Door gasket and the "dollar bill" test

[PA. Woodsman]

I've had my stove (Dovre Aurora) since 1993, and as far back as I remember whenever I tried that "dollar bill" resistance test on the door gasketing the upper-left side always "failed"; despite having a lot of gasket there it was always very loose on that part. Well, a few weeks ago, I decided to try to "adjust" things-this stove is made so that not only can you adjust the door latch on the left side, but you can also take the right side of the stove off and adjust the door by loosening and tightening the hinge plate bolts and hinge plate. Well, like any door that you fool with, once you adjust one area it affects the other areas and can nearly drive you nuts trying to get things lined up! To make a long story unbearable, I followed the advice of my friend at the stoveshop and got some flat-gasket with adhesive on it and actually also used gasket cement and glued it over the exisiting gasket to take up the excess "gap". It seems to be working out just fine; I'm trying to make it through this heating season (and should do so easily) and at the end of the season replace the whole gasket, but just wanted to share this little "tip" with anyone who has a similiar "gap" that fails that bill test.

 

[HD-tech-NH]

what is the dollar bill test?

 

[HD-tech-NH]

It's where you close the door on a dollar bill and see if it pulls out easily. It should not. Repeat testing around the whole door and if it fails it's time for a new door gasket. The cement should be under the gasket so that as the gasket compresses after repeated use that it compresses evenly. Usually the door latch is designed to keep pressure on the gasket as it compress during it usable life but eventually the gasket is too compressed to make a good seal and it's time to replace it.

thanks

 

[whiting-5]

you should always have a roaring fire going and always use a hundred dollar bill

 

[TallElf]

you should always have a roaring fire going and always use a hundred dollar bill

I have found that the bunny money issued by walmart makes for a great tester. (I usually get 100$ in 2$ bills out for holiday shopping meals to leave as tips. ) you watch the waitress's face as they pick it up,and it makes most of their days. I did have a younger girl come running out and she was like.. this isn't real money... kids these days (and I am only 28)

 

[milkie62]

1975 Lange still passes

How about a Lange scandinavian stove bought in 1975 and HAS NO gasket on the door just filed and will still rip a $1 bill when shut on it !!!!

 

[toddstreeservic]

Fail

 

[danrclem]

If the door is tight but not air tight is that really a negative? The stove has to get air from somewhere. I know that you wouldn't want it to leak very much because you may need to shut it down more and wouldn't be able to.

My old Fisher doors are pretty tight but I'm sure that they still leak some. I've always been able to shut it down as much as I want and I haven't ever shut it down all of the way.

 

[danrclem]

On the old stoves like your Fisher the air enters via controls on the door anyway so it probably doesn't make much difference.

On the modern more efficient stoves the input air runs through internal channels being pre heated before entering the firebox....and the same for the secondary combustion air.....So if doors on a new stoves leak very much the stove is not going to run the way it was designed to run.

Good answer. I'm not familiar with the way the newer stoves work so I didn't understand the importance of the air tight door.

 

[brnchbrkr]

I've had my stove (Dovre Aurora) since 1993, and as far back as I remember whenever I tried that "dollar bill" resistance test on the door gasketing the upper-left side always "failed"; despite having a lot of gasket there it was always very loose on that part. Well, a few weeks ago, I decided to try to "adjust" things-this stove
snipped
To make a long story unbearable, I followed the advice of my friend at the stoveshop and got some flat-gasket with adhesive on it and actually also used gasket cement and glued it over the exisiting gasket to take up the excess "gap". It seems to be working out just fine; I'm trying to make it through this heating season (and should do so easily) and at the end of the season replace the whole gasket, but just wanted to share this little "tip" with anyone who has a similiar "gap" that fails that bill test.

Thanks for the Dollar Bill Test. Performed this test last month and it failed in spots on my Lopi Revere, 8 yrs old now.

Saw some gasket repair materials at Menards---Grapho-
Glas.....5/8" Rope & Cement 7' Length Item no. 96W-6
and told the wife to pick some up on the way home, yesterday.

Noticed the bottom had failed, disappeared, and that the glow from the fireplace could be seen under the door if you looked just right with the lights out....

Pulled out old gasket, dermal tooled the old cement out, was chipping away with old knife for awhile, just trying to give a clean surface for the new cement to attach to. Vacuumed up all the mess. Water sprayed lightly the new fiberglass rope and the door. Applied new cement and inserted the rope all around and cut off excess.

Closed the door to make the seal, fit for a while then let it dry for an hour.

Did the dollar bill test and still had problems, so took the excess rope and siccors, slit the rope lengthwise and cut off some and glued with the cement over the original rope to take up the excess gap, which could be a multitude of things, hinges, etc, but will deal with in the summer time, if I remember...

All is good now, tight fit all around, now chimney sweep on program today after the kids basketball game...

Highs in the 50's today.

Thanks all for the tips....;-)

 

[logbutcher]

This was one of those DUH moments meeting a logger "out there" , and talking wood stoves. He told me about the two ( count 'em 2 ) kinds on gaskets: the regular kind and HIGH DENSITY gaskets that last longer, fill the gap better, and are easier to install.

Ask for the high density gasket. I have used them now for a long time without the problems with the "regular" gaskets.

 

[Moss Man]

This was one of those DUH moments meeting a logger "out there" , and talking wood stoves. He told me about the two ( count 'em 2 ) kinds on gaskets: the regular kind and HIGH DENSITY gaskets that last longer, fill the gap better, and are easier to install.

Ask for the high density gasket. I have used them now for a long time without the problems with the "regular" gaskets.

I attempted to replace my gasket a couple months back. I took a good piece of the old gasket and the measurement of the groove to the local stove shop so they couldn't get it wrong. Low and behold, after installing the new gasket it was clear that it wasn't nearly big enough to have the door seal when closed. I should have ripped it right back out and returned it, but the shop is 30 miles down the road, they were closed and I needed to burn some wood.
High density it is from this point forward, if they don't know what it is...I'll go elsewhere.