Will a $5 bill work for the $1 bill test?

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bags

Minister of Fire
Oct 12, 2014
2,408
Kentucky
Made you look! Friendly reminder to check your gaskets more often than not.

My stove was brand new last Oct. and only ran last season. Flames looked a bit odd and swirly / lazy. Not bad but not crisp either. I assumed it might be the different pellets I'm burning currently. Last night I noticed I barely saw orange at the latch side when I turned off all the lights going to bed. Did a closer look and sure enough I had a slight visible gap between my ropes and the box on my fire door. Very slight but I could see an very thin orange line looking deal.

I checked the latch was caught and where it should be. I opened the door and noticed the gasket looked flattened out. It was. I put on gloves and fluffed it manipulating it all around. Then shut the door and the flames improved immediately.

Today flames are still pretty good and crisp but I read another thread and this prompted me to throw this out here. I am the King of the Lazy Flame this fall. Forgot to latch my door after a clean last time along with leaving the flame guide inside on the right shelf just above the ash pan. STRIKE 1.

Now I have a weak firebox gasket and have never done the quarter test on my 68. STRIKE 2. A quarter would probably fit a couple of areas at least when it is flattened out prior to my on the fly fluffing. So I broke out some big money $1 (a buck) and did the test. I need new gaskets already without a doubt. It didn't even cross my mind to test the 68 since it is a stove just now on season two.

The dollar bill was tight around the hinge side. As I moved away it loosened. On the latch side it is very weak. Also ran a Click and Flame around it and it pulls the flame in towards the inside where the rope is weak.

Sooo, I will do as Uncle Bio always suggests from now on and I will also replace my ropes. Alternative had to do his ash pan at year one. It was off my radar on such a new stove that has ran flawlessly so far. The gaskets will force me to fire the 45 now so I can shut the 68 down and pull the doors.

I am still perplexed as to how loose the latch side is. No abuse nor visible signs of wear. I did notice they looked flat and almost too small looking but wrote it off.

So squeak a bill outta the wallet or purse and do yourself a favor.
 
Yeah, I'ver replaced the P61a gasket twice already. This last time I decide to go with the graphite impregnated rope, hoping it will last a little longer. If nothing else, it is the tightest seal I've ever had on that stove.

I used to always get a whiff of smoke right at start up, even right after instll, and could never figure out where it came from. After putting in this gasket, all smoke smell is gone. Now remember - I have already replaced the gasket once, with the white stuff (as the OEM used), so I never even thought about it being the door.

Hey, for only $13, I can live with replacing it every year if I must.
 
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Yes, it will work. Send it to me and I will send you a one dollar bill. Problem solved. lol kap

I used a GB 1 Pound note when I tested mine. Worked fine that day, but when the exchange rate changed I had to do it again. And then again. And then again.

Damn Brits....
 
The dollar bill was tight around the hinge side. As I moved away it loosened. On the latch side it is very weak.

Nothing wrong with gaskets but if the hinge side is tight it might be worth looking at the latch assembly. Any adjustments or maybe a shim in that can be moved from one side of the latch to the other? At one year your a bit early to need gaskets.

Oh, and a fancy contractor like yourself i'd expect you'd be using a $50 not a lowly $5.
 
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Will a check do? The ACA got all my $$$
 
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[Hearth.com] Will a $5 bill work for the $1 bill test?


Get six of these for a buck
 
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That today or last week?
 
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I love this place when it gets silly....
 
a fancy contractor like yourself i'd expect you'd be using a $50 not a lowly $5.
Dude, I ain't nothing but a "fancy" conduit for the IRS, expenses, and overhead. Money comes in and shoots out much faster. Right hand receiving to the left hand and GONE! Maybe I'd feel better about it if I built my own vacuum suction tube carrier like at the bank drive thru. Beats work'in fo da man though. Sometimes..... It's a roller coater ride and you know what it's like standing in that damn line. A whole lot of crap for some brief fun. If you can call it that. I keep my $50 to wrap around all my broken down singles like the rest of the cheese ball posers.::-):ZZZ BTW John, Do you have fifty bucks I can borrow? Last time I was high rolling I got mugged. LOL!

might be worth looking at the latch assembly. Any adjustments
There is a 3/32" allen set screw deal and I messed with it some yesterday but there's not much adjustment there. I'll mess with it again today. Looking at the gaskets though it looks like Rodriguez might have been hung over that day. They looked stretched some on the original install. They look really thin and don't stick out of the channel much at all even when fluffed up to the max potential they have.

It is cold here (18* feels like 10* the Weather Channel says) now but supposed to warm some later this week. I plan to just replace them and do a thorough clean at that time. Be done with it.....

I was going to say no.....use 4 quarters! LOL
I would have done that and they'ed fit too. However I was one quarter short and decided to rub two nickels together praying for another quarter but that didn't work out to well. They call me 75 cent in da hood now. At least I one upped 50 cent.
 
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Nope although I've had mine running for months now the ball has just been kicked off. The cold is here. This year I feel better and not already beaten by the cold at this point.
 
Last year we started out ugly cold in October and started warming up in January here anyway.
 
Same here Bio. Only problem I have with it is I am way south of you and many here and getting the same cold junk. Something is wrong with that picture. Right now the sun is out 11:35 AM and it is 24* feels like 19*.
 
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Same here Bio. Only problem I have with it is I am way south of you and many here and getting the same cold junk. Something is wrong with that picture. Right now the sun is out 11:35 AM and it is 24* feels like 19*.
Oh, it's up in the mid 20's - how nice for you ;lol. Was -1 when I left for work this morning at 4:45, so you know it got colder (don't have a temp gauge in the Explorer, so don't know what it was when I got to work). It's 15 here in da city right now - usually 5-10* colder at my house - with a bit of wind. It looks like it is in the mid 20's though with all the sunshine ::-).
 
All I can say is spin those fans around and keep it up there.:rolleyes: Seem like just a week or so ago I was outside in a T-shirt. I was............ Then Whaa La, a shocker this AM. In the teens but felt much colder. I QUIT!<>
 
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Wind was over 30mph this morning from the SE and that's the worst direction for my homestead and 18F. Its the $#!* that's coming this weekend. Not to get above 0 for four days or so. Should have the stoves dialed in on the new corn before Saturday. All were cleaned New Years Eve.
 
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Sorry no spare $50's but if you pull the gasket off before you put the new one on you might steal the kids Playdoh and put a chunck along the hing side and the latch side then close the door and compare the squish.
 
I sure hope we now don't think a door gasket has to be class 4 thread standards:)
 
No $50,,,, No Playdoh test. >> Kids are way past that stuff these days. If I happened to find some ( a brick of it) it would probably crack the glass out. I messed with the latch again but not much adjustment. To hot to mess with the roller though. Might be something there. I did tighten the set screw and it did seem to tighten a bit and seems to seal better. The 68 latch is quite different than the 45 and 61's.

I am just going to measure it all around too. The dollar bill still likes to come out way easier on the latch side vs. the hinge side which is nice and tight. Gaskets are cheap, pretty quick, and easy so I'm just doing them with some graphite ropes. Probably this weekend.

I will peel off some mangled up singles and buy some more Playdoh in your favorite color and do the "squish test" as long as you come and clean it up. ;)
 
buy some more Playdoh in your favorite color and do the "squish test"
Time to get the kids involved with the "pellet crazy old man". Maybe have them help with bucketing and cleaning some corn up. Snap to it:)
 
Ha hahahahahaha! What's that? They are now too cool or have better things to do. I think stacking firewood eventually wore them out on any fun associated with staying warm. LOL! They will and still do help but not bugging me to do so. Hell, I could get more out of them productivity wise when some of the splits weighed as much as they did. I'm probably viewed now as the "crazy" and uncool "old man." Middle schoolers now. I used to call that Jr. High. They change fast at this age. So do the attitudes...........
 
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