Lopi Freedom Door Sag

[ksting]

I tried tacking this question onto an existing thread but nobody responded so I guess I'll start a new one. Does anyone notice any door sag on the Lopi Freedom? Mine goes slightly downhill hanging lower on the handle side by about 1/8 to 1/4 inch. When I close my door I have to pull up on it to get it to close level so it gets a good seal. Also, if I just let it close without pulling up on it, the top hinge pin will eventually start working it's way up after several days of opening and closing. I wanted the dealer to fix it but they never really did anything. Is this just a known issue with the Freedom or do I have a defective stove. I just bought it last year so it has only been used for one season so far. Just fired it up for the fist time this season the other day. It works well except for the door issue.

 

[Highbeam]

My old Lopi Freedom Bay did the same thing. My new Hearthstone heritage does as well. These are big heavy doors and if you want them to swing freely on the hinge through the huge heat cycles then you need to expect some slop in the hinge pin. My hinge pins also slowly work their way up. No big deal to push down.

The Lopi has a huge door gasket. Are you seriously experiencing enough sag to prevent gasket contact all around?

 

[BrotherBart]

Ditto on the 30-NC and on my old Sierra.

 

[begreen]

Is there room for a thin washer on the lower hinge pin? If so, that might be worth trying to see if it'll level out the door a bit.

 

[ksting]

I was seeing light in the upper left hand corner initially so I removed the spacer washers from the locking mechanism to make the door seal tighter. Between that and pulling up on the door to make it close level and it does seal at this point. It's just annoying to look at a crooked door. For the price I paid for the stove I would expect better. Oh well, it does crank out the heat otherwise so I guess I'll have to live with it.

 

[ksting]

Another thing I wanted to mention. When it was installed a year ago, they put in a stainless liner all the way up. I have a standard chimney cap and it is blocked off around the top where the stainless comes out, however, they never did a block off plate at the bottom. Am I losing a lot of heat?

 

[R&D Guy]

Remove the door and take a hammer and tap the top hing slightly a few times in the opposite direction of the sag (away from the opening in your case) then try the door again. Repeat until it's level. I'm sure that's what they do at the factory.

 

[ksting]

Is there room for a thin washer on the lower hinge pin? If so, that might be worth trying to see if it'll level out the door a bit.

What kind of washer? Don't want to melt or damage anything.

 

[Highbeam]

I don't understand how adding a washer to the vertical hinge pin will adjust the door horizontally BG? Any steel (magnetic) washer will have the same melting point as the stove.

 

[begreen]

If a minor shift is accomplished at the pivot point, that changes the angle of the door by a slight amount, it can translate to a 1/4" shift 2 ft away at the other side of the door.

A metal shim is going to have a much higher melting point than anything seen at the door. I would look in the plumbing supply area for a thin brass washer of the appropriate size.

 

[Highbeam]

You won't be shifting anything by putting a washer on the hinge pin. Maybe if you shim out the actual hinge connection on the door?

 

[begreen]

Maybe. With the big door Jotuls it makes quite a difference, that's why I suggested it.

 

[ksting]

Remove the door and take a hammer and tap the top hing slightly a few times in the opposite direction of the sag (away from the opening in your case) then try the door again. Repeat until it's level. I'm sure that's what they do at the factory.

UPDATE: I had the place I bought the stove from come out yesterday to sweep my liner and check the stove. I mentioned the crooked door to them and one of them took off my door and gave the hindges a little persuasion with a rubber mallet. They also adjusted the latch on the door handle. I'm not sure what they did to the latch. I thought I had it as tight as it would go. Anyway, the door closes perfect now and makes a great seal. I had previously thought about taking a rubber mallet to the hinges myself but didn't want to break the weld. This way, since they did it, if it broke, they would have to fix it. They also took all the upper bricks out and cleaned above those, replaced the pins on one of my burn tubes that was spinning, removed and cleaned out the blower, and did a touch up paint job on the outside face of the stove. They did all this for just the price of the sweep.

After they left I proceeded to take the whole door outside and repaint it again as well. Now the stove looks practically new again.

I'm very pleased with the service I got!

 

[summit]

i don't think you could ever break the hinge on a lopi. they are huge, and the mounting is punched thru the steel inside out with a tee at the inside... they are made of the same thickness steel the sides are, and the hinge pins must be 3/4" in diameter.. i have straightend several lopi doors out this way..

 

[Pagey]

My Endeavor was showing a tiny sliver of fire in the upper left hand corner of the door last year. I had to adjust the handle by removing the washers to get a truly snug fit. I noticed that the same effect could be achieved by lifting up on the door, but I never found a way to keep the door lifted. Good thread.

 

[ksting]

Another thing I wanted to mention. When it was installed a year ago, they put in a stainless liner all the way up. I have a standard chimney cap and it is blocked off around the top where the stainless comes out, however, they never did a block off plate at the bottom. Am I losing a lot of heat?

without blockplate warm air migrates up the chimni, cools, & condenses on mortar & yes ure losing heat

I talked to them for like the third time again about the bottom block off plate, they insisted that due to the design of my particular stove, it wouldn't make much of a difference. Something to do with the way the air circulates behind the fire box and back into the room and not off of the top. The warm air radiating off of the stove is too minimal to make a difference. Some stoves get hotter on top then others. They said that if there was that much heat trapped in there that my surround panel would get much hotter and it doesn't. They said the bottom plate is much more important for free standing stoves without a surround, or stoves where the liner doesn't go all the way up. They also said something about how the air would have to get between the liner and the chimney and the rising gases inside the liner already heat it up to a certain degree. Apparently, the gap between my ss liner and the clay liner inside my chimney is negligible.

I think I explained everything they said correctly.

Also, bottom line, it would be too expensive to have them rip it out and put one in now anyway. It would be like paying for the initial install all over again.