So, I pulled the plug during a robust burn to see what would happen in the event of a power outage. Fire didn't last long, but the smoking/smoldering pellets did generate a lot of smoke - most of which exited the chimney. Unfortunately, some smoke did escape past a seal at the bottom of the door or top of the ash pan seal. I've always been leery of the ash door gasket and I have a feeling that it was leaking. Hard to say. Will try to do the dollar bill test next time the stove is cool. Won't be easy, since there's a lot of iron that covers the door gasket/ash pan area. The actual door also holds the ash pan door tight, so it will be tough to see where the smoke is coming from...
Fortunately, we don't lose power much during the winter, but smoking up the house isn't going to fly if it does happen. I'll have to work on the gasket and I plan to check into an APC along with some sort of alarm to tell me that the power is off. This will allow me to shut the stove down before the APC goes dead. Won't help when we're out, but it's a start.
So, long story short, everyone should do this to better understand what you're in for when it does (and it will) happen.
Fortunately, we don't lose power much during the winter, but smoking up the house isn't going to fly if it does happen. I'll have to work on the gasket and I plan to check into an APC along with some sort of alarm to tell me that the power is off. This will allow me to shut the stove down before the APC goes dead. Won't help when we're out, but it's a start.
So, long story short, everyone should do this to better understand what you're in for when it does (and it will) happen.
Great observation. I thought about that too. We'll see...
