Fast help appreciated

My little rocket stove I built last year is too small for the temps I am getting now. I have a real good start on a 55 gal. drum model. I have the type barrel with removable lid. My question is this. I have atatched the lid as the base. Do I need to remove the rubber seal and if so do I need to use a rope type fireplace door seal or can I just clamp it together metal to metal ?

I'd definitely replace the rubber seal. Woodstove gasket material is best for longevity. Or if you can't wait and need a gasket immediately, make a "rope" gasket of slightly crumpled twisted aluminum foil. To insure an airtight seal, tape the seam with hi-temp aluminum foil tape, the stuff that's rated for up to 300° F., before placing the band clamp.

Joe : Yes you need to replace the gasket, there is a common braided style rope gasket that comes complete with a high temp silicone adhesive as part of the package
that you are looking for. Some packages say universal stove door gasket on them. What you want to do is to tease out the center strands that make this a round gasket
and flatten it out so that it looks like a Big flat shoestring. This will make a tight seal !

One of the most well known Rocket Mass Heater builders tells an story about making a gasket material out of ''Wonder Bread'' that lasted for an entire heating season
and was replaced during cleaning in the spring !

Byron : using the paragraph above as an example of what else is possible, I still can not visualize your set up could you share a picture or a sketch ? Big AL

Sorry Al, I've never made gaskets out of "wonder bread", so you've kind of lost me there.

Byron : I referred to a 3rd party who swore the ''wonder bread trick'' was function able as merely a way to express the large number of possibilities that could work

However, if you could give us a picture of your method where the lid is retained with the Barrel, I for one would like the chance to see it. A rising tide floats all boats

For the good of the Craft ! Big AL

Addendum: As far as using aluminum foil, made into a crushable "rope", it is then put in place of the barrel lid's original rubber gasket.

It is important to make the aluminum "rope" a little larger in diameter than the original rubber gasket, so it will crush tightly forming a seal as the band clamp is tightened etc.

As far as retaining the barrel with its lid as a base on the rocket burner, I don't personally do that. I'm a big fan of the Wisner's "half barrel manifold".

Thanks guys Ive got to try to get the new one in the house and running by tonight. I used the insulating firebrick for my J-tube this time and Im installing a draft inducing fan and expecting this thing to really rock