need help with replacing gaskets for combustion chamber - Harmon Oakwood

[Jim Barry]

I purchased HR-3-44-06999- Gasket Set from Hearth & Home Technologies, along with a new shoe brick and shoe brick gasket. The gasket set is comprised of four pieces; one goes underneath the combustion chamber (easy enough), the other three are to be placed between the combustion chamber and the fire box. The three pieces are just hand cut strips. The two standing up in the picture below are not the same width but the length seems right, maybe a bit longer than what it should be. The the third piece, laying flat down on the floor of the fire box in the photo below, is I assume to span the horizontal top gap. This third piece is long enough so that it can rest on top of the two vertical gaskets. It's a real balancing act to get into position, but doable. But...



the issue is, the combustion chamber (also new) does not come up snug tight to the rear of the fire box. In the next photo you can see when I position the combustion chamber and hold it in place using my hand I can press it to the rear of the fire box, it can hold the vertical gaskets in place "ok", then I can manage to place the horizontal gasket.



But when I let my hand go there is enough room to move back the combustion chamber a good half inch. See following picture.



My concern is that if I were to manage to get the gaskets in place, the combustion chamber still will not fit well. I don't want to start a fire in the box unless all the parts are snug.

Thoughts or suggestions?

 

[Ashful]

I didn't follow all of the details, because I'm not familiar with this stove. But two things I've learned from working on other cat stoves with refractory components:

1. You can use masking tape to hold everything in place while you reassemble, it will burn off in the first fire.
2. It's possible Harmon revised the design, and that you're trying to put newer design components into an older stove?

 

[Jim Barry]

Thanks for the tip on the masking tape.
As for a revised design, maybe. If that were the case then when ordering parts it should be mandatory for the parts supplier to ask what year the stove is (or whatever other design aspect or casting stamp that could determine one version from another).