Loading door gasket questions

[Janky]

Hey guys, how's it do? Long time reader/first time poster here, hoping to get a bit of advice. I have a Timberwolf EPI22 insert which will be going into it's second year of use here pretty darn soon. I had the flue swept and was getting ready to do the first small kindling fire of the season to start warming up the brick, when I noticed a funny looking spot on the gasket on the main door, where the two ends of the rope meet. I looked here for previous posts about this and didn't really find much, only one thread that mentioned putting a little bit of silicone in the gap and pushing the frayed ends of the rope into it. I haven't done anything with silicone, but when I touched the frayed end of that rope, most of the fibers just fell out of it. So now there's a gap there, and I'm pretty sure air is leaking in. It still passes the dollar bill test, but this one spot concerns me. Is there a way to deal with this without replacing the entire gasket? I doubt finding a 1/4" long piece of gasket rope would be possible... I've uploaded a picture, I would love to know what you knowledgeable folks think. Much thanks.

 

[begreen]

I'd probably just let it be for now. It may not be a big influence on the fire.

 

[Janky]

Thanks, begreen. I'll leave it alone for now and see how it looks when I've got the stove loaded up. I'm also in the Puget Sound region, quite the warm autumn we're having.

 

[begreen]

Yes, mid-October and nighttime temps are still in the 50's. Still not burning here. We're still harvesting peppers and tomatoes!