The oven and broiler doors on my OKM are spring loaded and they work just fine. I found out, I’m lucky.  Many others report their stoves’ doors don’t close because the springs are broken.  Or, if only one of the two springs works, so the door mightn’t close tightly.  A tightly closed door is important to help keep the heat inside. Since these models don’t have latches or locks the springs are the only components that keep the doors closed. It’s important to replace weak or broken springs.

But how? Where are the silly things? Answer – If you open an oven or broiler door and look closely, you might be able to see the top of a spring just inside the oven wall cavity. That means this stoves’ springs are vertical.

With some other OKMs, the springs are mounted horizontally, underneath the base.

How can they be accessed to be, say, replaced?

Thanks to the parts stoves I acquired, I discovered how. And like most of properties with these stoves, the process is elegantly simple. Even though the springs are hidden in the stove walls, gaining access doesn’t mean tearing apart the stove!

Close the oven/broiler door. If your stove is like mine, when you  open up either of lower doors you’ll see well disguised the spring and hinge access panels on the left and right walls.

Each panel has two little panel fasteners at the bottom (modern title – canoe or arrow clips).

With a blade screwdriver, the panel can be popped out, exposing the spring and hinge… well maybe the spring, if it hasn’t broken. When the upper door is closed, the spring can be easily accessed and replaced.

Such a nice simple mechanism. The trick is to have a spring of the proper strength. When the upper door is open flat, the spring is stretched but is not strong enough to close the door.  But once the door is partially lifted there is  just enough spring power to pull the door close.

If the spring is not strong enough, the door won’t close tightly enough and will leak heat. If the spring is too strong, the door won’t stay open.