Paint Peeled off - is door gasket the culprit?

[Chester1]

This is my zero clearance RSF Pearl 3600. After my last fire I noticed paint has peeled off in a few areas. Pretty sure my door gasket has failed and needs replacing. This fireplace was installed in 2023. It is used a lot in winter months but not my primary heat source. I plan on replacing the gasket and then using some touch up paint to address the bare metal. Do you experts agree the door gasket is the cause of this paint issue or is there some other problem I am not considering? Thanks for your help.

 

[begreen]

The paint peeling might just be poor surface preparation. Why suspect the door gasket?

 

[Chester1]

I suspect the door gasket as it looks compressed in that corner and that area corresponds to the area of paint that has peeled. I have been using the fireplace for 4 seasons now and the only thing that has changed is that the gasket is 4 years older. Up to this week the paint was perfect. Thanks

 

[begreen]

It's possible the gasket is ready for replacement though the paint also appears to be peeling below the gasket and down further below too.

Has the glass regualrly started to darken up in that corner? Try a dollar bill test at every 6" around the door perimeter to see how well the gasket is still sealing.

The good news is that this is a pretty easy touch-up. Check with RSF for the right paint to use.

 

[Chester1]

Thank you Begreen. Yes - the glass in that corner has always been dark after a fire or two. And after the most recent fire that caused the paint peel the darkness was the worse I have ever seen. It took a lot of effort to clean it. If one constantly sees dirty glass that is pretty intense in a corner or specific spot - is that a classic sign of a gasket not sealed correctly? Thanks again.

 

[ctreitzell]

Hmmmm, I don’t have any answers, yet I’m experiencing similar paint failure in a similar place on the appliance. The paint just started coming off this past month. My Panadero has also been heating through 4 years (installed and started service in 2022). The first two years I over fired and the last two years I stopped burning overnight.

Mine also seems to be similar gauge metal. My stove has always gotten the window dirty on this lower hinge corner before it dirties-up anywhere else.

I did replace the door seal and window seal before the 2024 season. Panadero suggests replacement of the door seal annually, I was going to not replace the seal this year.

I didn’t investigate very deeply this paint failure; I’m guessing it is expected behaviour, but that’s a pure guess.

 

[ctreitzell]

Ok, I just had a close look at mine and took some photos. My seal is very sound; I used a considerably higher value bill to test (€50) and when closed in a typical fashion, the bill is not slipping out; seems much more likely to tear the bill. Mine looks more like imperfect cleaning of the substrate before paint by the factory. It could also be handling damage from the store where I bought it.