First fire this season. Harmon Accentra.

Firing the stove this morning I noticed the stove was burning much hotter then is ever has. Standing 2ft away, it was very hot. Never have I felt it this hot from that distance. Maintenance on my Accentra stove this year included : Air bypass tube, new door gasket, hopper gasket, cleaning the chimney liner and blew out every nook and cranny with compressed air. I was wondering if the bypass tube alone could cause these favorable results. Also I replaced the door gasket twice because I questioned the quality of the rope gasket that came in a 3/8 kit that I purchased. After installing a 3/8 gasket that came in the kit I found some sold in bulk that was more dense, rounder and didn't collapse as easy. Is there a specific gasket that Harmon recommends? Overall Im very pleased with the end results.

If by the bypass tube you mean the square tube at the bottom that snakes around the back of the stove, I think it makes a huge difference. When I bought the stove used it was completely plugged and I barely got any heat out of the stove. After I discovered that I clean it once a weekend and I can notice a difference in heat output by the next weekend.