I've got a 1989 Pacific Energy "D" Super Series Spectrum stove that takes the 1/2" door gasket. It's hanging on by its last legs: The door is bent, one of the hinges had to be welded back on and the door is broken where it rides on the hinges so there's a stack of washers forcing it to stay up where it kinda-sorta should be. So using the standard size gasket is useless. I went up a size and still don't get a good seal. I've got a sort of franken-gasket which is 2-3 layers of gaskets and cement just to get it to close. Needless to say, the air control doesn't do a whole lot. Really, how I manage the fire is with the amount of wood. I should also say I burn 3+ year seasoned Shore (Lodgepole) Pine and Sitka Spruce because...that's all that's on our property. It burns FAST which is why it's actually one of the lowest BTU-producing woods. I've got some fir and ash that I squirrel away for the dead of winter to burn overnight. Earlier today I had a fire so hot that I got that burning paint smell off the stove pipe and the Class-A chimney through the roof was HOT. I actually got a glass of water and threw it in there to put the fire out. I had three larger pine logs in there—a totally normal load for a modern stove—but I got greedy! I get stressed out because we have a really long chimney and it's actually started to sag noticeably when you look down it. You can't visually inspect the exterior because it's encased in a drywall beauty box as it passes through the house and crawlspace. A certified wood stove installer company said that that was normal for 30+ year-old chimneys and as long as it wasn't touching anything it was alright, but I'm afraid of getting it hot and making it sag even more.
My wife and I have decided that this summer we're going to get a modern one, but we're going to have to save up. I've read a lot of mixed reviews with the U.S. Stoves, Cleveland Stoveworks and Ashleys and such that Home Despot and Lowest carry. We'd like to save up and get something that's just going to work. Not sure what brand yet. We need to survive this winter without ruining our chimney.
My thinking is to install an old-school cast iron damper like the stoves of yore. I robbed one off of another stove that a guy heated his house with for 40+ years and it was only installed 4.75" up off of the stove outlet. Basically just enough room for it to swivel. I've got a small section of single-wall pipe I was just going to put in-between the stove and my double-wall pipe. I've read multiple places that 18-24" would be normal, but I don't really want to mess up my nice double-wall stove pipe by putting one in up high and I've read that putting them in double-wall requires some creative engineering. I'll never close it down 100 percent because, as mentioned earlier, my door seal is worthless, and I'd like to avoid CO poisoning, but if I get a runaway fire or something, it'd be nice to be able to slow it down or hopefully even stop it quickly.
My wife and I have decided that this summer we're going to get a modern one, but we're going to have to save up. I've read a lot of mixed reviews with the U.S. Stoves, Cleveland Stoveworks and Ashleys and such that Home Despot and Lowest carry. We'd like to save up and get something that's just going to work. Not sure what brand yet. We need to survive this winter without ruining our chimney.
My thinking is to install an old-school cast iron damper like the stoves of yore. I robbed one off of another stove that a guy heated his house with for 40+ years and it was only installed 4.75" up off of the stove outlet. Basically just enough room for it to swivel. I've got a small section of single-wall pipe I was just going to put in-between the stove and my double-wall pipe. I've read multiple places that 18-24" would be normal, but I don't really want to mess up my nice double-wall stove pipe by putting one in up high and I've read that putting them in double-wall requires some creative engineering. I'll never close it down 100 percent because, as mentioned earlier, my door seal is worthless, and I'd like to avoid CO poisoning, but if I get a runaway fire or something, it'd be nice to be able to slow it down or hopefully even stop it quickly.
