Has anyone had to use an oversize door gasket?

[nhburnguy]

I replaced my door gasket today. The manual calls for 3/8" gasket but when I installed it, it seems to be sealing worse than the old one according to the dollar bill test. I can also actually see some gaps and from everything I have read on here it should be difficult to shut the first time until it compresses to fit. This thing closed very easily, maybe even more easily than the first gasket!

Has anyone ever had to use an oversize gasket from what the manufacturer recommends? What would the next size up from 3/8" be?

 

[mepellet]

My manual says to use 3/8" so I replaced it last year with 3/8". Stove was very difficult to control so this year I again replaced it with 3/8" and failed the dollar bill test so I took the newly installed 3/8" out and replaced with 1/2". Much better now.

 

[DAKSY]

The next size up will be a 7/16" diameter. If your manual
calls for 3/8" & it's not sealing, you may have inadvertantly
stretched the replacement.
Stretching will effectively make the diameter smaller...

 

[mepellet]

In my situation, I was bunching the 3/8" up as much as possible this year because I might have stretched it a little last year.

Interesting to note that the new manual for my stove now calls for 1/2". Not sure if the gasket channel has changed though.

 

[nhburnguy]

I was extremely careful not to stretch the material at all so hopefully it wasn't that. I may try the 1/2" idea and see what happens. They are cheap enough to experiment. I guess if that doesn't work, I will try bunching it up.
Thanks for the replies!

 

[Heatsource]

gaskets have different densities too

 

[nhburnguy]

Heatsource: I'm just using the standard gasket material available at my stove shop. I believe it's Rutland and comes off of a large roll by the foot.

 

[Hogwildz]

High density gasket is graphic impregnated, blackish coating and it tightly wound. Low density is standard white fluffy gasket.
It should be okay to go up one size, just make sure you readjust the door latch if needed.
Don't go too large a gasket size as it will make closing the door hard, and will cause premature wear on the door latch parts & possibly door surface where the latch pivots against.

 

[Woody Stover]

Heatsource: I'm just using the standard gasket material available at my stove shop. I believe it's Rutland and comes off of a large roll by the foot.

I've been getting OEM, just so I know it's the right stuff. But I have seen gasket on woodmanspartsplus that was described as medium- or high-density, I forget which...

 

[nhburnguy]

Thanks all. I just installed a 1/2" gasket and it passes the dollar test a lot better. Should I really fire it up after an hour to cure cement or wait longer?

 

[Hogwildz]

I never had good luck with gasket cement, so I use silicone. I wait 24 hrs with the silicone.
I would follow the directions for the cement, on the tube.

 

[Woody Stover]

Yeah, let it dry, then finish the process with a low, break-in type fire.

 

[xman23]

On my ash door I use a 3/8 when they call for 5/16. Just couldn't find the 5/16. As said just lay the gasket in with out stretching it out. They never look perfect, but mine look better ever time I do one.

If you find that the hard cement gasket cement doesn't hold well, try the silicon type. I use high temp RT V permatex copper. Holds much better and easy to work with. Get it in a auto parts store.

 

[nhburnguy]

Fired it up after 2 hours with a medium fire. Seems to be holding the cement and this is working much better than the 3/8" gasket.
Guess I will just use 1/2" from now on. Thanks for the advice people, you all help me more than you know.

 

[mellow]

The off the shelf Rutland gasket is hollow in the center so you would want to go up a size to get a good seal, with a good dense gasket you should stick with the oem size or you might have issues closing your door on the hinge side.