breaking the glass, forcing the latch open so I can pull the door, replace glass and latch......but that seems extreme and turns a $100 fix into a $300 fix but is cheaper than a new stove as I am ready to throw this one off the balcony.......

This is going to be messy.