Ok, I've re-gooped. we'll see if it worked when it cools off again. (been warm the last few days).
I did inspect the fresh air intake...everything looks ok there. Also fiddled with the dollar-bill gasket test. Its very snug along the sides of the door. Along the top, though, its not too hard to slide it out. You can feel some friction there, but it slides out pretty easily. The gasket doesn't look like its all flattened out, or anything like that.
It dawned on me, though, that while this is only my 3rd season burning, the stove sat in a warehouse for a couple of years. It has a 2006 build date on it. So I assume it sat in a warehouse for 2 years with the door closed, putting pressure on the gasket the whole time. So, maybe its more like 4 years old, rather than 2.
How often do the door gaskets need replacement?
Someone else mentioned adjusting the door latch...didn't look to me like there was anything to adjust. nothing in the manual about that, or gaskets; only routine cleaning information under "maintenance".
any other symptoms of a leaky gasket? would the stove not burn right?
I have been getting very dirty glass, very quickly (within a day of cleaning). I thought it was crappy pellets. They leave a brown residue over everything...even the ash looks brownish. very hard to get off the glass, and it clouds up within 24 hrs after cleaning.
The pellets are a generally well-reputed brand, but they were in a flood. when they were delivered last year, they were obviously re-stacked, and not factory wrapped. The driver told me that they'd been outside in a low area, and had gotten flooded, but only the bottom layers were affected. They re-stacked all the un-submerged bags.
When I was moving them into the house, (store them in a walk-out basement), I did find a half-dozen bags that were obviously damaged, which I returned and exchanged. I haven't found any obviously tainted pellets since, as I went through the supply. They look perfectly normal. the other day, I even tried the moisture test, by nuking some in the microwave, with a saucer over the bowl of pellets...there was only a light fogging of the bottom of the plate. no blatantly obvious moisture, there. not enough to "drip".