Airtight Wood Stoves – How to Get the Most Out of Your Cast Iron Stoves
If you are like a lot of people, you bought an airtight wood stove back in the ’80s and ’90s and diligently fueled it with wood to help offset the rising price of heating your home. Then, over the years, three things happened:
You gradually accepted the new higher heating costs.
You slowly got sick of dealing with firewood.
You started using your wood stove as a planter.
Now you see the price of oil doubling and you’re starting to think about bringing the old airtight out of retirement. If so, you’ll want to make sure the old airtight is still air-tight. This is especially true if it is a cast-iron stove made in several pieces bolted together. This produces a lot of seams, and every one of them has the innate potential to leak.
There are a couple of ways to look for these leaks. One is to place a drop lamp or a battery-powered camping lantern in the stove. Close the door, turn out all the lights, and carefully examine all the seams for signs of light. A light represents a leak.
It’s a good idea to let your eyes adjust to the dark for a minute or two before you start your inspection. Then carefully check every seam from a variety of angles, and pay special attention to the seal around the door.
Some leaks won’t show up with this test. Light a fire in your stove and let it burn along at a good clip for about an hour, warming up the stove and chimney to create a good draft.
Then shut all air intakes down dead tight. Take a lit cigarette and run its smoldering tip around all the seams, and along the perimeter of the door. If there is a leak, the smoke from the cigarette will be sucked into it, pinpointing its exact location.
O.K., you’ve found your leaks. What do you do about them?
Gasket replacements: Door leaks are generally caused by worn gaskets. Stove shops sell replacement gasket kits, usually consisting of a length of fiberglass rope or tape, plus some cement. These kits come in various sizes, so be sure to measure the width of your existing seal before you go to the shop.
Before the new gasket can go in, the old one has to come out. It may be made of asbestos – a recognized cancer-causing material – so treat this job with respect. Work outdoors, and wear an effective dust mask, plus disposable rubber gloves. Using a screwdriver, pry the old gasket out, put it in a plastic bag, seal the bag and put it in the trash. Still wearing your protective gear, clean out any traces of cement and soot.
Then cut a new gasket to the proper length. Run a bead of cement around the gasket groove and press the gasket into place. Close the door tightly to clamp the seal in place while the cement sets.
Throw away your dust mask and gloves, and put your clothes directly in the washing machine and wash them. (Or you can take your door to a stove shop and let them do it.)
Seam leaks:You can seal these with stove cement, available at any stove shop. But to work effectively, this stuff requires a clean surface. Chip repair areas clean with a screwdriver or chisel. Then clean with a wire brush. If the seams are in really bad shape, it’s probably best to disassemble the stove entirely, unbolting all the joints and carefully working the separate castings apart.
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Tags: airtight wood stove, camping lantern, cast iron stove, Doors, gasket kits, gaskets, joints, screwdriver