I think I need to replace the door gasket on my afton bay.. Any help??

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cristiansmom

Member
Jul 17, 2008
106
Rhode Island
So, I think this one I can do myself. I had Scott come from Pellet Stove Service to change out my combustion fan but this one I think I can do.. I think it's the gasket because there is a little smoke leaking and looks like it's from the front door. How hard it it to change it out. Where do I buy the rope?? I tried searching but having a hard time searching through all the posts.. Thanks for any help..

Debi in RI
 
I bought mine from Eric Kinsman here on the forum.
Good price and shipped quickly.
 
I'm sure you can do it yourself.

When is it leaking smoke? The firebox is under negative pressure, so no smoke should be leaking out, except perhaps right at startup if the gasket is bad.

Have you done the dollar bill test on the gasket to make sure it's bad?
 
.....The firebox is under negative pressure, so no smoke should be leaking out, except perhaps right at startup if the gasket is bad.

Have you done the dollar bill test on the gasket to make sure it's bad?

Ditto....no smoke should come out of firebox.....do the dollar bill test as suggested.

If all is OK w/ the door gasket, then try starting the stove after dark....turn off lights and use flashlight and look around your exhaust system during the smoky part of the start-up process....the light should show any smoke leaking.
 
It's at startup when the firebox fills with smoke. It's coming out from the door. I can see it. :( I just had someone here on Saturday to fix the combustion fan, had I known I would have had him do it then.. :( It wasn't doing it then..
 
It sounds like you have a lot of smoke on startup. My stove gets little smoke in the firebox on startup, and what's there gets evacuated quickly, so there's no buildup. You may want to check your igniter and the area it sits in. My Afton Bay has a gap all around the igniter for air to pass by. I can easily see it using a small mirror and flashlight; I check it periodically to make sure it's clear.

That said, I do agree that it sounds like you need a new door gasket.

You can also adjust the door latch to make it tighter, if that would help.
 
now that you mention it I am getting more smoke at startup than I used to. I am going to check that area!! Thanks..How do I adjust the door latch.. This wasn't doing it before I did the really good cleaning. maybe I didn't put something back in right..
 
If you have more smoke at start-up than used to, does it also seem to take much longer before you see actual flame?

I had the same problem last winter. Only half of the ignitor was getting hot. Took 10 minutes to light, where the new ignitor has flame in about 2 1/2 -3 minutes. New ignitor fixed the problem, but I kept the old one for a spare.
 
To adjust the door latch, look for two button-head Allen screws right where the door handle pivots. The latch mechanism has slots in it. Loosen the Allen screws and slide the latch towards the front of the door. It's a trial and error process. If the gasket is truly bad, this won't help much, probably. The door latch should latch fairly easily; you shouldn't have to force it to latch.

Your cleaning may have shoved some ash into the igniter area - but you now know how to check it! If you really want to check it out fully, and don't mind a little work, you can remove the ash lip from below the door and pull the igniter out. It's not hard, but does involve a bit of effort. imacman makes a good point about a semi-failed igniter. I haven't had one fail (yet), so can't comment on that.
 
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