Sunday, September 26, 2010

The cure for a sticking door?

Jason here again. I've become the BlueStar liason since Helen has had more important matters to deal with. She has chronicled our oven door troubles and I'm back to continue that story. But, for once, I think we have some good news to report.

We're currently on our 3rd door, which was installed 2 1/2 months ago. Recently, we found it more difficult to open than when we originally got it. "Oh, no," we thought. "Here we go again..." I emailed Michael, our new customer service contact at BlueStar, to let him know. After talking with his engineer, he mentioned that we should keep the hinges lubricated as indicated in the user manual. Lubricated? The only lubrication advice we had received was to use cooking spray such as PAM, and it hadn't worked very well for our first two doors. But, wait, neither of us remembered the range manual saying anything about door lubrication. Michael sent me a PDF of the (revised) manual saying we should apply a thin layer of high-temperature, non-flammable grease every few months. But, where does one obtain high-temperature, non-flammable grease? Michael suggested Home Depot. After spending 30 minutes in the store with my daughter asking 3 different associates, I discovered Lucas X-Tra Heavy Duty Grease. It clearly indicated it was intended for high temperatures and didn't give any flammability warnings like spray lubricants do. I took home a tube and asked Michael. He indicated it should do the job.

The next day, I sat down in front of the oven with my tube of grease and a paper towel. I noticed some build-up on one of the hinges, so I wiped that off before applying the grease. I think the tube of grease will outlast the range since the tube is 14.5 ounces and I'd be surprised if I applied 0.05 ounces of the stuff. I dabbed the paper in the grease and rubbed gently on the top and sides of each hinge, only leaving behind a thin layer. The door felt better after I was done. But, I was unimpressed---the real test was how it opened after the oven has been running for an hour. We got that test this weekend and the door is still opening and closing smoothly. I hope the $5 tube of Lucas X-tra Heavy Duty Grease is the secret to a working BlueStar oven door that we had been missing all along!

5 comments:

Suzanne said...

Sadly, your troubles with BlueStar do not make me want to buy one.

Helen said...

Hi Suzanne,

I don't think it's "sadly." Much better to know about the troubles before making your stove decision, so that you don't end up like us.

Cheers,
-Helen

whereshaldo said...

I stumbled over here after searching around to see if BlueStar ever came up with a good solution to this problem. I have the same stove, have had the same problems -- albeit all out of warranty.

I am using a high temp silicone grease, but still it seems a bit odd that this is the only $3000+ oven that requires this kind of regular maintenance.



good luck
hal

Helen said...

Hi Hal,

Even if your stove is out of warranty, it's worth asking them if they'd replace your door. They might say no, but they might say yes. This seems to be a very consistent failure with their doors, so they might humor you. Also, have your oven bottom checked. Mine and some other users' bottoms have fallen apart causing the door to overheat.

Cheers,
-Helen

Anonymous said...

Our 30" NCS oven door sticking got worse. I got a metal file, and filed the right hinge piece that is attached to the oven, which the door closes onto. Specifically, I filed down the hump closest to the oven just a bit to remove a little ridge that had developed. Works fine so far, will probably lube a bit too.