Leaky Door Problems?

[jch76]

I want to run this by you for an opinion before I go into my dealer.

I have been having a problem with my Quadra-Fire insert. After doing the dollar bill test I replaced that gasket since it was not sealing tightly. This didn't help. In fact, I had to rip the gasket off and put some more RTV behind it to get a decent seal. However, I then noticed that my door looks warped. The door fits tight against the face of the box on the latch side, but there is about a quarter inch gap on the hinge side. I asked my dealer about this and he told me that as long as the gasket it touching, it doesn't have to be a tight fit.

The secondary burn stays only at the top of the box near the tubes and it is pretty inconsistent. It used to distribute the heat and it seamed that every surface of wood in the box had flames coming from them. I used to be able to see smoke coming from the wood as it was taking off and then that smoke would turn to flame and I new I could cut the air down and there was almost no smoke visible from the chimney. Now there is smoke coming from the chimney until it has burned down to coals. It seems more like the old stoves without the secondary burn.

I have a theory and I would appreciate some feedback on whether it sounds possible. I think the air leaking in the door is meeting the heated air which doesn't allow a secondary burn on the bottom half of the firebox. I understand that my dealer is busy since it is the heating season and I'm not the only one with problems, but I get the impression that he thinks that I have no idea what I'm talking about and just tells me to make sure the wood is dry (it's 3 year old oak and 2 year old cherry).

I'm not sure why the door isn't sealing properly. But I would like to ask my dealer to help me get the door sealed and I think that will fix the problem. I don't mind paying to get it fixed. But I don't want to make a big deal of this if I am off base. He hasn't offered any other reason as to why I'm getting inefficient burn except for moisture in the wood.

I attached a picture (I hope) that shows the door gasket. You can see how much gasket is visible on the left verses the door being tight on the latch side.

 

[jtp10181]

What does the dollar bill test yield on the left side vs the right? How old is this unit? The dealer is offering the suggestion of the wood because the Quad stoves are high quality construction and don't normally warp or dis-form unless abused. I can tell you from my own dealer experience that about 90% of all problems I encounter with wood units is un-seasoned or rotting wood. I am not saying that your wood is the problem but offering why thats all the dealer can think of.

 

[jch76]

The dollar bill test shows that the only place it is sealed well is along the right side of the door. The bill slides out on the rest of the door. It is better since I reset the gasket, but it's not tight. This unit was installed in late 2005 and I used it all that winter. It was not used last year. So this is it's second burning season. I understand that most of the problems have to do with unseasoned wood and that's why I thought I'd run this by the forum before going back in. I don't hear sizzling or see any foam like I have seen on some pieces that were unseasoned or wet from melted snow or rain. My real question is what happens when a door is not sealing properly? I don't think I've ever over-fired and cause it to warp, but would there be any other signs of overfiring that I could look for?

 

[jtp10181]

Things to look for over firing... If any of the metal has ever turned white hot while burning. Check the SS burn tubes for sagging in the middle or warping. Check the baffle board for warping. Check the bricks for massive deterioration, usually where the super hot fire is they tend to disintegrate or break of in chunks when cleaning out ashes.

When you say it pulls out in the middle and left sides, does it slide right out easily or does it have some resistance. Just because it comes out doesn't mean it fails the test. The right side looks extremely tight. How much force do you need to use to close the door latch? It might be closing so tight on the right its forcing the left side to open up a little.

Usually if there is a door leak you will notice a huge increase in wood consumption and much less heat output. All the air coming in takes heat up the chimney with it and cools of the fire and firebox. You should actually see MORE flames in the firebox because of the increased oxygen. Also adjusting the air control slider would yield little effect with a good air leak. It would be hard to control the burn.

 

[velvetfoot]

Both of my quadrafire inserts needed to have the nut on the latch tightened every once in a while.
Your wood is probably messing up the diagnosis.
When my last quad insert (2100i) gasket wasn't tight, you could actually hear the air coming in (no fan), plus it wasn't controllable.
I'd listen to jtp10181.