New Osburn 1700 insert door problems

[anthony681]

Hello all, not sure if posting in right forum, any help or advice is appreciated, I purchased and had installed osburn 1700 insert about 3 weeks , after using twice the fiberglass gasket stuck to stove and about 5 inches came off bottom, I called the store that sold and installed it and was given a tube of cement to re adhere it, which I did , 3 more fires later and the door handle was a little stiff opening when I went to clean it out ,after cleaning ,the door will not close, the problem is not the handle ,it won't get close enough to engage the handle,I can force it closed probably but don't want to push the insert, looking into stove as I'm closing it ,it looks like it does not have room to close on side where the hinges are ,the hinges look ok , there is no play.

I took a level to every part of stove I could and there is no warping or damage, I did not overheat the stove as well ,the gasket in hinges area of door is touching the stove face when I attempt to close door not sure if gasket can swell being it was brand new , the hinge area is not where it was re attached either that was is middle of stove door where the end of gasket is placed and the door does not close to that point, I have not really found any bad reviews on the Osburn 1700 insert, unless I just got a lemon.

I called the store 7 days ago left voice-mail waited 2 days after not hearing back and called and spoke to person who said would relay the message to my salesman I again waited 3 days after not hearing back and called yesterday and was advised the salesman said he is aware of my problem and I'm on his "to-do" list, well still no contact, I'm not able to get to store personally after having surgery and not being able to drive for several weeks still ,not sure if this is an easy fix or if I should return the stove altogether, the store has 30 day return policy with me losing 15% if I return, I'd rather eat the 15% if the osburn is not a good stove and go elsewhere for stove and another brand, any advise would be appreciated

 

[stoveliker]

I think others can help better here, but I suggest that it would help if you can post a few pictures.
Also, I have heard that the manufacturer is great with customer service. So I would see if you can get in touch with SBI.

 

[marty319]

Phone sbi,they have great customer service.

 

[Newbie78]

Yes they do.

if your osburn is like my drolet's the hingepins are eccentric. If you can see a set screw on the inside-side of the hinge pin "ear" on the stove it has come loose and you likely need to loosen it a hair more to use a slot screwdriver on the bottom of the pin to turn the eccentric pin and readjust the door hinge. This happened to my columbia when I had a RAGING fire going (Couldn't close the door). A simple adjustment solved that problem quickly (after the fire burned out). The pin got sticky and turned with the door. After all that I began to periodically apply a tiny bit of copper coat on the pins. After several applications the need for copper coat diminished to none. I detected a whif of friction just yesterday in the pins, so I put a very light touch of copper coat on today again after several months of burning without any attention whatsoever. Similarly, the roller on the door closure gets a little sticky. I solved that with regular drops of wd40 (like every day) both inside the roller and on the threads of the handle where they go through the casting of the door. In the past few days I have applied a tiny bit of copper coat to the roller a couple of times to see if that will have a lasting effect too. The minor nuisance of constant applications of wd40 may end, we'll see. Btw, my owner's manual does describe the hinge pin adjustment procedure very clearly. I missed it my perusal, and was able to figure it out anyway. It is a really good adjustment method, but not necessarily immediately evident.

regards.

And your store sucks.

 

[anthony681]

Thank you all for responses and advise, I will look to play with the pins on hinges to see if that works ,if not I'll contact SBI , I've attached photos from various angles not sure if it helps ,I don't see anything particularly off but I don't really know what to look for , and yes my store does suck ! Still no contact from them, will have to find another in my area as I want to purchase a 2nd free standing stove for the main floor in my home , looking at Osburn 3300 currently, store could've had repeat business but will most likely go elsewhere, thank you again for the advice !

 

[Newbie78]

I will almost guarantee you that one or both of your hinge pins have turned. It happened to me on my columbia II, which is essentially exactly the same as your stove.

an adjustment, tightening the set screws, and copper coat will prevent that from ever happening again.

it also looks like you may have a small gap in your door gasket bottom centre. Mine started fraying there. Some carefully applied hitemp silicone covered by a small piece of tinfoil stopped the fraying on mine... it's been good for months. I just have to be careful not to upset the tinfoil while cleaning the ash off of the door bottom. And yes, it still seals perfectly even with the light pressure I set my door at.

and keep the door closure roller lubed for a light-touch, beautifully closing door.

 

[anthony681]

I will almost guarantee you that one or both of your hinge pins have turned. It happened to me on my columbia II, which is essentially exactly the same as your stove.

an adjustment, tightening the set screws, and copper coat will prevent that from ever happening again.

it also looks like you may have a small gap in your door gasket bottom centre. Mine started fraying there. Some carefully applied hitemp silicone covered by a small piece of tinfoil stopped the fraying on mine... it's been good for months. I just have to be careful not to upset the tinfoil while cleaning the ash off of the door bottom. And yes, it still seals perfectly even with the light pressure I set my door at.

and keep the door closure roller lubed for a light-touch, beautifully closing door.

Thank you for the advice, you were dead on with my hinge pin being turned, took door off and re positioned the pins correctly and door opens and closes perfectly, I will copper coat in near future to hold in place, entire process took just a few minutes to correct, I greatly appreciate your help !

 

[Woodcutter Tom]

That door look very similar to the one on my Escape. I had door hinge problems on two stoves. It seems that SBI does not tighten the set screws on the hinge pins. Thus they rotate and cause problems. Someone on this site suggested that I try Permatex Anti-Seize Lubricant 81343. Bought a 1 oz tube at Walmart. Works great at lubricating pins. Just be careful. It has a way of getting everywhere. I used a Q tip; apply with Q tip, then put Q tip in plastic bag and throw away. Very little is needed.
I do not know what is involved with copper coating, therefore I will not comment on it.
That gap in the door seal looks like an issue that I (and others have had). SBI tapes the end of their door gaskets. I guess it is to prevent the gasket from fraying. The issue is that the tape they use melts and sticks to the hot body of the stove during the first fire. When the door is opened, the tape pulls away some of the gasket, leaving a gap.

 

[Newbie78]

Thank you for the advice, you were dead on with my hinge pin being turned, took door off and re positioned the pins correctly and door opens and closes perfectly, I will copper coat in near future to hold in place, entire process took just a few minutes to correct, I greatly appreciate your help !

Copper coat is a common pipe thread lubricant and anti-sieze, not an adhesive. I think it's copper powder and hitemp grease (very hi temp, like 1600 degrees, or 1100 or something, I forget). With the stove's heat and some friction it perhaps even becomes impregnated in the stainless steel hinge pin (?) as an almost permanent lubricant. Almost. There are a couple of other "......-coat" products that would also work. I just use the brush that comes in the lid of the can to apply and yes, it's messy if you are sloppy.

yup, the set-screws are not tight enough from the factory. Metric allen key I believe.. I was just searching for a suitable key to check them on my yet-to-be-installed legend III. My standard/imperial/sae keys did not fit. I should have set-aside the key I used on the columbia..

btw, if you are looking at an osburn 3300 you may want to also look at the drolet legend III, myriad, black stag, and austral III. They are all the same stove as the 3300, just chevy's instead of buicks. If you want a cadillac 3.3 cubic foot, look at the enerzone.

you can compare them yourself The osburns and the drolet't fireboxes are identical, the enerzone has a 1/16" thicker top-plate (otherwise identical firebox).

The osburn and the enerzone may have better quality bricks and perhaps baffle boards (?), their doors are perhaps more handsome castings, their heat shields, top deflectors, ash trays, handles and maybe a couple of other things are slightly fancier, but they are all essentially the same stoves. Except the chevy's cost 1/2 as much and will still get you there in comfort.

 

[anthony681]

I'm surprised that they don't use something like a loctite on the set screws to keep them tight, the bottom one I took out by hand it was so loose and that was the pin that was off as well, my gasket made it to my 2nd use before sticking and peeling off about 5 inches I re cemented it in but have an indent at the cut ,I'll try to fix it with high temp silicone and aluminum foil as suggested by newbie78 hopefully it works for me

 

[anthony681]

I will definitely check out those other options as well ,not 100 % sold on the 3300 particularly if I can save a few bucks on another of same quality just different name , thanks again

 

[Newbie78]

That door look very similar to the one on my Escape. I had door hinge problems on two stoves. It seems that SBI does not tighten the set screws on the hinge pins. Thus they rotate and cause problems. Someone on this site suggested that I try Permatex Anti-Seize Lubricant 81343. Bought a 1 oz tube at Walmart. Works great at lubricating pins. Just be careful. It has a way of getting everywhere. I used a Q tip; apply with Q tip, then put Q tip in plastic bag and throw away. Very little is needed.
I do not know what is involved with copper coating, therefore I will not comment on it.
That gap in the door seal looks like an issue that I (and others have had). SBI tapes the end of their door gaskets. I guess it is to prevent the gasket from fraying. The issue is that the tape they use melts and sticks to the hot body of the stove during the first fire. When the door is opened, the tape pulls away some of the gasket, leaving a gap.

View attachment 300566 View attachment 300567 View attachment 300568 View attachment 300569

I noticed that my legend has the tape (my columbia did not). I was wodering if the tape was heat-proof or not. Hmmm...maybe more tin foil..I already siliconed the splice. Perhaps I will tin foil it too.. With a tidy job the seal is maintained.

that fraying is exactly what happened to my columbia. I carefully smooshed some silicone in there and wrapped a small piece of foil around the door frame, covering the splice about an inch each side and it has lasted over 6 months of 24/7 burning last winter and is sill there after the last month of morning and night fires this season. You can't see the foil from the outside, btw. My foil is just a hair recessed below the gasket and does not leak. I'll try to get it right on the legend too. Hopefully..

and it just occured to me; maybe copper coat and the other " -coats" are a Canadian product, not available in the states. Any hi-temp anti seize product will work. There's gotta be a bunch of them.

 

[Newbie78]

I will definitely check out those other options as well ,not 100 % sold on the 3300 particularly if I can save a few bucks on another of same quality just different name , thanks again

It depends if you are after the chevy, buick, or cadillac I suppose. The Chevy's usually work for me.

the neat thing to me is that drolet's line offers 4 variations of the same model.

oh, and you're welcome. Hate to see somebody struggle, and especially if they are not being properly looked after by a vendor. Sad.

 

[Newbie78]

Here's the Columbia's door

 

[Newbie78]

I'm surprised that they don't use something like a loctite on the set screws to keep them tight, the bottom one I took out by hand it was so loose and that was the pin that was off as well, my gasket made it to my 2nd use before sticking and peeling off about 5 inches I re cemented it in but have an indent at the cut ,I'll try to fix it with high temp silicone and aluminum foil as suggested by newbie78 hopefully it works for me

You don't want to loctite them , (you may want to adjust the door again in the future if you replace the gasket and something like blue loctite may not even withstand the stove temperature anyway, idk?), you want to antiseize them and just tighten them properly.