I had to run a few errands today. First up was a stop to the local hearth store to get an outlet collar for my F3, and new gaskets for the Castine. I pulled in and there was a sign for a Jotul rep at the store today. I picked up the collar and they were able to get me the 7 gaskets needed for my re-build. They even tagged and labeled all the gaskets for me. After a few customers left I went over and had a nice talk with Tim the stove guy, the rep from Jotul NA. He is on Youtube showing how to light a fire in a woodstove video. We had a really good conversation about Jotul stoves, firewood, technical discussions about air flow through stoves and drafts. We were talking about the importance of good dry wood and that led me to invite him to check out FHC. He helped a few customers and took the time to answer every question they asked. Next stop was the local saw shop to get a new pull cord for the 025. The original only lasted 15 years. I checked out the new saws and gear while waiting. Lastly, I got home and the mailman had dropped off the new appliance connector to connect the flex liner to the top of the Castine. I am going to start the re-gasket job soon.
Quick pic . The glass gasket was not cemented in place. It was falling out, and a few spots had air leaks as there was some crusty buildup along the doors edge. This stove was slightly neglected on routine maintenance. The glass gasket and door gasket grooves were scraped out, wire brushed and fine steel wool taken to it. Ready for rebuild. It finished the re-gasketing in just over an hour. I fitted all the parts back together to let the cement set. It won't get the final assembly until it is in place.
I even made time to tear down my brothers snow blower engine to replace the head gasket. It had a loose bolt at the under the OHV cover that you could not get to that easy, and a washer that split under another bolt on the opposite side. That thing was blowing a little oil out. He should be in good shape this winter.
Nice work FP! I replaced the window & door gasket a couple months ago. Last year I had some minor overfiring, leading me to find the window had slid toward the hinge side of the door, creating a small air gap through the exposed gasket on the opposite side. I have since learned to keep an eye on the window to prevent this in the future. I also believe I read or heard somewhere to place the ceramic window in exactly how it was removed due to one side being treated with something. We have only had a half dozen fires in the 400 this year, but its running like a champ.
The glass was a bit to one side and barely catching the gasket on the other side. This stove must have been running erratic with the gasket issues. I did center the glass back and put the correct side out. The glass was pretty dirty, and had a few hard to remove dark spots. I really got deep into this rebuild. I had the top off and rebuilt the secondary assembly. I took a few pics for a thread for reference down the road if anyone needs it.
Interesting....... so window movement may be an issue with the stove......something to keep an eye on. Hopefully the glass wasn't etched too badly. Both bottom corners seem to always have a little staining, no matter how dry the wood is, and how well it drafts. I wouldn't mind seeing some pics of your take down of the stove at your liesure. I haven't gotten into the guts of the stove yet. Perhaps a good place to put a thread would be here: http://firewoodhoardersclub.com/forums/index.php?forums/wood-stoves.50/
