Used Fisher Mama Bear- what's missing?

[mmmcole]

We got a used Mama Bear. I have gone thru most of the forum but I need direct answers. The manual I found isn't helpful. On the inside, is there something that goes above the bricks? There are what looks like shelf brackets above the bricks. There isn't a 'rope' around the door. Should there be one? I feel like it should have a damper in the stove pipe. We have a 90 year old chimney, in great shape, but I've never had a stove where you didn't have one.

 

[coaly]

No door gasket necessary. Just make sure the back of door is clean and the iron door seal channel isn’t rusty. You can clean both with a wire wheel in a drill.

While servicing it, grease the door hinge pins and spin damper threads with silver anti-seize. This prevents wear of moving parts.

The small things around the top of the bricks were angle iron, the same as the corners that become legs. They are called brick retainers. Never saw one so far gone.

When the stove is made air-tight as built, you should be able to control the fire without a flue damper. If you can close air intake, crack door after a few minutes to find little to flame, you’re good.

The flue damper is a chimney control that is a variable resistance to slow velocity of rising gases in the chimney. Older stoves that leak air into them need to slow what goes out, to slow what comes in the leaks.

It is still recommended to have a flue damper as an emergency brake of sorts. If something gets stuck in door preventing it from closing, or in the event of glass breakage with glass door stoves, closing the flue damper partially becomes the only control to slow the fire.

Overuse of a flue damper cools chimney, forming excessive creosote. A insulated chimney flue requires less heat to keep hot enough to prevent creosote, so they can usually be closed partially when up to temp.

Use a pipe thermometer to know how much air is needed to avoid creosote and check often until you know how much you are forming.

If you don’t have an insulated 6 inch liner in the chimney, you should install one. This increases efficiency of the stove, reduces cleaning and creosote. The chimney probably requires it by code.

Check inside flue diameter, and clearance to combustibles around chimney!

 

[Osage]

I'm not a Fisher expert, but with the door width almost touching the leg frames it sure looks like a Mama. If this is not the case my Mama in my cave just became a Papa.

 

[coaly]

I'm not a Fisher expert, but with the door width almost touching the leg frames it sure looks like a Mama. If this is not the case my Mama in my cave just became a Papa.

Your right. I was seeing the 1 1/2 inch angle iron as front plate exposed from door to corner angle iron.