Hi Gyrfalcon,
Time to change out the gasket again, and was thinking of you and the night you stayed up with me to see me through.
It's still a bugger to do, but this time I picked my temperature (+30 instead of -40) and time (late evening instead of late night). Back poking around to see if I left any crumbs shining in the moonlight that I can follow to success.
Congrats on the upgrade to the Heritage and on retiring the coal bucket as a door latch.
BTW, I noticed recently that the door-latch on my Heritage wasn't being very effective anymore. It would slide right around in a circle, and not latch unless you were really paying attention. I took it apart and looked at it, and saw that the latch was wearing really thin. Then I recalled that the side door handle pulls up to latch, while the front door pushes down. So I experimented with switching out that inner part of the handle, the finger that catches on the stove-door part. And now they both close nice and tight.
I'm pretty sure that's not in the manual . . .
Oh, man, just the thought of gasket and door latch issues gives me nightmares. I've learned by bitter experience to push the door in strongly before turning the latch, to reduce the friction of the latch against that vulnerable cast lip on the frame. FWIW, replacing the latch itself, rather than the whole damn frame, is inexpensive, and I'd recommend doing it soon rather than waiting for it to fail completely. But watch out for the wear and tear on that lip.
I no longer use the front door of my Heritage because I've developed -- just shoot me! -- a non-histamine allergy to wood smoke, and the wide front door lets out a little puff of smoke that sets it off big-time-- violent, paroxysmal sneezing, 7 or 8 in a row, and a stuffed-up head and perpetually dripping nose. The much narrower side door rarely does. So except in shoulder season when I'm lighting a brand-new fire in a nearly cold stove only in early evening for a few hours, I don't use the front door at all. It does seem to me that the way the latch on the side door works, there's much less sense of friction when opening and closing it. For whatever it's worth.
I tremble with anxiety about having to replace the gasket on this when it's finally needed. Last time, I had my sweep do it for me, and it was he that totally f-ed it up, though I probably would have done the same if I'd done it myself. I have a much better sweep to help me out now when I need it, but still, just the thought of having to do it gives me the vapors.
I'm VERY grateful the ash bucket and brick actually worked, but it's a massive relief to now have a non-broken stove with a much larger heating capacity, and the ability to easily and quickly open and close the door without having to fuss and adjust and all that.
Nice to hear from you. It's been a while, and I've wondered how you''re doing up there from time to time. How you make it through those winters with only white birch for hardwood still amazes me.
What a hassle. Hope mine goes back together OK and she has no problems. It's in pieces right now all over our front porch. The wife is just shaking her head.
