I've recently hooked up a Fisher woodstove in our basement, and have a few questions.

1) I'm not sure of the model, it is plate steel with a cast iron door with two knobs for air, a single latch for opening the door on the left, and 4 pine trees cast into the door.

2) I need to replace the rope seal, and I'm not sure if it should be cemented into the groove on the stove or the door. It came to me in the door, but it was all burnt up. Looks like a wide flat seal would be better. Is this seal continuous or cut the corners???

3) I'm fighting alot of smoke coming into the house when I open the door, and occasionally the stove puffs while using. The room above the stove really has a smoke odor after using the stove. Any thoughts? thanks

-- Mike O'Day (odayhome@wwnet.net), February 24, 2002

Answers

I hope this helps, this happened to me then I inspected the stove after I posted a question like this. Look directly underneath the doors upside down there is a hinged compartment that has a winged nut on it. when mine was full(the compartment) the stove smoked and clogged the outside screen.

-- Mike (mka@shocking.com), February 24, 2002.

If your stove is smoking more than it used to, your chimney probably needs cleaning. Another possibility is negative pressure in the house due to a kitchen of bath fan or ?? Try opening a window before you open the stove door and see if it still smokes. If that cures the problem you may have negative pressure. I don't recall the size of the gasket on fishers but am quite sure it is round. It gets attached to the door with gasket cement. If you smell smoke in the room above, there may be an unused outlet into the same flue you are using for the fisher. If that's the case, it needs to have an airtight seal. This will cause the fisher to draw better and it will prevent the smoke from entering the uppper floor. good luck Mike.

-- jz (oz49us@yahoo.com), February 25, 2002.

If its a true Fisher it will say FISHER at the top of the cast iron door and they do not have a rope seal on them.If it doesn't say Fisher and is a steel door it not a Fisher brand.

-- Gary (burnett_gary@msn.com), February 25, 2002.

I have a Fisher with the trees on the front. Both doors (cast iron) open up. I put my rope seal - even though they say you don't need it - on the STOVE. Not the door. Put it in the channel and use the cement. Cuts down on a lot of wood usage. Smoking - open up the BACK flue control before you open the door. You should have a device at the side (mine is at the right) that opens and shuts the CHIMNEY flue. Open that BEFORE YOU OPEN THE DOOR OF THE STOVE. Otherwise you are pumping smoke into your house. Opening up one or both of the front stove dampers will help too. Good Luck!

-- Gailann Schrader (gtschrader@aol.com), February 25, 2002.

I believe your stove is a Mama Bear. We had one just like it.

-- David (daoelker@seidata.com), February 28, 2002.

I have the Papa bear model, I just installed 2 nights ago, mine does not have rope or the "grate" as metioned here, my parents have had the Mama bear since '77, and their's never had rope either, I think I am going to experiment with the rope, my wood doesn't last long enough when I bank it down, also would anybody have the paperwork for the Fisher line they could scan and e-mail to me. I bought my stove used, and my parents can't find any paperwork on theirs, I was only 4 at the time they installed, I would just be curious to read the paperwork. Thanks in advance.

-- Chris (knight@team-ic.com), March 01, 2002.

I have the paperwork for a Fisher Grandpa Bear which was purchased in 1980. Send me an e-mail with your address and I'll send you a copy of the owners manual.

--Happy trails, Cabin Fever

-- Cabin Fever (Cabinfever_mn@yahoo.com), March 01, 2002.

I have a Fisher stove also no need for the gasket and they never came with one. This year I put one one and I can really controll the burn and the wood lasts longer. You will need to burn it hot once in a while and keep the chimmeny clean. One test I do is see if you get the fire going good and turn the screws to shut the air off. If the fire really dies down and can completely go out then you do not need it if it is still going put it on. I used a round rope 1/2" and cement on the inside channel. I only have this problem if my damper is in the wrong position or if the fire is not going to good. I found that if I put to much wood in it this can happen only very briefly especially if the screws are blocked. If it is continuous somtihng is not rihght and I would call a professional to check it out.

-- Jim Douglas (jdouglas70@yahoo.com), March 05, 2002.

the fisher stoves all came with a gasket around the door (i used to be a dealer for them in the early 80's). depending on what fisher shipped, the gasket would be either a flat fiberglass looking thing or a round one, either would work. the reason you needed the gasket is the doors never would quite seal airtight because the stove's are plate steel but the doors were cast iron. normal "wood stove glue" worked fine to hold the gasket to the stove. we handled several other brands (buck, black bart, appalachian, etc) but the fisher's were by far and away the best made and most efficient (at least in those days). my favorite was the grandma bear model. marvelous stoves....

-- (cracker@nospam.com), March 05, 2002.

To those who requested one, a copy of the Fisher woodstove owner's manual is in the mail. --Happy trails, Cabin Fever

-- Cabin Fever (cabinfever_mn@yahoo.com), March 11, 2002.