Fisher clone door sealing? #Coaly

[Isaac Carlson]

I'm fixing a fisher clone for someone and the doors don't sit tight like a fisher. They are made the same, but there is a very small gap so a dollar bill slides around them. The name on the stove is 'night watch'. I have installed a baffle, airwash, secondary tubes, flue baffle above the main baffle, and heat shields. It burns great, but the doors leak enough that the fire won't snuff out. It just keeps burning on low. I have sliders on the primary/airwash and secondary intakes to adjust/close them.

I thought about welding a bead around the door opening and then dressing it down to seat tight. I also thought about using stove sealer to bed the doors with the stove tipped forward to keep it from running out. I'm not sure how the second method would hold up.

If anyone has any ideas, I'm all ears. This stove has to be airtight because he is putting it in his house. The insurance company ok'd it, which surprised the heck out of me. I've been working on this stove for almost two weeks and it's almost done.

 

[bholler]

I'm fixing a fisher clone for someone and the doors don't sit tight like a fisher. They are made the same, but there is a very small gap so a dollar bill slides around them. The name on the stove is 'night watch'. I have installed a baffle, airwash, secondary tubes, flue baffle above the main baffle, and heat shields. It burns great, but the doors leak enough that the fire won't snuff out. It just keeps burning on low. I have sliders on the primary/airwash and secondary intakes to adjust/close them.

I thought about welding a bead around the door opening and then dressing it down to seat tight. I also thought about using stove sealer to bed the doors with the stove tipped forward to keep it from running out. I'm not sure how the second method would hold up.

If anyone has any ideas, I'm all ears. This stove has to be airtight because he is putting it in his house. The insurance company ok'd it, which surprised the heck out of me. I've been working on this stove for almost two weeks and it's almost done.

If it is working well why does it have to be air tight? Modern stoves aren't air tight for a good reason?

 

[Isaac Carlson]

I want to make sure it can't run away on the new owner. I would feel better if all air was controlled by the sliders.
I realize most stoves can't be shut down completely.

 

[bholler]

I want to make sure it can't run away on the new owner. I would feel better if all air was controlled by the sliders.
I realize most stoves can't be shut down completely.

Use flat gasket. I have had to put it on plenty of fishers as well

 

[Isaac Carlson]

This was today's test run with a few fire bricks on the bottom of the stove and a handful of cardboard.
I will see if flat gasket will fit.

 

[coaly]

Is that video with the air completely closed? Does it have primary and air wash over glass as two intakes? The air wash has to remain open.

 

[Isaac Carlson]

The airwash is the primary air. I don't know how you can slow down a fire and keep the airwash open.
I know a lot of stoves are made like this and it seemed to be a good system, so I used it. I like to keep intakes a bit higher so they don't get blocked. It also gives the air more time to heat up on it's way to the fire base.

 

[bholler]

The airwash is the primary air. I don't know how you can slow down a fire and keep the airwash open.
I know a lot of stoves are made like this and it seemed to be a good system, so I used it. I like to keep intakes a bit higher so they don't get blocked. It also gives the air more time to heat up on it's way to the fire base.

High air intakes also tend to spill CO at the end of the fire when draft dies down. Most good modern stoves have the inlet low or on the bottom of the stove feed up through internal manifolds to preheat and avoid potential spillage. Many times the airwash is unregulated air and there is another source of primary air

 

[Isaac Carlson]

This one starts at the bottom of the stove. It then travels toward the sides and up to the top, where it is fed through 4 slots with deflectors to be pushed against the glass and down to the fire. It is very hot by the time it exits the vents.

 

[bholler]

This one starts at the bottom of the stove. It then travels toward the sides and up to the top, where it is fed through 4 slots with deflectors to be pushed against the glass and down to the fire. It is very hot by the time it exits the vents.

Ok good I misunderstood

 

[Isaac Carlson]

Ok good I misunderstood

When I say high air intake, I am talking about high in the firebox, away from ashes and coals. I have had stoves with the primary intake at the bottom and it would get covered by ash and clog and I would have to blow it out with compressed air and it made a mess.

here is a picture to show how it looks.

 

[Isaac Carlson]

The baffle is 1.5" skamol board Rated to 2100 F

 

[Isaac Carlson]

Thanks bholler.
I found some flat gasket today and the doors close nice and snug with it in there. I didn't think there was enough room, but it works very well as long as you don't use excessive amounts of adhesive.

 

[bholler]

When I say high air intake, I am talking about high in the firebox, away from ashes and coals. I have had stoves with the primary intake at the bottom and it would get covered by ash and clog and I would have to blow it out with compressed air and it made a mess.

here is a picture to show how it looks.

Looks good

 

[Isaac Carlson]

Is that video with the air completely closed? Does it have primary and air wash over glass as two intakes? The air wash has to remain open.

sorry. I didn't answer your question. Both intakes were open for that part of the video. I closed both and the fire slowed and the secondaries stopped, but the fire kept burning at a somewhat decent rate. If it had been winter and a minimum 15 ft of chimney on there I would be scared to burn in it for fear of losing control. A .050" gap around the doors lets in almost as much air as a 2" hole.
I burned in a boxwood stove for a year and the lack of control was a bit unnerving to say the least. Even with it "closed up" it would burn like crazy. That's why I am erring on the safe side with this one. It is for mitchdowning. He asked about the night watch stove a while back.
He is a first time homeowner and wood burner, so anything I can do to make it safer and more controllable is better. He is already starting on his firewood stash and he has plenty available since he runs a tree service.

The gasket cement is drying as we speak and then I will do another test fire to see how it does.

 

[Isaac Carlson]

Here is how it burns with the doors sealed up. I am using about 6 ft of single wall pipe right now, just for the test burns.
There is some firebrick on the bottom, but not really any on the sides yet. It should burn a lot better with firebrick and a 15+ft insulated chimney. Let me know what you think and feel free to make suggestions.

 

[begreen]

Here is how it burns with the doors sealed up. I am using about 6 ft of single wall pipe right now, just for the test burns.
There is some firebrick on the bottom, but not really any on the sides yet. It should burn a lot better with firebrick and a 15+ft insulated chimney. Let me know what you think and feel free to make suggestions.

That's very good for a short stack. Why is this being called a Fisher clone? Doesn't seem to resemble one.

 

[Isaac Carlson]

That's what a lot of people refer to them as. Clone, copycat, lookalike, etc...
Maybe I should have titled it differently, i dunno.

I made the air channels big to reduce restriction, since the owner will have it in a single story home with a "short" chimney of probably a bit less than 15 ft. It is a low roof over the stove area, and he has to be able to reach to clean the chimney, so it can't be too tall outside.

stovetop temp was steady at 475 ish

 

[bholler]

That's what a lot of people refer to them as. Clone, copycat, lookalike, etc...
Maybe I should have titled it differently, i dunno.

I made the air channels big to reduce restriction, since the owner will have it in a single story home with a "short" chimney of probably a bit less than 15 ft. It is a low roof over the stove area, and he has to be able to reach to clean the chimney, so it can't be too tall outside.

stovetop temp was steady at 475 ish

I just have to point out that doing this for a customer opens you up to massive amounts of liability. What you have done looks great and seems to work well. But if anything goes wrong with it you will get drug through the coals.

 

[Isaac Carlson]

I realize that. I have been talking with my wife about what to do about that. She wants him to sign a release from liability. I'm not sure if that would work or not. He wanted the stove rebuilt and improved, so I did it. I'm happy with it and it's every bit as solid as mass produced models. I told him to go WAY overboard on the install, increasing clearances, hearth size and thickness, heat shields on the walls, triple wall pipe, etc...
He is totally new to burning and I am working with him to try to show him how to do it. He bought a splitter this week and is really making progress on a wood supply. His biggest hurdle is learning how and why a stove works.

 

[SpaceBus]

I think the biggest risk with an air tight stove is the operator will turn it down so low the fire smoulders and causes a chimney fire or releases CO into the house.

 

[Isaac Carlson]

The only reason I made it completely airtight is so he can shut it down IF he ever had a chimney fire.

 

[bholler]

I realize that. I have been talking with my wife about what to do about that. She wants him to sign a release from liability. I'm not sure if that would work or not. He wanted the stove rebuilt and improved, so I did it. I'm happy with it and it's every bit as solid as mass produced models. I told him to go WAY overboard on the install, increasing clearances, hearth size and thickness, heat shields on the walls, triple wall pipe, etc...
He is totally new to burning and I am working with him to try to show him how to do it. He bought a splitter this week and is really making progress on a wood supply. His biggest hurdle is learning how and why a stove works.

A liability release is definitely a good idea. It won't protect you completely but it is certainly a good start.