castle serenerty combustion fan gaskets

[john sulllivan]

hi everybody

i have a castle serenerty as well as a st criox element and a new harman xxv-tc.

I cleaned the exh fan on the castle and the gasket tore. I ck'd for a replacement from castle and they where out of stock and $22. sounds pretty high for a gasket.

i cannot find any listed aftermarket gasket for the castle and it's a little bigger then 6" and the holes do not line up to the universal 6" gasket. Has anyone used any other gaskets to replace the factory one?



thanks john

 

[SidecarFlip]

On mine I removed the old gasket years ago and laid a bead of red RTV on the perimeter where the fan assembly bolts up, let it cure and been on there for about 5 years now. Not your make but works just fine for me. Those gaskets are fragile and not cheap and I'm cheap...lol

 

[johneh]

On mine I removed the old gasket years ago and laid a bead of red RTV on the perimeter where the fan assembly bolts up, let it cure and been on there for about 5 years now. Not your make but works just fine for me. Those gaskets are fragile and not cheap and I'm cheap...lol

I have also done that and the RTV gasket has held up for better than 10 years
and like sidecar I am also cheap

 

[john sulllivan]

Ya i hear you, i'm cheap too. did you let the rtv set up before you put it back on, or just scrape and replace each time?

 

[johneh]

Let it set up for 24 hours.
Did mine during the full season end cleaning
I put the silicone on the motor side so if it had to be changed I could take
the motor to the wire wheel on the grinder and remove it with ease

 

[john sulllivan]

Let it set up for 24 hours.
Did mine during the full season end cleaning
I put the silicone on the motor side so if it had to be changed I could take
the motor to the wire wheel on the grinder and remove it with ease

Ok, thanks

that's what i will do. not going to spend $22 for a gasket. i have penty of silicone left from the install.

thanks again

john

 

[SidecarFlip]

Let it set up for 24 hours.
Did mine during the full season end cleaning
I put the silicone on the motor side so if it had to be changed I could take
the motor to the wire wheel on the grinder and remove it with ease

I put mine on the opposite (housing side). Guess it don't really matter though. What does is, you don't put a thick bead, just a narrow one all the way around and you MUST allow it to cure which is about 24 hours give or take. You can tell when it cures because it (RTV) looses it's shine and becomes dull looking. Never had any luck with the fuzzy gaskets on anything. They fall apart to easy.

I also replaced the fuzzy gasket on the room air blower (mine had one there as well) with a molded silicone gasket I bought from Pellet Stove Parts for Less. It has a number of pre punched holes in it so it fits everything and I think it was 9 bucks. Really made a difference in the 'noise' the room air blower made, it totally isolates any harmonics from the outer firebox, much quieter. All the room air blowers, especially on high, produce harmonics and isolating it from the sheet metal HX (on mine at least), made a huge difference in how quiet it runs.

Always been an issue with me. the 'white noise' the stove makes when operating. While not a deal breaker, it's always there and isolating motors makes a big difference in the 'white noise' You cannot get rid of all of it but any reduction is welcome.

They all make noise because the fuel feed and air movement is 100% mechanical.

 

[SidecarFlip]

Little tip on silicone (on longevity). Always leave the applicator cap on the tube, never use the screw on cap, toss it. The stuff will 'vulcanize' in the tube and when you go to use it a second or third time, just remove the applicator tube and pull the rubberized RTV out the bottom of the tube. Stuff ain't cheap but I am and I hate to waste it. If you use the shipping cap (and not the applicator extension cap) the stuff hardens in the neck and it's almost impossible to get out. Easy to get out of the applicator tube.