- Bob - wrote:
Anyone found anything better than furnace cement? It's really not
well suited to the job since it's not very sticky, it fills the gasket
groove, and makes whatever part of the gasket that touches it
stiff and non-functional. It's also a real pain to clean off each
year or two when I replace the gaskets.

Is there a better adhesive? Anyone experimented ?

I don't know what "furnace cement" is. I just use the stuff they
recommended at the wood stove store. I think it might have been called
"wood stove gasket adhesive" or something like that. Consistency of
toothpaste, somewhat goopy and sticky, if I recall. The gasket is held
in pretty well.

But I'm no expert. I didn't know you had to replace the gasket each
year or two -- mine is going on 3 years and and seems fine each time I
inspect it.

-Kevin

- Bob

Furnace cement from the small plastic containers is what we normally
use. It offers a real advantage in that when it has cured it is
brittle and easy to remove. Plus it seems to be stickier than stuff
from the larger buckets. So we buy a small "can" every year or so to
make sure what we use is fresh.

The "trick" is that you do not use it like a glue or caulk. Do not
fill the groove. Only use small amounts of it. Just put little dabs
of it at key places like the ends of the rope, corners, etc.

That way you never are applying enough to soak thru the sealing rope.
You're just using the cement to hold the rope in place. And you get
the cushioning effect and better sealing when the seal rope is
compressed on closing.

But is the door or top is crushing the seal way down, you need to
adjust the closing latch to avoid that over compressing.

btw we operate 4 wood stoves in our house and burn 9+ cords of wood
each year. So the gaskets do get a little bit of a work out.

T-Ulk