Hinge Wear on a Heavy Stainless Door

What a worn hinge looks like

• The door edge has lost its line with the fronts beside it.
• The door must be lifted slightly to close cleanly, or it brushes the frame on the way in.
• A paper strip slides free at one end of the door and grips at the other.
• Frost or beads of water gather inside the door line at that loose end.

Why a PRO loads its hinges

A PRO door is stainless from edge to edge, and whatever stands on its inner face adds weight at the end furthest from the hinge. Every PRO door swings to 135 degrees. Let go at full swing, or leaned on, it puts a twisting load on the hinge.

A cabinet out of level can pass for hinge wear. Sub-Zero’s installation guide says to level a PRO to the floor rather than the counters, and warns that doing otherwise can affect how the door closes. So the level is read before the hinge is blamed.

What the repair involves

The guide gives three directions of adjustment, each with the door lifted off its hinge pins and laid on a protected surface. That is lifting work, not an owner’s quick fix. Up-and-down and in-and-out are set at the door with an adjustment pin: each vertical hole moves the door 1/32 inch, and slotted holes give the in-and-out setting. Side-to-side is set at the cabinet hinges with an Allen key, the hinge set parallel to the side of the unit. A hinge that keeps its play after adjustment is replaced.

The door then goes back on its pins, its line is measured, and the gasket is tested all the way round. A seal that still leaks on a square door is a gasket fault in its own right.