Defiant Encore 0028 New Gasket Issue

Newbie here. I am replacing the door gasket. I have the correct diameter, but I can't get the door to close. I removed the old gasket and cleaned out the tracks really well. I have the handle threaded all the way in. I've tried stretching the gasket in a dry installation. I'm wondering if the gasket is too dense? any other suggestions? Thanks!

Seems to be the case Put doors on before cement dries to assure a good seal.

It should be 5/16" rope gasket. Those doors come right off to make replacement easier. Closing the doors while the cement is still wet is OK as long as there isn't an excess of cement. You can close it on some newspaper while it dries to prevent the doors from getting stuck closed.

I used 5/16" from the local stove shop. I know it says "medium density" in the manual. That is why I wonder if I got a denser rope than is called for. Any other suggestions? Thanks!

Did they shut OK before the gasket replacement? Maybe you have a slightly warped door. Also make sure the air wash plates which attach to the top inside of each door are not getting in the way.

This is an annoying foeble of Encores, there's really no door adjustment you can make. 5/16 medium should do it. Try doing the door w/ the handle on it, then closing that door. Then do the other door and try to close them both together. Sometimes compressing the right door's gasket by itself is just enough to get the whole thing to work. And yeah, definately do it while the cement is wet, NOT hardened up .

Had one like this a few days back.
ended up using 3/16 and scrunched it together to make it about 1/4", as the 5/16 was too thick for the left side door

Thanks for all the suggestions! I went and cleaned out the grooves again, slightly raised the doors (to make sure the door "flange" (or whatever that's called) was hitting the groove straight on and then dry fit the gasket again but no good. So I didn't feel comfortable gluing it in yet. I'll check out the air wash plates, try the door by door method and if that doesn't work, go with 1/4".