First off as I was loading the Mark II in the morning I noticed that a section of the gasket had come off and was drooping below the channel. When I looked closer it was clear the adhesive had failed. The Mark II was no longer air tight.
Bummer, I had to be at work in 10 mins. I was looking at loosing close to 40 lbs of coal not to mention I'd have to turn the furnace on. Then I thought about what I've learned on the forum. Namely, "there are a lot of stoves out there that are not air tight, if I have a strong draft, the small gap shouldn't cause too much of a problem in the short term." I checked the C02 alarms, the draft and opened the windows and went to work.
When I got back a couple of hours later (I work a split shift) there were no alarms going off and the draft was still strong. Now the question was how could I remove the door and replace the gasket without losing the fire. I thought about a post on the forum I'd read that dealt with replacing the glass in the door. In that post the person, covered the stove opening with a piece of metal while the repair was made. So that's what I did.
With the metal in place, I was able to pull the door off, allow it to cool during my afternoon shift and replace the gasket when I got home. I got back at 6, replaced the door and was on my way to Williamsburg for the birth of my granddaughter not having lost the fire. What a concept?
Thanks once again to the forum for teaching me how to get the most out of the Marks Brothers. Lisa
