I noticed a problem with the hopper lid gasket today. Thought I would drop by and let other owners know so you can check theirs. The sliding lid has a gasket underneath it. Pull it out and look under there. When it slides in and out it rubs on a the piece of sheet metal that it sits upon when it is slide in. Mine is only 1 month old and the gasket is shot. A piece of it shredded from this rubbing and fell right off. If you lift up on the cover it will move up and down. It actually comes out of the slide on the side. I guess it is meant tobe this way but it is a poor design. I will have to replace the gasket when I get time. It should have been designed better BUT if you lift up on it a little before you slide it all the way in you MIGHT be able to avoid damaging the gasket. Please check yours and let me know if you have the same issue or perhaps a resolution to the problem...Thanks
Enviro M55 Insert Alert
- Thread starter nh1234
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flynfrfun
Minister of Fire
nh1234 said:
I'll have to check mine. But I suspect the tearing might be because pellets get caught under the lid when filling the hopper. I always lift the lid prior to closing it and brush any stray pellets into the hopper. If you don't clear the pellets, they are going to get stuck between the gasket and the stove surface causing an air leak and or damage the gasket.
Which part of the lid did the gasket fray (front, side or back)?
Flynfrfun
flynfrfun
Minister of Fire
I just checked mine and it is in perfect shape. I've had my stove since early Nov. There is some good engineering that went into the lid. It elevates up about 3/8" as you slide it out. This is to minimize wear on the gasket each time you open & close the lid. The gasket doesn't make contact until the lid is almost slid all the way closed.
I suspect either your gasket material was not glued in well enough, or you were getting pellets stuck in there and closing the lid onto them. Make sure you clean the pellets out from under the lid before closing it. To do this just lift the front of the lid (while it is open) and look under there for pellets. They tend to hide, but are easily brushed forward with your hand into the hopper.
Flynfrfun
I suspect either your gasket material was not glued in well enough, or you were getting pellets stuck in there and closing the lid onto them. Make sure you clean the pellets out from under the lid before closing it. To do this just lift the front of the lid (while it is open) and look under there for pellets. They tend to hide, but are easily brushed forward with your hand into the hopper.
Flynfrfun
After a month with my M55 Insert, about 3 inches of the gasket started hanging. About an inch of it was fairly shredded / torn up. I glued it back in place, but I expect that to be a temporary fix.
I noticed that same thing with mine last week. There is about a 4" section in the front that is shredded. I haven't really looked at it too closely, to see what a possible solution could be, but the lid operates great. Maybe it needs loosened up or maybe the glue just failed on the gasket, causing it to hang down and get cut?? Either way, I'm going to speak with my dealer and see where it goes. I will keep you all posted. By the way, I'm not even sure what the gasket is for? Maybe just to "seal" the hopper compartment in case there is a hopper fire? I'm not sure. There is no gasket on my Quad.
SmokeyTheBear
Minister of Fire
The gasket is there for at least two reasons, one is to stop smoke and other "bad stuff" from exiting the hopper because another air sucker is at work and the second is to prevent the combustion blower from sucking air through the hopper and thereby bypassing the burn pot and disrupting the burn, especially when the fuel level is low.
I see the majority here are having the same problem. I do not have pellets causing the issue it is a sharp edge on the sheet metal where it slides in. The cover sort of floats and the weight of it keeps pressure on the gasket to help with the seal. Will be interested to hear what the dealer or manufacturer has to say. Hopefully we will have more input from other owners here.
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