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Questions about new (to me) Alaska Stove

Started by VT_Forestry, December 18, 2013, 07:28:55 AM

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VT_Forestry

I just recently purchased this stove online from a local guy who buys, refurbishes, and resells woodstoves.  Pretty good looking stove and the price was right, but I don't know much about it.  It didnt' have a fiberglass gasket in it, so I bought a flat 5/8" gasket and installed it into the channel around the door opening.  Now I can still get the doors closed, but it's pretty tight and doesn't look as though it seals in the middle....it feels like it's binding on the hinge side and keeping the doors from closing all the way down.  It seems to control the draft on it fairly well and I can keep a fire all night and through the day, but I know it would be a lot better and more efficient if I could get it to seal in the middle.  Anyone have any experience/advice they'd care to share about this stove?

Forester - Newport News Waterworks

sprucebunny

I like that style of stove !

If you put smaller pins in the hinges, it might seal more evenly but the doors might sag a little. ( Edit:I see your pins are not inserted but fixed)
Instead of that, I put fatter fiberglass braid in the middle of the opening to make my doors seal better. The fiberglass stuff comes as a braided tube in different diameters. You can stretch or compress it to make it thicker.
MS193, MS192 and an 026  Weeding and Thinning. Gilbert Champion sawmill

doctorb

I have noticed on my wood stoves that if you don't use the right diameter "rope" caulking, that you either have an air leak that leads to a poorly controlled overheating stove, or you lever on the door hinges, cramming it closed with a lot of force.  Many stoveowners just purchase the rope, not realizing that stoves often do not use the same diameter caulking in different areas of the stoves (Front doors vs. top loading plate vs. ash pan seal).  My old Vermont Castings had 3 different diameters used on it.

So my advice, not knowing anything about your stove, is to change the rope gaskets everywhere on the stove and try and pick the appropriate diameter gaskets for each application.  This could be a trial and error process so I will predict that you'll get very good at that task. ;D   I have never seen a stove use two differnt diameter gaskets on the same door, but I guess it could be designed that way.
My father once said, "This is my son who wanted to grow up and become a doctor.  So far, he's only become a doctor."

VT_Forestry

Quote from: doctorb on December 18, 2013, 12:27:24 PM
This could be a trial and error process so I will predict that you'll get very good at that task. ;D   

You got that right :)  When I first got the stove, I bought some rope, slapped it in, and couldn't even get the door shut.  I went to the smaller rope, and that was a little better, but still couldn't close the door.  This current flat gasket at least let me get the door closed down and light a fire, but there's gotta be something more efficient. 

Also, I don't know the history of this stove...I guess it's possible that something traumatic happened in it's previous life that would prevent a normal seal.   

It's also entirely possibe that I'm doing something completely wrong  ;D
Forester - Newport News Waterworks

beenthere

You might measure the different gaps around the doors if/when you remove the gaskets. Maybe someone let a fire get away, and the doors did warp so different gasket thicknesses will be needed to get a seal.
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

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