EKO upper door/High temp Silicone Seal

Hi all,
I'm in the midst of my summer burn scenario. No storage and small daily fires for dhw. It's a bad upper chamber creosote and door seal combo. Thanks to the suggestion of others dealing with door seal/smoke issues I have worked up what seems to be a solution.

My major problem is creostoe soaking into the fiberglass seal on the door which ends up making the seal hard and eventually denegrates seal efficiency (evidenced by leaking) and recently (two months ago) I had to replace the door seal which makes the fourth seal replacement in <3 years. I have tried a number of door seal lubricants but they only work for a little while and then the seal hardens and integrity takes a hike. I have reused the original seal after cleaning and am now on it's third use. I also have a second seal I bought and need to clean.

The original seal has lost a lot of it's bulk and strength but now I use it as a back-up/fill for the silicone approach which is a simple replacement technique. Which is... Cement and pack in the seal which is now below the lip of the door seal groove. Fill in the remainig open area of the groove with High temp silicone until the door seal groove is flush with the edge of the door. Immediately place strips of aluminum foil, wide enough to cover the seal face, on the exposed high temp silicone. Grease the boiler opening lip, where the boiler comes in to contact with the door seal. Back the door hinge bolts out at least one full turn. Install the upper door BUT DO NOT TIGHTEN! Only allow the handle clamp plate to come in contact with the boiler lock plate to confirm alignment of the door. If the seal comes incontact with the boiler all the way around let the door set for about an hour to allow the silicone to start curing. Otherwise you need to adjust the door hinges until the seal comes in to full contact. Re-lubing the seal during boiler use is still necessary but I find by lubing the boiler lip instead of just the door seal helps reduce the creosote buildup at the boiler door lip and makes for easier cleaning of the lip. Once the boiler is in use use thick (I use rubber gloves) gloves to apply the grease to avoid burning your hand and fingers. Clean around the boiler lip frequently to remove creosote build up. I use white lithium grease to lube the boiler lip but other greases would probably work. Just don't cover the front of the boiler in grease.

The cured silicone/aluminum foil seal does not take a lot of pressure to seal (but is strong enough to allow you to lock the door so it seals) and it seals air tight but don't over tighten the seal or it may wear out early. To replace a worn silicone seal simply cut away the aluminum foil stripping (Not the whole seal but shallow cutting jsut to remove the foil if there is any left) to where you are working with clean silicone and re-apply some silicone to re-fill the gap you just made and re-face with new foil. The foil is only needed when first making the seal. As long as you are lubing the boiler lip the cured silicone will work without the foil if some comes off during use. You don't need to replace the seal every time a little foil comes off. Re-grease the lip of the boiler and you should be ready to go. No waiting for the cure but don't reef on the door handle. Remember to lube the door lip frequently or the creosote may stick to the silicone and end up ripping the silicone out in chunks. My current seal has been in use for two months and is made of the 500* silicone (the store was out of the 700* when I went to buy so I used the 500 and it's working fine) and is working fine eeeeven after a "huff" 8-/ left the flapper plate partially open.

This should work for those with in home units and door smoke leaks too. Sorry for the length..Cave2k

DaveBP,
Never thried the brush on stuff but I like the idea. I have totally saturated a fiberglass seal with wd and various sprays and with grease and had the best results with the gease. The fiberglass gasket always absorbs creosote. The silicone will not absorb the creosote. Relpacement fiberglass seals are around $20 plus the cement to hold them in place. They are also only available from a very limited source. The silicone is readily available at a number of stores and far less expensive (if it holds up). The results I have had with the silicone have been excellent where I have had to tinker with the hinge bolts even with a new gasket. Now if the seal goes bad I can re-face it or build a new one to the exact dimensions of the gasket I am replacing when it was new. and have the confidence that it won't leak. Brush on grease is definitely the way to go though. Thanks for the idea Dave.

Gooserider, I heard talk of that new EKO gasket too but have not seen it. I think it odd that we in the U.S. seem to have the loudest complaint with the leaky gasket. As well I think it negligent or at least indifferent when the company makes a more suitable product and doesn't do much to let their public know. I would like to see their solution as I know nothing is apt to be a permanent solution. The approach I am now using shows better results than the original gasket though.

pybyr, My experience with fiberglass is that anything I put on it just blends with the creosote and eventually gets displaced by it and the problem is only delayed. (But then in some regard facing the gasket with silicone is just another delay. It is also a quicker fix once installed). The silicone high temp caulk/glue is impervious to absorption of the liquid creosote especially when overlaid with aluminum foil. Both types of seal require frequent re-application of what ever lubricant you use (I have found white lithium grease to be the best so far). The post header was just to relay my findings with a silicone seal which are: lower costs, greater efficiency/seal, ease of maintenance and ease of repair. Silicone grease could be a good step up over lithium grease so thanks for the in put.

Gooserider,
Thanks for the information. I know I am not the only one with small daily fires for dhw as I have read responses in other posts. My post was to let people know what I had found with the silicone. Things are moving slow for me with the storage as I am just starting to get my footing after a 7 month illness and the economy doesn't appear to be abundantly permissive though storage is still my goal. In the mean time I will use the EKO as I am because I have no choice. On the other hand I am at a loss for informtion and would like to ask you for the link to contact EKO directly.??? Thanks for your input...

Thanks Gooserider. I have sent them an e-mail so now the ball is in their hands.

Where sticky bolts are concerned I wouldn't have waisted a second getting the antiseize. Never thought about using it on the gasket especially since the creosote soaks into the gasket then hardens. The silicone approach I am using has been doing fine especially treated with white lithium grease but now I may be changing lubes. Thanks for the tip.

Tree farmer. ("I feel for your frustration") There was really no frustration. I just thought that replacing the gasket was one of the things we had to do to use the "idle burn" technique. The silicone gasket trick is working really well and I just wanted to share my new found success with others that were in the "idle mode". I did send out for some information (see Gooserider above) on the newer EKO silicone gasket and the wholesale company I queried sent me an e-mail jiffy quick but the supliers he contacted to e-mail me with parts never contacted me. Since my gasket is working so well I don't think I need to hear from them. Once agin it's the "forum to the rescue". Cool..

Just to let everyone know. I am still on the same home made silicone seal that I made and used when I started this post. Have not yet tried the anti sieze compound but am still using up my spray can of white lithium grease. The aluminum strips I thought were so important initially ended up only being necessary to keep the door opening lip from sealing to the uncured hi-temp silicone sealant while making a shallow impression. That was only done to get the boiler up and running sooner but if desiredthe door can be taken off of the boiler and the silicone applied and allowed to cure before re-installing the door. As far as the upper door seal is concerned I have the seal I need. Now to find something for the lower door seal and the fly ash problem....