Help with Atlanta Stove Works appliance

[TimberDrake]

Hello all, Im not sure im in the right place but I have a atlanta stove works inc model 240dg in the home I just bought... after cleaning the stove, chimney (yes the stove pipes run to a chimney) and the pipes, we decided to try firing it up.. we are very new to burning..and well we got a basement and houseful of smoke.. we do need a new door gasket but it seems there is a leak on the side you load, it is riveted on to the rest of the stove and looks like there is a gasket there as well (smoke comes out that joint)... My father said it should have screws not rivets and that the gasket needs replacing... have been looking and I am just baffled... where do I find that gasket material?? I really wish I could see schematics on this model.. If we could just get this stove working properly and safely, i think we could have a very nice warm home with minimal use of the actual furnace. We also have a fireplace.. beautiful but how do i get the stone clean??
My only other burning experience was with bonfire and an old potbelly stove my father had in his garage when i was a kids..
Thanks for any help anyone can give me and i look forward to getting to know ppl!
Ps admins, please move this if you can to where it should be if it needs to be. sorry if I did place it wrong.

 

[dougand3]

Welcome, TimberDrake. Pics of your stove (or is it an insert?) and chimney would help. Sounds like your draft is poor. Eg. 6" pipe dumped into an 8" x 12" chimney won't draw well. That's called a slammer install with an insert and usually performs poorly.

 

[TimberDrake]

Here are the pics, I can not give you one of the chimney tonight as its already dark here and no lights on that side of the house..There is one that is dark but has some lights spots.. I put a flashlight in the grate and snapped it so you can see the areas the gaskets need replaced.( crossing fingers hoping i did this right) [ATTACH

]93510[/ATTACH]Link RemovedLink RemovedLink Removed

 

[TimberDrake]

img 1668 you just barely see the light around the door from the flashlight inside..
Img 1665, there us the rivets and a small blue dot.. that is a hole tiny but still a hole,, is it suppose to be there?? the gasket is right othe inside of that seam there.

 

[dougand3]

I don't know this stove at all, so can't comment. Someone who knows it will chime in.
You sure connector pipe (inside-rust colored) is clean? The very first thing I would do is pull the "Magic Heat" box off and replace with connector pipe. You can get it in Lowes or Home Depot or Tractor Supply or Menards (I think). It will be black when new. Most burners here think Magic Heat is big trouble - more creosote and poorer draft. Try to get a pic of where rust pipe goes into chimney.

 

[TimberDrake]

The pipes are clean but we do plan on replacing them. First we want to make sure its working properly.. as for the magic heat, does the creosote build up in side it, like inside those holes??

 

[dougand3]

The Magic Heat cools the flue gases too much... deposits much more creosote which affects draft and a big chimney fire hazard.
If your inside pipe makes a 90* bend into chimney - that's worse for draft, too. 2 x 45* elbows would work better.

 

[begreen]

30+% of the heat generated is going to get sucked up by those uninsulated walls. Get rid of the magic heat. That 4' horiz. run is already going to lose plenty of heat. No need to cool the flue gases down any more.

 

[TimberDrake]

Thank you, I totally get what you both are saying.. Would any of you suggest moving it closer to the brick wall? Oh the chimney the pipes empty to is square about 8X8. Brick build.. not sure yet of inside dimensions as the roof is too slippery right now to get on.. This house is deff a work in progress. We have found so much that is not done properly.
As for those rivets.. does anyone know if that is right or should it be ??screw/bolts?? cause obviously those rivets dont allow for that gasket behind that plate side to be replaced. we also checked the bricks but can not get them out with those rivets in place either.. there is 9 broke out of 10. Going to work on tearing it down a bit more tomorrow n see if we can figure out if there is another way to get to it all. .

 

[dougand3]

Closer to wall? That depends. If wall stays cinder block, probably a good idea - your horizontal pipe run will be shorter. And 2 x 45* elbows will be better than the 1 x 90*. And the horizontal runs should rise 1/4" per foot of length. But if you insulate walls with combustibles, you must pay attention to CTC (clearance to combustibles). Those distances may be on a plate on stove or in manual. Without that data, you default to 36" in all directions.

 

[begreen]

As for those rivets.. does anyone know if that is right or should it be ??screw/bolts?? cause obviously those rivets dont allow for that gasket behind that plate side to be replaced. we also checked the bricks but can not get them out with those rivets in place either.. there is 9 broke out of 10. Going to work on tearing it down a bit more tomorrow n see if we can figure out if there is another way to get to it all. .

Let's see a shot of the firebox interior to see what you are up against.

 

[TimberDrake]

Ill see what i can do about getting you some... ill try to have them up later on this evening..

 

[TimberDrake]

Ok sorry I did not get these up last night.. I included one of our fireplace in the living room (diff chimney, diff part of the house) lol
I do see screws on those brackets holding the fire bricks so that will be easy (hopefully)
I do have a question on the fireplace... what do I use to try to clean it? I want to get that dark ?soot? stain off the front.

 

[Dune]

Flat gasket material can be found in the form of brake shims from a truck stop or large truck repair facility.
Ordinarily though, furnace cement from a hardware store is all you should need.

As to finding out if it works properly, without fixing the things causing it to not work properly, good luck with that.
That is called wishful thinking.

Start with a professional chimney inspection. Your very lives are at stake otherwise. The hearth professional (chimney sweep) can also give you some hands on advice for the same fee, in regards to the stove.

You can then verify the accuracy of that information here.

 

[TimberDrake]

Aside from creosote build up on the main fireplace and replacing the firebricks and pipe in the stove, the chimney guy said everything else was fine.. But that was before we discovered it leaking smoke where the loading side panel meets with the front/back/top/bottom.. It does not leak all the way around just in a few spots. now by furnace cement, you don't mean liquid metal right?? I have found flat gasket material but that is like 3 to 5 inches wide... is that even the right stuff??or is it suppose to be rope gasket used in that joint area as well as the doors?

 

[Dune]

http://www.acehardware.com/family/index.jsp?categoryId=2627971

The only high temperature flat gasket that I know of is the brake shim material.

 

[TimberDrake]

Ok got the panel off finally.. there was deff a gasket there at one time.. only little tiny bits left now but it was there.. this is what im finding that is flat.. just not sure exactly what its for...(broken link removed)