Is It Normal (Good) to Have a Gap at the Bottom of the Door

Hello,

I have been happily using my Mark II for the last 3 years and in my search to burn more effectively, I have noticed a gap at the bottom of the door where the Brass face meets the main part of the door frame. my question is: Is this good and normal, or is this something that happened from wear or incorrect use by the former owner ? Any input would be very much welcome, as I am the first in my family to go back to the good old way of heating my home. I just want to thank everybody here at the board, as I have learned so much from all of your experience !

The brass is just a trim piece. The cast iron door is a solid complete unit with only small hole drilled to let bolts pass through to hold the brass trim pieces on.

Hi Jerome,

Thanks for your response ! If it were just decorative "trim", I would not be concerned, but since I can see the fire through the gap between it and the door, I am concerned it is letting more air in than should be. I did see it is only 4 screws holding it on, so I doubt tightening those would make any difference. I am really concerned that the brass piece is deformed and that it might effect the efficiency and god forbid safety of my stove. Any other input is surely welcome, as I have not started burning coal yet this year and wanted to do any work to the door before then. Thanks again to everyone on the board here !

Karl Hirsch

You inspired me to check out the fit on my stove! Mine is the basic black (not the brass) and it fits very tight. It should fit snugly or you will get more over the fire air than the air wash for the glass intended. It may have happened because of being overfired, don't know for sure. I would seal the crack with high temp furnace cement. I would take off the brass trim piece to run a bead around the perimeter so that you don't mess up the look of the brass

Is the trim held there w/ nuts on the inside--I know this is the obvious, but, make sure the nuts are nice & snug.

Hmm, wonder if you missing some gasket material there or something. Mine fits like a glove, have never had it apart, so I don't know if there is some type of thin gasket material that needs to be there or not. I turned out all my lights and put a flash light inside and could not see a thing???? Maybe somebody had it apart to shine the brass or something.

I just looked at the door on my Mark II. Nope, there's no crack between the brass trim and the main door on the outside. However, when I opened the door to look on the inside, the gaps cut for the "window cleaner" air flow was obviously just where the brass trim would be on the outside. The bass covers this "window cleaner" air flow gap. Could it be that the brass trim on your door slid out of position somehow? On my stove if the brass trim were sitting too high on the door, the "window cleaner" air flow gaps would be seen from the outside. Is it possible that is the gap you are seeing? Other then that, I don't have a clue but the gap shouldn't be there.

I'd worry about to much over the fire air effecting the stove's performance but I'd be worried more about gases getting in to your living space in low draft situations. I'd definitely fix it before firing it up. Lisa

Thank you all for your input. I suspected that it should not be there, so I am going to remove the door completely today and see if I can tighten the nuts first and buy some Furnace cement in case snugging the nuts is not enough. Is it best to do that when it is stone cold, or can the door still be warm ?

On a different note... The asbestos seal I paid to have put in last year on the door is falling out It started to come loose about a week or two ago, and now practically the whole thing just fell off ! Did/should they have used some type of cement to put that in ? I plan on doing it myself this time, but have never done so. Can anyone offer some advice regarding the right cord/cement to use, as well as basic advice to get it done right, so it stays in for longer than a year ? Is a year generally how long they last ? I would hope not

You guys are the best ! I am so glad I found NEPACrossroads !

Well, 1 year may be slightly soon to have to replace a door gasket, but not unheard of. I don't really keep track of how often I replace them, I just go by how well they seal around the door. I don't believe I have ever gone longer than 2 years, though. Somebody here has suggested a trick using a dollar trapped between the door and stove when the door is clamped shut and if the dollar slides out easily, then it is time to replace the gasket.

I am 99.9% sure the rope gasket for the Harman Mark series loading and ash doors is 5/8", but I don't have a packet handy to verify. Someone else may confirm or correct this I am sure. It is easy to install, clean off the old gasket material and get something like permatex to dab in the channel before placing the gasket and close the doors to "clamp" them in place while they set.

I just looked in the Harman owners manual and they do not list the gasket size in there that I could find. They don't even list it in the maintenance section.

Take the old gasket with you if you are unsure of the size. I was unhappy with the seal the specified size made on my Mark II so I went one size up. They are easy to replace. I've only done it with the door cold. I use a "Gasketing Cement and Stove Sealer" by Meeco's Red Devil. I got it at the local wood stove store. It says it's for use with all Replacement gasketing. They say to apply an even amount and then place the gasket in the channel. Be careful not to stretch it. Then they say to close the door over a sheet of newspaper to prevent unwanted sticking. Wait 2 hours and then it should be good to go. Be aware it's pretty thin so a little goes a long way. Take care, Lisa