Pacific Energy door issue?

[ADK_XJ]

Hey all, looking for the many Pacific Energy owners (or others) to weigh in here...I inherited a (beautiful) PE Alderlea as part of our new home purchase and it's been running fantastic for the last month and change.

Last night, I think I tried to wedge what I thought was an 18" hunk of oak but was probably more like a 20" near the upper hinge of the door - it should but hard and then I noticed the door sort of popped open funny and I saw the hinge in the upper corner was out an angle (see picture).



The stove runs fine and I've got a nice load of aged oak in there but it seems to be running real hot like it might be getting extra air. May just be in my head.

So, my questions are: a) shouldn't that hinge pin be straight? b) if so, is this a safety issue / performance problem?

 

[begreen]

Yes, that hinge pin is supposed to be vertical and yes, it sounds like the door is no longer sealing well at the top. This needs to be repaired. It is dangerous. You don't want that heavy door coming off that pin for some reason with a hot raging fire in the stove.

 

[ADK_XJ]

Yes, that hinge pin is supposed to be vertical and yes, it sounds like the door is no longer sealing well at the top. This needs to be repaired. It is dangerous. You don't want that heavy door coming off that pin for some reason with a hot raging fire in the stove.

Ok, that was my fear...think I can bend it back or do I just go to PE for a new one?

 

[ADK_XJ]

Now that I look closer at the picture, it almost looks like the mount is bent...are my eyes failing me? Oof.

 

[begreen]

The top pin appears to be press-fitted into the side hinge bracket. It's been a few years since I have had the door off and the stove is too hot right now to explore much but here is what it looks like. The hex bolts are for the bracket. You might be able to carefully remove the door and straighten out the pin but whether it would stay straight I can't say. It would be good to speak with PE support to get their recommendation.

 

[ADK_XJ]

Yeah, I pulled the door again and the pin dropped right out - it looks straight as an arrow, it must be the mount. Looks like a little light work with a crow bar would make it right as rain.

 

[ADK_XJ]

I still plan to call PE tomorrow to get an "official" recommendation but, since it was warm(ish) today, I let the stove cool down and tonight took the top, front facade off and pulled back the top "wings" to get a good luck at things.

I was able to pretty easily bend the hinge back into place (it was bent up and back away from the corner of the door slightly) but then I noticed that the actual hole in the top of the stove door has worn out to an oval. I am going to try to make myself feel better and say this must be years of wear on this unit and not just from my single piece of wood that I jammed in there but obviously I was the straw that broke the (cast iron) camel's back.

The door is now opening and closing just fine, seating firmly to the front of the stove but I also took the opportunity to re-seal the gasket all the way around (it was way loose in parts which I had not noticed when we bought the house and I'm guessing is the actual issue for the over-heating).

My number one takeaway (aside from kicking myself for jamming a 20" log in there) is that this is a very solidly built and SIMPLE stove to work on. It also occurred to me that the door is reversible, so I should just be able to swap the door from a left-handle to right-handle and have use of a fresh door pin on the other side...no?

Pictures:

 

[begreen]

I have never seen the door reversed on this stove. It looks repairable. Unbolt the door keeper from the bottom of the door. Lift it up off the lower hinge pin and set the door aside. Careful, it is heavy. Check the lower pin for straightness and plumb.

Examine the upper pin. How is it held in place? Is it tapered? Or did the centerpunch the surrounding metal to pinch the pin?

 

[ADK_XJ]

I have never seen the door reversed on this stove. It looks repairable. Unbolt the door keeper from the bottom of the door. Lift it up off the lower hinge pin and set the door aside. Careful, it is heavy. Check the lower pin for straightness and plumb.

Examine the upper pin. How is it held in place? Is it tapered? Or did the centerpunch the surrounding metal to pinch the pin?

Can you elaborate on the third question - what do you mean center punch the surrounding?

I had the pin out earlier, it's just straight. From what I saw, the off-kilter alignment is coming from slop on the hole on the top right of the door.

I looked up the service manual and it says PE offers a left or right door handle kit for this stove. I'd love to just fix it, though.

 

[WoodScrounger]

It looks to me like it was a friction fit pin in the door. I can’t see from pics if the hinge bracket hole is worn but the door definitely is.