I took the ash pan to a local welding shop and had them weld a piece of flat bar around the top so that it would hold a high temp rope in place. Turned out 1/2" rope fit nicely. This should make sealing the ash pan much easier. No more cutting four pieces to fit around and sticking top piece on with a sealant. One piece of rope cut to length and lightly pushed into the channel. Hopefully it will last much longer than the thin gasket material I had been using.