- Dec 9, 2009
- 1,495
Hoping there's some knowledgeable (or even just sympathetic at this point) person still kickin' around the forum tonight.
Boiler is dead in the water, RIP, sad story of its demise last Thursday recounted elsewhere here, won't bore you again w/details; gasket on Hearthstone failed; Tonight Clear. Patchy ice fog. Lows 30 to 40 below...except 10 to 20 below on the hills. Light winds...except east winds 10 to 15 mph on the hills.
I opened the stove door this a.m., encountered some resistance, thought it was the hinges, then realized the stove gasket was stuck to the doorframe assembly that bolts to body of stove along the bottom. An inch or so stuck, about six inches pulled out. I tucked it back in, and tested it with a stick of incense--didn't see it drawing air, so built a fire and left for work.
How I got lucky: stopped at stove store on way home from work over the whiney complaints of DS who just wanted to go home (so did I) and yadda. Got some RUtland Gasketing Cement and advice, which was that it was probably fine unless it frayed, looked compromised, etc., and after a little discussion, "just in case", got a spare gasket because you never know when you might need it.
Came home, house was at 60 (stove has been holding it at 65 during the day) and the stove was cold. Opened door, and gasket flopped out sadly along the bottom; closer exam showed corners frayed and the gasket looking compromised. Checked out firebox--nothing looks overfired, but I don't know how to tell. Examined outside of box, nothing seems cracked, etc. A little discoloration on the stone underneath where the gasket came out this a.m.
So. Found a wire brush wheel in my toolbox (lucky again) and cleaned up the gasket channel. Instruction manual says to take stove door off hinges and lay it flat for this. Logic says that's the best way. I can't get it to budge--tried it in several degrees of open, even tapped very judiciously w/a mallet. It's not moving.
My questions:
Can I replace the gasket w/o taking the stove off the hinges?
I tried some of the gasket cement on a vertical application, and it's pretty runny. Is it better to put it on the gasket?
How long do I need to wait before I can build a fire in the stove?
Is the universe trying to tell me something?
I"m going outside now to pull some wood up the hill from the pile, because it's something constructive I can do, and it will seem really warm in here when I get back in, and then I'll check to see if any of you have any ideas you felt like sharing.
Thanks for reading this.
ETA: okay, rethought the woodpile trips--baby, it's cold outside--and I don't want a chill if I can't have a fire.
Two more questions: How can I tell if this stove was overfired?
Is the process of taking the ceremic baffle out of the ceiling of this stove (and putting it back after) relatively easy to do w/o cracking fragile baffle? I want to take it down to inspect the stove, but don't want to wish I hadn't.
Thanks again.
And another question: Stove Store Guy sold gasket material by figuring out which I needed and cutting it to length. It's several inches longer than the one that came out (76 to 66"); manual identifies need for 67". I'm not sure whether to cut it shorter or stuff it in there. It didn't want to shut when I first tried it--felt like I would have had to force the door shut--but I see an arrangment of door-to-frame that's kind of a knife-edge profile that fits into gasket. Will this force it in?
Looked over stove carefully, no visual damage.
Tonight's going to be a long night, I suspect.
Boiler is dead in the water, RIP, sad story of its demise last Thursday recounted elsewhere here, won't bore you again w/details; gasket on Hearthstone failed; Tonight Clear. Patchy ice fog. Lows 30 to 40 below...except 10 to 20 below on the hills. Light winds...except east winds 10 to 15 mph on the hills.
I opened the stove door this a.m., encountered some resistance, thought it was the hinges, then realized the stove gasket was stuck to the doorframe assembly that bolts to body of stove along the bottom. An inch or so stuck, about six inches pulled out. I tucked it back in, and tested it with a stick of incense--didn't see it drawing air, so built a fire and left for work.
How I got lucky: stopped at stove store on way home from work over the whiney complaints of DS who just wanted to go home (so did I) and yadda. Got some RUtland Gasketing Cement and advice, which was that it was probably fine unless it frayed, looked compromised, etc., and after a little discussion, "just in case", got a spare gasket because you never know when you might need it.
Came home, house was at 60 (stove has been holding it at 65 during the day) and the stove was cold. Opened door, and gasket flopped out sadly along the bottom; closer exam showed corners frayed and the gasket looking compromised. Checked out firebox--nothing looks overfired, but I don't know how to tell. Examined outside of box, nothing seems cracked, etc. A little discoloration on the stone underneath where the gasket came out this a.m.
So. Found a wire brush wheel in my toolbox (lucky again) and cleaned up the gasket channel. Instruction manual says to take stove door off hinges and lay it flat for this. Logic says that's the best way. I can't get it to budge--tried it in several degrees of open, even tapped very judiciously w/a mallet. It's not moving.
My questions:
Can I replace the gasket w/o taking the stove off the hinges?
I tried some of the gasket cement on a vertical application, and it's pretty runny. Is it better to put it on the gasket?
How long do I need to wait before I can build a fire in the stove?
Is the universe trying to tell me something?
I"m going outside now to pull some wood up the hill from the pile, because it's something constructive I can do, and it will seem really warm in here when I get back in, and then I'll check to see if any of you have any ideas you felt like sharing.
Thanks for reading this.
ETA: okay, rethought the woodpile trips--baby, it's cold outside--and I don't want a chill if I can't have a fire.
Two more questions: How can I tell if this stove was overfired?
Is the process of taking the ceremic baffle out of the ceiling of this stove (and putting it back after) relatively easy to do w/o cracking fragile baffle? I want to take it down to inspect the stove, but don't want to wish I hadn't.
Thanks again.
And another question: Stove Store Guy sold gasket material by figuring out which I needed and cutting it to length. It's several inches longer than the one that came out (76 to 66"); manual identifies need for 67". I'm not sure whether to cut it shorter or stuff it in there. It didn't want to shut when I first tried it--felt like I would have had to force the door shut--but I see an arrangment of door-to-frame that's kind of a knife-edge profile that fits into gasket. Will this force it in?
Looked over stove carefully, no visual damage.
Tonight's going to be a long night, I suspect.