Anyone upgrade their Englander 25-EP ash trap bolts in fire box to Stainless Steel?

Hello

Maybe this is a little fussy, but I had a bolt break off because they get stressed so close to the heat!

Luckily there was a bolt missing on this Evolution but at first glance with the ash in the hole it looked like a broken bolt! ! ! LOL

So I took out a bolt and measured it on my bolt gage. Hmm 10-32 3/8" long
The Bolt Depot has SS Hex heads to be the same as OEM
http://www.boltdepot.com/Tap_bolts_Stainless_steel_18-8_10-32.aspx?nv=l

Went down to local HW store Hillsman display
They did not have Hex Head SS 10-32 but they did have round phillips head.

See pics
Click to Enlarge:

Pic 1 - Shows bolt missing
Pic 2 - Bolt Guage
Pic 3 - New SS phillips head bolts vs old hex head bolts
Pic 4 - All done

 

FWIW stainless will gaul threads. I have to remove the baffle on my hearthstone to sweep - these screws are directly in the firebox.
A Phillips head screw is likely to be a PITA to remove after some heat cycles(stripped heads) I'd look for some hex-cap 10-32 (not sure if those are 1/4 or 3/8")

Use anti-seize upon reassembly, nickel based should work.
http://www.mcmaster.com/#socket-head-cap-screws/=tla4yr

$4 for 25 pack in 316ss

 

Interesting
I do have Stainless steel bolts on my quadrafire fire pot and still good after 1 year.
I do like the idea of hex head, it would be better.

 

Like I say Don stainless can/will gaul easily whole lot easier to get an allen wrench on a stubborn bolt than Phillips head.
Having a bag of them around with other stove repair stuff is the way to go

 

X2 on the anti-seize...that's what I use and never had an issue.

 

The stove body is a different type of metal than the SS bolt so galling may not be a problem here. Also Dry Moly spray can eliminate any galling. I would still go with Stainless but hex head would be better.

From:
http://www.estainlesssteel.com/gallingofstainless.html

This problem is called "thread galling." According to the Industrial Fastener Institute's 6th Edition Standards Book (page B-28),

Thread galling seems to be the most prevalent with fasteners made of stainless steel, aluminum, titanium, and other alloys which self-generate an oxide surface film for corrosion protection. During fastener tightening, as pressure builds between the contacting and sliding thread surfaces, protective oxides are broken, possibly wiped off, and interface metal high points shear or lock together. This cumulative clogging-shearing-locking action causes increasing adhesion. In the extreme, galling leads to seizing - the actual freezing together of the threads. If tightening is continued, the fastener can be twisted off or its threads ripped out.

Carpenter Technologies, the fastener industry's largest supplier of stainless steel raw material, refers to this type of galling in their technical guide as "cold welding." Anyone who has seen a bolt and nut with this problem understands the graphic nature of this description.

The IFI and Carpenter Technologies give three suggestions for dealing with the problem of thread galling in the use of stainless steel fasteners:

1. Slowing down the installation RPM speed will frequently reduce, or sometimes solve completely, the problem. As the installation RPM increases, the heat generated during tightening increases. As the heat increases, so does the tendency for the occurrence of thread galling.
2. Lubricating the internal and/or external threads frequently eliminates thread galling. The suggested lubricants should contain substantial amounts of molybdenum disulfide (moly), graphite, mica, or talc. Some proprietary, extreme pressure waxes may also be effective. You must be aware of the end use of the fasteners before settling on a lubricant. Stainless steel is frequently used in food related applications, which may make some lubricants unacceptable. Lubricants can be applied at the point of assembly or pre-applied as a batch process similar to plating. Several chemical companies offer anti-galling lubricants. One such source, EM Corporation, suggests their Permaslik¨ RAC product for use at the point of assembly. They suggest Everlube¨ 620C for batch, pre-applying to stainless steel fasteners.
3. Using different stainless alloy grades for the bolt and the nut reduces galling. The key here is the mating of materials having different hardnesses. If one of the components is 316 and the other is 304 they're less likely to gall than if they're both of the same alloy grade. This is because different alloys work-harden at different rates.

Another factor affecting thread galling in stainless steel fastener applications is thread roughness. The rougher the thread flanks, the greater the likelihood galling will occur. In an application where the bolt is galling with the internal thread, the bolt is usually presumed to be at fault, because it is the breaking component. Generally, it is the internal thread that is causing the problem instead of the bolt. This is because most bolt threads are smoother than most nut threads. Bolt threads are generally rolled, therefore, their thread flanks are relatively smooth. Internal threads are always cut, producing rougher thread flanks than those of the bolts they are mating with. The reason galling problems are inconsistent is probably due largely to the inconsistencies in the tapping operation. Rougher than normal internal threads may be the result of the use of dull taps or the tapping may have been done at an inappropriately high RPM.

Fortunately, stainless steel bolt and nut galling problems do not occur everyday, but when they do it usually creates a customer crisis. Knowledge of why this occurs and how to remedy it can save the supplier much grief and many headaches.