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Now that I have the chrome top off my stove, I'm wondering if I should do some maintenance on the valves. The thing is, they all turn quite nicely, although some of them don't click back into place like they're supposed to. Part of me is thinking, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." The other part is thinking now's the time to do this kind of maintenance. When I spoke with the OAC last, they told me that valve cream should be applied every seven years. Is this really something that everybody is doing every seven years? How big a job is this? I'm already doing more restoration work than I thought I would when I got started. It's been fun, but I don't want to get in over my head.
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Hello Arthur, Thanks for the nice words about my "New Owners Kit". Now, Grease those valves!. Jack at OAC can get a little caught up in his salesmanship, but he is right on the "valve cream". Don't run the chance of valve leaks or binding valves. You only need an amount the size of a couple of black-eyed peas to do all six valves. So, The Uncertain Stoveman has an idea!. I'll mail you a fresh 2 oz. tube of "HyHeet Graphite Grease". You use it on your stove, then you mail it to the next member who needs a little grease. It should be enough to do 15-20 stoves.
It's the best there is.
Let me know if you want the tube. Regards, Sam
<font color="#FFFFFF" size="1">[ July 26, 2006 09:57 PM: Message edited by: The Uncertain Stoveman ]</font>
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Thanks, Sam! I'm more than happy to take you up on your offer. Do you have instructions with diagrams about what I need to disassemble, what I need to clean, where to apply the cream, basically, how to proceed? Do I take the handles off the front of the stove? Do I take the valves off the manifold? I think that Jack said instructions come with the valve cream he sells, but I'm happy to save the money if you can help. Arthur
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Hi Arthur, I don't have any detailed instructions for greasing the valves, but here's a general list. You won't need to remove the valves from the manifold. Remove the front porcelain panel, remove the thumb latch assembly. Now you can get to the valves. There are 2 styles of valves. some have 2 screws on the front, others have a brass round nut. Remove the nut or screws and pull out the stem. Only do one valve at a time, so that you don't intermix parts from one valve with the others. Clean the old grease off the stem and inside the valve body with paint thinner/mineral spirits. Wipe clean and dry. Apply a light coat of new grease, put the stem in the body, turn around to spread the grease. Remove the stem, clean excess grease from the gas passages, then reinstall all the valve parts and move to the next valve. Hope this helps. Regards, Sam
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Thanks, Sam. It doesn't sound too difficult if I do one at a time like you suggest. Will cleaning everything help the valves to click shut like they're supposed to? Some of mine don't do that now so I'm wondering what the problem is. Maybe it doesn't matter that much as long as the burners operate?
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Hello, that problem with "no snap into lock" is probably due to worn parts in the thumb latch assembly. When you get it off, you will probably see that the round piece of metal that rides on the thumb latches is worn down. Parts can be replaced at that time. regards, Sam
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Well, I just couldn't wait for the grease to arrive, eager beaver that I am. I took apart the whole front of the stove and pulled the valve stem out of one of the valves. Now the whole job looks pretty straightforward. Thanks again, Sam. Can I use the "Hyheet" grease on other moving parts in the stove, like the thumb latch assembly for example, or is it better to use WD-40 or some other kind of machine oil? It doesn't look like there are any worn parts on the thumb latch assembly, so I'm thinking I'll clean all the individual parts and give them a little lube job to see if they'll work better.
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hi!
i'd like to get on the "grease mailing list"!
tom
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Hi Tom, I'll send the grease on to you when I'm done with it if you'll give me your mailing address.
Sam, upon further inspection, it does, indeed, look like some of the little thumb key guide pieces ( I think that's what they're called) in the thumb latch assembly are worn through. Do you or does anyone else know where I can get replacements? Arthur
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Thanks, Sam. I'm looking forward to getting those valves greased. Is there a special lubricant I should use for other moving parts in the stove, given the fact that they are exposed to heat? I don't want to use something that will break down under those conditions. I was just thinking that I would use WD-40.
I went ahead and ordered replacement thumb latch key guides from Hugh's. Hopefully, everything will work well when I get it all put back together. Arthur
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Arthur, check with Tura, She has been selling Chambers parts on Ebay.
I put the Valve Grease in the mail yesterday.
Regards, Sam
And check out the Chambers literature here:
http://stores.ebay.com/The-Uncertain...an?refid=store
