# Is it hard to change the door gasket?



## velvetfoot (Feb 15, 2010)

I was thinking of changing the door gasket?  Is it hard to do?  The manual says its 3/4", and it looks like there's a bracket holding it in place.


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## BrowningBAR (Feb 15, 2010)

velvetfoot said:
			
		

> I was thinking of changing the door gasket?  Is it hard to do?  The manual says its 3/4", and it looks like there's a bracket holding it in place.



There should be a kit available for the stove. Otherwise it is just; remove old gasket, scrape out old cement, brush away debris, lay down new cement, press in new gasket rope.


It is far harder being a Mets' fan than it is replacing your door gaskets.


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## velvetfoot (Feb 15, 2010)

Thanks.  I didn't know cement was involved.  I'll have to get me down to my local hardware store.

I'm heading down to Port St. Lucie this spring - a first for me.
Let's go Mets!


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## Hogwildz (Feb 15, 2010)

Personally, I found that hi temp silicone is easier to apply and holds better than the gasket cement.
Had the cement let loose on me. Never had that problem with the silicone. Silicone is easier to clean off with a wire wheel & some alcohol on the next change.
The cement almost has to be chiseled off with a flathead screwdriver. Wire wheel works pretty good either way.


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## dafattkidd (Feb 15, 2010)

How often do you guys change your door gasket?


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## madrone (Feb 15, 2010)

DaFattKidd said:
			
		

> How often do you guys change your door gasket?



not ever, so far.


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## realstihl (Feb 15, 2010)

THe hardest part of changing a gasket is the butt ends. They fray out easy. Anyone got any tips? Otherwise it's easy.


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## BrowningBAR (Feb 15, 2010)

DaFattKidd said:
			
		

> How often do you guys change your door gasket?




Once every other year is about right, but your mileage may very depending upon how much use your stove gets.


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## BrowningBAR (Feb 15, 2010)

Hogwildz said:
			
		

> Personally, I found that hi temp silicone is easier to apply and holds better than the gasket cement.
> Had the cement let loose on me. Never had that problem with the silicone. Silicone is easier to clean off with a wire wheel & some alcohol on the next change.
> The cement almost has to be chiseled off with a flathead screwdriver. Wire wheel works pretty good either way.




Any special brand of Silicone? I haven't tried it, but I am quite familiar with the chiseling that is needed to remove the old cement.


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## craigs (Feb 15, 2010)

It's easy enough that my helper did half of it, and the little guy got bored because there wasn't enough to do so he started cleaning the whole door.  It took about a half hour to remove the old one and clean the channel, and about 5 minutes to put the new one in.  Then wait an hour and start a small fire, let it go out, and wait another hour or so.  

BTW just in case this helps - when I bought this used stove and built the first fire the temps were all over the place.  I noticed on the door there were patterns of soot/clean areas where it was obviously leaking air.  Someone had used a smaller rope and went around a couple times, with it all twisted and jammed up!  Scary.

Craig


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## Backwoods Savage (Feb 15, 2010)

DaFattKidd said:
			
		

> How often do you guys change your door gasket?




I had my last stove over 25 years and replaced the door gasket exactly one time.

How often does the gasket need changing? Let the door and gasket tell you. If it is leaking, change it. If not, leave it alone. Sometimes if it is leaking a bit you can just tighten up the latch. If so, then when you change you'll probably have to loosen that latch then.


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## grommal (Feb 15, 2010)

Backwoods Savage said:
			
		

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I had basically the same experience with our last stove, the VC Encore cat.  The door gaskets were replaced once in 23 years, at about the 10 year mark when the stove was rebuilt.  They were not leaking yet, but were replaced as part of the rebuild process.  Never had any leaks on the front doors or the ash pan door.  I did have to replace the top-loading door/griddle gasket twice, but that was how we loaded the stove almost always.  I think the key to gasket longevity is just not banging into it or otherwise disturbing it.  Also, adjusting the door latches so the gasket seats just barely hard enough is important.  If you smash the gasket to oblivion right from the start, then you can't extend the life by snugging up on the latch adjustment later.

If the same behavior holds with the new Oslo, it should be a very long time for the front door (which is almost never opened) and ash pan door (opened once or twice per week), but the side door may need it every few years.  The spring-loaded latches in the Oslo design should help avoid excessive gasket compression, and may make it last even longer.  We'll see.


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## Hogwildz (Feb 15, 2010)

BrowningBAR said:
			
		

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The last one I did, I used Rutland Hit temp. HD, or local hardware store all carry hi temp.


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## soupy1957 (Feb 15, 2010)

Easy stuff.........watch this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_YykBbOTDg

-Soupy1957


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## Hogwildz (Feb 15, 2010)

realstihl said:
			
		

> THe hardest part of changing a gasket is the butt ends. They fray out easy. Anyone got any tips? Otherwise it's easy.



Start & end in a corner. I use the lower corner on the hinge side.
leave a lil extra going past the channel. run up, then over the top, then down the latch side, then across to the starting point.
Easiest with door laying down. DO NOT stretch the gasket, lay it loose, press it in the silicone, leave about an inch extra at the end. When you bring the end to the side of the gasket at the starting point. Just bunch it up enough to set it in, then work it tight against the side of the gasket that is already in place.
I use about 3/8" to 1/2" bead. Anything more will just ooze out the sides of the gasket and burn off anyways. The silicone under the gasket is protected from the heat & flame and does not burn off.
The hardest part for me was the corners, as they are sharp on the Summit. Again, do your best not to stretch the gasket.. Lay your bead of silicone, lay the gasket in, then just press it into the silicone.
When done, close the door & latch it, if you can, feel around the opening to make sure the gasket is in proper place all the way around. I wait 24 hrs for it to set up, then let her rip.
I am attaching a photo to show where I start & stop the gasket. No fraying.


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## Todd (Feb 16, 2010)

I've seen different stove manufactures state different lifespans of their gaskets. Lopi states every other year right on their web site, Woodstock told me 3-5 years or more depending on use. There are also differnt kinds of gaskets, high and low density and I don't really know what the difference is, maybe one lasts longer?


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## Hogwildz (Feb 16, 2010)

Todd said:
			
		

> I've seen different stove manufactures state different lifespans of their gaskets. Lopi states every other year right on their web site, Woodstock told me 3-5 years or more depending on use. There are also differnt kinds of gaskets, high and low density and I don't really know what the difference is, maybe one lasts longer?



PE uses the high density stuff. Seems a harder and tighter packed than the low density.
Doesn't compress near as much as the low density. I actually like the low density better. Makes for a better knife edge seal.


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## velvetfoot (Feb 16, 2010)

Thanks all.  I'll probably be taking a stove outage tonight.
PS:  I've noticed a piece of paper is easier to slide on the latch end, despite tightening the latch, so that prompted me to do it.  The fire might be a little more hot on "low", but that's more subjective.


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## Rob From Wisconsin (Feb 16, 2010)

How hard is it to change a stove gasket??
Plenty hard when the new gasket causes the cast-iron door frame
to crack it's tab point......now that needs to be replaced!!

Makes me wonder.....are all 3/8" gaskets the same?
I had pruchased a Rutland kit, and it was labeled as 3/8" per 
the stove manual. Regardless, I won't risk it again.
I'll get the Hearthstone gasket kit this time!!


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## raybonz (Feb 16, 2010)

velvetfoot said:
			
		

> Thanks.  I didn't know cement was involved.  I'll have to get me down to my local hardware store.
> 
> I'm heading down to Port St. Lucie this spring - a first for me.
> Let's go Mets!



Important to note that once you clean ALL the old stuff out then you apply a thin layer of gasket cement to the entire surface the gasket will adhere to.. Make sure you let the glue dry until tacky then apply gasket being careful to not stretch the gasket mat'l.. Once you've got the gasket into the track place a sheet of newspaper between the door gasket and the stove body then close the door securely and let it sit for 2 hrs.. I followed the instructions as told here from the imperial gasket set and my gasket came out fine.. My experience is the glue holds very well so good in fact that a little of my old gasket had to be scraped out.. Another plus is the glue scrapes out well using an old screwdriver or similar.. 

Ray


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## gyrfalcon (Feb 16, 2010)

Rob From Wisconsin said:
			
		

> How hard is it to change a stove gasket??
> Plenty hard when the new gasket causes the cast-iron door frame
> to crack it's tab point......now that needs to be replaced!!
> 
> ...



Oh, wow.  The exact same thing happened to me with the same stove.

The dealer told me I'd have to replace both the frame and the door itself, since Hearthstone won't even make them available separately because they won't align properly if one part is new and the other has been in use for a while.  Is that what you were told?    Since I got mine secondhand, they tell me the warranty doesn't apply and I'll have to fork over the $500 or so out of pocket, and that's likely more than I could get for the stove if I triied to sell it.

At this point, I'm having to brace the door closed with my ash bucket, which works well but it's a pain.  Even with that, I had to scrape down the gasket material to get the door to close well.

Do you know for sure there actually is a Hearthstone kit for the Tribute?  The dealer I talked to just said to get the Rutland 3/8 when I asked about replacing the gasket.  Sounds like the low-density gasket rope described here would be just enough softer to do the trick.  Or I was thinking of experimenting with the 1/4" gasket.

What a disaster.  Once burning season is over this summer, I'm planning to take out the frame and bring it and the door up to the dealer's repair department and get them to replace the gasket.


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## raybonz (Feb 16, 2010)

gyrfalcon said:
			
		

> Rob From Wisconsin said:
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I seriously doubt that Hearthstone makes their own rope gasket that's a business unto itself.. The Imperial gasket kit I bought at Lowes worked fine.. Are the frames that weak that you can break them with the little stove handle that comes with the stove? Sounds like a design flaw or a defect in manufacturing to me.. On this stove the handle is just big enough to wrap your hand around it so you can't put too much leverage on it.. You can also adjust the latch pressure if needed on this stove too.. Something doesn't sound right to me..

Ray


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## gyrfalcon (Feb 16, 2010)

raybonz said:
			
		

> I seriously doubt that Hearthstone makes their own rope gasket that's a business unto itself.. The Imperial gasket kit I bought at Lowes worked fine.. Are the frames that weak that you can break them with the little stove handle that comes with the stove? Sounds like a design flaw or a defect in manufacturing to me.. On this stove the handle is just big enough to wrap your hand around it so you can't put too much leverage on it.. You can also adjust the latch pressure if needed on this stove too.. Something doesn't sound right to me..
> 
> Ray



Well, on my stove anyway, the lip on the frame that the handle latch slips behind didn't crack, it seems to have worn away from the scraping of the latch.

It's a long story, but the first thing that happened after the gasket was replaced was that the door required major pressure to close enough to get it to latch.  I was told that was normal and that it would loosen up after a short time.  It did, but not enough.  Then one day I heard a little pop and the door swung open slightly.  The tip of the latch tongue had broken off.  Got a replacement part and put that in and got through the winter.  The next winter (ie this year), I found the door open a crack in the morning, but this time the latch tongue hadn't broken, the lip on the frame had worn away to the point that it would no longer hold the latch.

Believe me, I've fussed and experimented and added and subtracted washers, etc., and there simply isn't enough lip left on the frame to hold the latch.  The handle on the Tribute is also quite small, but there's no good way to adjust the pressure. Loosening the handle just gives you a loose handle.

If you think about it, the latch mechanism is a particularly vulnerable place in a small stove because it gets a great deal more frequent use than on a larger stove.  Small firebox=short burn times=more frequent reloading=more door opening and closing.

The 3/8 inch high-density gasket is simply not the right gasket for this stove and it cannot be what Hearthstone puts in there in the factory.  I wish I'd kept the old gasket that came on the stove to try to see what's different about it or to match it somehow. 

It's definitely a design flaw.  I really like Hearthstone stoves, but at least with the Tribute, they don't seem to be paying attention.  I still hold a grudge for the fact that the manual says it takes 16-inch logs, even though the firebox is barely 16 inches long and the door is only 13x8.  They've been making this stove a good while now, but the manual STILL says it takes 16-inch logs, even though everybody who's bought one has found out it doesn't, and surely a fair number of them have called their dealers to complain about it.

As I say, I love the stoves, but this all makes me unwilling to believe anything they say.


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## raybonz (Feb 16, 2010)

gyrfalcon said:
			
		

> raybonz said:
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That's really a shame for a company to let their name get tarnished when there clearly is a problem.. The gasket kit I got at Lowes is the low density stuff similar to the original.. While I agree a larger stove door will get less use I feel the design should allow for the use the stove will receive in normal use.. My stove is over 20 yrs. old and the latch surface is not worn that I can see.. I can't even imagine how many times it's been opened.. Is it possible to add a steel plate to the worn area and bolt it in with maybe some stove cement to ensure an airtight seal? This would give a replaceable wear surface that essentially would be sacrificial.. For what it costs for a nice stove like that I would expect it to last for generations with no major part replacements needed due to normal usage.. I did go to the stove shop for some 1/4" rope for the cooktop seal above the cat and they had the coil stuff and sold it by the foot.. Maybe if you post some detailed pics we can try to come up with some ideas?

Good Luck,
Ray


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## gyrfalcon (Feb 16, 2010)

raybonz said:
			
		

> That's really a shame for a company to let their name get tarnished when there clearly is a problem.. The gasket kit I got at Lowes is the low density stuff similar to the original.. While I agree a larger stove door will get less use I feel the design should allow for the use the stove will receive in normal use.. My stove is over 20 yrs. old and the latch surface is not worn that I can see.. I can't even imagine how many times it's been opened.. Is it possible to add a steel plate to the worn area and bolt it in with maybe some stove cement to ensure an airtight seal? This would give a replaceable wear surface that essentially would be sacrificial.. For what it costs for a nice stove like that I would expect it to last for generations with no major part replacements needed due to normal usage.. I did go to the stove shop for some 1/4" rope for the cooktop seal above the cat and they had the coil stuff and sold it by the foot.. Maybe if you post some detailed pics we can try to come up with some ideas?
> 
> Good Luck,
> Ray



Thanks, Ray.  I'll see about taking some pix at some point, but I'm dubious the detail would show up well enough to be very useful.  You're right that a 6-yo stove shouldn't have this happen, but my assumption is that it wouldn't have if it weren't for the gasket replacement debacle.  So I was being a good doobie, doing the dollar bill test and replaced the gasket when it failed the test.  From now on, I'm minding my own business and not trying to fix something that wasn't actually broken!

I'm not sure there's room between the frame and the door to add the steel brace you suggest, but I'll go look carefully in the morning when the stove is cool.  But who would I go to to get such a thing done?  It's way beyond my capabilities, that's for sure.

When you say "coil stuff"-- is that the low-density gasket?


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## raybonz (Feb 16, 2010)

gyrfalcon said:
			
		

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The rope gasket on the coil was the same density as the packaged kit from lowes.. I would think that it comes in coil form as long as it is able to be rolled.. That high density rope would be much harder ro compress and your door is pretty wide so you could get a bit of leverage there.. I am no metal working guru either but many here are pretty sharp people here that may have an answer to repair your stove, perhaps a local metal fabrication shop could assist you ? I took a look at the area that my door latches onto on my stove after reading your post and it tapers up to about 7/8" cast iron at the highest pressure area, very substantial and it shows no wear.. 

Ray


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## gyrfalcon (Feb 16, 2010)

raybonz said:
			
		

> The rope gasket on the coil was the same density as the packaged kit from lowes.. I would think that it comes in coil form as long as it is able to be rolled.. That high density rope would be much harder ro compress and your door is pretty wide so you could get a bit of leverage there.. I am no metal working guru either but many here are pretty sharp people here that may have an answer to repair your stove, perhaps a local metal fabrication shop could assist you ? I took a look at the area that my door latches onto on my stove after reading your post and it tapers up to about 7/8" cast iron at the highest pressure area, very substantial and it shows no wear..
> 
> Ray



7/8" on the lip?  Yikes!  I doubt mine is as much as a quarter inch.

There are a few metal fabrication places within reach, so I'll go talk to a couple of them at some point.  I'm a little reluctant to mess with it, though, because I've got a working, if inelegant and inconvenient, solution with the ash bucket brace and don't want to risk warping or otherwise screwing up the cast frame so it won't fit at all anymore.

Thanks very, very much for the advice and the info.  I'll see about getting some of that Lowe's gasket.  The site is "down for maintenance," but Google turns up a few listings for Lowe's 3/8 gasketing, so I assume they carry it.


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## velvetfoot (Feb 18, 2010)

In retrospect, maybe I should've left well enough alone.  The joint between the two ends is not clean, and the overall seal isn't measurably tighter.  The weakness, nay shallowness even, in the gap probably made the whole exercise pointless.  Funny, a lot of the stuff I do has a similar outcome.


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## DavidV (Feb 18, 2010)

Well, if you aren't happy, do it again.  You already have some experience.


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