PE Summit insert C door handle loose

[donmac]

Looking for advice on replacing washers used on door handle. There are flat washers and concave shaped ones that are no longer providing compression so handle is loose. I am concerned that handle will wear on cast door. New handle kit is expensive. Interested in others who had this on their PE stoves.

 

[begreen]

Our handle has been looser for the past year or two. After 14 seasons of use, the issue is the sleeve is worn. I will likely need to get a new bushing in there to tighten it up. The door still seals fine. The handle is just a little sloppy. Member @Dix had this done on her insert several years back.

 

[Dix]

Yep, it happens.

I replaced my door handle 2 X's, before it got to the point where even after replacement, it still spun freely, causing a not tight door seal, and blowing through a ton of firewood.

A machinist friend rebored the hole, and replaced the bushings & handle assembly for me. The opening had ovalized, from wear & tear. It's been 3 years, and still holding up

The door handle was actually spinning freely before I had that done.

 

[donmac]

Thanks for the comments, my insert is 7 years old. I am going to replace the door gasket as it is compressed in lower left corner and allows soot buildup and see if that affects the handle. Honestly I did not expect to have to be replacing the door gasket and possibly dealing with the door handle with such low mileage. Is this normal???

 

[Dix]

I do a door gasket every few years, the first one at about year 5. Not hard to do. Just make sure you get the correct sized gasket.

The handle surprised me, but I was being a little heavy handed to get that "thunk" when I closed the door. I close it much softer now, and get the same result.

 

[donmac]

Dix
Thanks, any specific tips on gasket replacement? The glass area in lower left corner below handle seems to be the problem area. I intend to use Rutland black rtv to adhere new gasket and go heavy in that corner. Also how soon should door be fully closed and latched to seat gasket?

 

[Dix]

There was an excellent post by Tom Oyun aka Thechimneysweep (RIP, Tom 💘!!) few years ago, let me see if I can find it.

Found it... 12 years ago, where does the time go???

PE pacific door new gasket install

Is there a way to adjust the door on the hinge side?? Did the dollar test and it slips through in the space between the hinges. This is only it's second season so I wouldn't think the gasket is bad already... or is it? Any advice is much appreciated.

www.hearth.com

Post #8

 

[donmac]

Dix:
You are very helpful in pointing me to the archived info. I'm concerned I will mess it up and be worse off. I hate doing things the first time and learning what not do do next time!
Thanks so much.

 

[Dix]

Dix:
You are very helpful in pointing me to the archived info. I'm concerned I will mess it up and be worse off. I hate doing things the first time and learning what not do do next time!
Thanks so much.

Me, too.

Tom was a fountain of info, all of it good !

The thing about redoing the gasket is that's it's no where near as scary as it sounds

 

[begreen]

Dix:
You are very helpful in pointing me to the archived info. I'm concerned I will mess it up and be worse off. I hate doing things the first time and learning what not do do next time!
Thanks so much.

If it makes you feel better, I went through a couple gasket installs in a matter of months, some years ago. The first one was a generic hardware store replacement. I limped with that one but it was apparent it was not sealing well. The following fall I got a gasket from a PE dealer (though Jotul was their primary brand). It was a pricey Meeco Gold gasket and was quite stiff. That gasket was terrible and leaked like a sieve. The fire was very hard to control. I tore it out after 2 fires. Then I had Tom send me an OEM gasket. Examining it, the difference in construction was quite apparent. I put it in with RTV and it was perfect. The moral of the story is only use the OEM door gasket.

 

[Dix]

If it makes you feel better, I went through a couple gasket installs in a matter of months, some years ago. The first one was a generic hardware store replacement. I limped with that one but it was apparent it was not sealing well. The following fall I got a gasket from a PE dealer (though Jotul was their primary brand). It was a pricey Meeco Gold gasket and was quite stiff. That gasket was terrible and leaked like a sieve. The fire was very hard to control. I tore it out after 2 fires. Then I had Tom send me an OEM gasket. Examining it, the difference in construction was quite apparent. I put it in with RTV and it was perfect. The moral of the story is only use the OEM door gasket.

+1 on that !!

 

[donmac]

I replaced the gasket on 11/23. Have not had a fire since as we are in a warm spell. I purchased the gasket from the only local PE dealer where I bought stove. It was off a roll not packaged with the PE kit label and bag. It does not seem as thick as the original but it is 7/8 inch in width and the PE dealer confirmed with factory that 7/8 inch is correct. We will see how it performs. I made sure to plump it up as I installed. The piece was 6' long. If it does not perform well I will have to look for a better replacement.
Appreciate your comments.

 

[Dix]

Regarding the door handle.... this popped in my memories on Facebook today.... worth a repeat.

" there was a old steel split bushing that had worn out and elongated the casting of the door. I turned out a solid 304 stainless steel bushing .01 over sized for the handle and Bored out the handle hole in the door .003 undersized of the od of the bushing. Pressed the bushing in and fit the handle through. Used the same washers as spacers and made a new pin."

Still holding up

 

[donmac]

Thanks for sharing. I hope i don't need that any time soon!