Is a Door Latch Replacement Out There for My Stove?

Hi All,

I have been burning my Pine Barren Patrician coal stove for over a month now and in getting to know the stove I have come up with one thing I would like to change. That is the feed door latching mechanism.

Here is a picture of the stove. The door latch as installed is just a double L shaped piece of steel rod and when it latches, the inside of the handle just friction locks against an angled piece of steel, welded on the inside of the firebox. It is not a very positive lock and I think at times it actually loosens and lets air in the bottom of the door.

What I would like to have is an external latch. Preferably a cam style that locks positively and holds and seals the door gasket against the stove tightly at all times.

I have looked over the internet for such a beast and haven't found anything suitable yet. I am sure that there is something out there that can do the job and hopefully someone here knows where to find it. I would prefer it to be able to be bolted on but I do have a friend with a portable welding unit who could do the job but I would rather not have him arc welding in my family room. I know that I could take the stove out but as you know... THESE THINGS ARE HEAVY.

Anyway If anyone out there knows of someplace that stocks and sells something that could do a better job than what is being done now please let me know.

Thanks,

John

My Leisure line is just a bent rod that friction holds it from the back. My Keystoker had a piece of steel block cut at an angle and it wedges from the inside.

My Harmen VF3000 Boiler (and the Hand Fed Mark I,II,III, etc..) has the cam type latch I think is what you are looking for.

Check the parts manual, is this what you are talking about? #5
http://www.hearthnhome.com/downloads/serviceParts/VF3000.PDF

Here are stove pics
http://www.harmanstoves.com/products/products.asp ... oal-stoves

Hi WNY,

Yes the latch on the Harman is exactly what I am looking for. Now I need to look into both the handle and the latch and see how they can be adapted to my stove. I have a Harman dealer nearby. Maybe he has the parts in stock so I can look physically before purchasing. I will call him tomorrow.

If there are any other suggestions out there please keep them coming.

Thanks,

John

You could check for positive gasket contact at the bottom / top / sides of your door by closing it on a piece of paper, and see how hard it is to pull the paper out. If you think it is leaking at the bottom, see whether that is easier to pull out than the top, then loosen the handle a bit and try all sides again. (For paper, use a hundred dollar bill. No -- send me the hundred and I will send you some special door testing paper that might look like regular typing paper but really isn't.)

My Harman has the cam lock like you want. Over time, the gasket around my door has compressed so when I latch it there is no force required at all -- the latch just slips into place with no resistance. But I can't see any fire glow when I try to look past the gasket from the sides, and if there is any minimal leakage it is not affecting the way the stove burns. You might be all right just staying with the standard latch.

Machine tool supply companies have all sorts of cam locking devices used as hold down devices for machining. They are inexpensive and could be adapted. look at these. and there are many other styles. http://www1.mscdirect.com/Pull-Action-Toggle-Clam ... 00480.HTML

My Hitzer 50-93 has the same set up or similar,I think--I hate to sound barbaric,bur I took a 5lb. sledge & smacked the handle holding piece(inside the stove) back a couple of whacksnow she's nice & snug--my stove is 20 yrs old--if I were you,I would recheck/redo your gasket--looking like their fine don't always get--my problem was the hooper door gasket-looked fine,but I replaced it--much difference As far as a cam type external latch--heck,if you've got the money,you can get anything you want

DigicamLife wrote:Hi All,

I have been burning my Pine Barren Patrician coal stove for over a month now and in getting to know the stove I have come up with one thing I would like to change. That is the feed door latching mechanism.

Here is a picture of the stove.

CoalStove-3.jpg

The door latch as installed is just a double L shaped piece of steel rod and when it latches, the inside of the handle just friction locks against an angled piece of steel, welded on the inside of the firebox. It is not a very positive lock and I think at times it actually loosens and lets air in the bottom of the door.

What I would like to have is an external latch. Preferably a cam style that locks positively and holds and seals the door gasket against the stove tightly at all times.

I have looked over the internet for such a beast and haven't found anything suitable yet. I am sure that there is something out there that can do the job and hopefully someone here knows where to find it. I would prefer it to be able to be bolted on but I do have a friend with a portable welding unit who could do the job but I would rather not have him arc welding in my family room. I know that I could take the stove out but as you know... THESE THINGS ARE HEAVY.

Anyway If anyone out there knows of someplace that stocks and sells something that could do a better job than what is being done now please let me know.

Thanks,

John

Here's some closeups of the Harman. Might help give you some ideas .....

The great thing about this setup, as Fred said, to adjust tighter just whack the cam with a hammer. Problem solved.

SMITTY wrote:... to adjust tighter just whack the cam with a hammer ...

If you want to be more subtle (and precise), slip a crescent wrench over the end of the cam, close it down snug, and press toward the stove body.

Excellent SMITTY---now that is much more civilized--sometimes I get carried away

rberq wrote:

SMITTY wrote:... to adjust tighter just whack the cam with a hammer ...

If you want to be more subtle (and precise), slip a crescent wrench over the end of the cam, close it down snug, and press toward the stove body.

Hammer is so much quicker though!

SMITTY,yep,I used to use a small one on the kids---except for the twitching,I guess they came out alright---of course the youngest girl,now 20,could be suffering from too much air blowing through her head(via ears) I had her on the back of the old shovelhead when she was about Two--back then she even had the hand turn signals down to an art

SMITTY wrote:Hammer is so much quicker though!