Hitzer 30-95 Door Question

 
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grizzly2
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Post by grizzly2 » Sat. Feb. 21, 2009 7:37 pm

Referring to the cast iron door frame that holds the glass- when I look down the length of the door along the top, the door frame is bowed inward (toward the stove) about 3/16 of an inch. The bottom of the frame is also bowed in the same amount. Is this a design to make a tight seal, or has my door warped?

Would you 30-95 owners please take a look at your doors and let me know what you see?

My glass did crack this heating season. I blamed it on exploding coal. I wonder if it was from the door warping instead. :|


 
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Post by GRinRI » Sat. Feb. 21, 2009 11:15 pm

I have the 50-93, the door's a little wider but should otherwise be the same design. Mine is pretty straight top and bottom. How hot do you run your stove?

 
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Post by oliver power » Sun. Feb. 22, 2009 9:28 am

Hi Grizzly 2, I went out to the shop and looked at the 30-95 door (cold, no fire). It's pretty much straight. I could rock a straight edge back and fourth about 1/32 of an inch, or 1/64 per side. I would say your door is warped. 3/16 warp is a lot. I would make sure the new door is straight. Put a straight edge on it. That being said; HITZER is a great stove.
Last edited by oliver power on Sun. Feb. 22, 2009 9:49 am, edited 4 times in total.

 
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Post by rberq » Sun. Feb. 22, 2009 9:30 am

Is it an optical illusion due to overall door geometry? I thought mine was warped, but when I laid a steel straight-edge against it, it was fine.

Every door frame in my house is significantly bowed unless I look at it straight on, caused by the curvature in the lenses of my glasses.

 
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Post by grizzly2 » Mon. Feb. 23, 2009 2:50 pm

GRinRI, I run the stove from 250* to 400* most of the time. I did hit a peak of 525 durring the -20* weeks we had. That was actually shortly before the glass cracked.

Oliver Power, Thanks for checking. That is what I needed to know. Looks like mine is realy warped then.

rburg- Not an illusion I am afraid. I measured the 3/16" dip inward off a straight edge.

I'm glad I have not installed my new glass yet. Otherwise I might have cracked it putting it into a warped frame. I will ask Hitzer if it is a common problem, see what they say. If it is just a fluke, I will price a new door. If it is common, I'll burn it as is as long as it still seals OK.

Thanks to all for the help. :(

 
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oliver power
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Post by oliver power » Mon. Feb. 23, 2009 3:15 pm

Ya know Grizzly, We've run some stoves very hot over the years. We've had cast iron, steel, and cast iron firebox w/ tin above (base burners). Had them glowing orange at times. I can't ever remember any cast iron warping. Crack yes, but not warp. We have warped steel stoves, as well as tin on base burners. Makes me question if your door wasn't warped since new. Just a thought.......

 
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Post by rberq » Mon. Feb. 23, 2009 6:38 pm

grizzly2 wrote:250* to 400* most of the time. I did hit a peak of 525
I routinely hit 650, sometimes 750. Once when I left the draft open too much and dozed off, it maxed off the scale at what I would estimate to be 1000*. No signs of the cast iron door warping. Makes me wonder, too, whether yours was defective from the beginning, even if not actually warped from the beginning.


 
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Post by Floydman89 » Tue. Feb. 24, 2009 1:37 pm

I checked my door last night ... Its nice and straight. :D .. I don't believe we have over fired ours ... hotest would be 400-450 ... . *** please keep us in the loop here .. on what Hitzer has to say about yours ..***

 
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oliver power
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Post by oliver power » Tue. Feb. 24, 2009 4:06 pm

Just another thought Grizzly, How is your 30-95 hopper? If your stove got hot enough to warp the cast door (if possible), your hopper would definatly be warped. The 30-95 doesn't have the heavy steel reinforcement ring around the bottom of the hopper, like the 50-93 does. In the earlyer years of my 50-93, I was playing, and wanted to see what it would do (heat wise). I cranked it up, and WOW, did it ever throw heat. I also warped the heavy steel reinforcement ring at the bottom of the hopper, causeing the hopper to bow inward, front and back. Yet, the door on my 50-93 is straight as an arrow.

 
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Post by grizzly2 » Tue. Feb. 24, 2009 7:24 pm

OK Floydman, That makes it unanimous, Hitzer doors are supposed to be staight.

The hopper is in perfect shape. I didn't think 525* should warp the frame and from what you guys tell me, it is probably a defective door. I didn't get a chance to call Hitzer today. I have been exceedingly busy since retiring, but oh it sure beats having a real job. :D

 
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Post by grizzly2 » Thu. Feb. 26, 2009 8:57 pm

UPDATE ON DOOR
I emailed Hitzer and told them I had 3/16" warp in the door, and that the glass had cracked. I got an email back from Dean Lehman at Hitzer saying " The door will not warp with use. If You were to get the door hot enough to warp, the door would be the least of your worries. The doors can warp in the manufactruing process and some warping is ok. The gasketing around the glass fills in the gaps. The foundry remelts ones that are too bad and we do reject some and send them back. If yours is 3/16 of an inch it probably slipped through and shouldn't have. I will replace it."

Pretty decent folks huh? The door is not even covered by the written waranty.

Previously I had put a straight edge up to the door and estimated the 3/16". Tonite I thought I had better take an exact measurement to be certain that my estimate was correct. The warp actually measures 1/8". :oops: I emailed Dean back with this info. So now I will wait and see if 1/8" is still out of spec. :bag:

 
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Post by oliver power » Fri. Feb. 27, 2009 7:59 am

grizzly2 wrote:UPDATE ON DOOR
I emailed Hitzer and told them I had 3/16" warp in the door, and that the glass had cracked. I got an email back from Dean Lehman at Hitzer saying " The door will not warp with use. If You were to get the door hot enough to warp, the door would be the least of your worries. The doors can warp in the manufactruing process and some warping is ok. The gasketing around the glass fills in the gaps. The foundry remelts ones that are too bad and we do reject some and send them back. If yours is 3/16 of an inch it probably slipped through and shouldn't have. I will replace it."

Pretty decent folks huh? The door is not even covered by the written waranty.

Previously I had put a straight edge up to the door and estimated the 3/16". Tonite I thought I had better take an exact measurement to be certain that my estimate was correct. The warp actually measures 1/8". :oops: I emailed Dean back with this info. So now I will wait and see if 1/8" is still out of spec. :bag:
Again. keep us posted Grizz.

 
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Post by 9mmruger » Fri. Feb. 27, 2009 9:15 am

Yes, very interested in how they treat you as I am in the process of procuring a 30-95 myself. Keep us updated.

 
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Post by grizzly2 » Fri. Feb. 27, 2009 6:20 pm

UPDATE
I received an email back from Dean today. Quote; " 1/8 inch should be ok or borderline. If you are willing, go ahead and put the new glass in your door and try it. If it cracks again I'll replace the door and the glass. Your original glass may have had a defect in it or something, who knows. The next one may last for years. Let me know what you think".

My response: "That is a very fair offer on your part. I will gladly try the new glass and see how it works out."

As my response indicates, I am very happy with Hitzer's (Dean Lehman's) willingness to work with me on a door that is not part of their written waranty.
Dean's wording sounds to me like If I insisted on a new door he would probably send one. I believe that if they will work with me I should work with them and see if the old door will be ok. If customers will not take unfair advantage of Hitzer's excellent customer service, I'll bet Hitzer will continue to offer it. If customers become unreasonable with any company, you can bet that company will have to tighten down a lot on thier policies in order to stay in business. It is a two way street just like in all human relationships. :)

 
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Post by grizzly2 » Thu. Mar. 05, 2009 5:06 pm

UPDATE
We finaly got a day warm enough to let the fire burn low for a few hours so the door could cool enough to change the glass. A very easy job. Now I will heat and wait and see if it cracks again. :|


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