Enviro Milan Insert Exhaust Fan Maintenance Question

[BARTSFAM]

Let me start by saying, I am in no way handy! I rarely take things apart, and put them back together again. Something always goes wrong.
With that being said, I do clean my Milan insert twice a year myself. After seeing pictures of exhaust fans with dust bunnies, I decided to take it apart today.
When I took the blower off of the back of the stove, there was a cottony, insulation material, in between the blower and the stove. When I removed the blower, this substance crumbled into pieces. It was a circular shape and followed the outline of the blower.
Is this stuff insulation, to dampen the sound of the blower? Is it used to make a tight seal between the blower and the stove? If I wanted to buy some more, what exactly is this stuff called? Can you get it at Home Depot, or at a stove shop?

I screwed the blower back onto the stove without a problem. The blower seems to be working fine, but it is missing the insulation type of material.

What was that stuff?

 

[jtakeman]

That is actually a gasket to seal the blower to the housing. You might get an air leak or smoke smell with out it. It is also a vibration damper to reduce noise. I have heard some just using high temp silicon to seal it. But I don't recommend that. I would go to a dealer or order the gasket online. I recommend woodheatstoves.com for a replacement and tell him your from hearth.com. He may offer a discount. Owners name is Dave Gualt and is a member here.

This thread has some info on the material if you want to make one yourself.