Door gasket/seal quality?

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bluemoon
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Posts: 1
Joined: Tue. Sep. 28, 2021 10:38 am
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Harman Mark 1

Post by bluemoon » Fri. Oct. 01, 2021 8:33 am

First post for me on this forum. I've been burning coal in my Harman Magnafire Mark 1 for more than a dozen years. I'm in the process of getting it ready for the upcoming season. Gave it a good cleaning, replacing fire bricks due to a few broken ones, vacuumed, and new paint, etc. I have searched and have not been able to find info on these two subjects:
(1) There appears to be a lot of different door gaskets available out there. (fiberglass, Graphite composite, original manufacturer). Can anyone recommend any that work better than others or does it even matter?
(2) I was thinking that ash may be getting behind the fire bricks and putting pressure on them from behind, causing them to crack. Has anyone used a small bead of furnace cement, or similar product, along the upper edges of the bricks?

Thanks in advance!

Jon

 
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Homesteader
Member
Posts: 299
Joined: Sat. Aug. 13, 2016 4:24 pm
Location: Goshen, CT.
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Harman Mark II
Coal Size/Type: Nut, Stove
Other Heating: H.B. Smith oil fired boiler

Post by Homesteader » Fri. Oct. 01, 2021 12:06 pm

I have a Mark II. As far as gaskets go I just get the Rutland gasket kit from Tractor Supply. The kit has the graphite rope and glue in one package. My MII uses 1/2 rope, I would think the MI has the same diameter. If you want more info or parts lists Legacy stoves bought out the Harmon Coal line years ago.

https://legacystoves.com/

As far as bricks cracking that just happens over time from heat. I don't worry about a few cracked bricks as long as they're not ready to fall apart


 
Hounds51
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Posts: 556
Joined: Sat. Feb. 22, 2020 9:46 pm
Location: Bethel, Pa
Hand Fed Coal Stove: 2 Legacy TLC 2000 one in the upper and 1 in the lower part of the house
Coal Size/Type: Wood and pea, nut ,stove and egg coal

Post by Hounds51 » Sun. Oct. 03, 2021 12:55 pm

Firebrick is firebrick, it just breaks down after a while. My brother (Mark 3) and I (TLC) often burn wood in our stoves. My brother ain't as careful as I and he is replacing his brick more often, as he tends to throw his wood in without regard of the brick. I am a little more careful and I only had to replace 1 fire brick, and that was due to wear/heat breakdown. As far as putting a small bead of furnace cement on top of your bricks, it wont hurt, but I don't think it will help either. Just be careful when loading your stove that will probably be the best method.
As far as gasket and gasket material goes, I really don't think it matters what type of material you use, as long as you get a good tight seal. Try the dollar bill method in checking for fit. If the bill slips through, then either get new gasket, or if new, bigger gasket. Just my thoughts.

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