Window gaskets on 1980 Orley? Your help appreciated!

[MikeV]

Thanks in advance for anyone who can help me.
I have a 1980 Orley Mfg MH 10742, J29565 with a Mfg date of 12/1980. Seems to be a solid, hard-working stove in a Colorado cabin I bought this spring. I believe the existing stove is a grandfathered legal unit in my locale, and all the exhaust and stack have been replaced by a reputable installer. However, just this weekend I discovered the glass panes on the front rattle tremendously when the fire drafts. There are currently no gaskets of any kind around either of the two layers of glass. The glass panes slide in from the side, with very little "slop", so I doubt I could fit any large diameter "rope" stove gasket. I was examining some of the thinner self-adhesive window gasket tape, but started reading a number of postings about avoiding sealing the entire pane to allow for airwash on some units.

I've called around to 4 of the "Orley's" dealers in Oregon, but none claim to have any operating manuals on this older unit and I cannot seem to find anyone. Can any of you provide some welcome advice before I start experimenting via trial and error?
Thanks.
-Mike

 

[drumbum]

Do you have two panes? I have ceramic inner and tempered outer. I know what you mean about the rattling. My first attempt was done with automotive exhaust wrap,cut to thin strips and tucked into the channel forming a U-shape cupping the glass on three sides, both panels. This caused the glass to soot up relatively quickly because of no air wash. I redid the gasketing to just a few points to allow air flow around the glass and with dry wood reduced cleaning to bi-weekly. I like the design of these stoves (later ones without the ornate BS), easy to start,(read blast furnace) and durable do to the fact that made from high carbon steel (pipeline) where other welded plate steel stoves are made from mild or cold rolled steel. My stove is the 20" baby jane rated at 50,000 to 70,000 BTU/h. A low/med fire results in a 800* top between the cook plates. These stoves are easy get glowing red SO TAKE IT EASY. Good luck

I forgot to add If you need more heat set up a fan to blow across the top. The many surfaces work good at heat transfer.

 

[MikeV]

Thanks for your response. I do have two layers of window panes, although I cannot distinguish any difference. [ie, they both look interchangeable, so I cannot claim one is ceramic and one is tempered] They may have been replaced by some previous owner, so they may not be "factory" dimensions or specifications, and I will watch them carefully. Your suggestion to try automotive exhaust wrap is clever. Before getting your reply, I purchased some Orley's adhesive gasket. Despite using the thinnest stuff I could find, it was impossible to fit that material around all four sides of the window pane. I ended up only putting it on the top side of each piece of glass and then could just barely slide them in. It stopped the rattling, but I was a bit afraid they fit so tightly that thermal expansion/contraction [the cabin can be -20F when I'm gone] could crack the glass. So far, no problem.

The glass does soot up quickly, but it now fits so tightly that I don't intend to clean them unless I simply cannot tell what is going on inside.

I agree these stoves are easy to start, and draft like a blast furnace. We certainly haven't run ours so hard that it will glow red, but I love the heat output, and you can toast a marshmellow above the cook plates! Nice unit, and I appreciate your help and warnings.

 

[Denise]

Do you have two panes? I have ceramic inner and tempered outer. I know what you mean about the rattling. My first attempt was done with automotive exhaust wrap,cut to thin strips and tucked into the channel forming a U-shape cupping the glass on three sides, both panels. This caused the glass to soot up relatively quickly because of no air wash. I redid the gasketing to just a few points to allow air flow around the glass and with dry wood reduced cleaning to bi-weekly. I like the design of these stoves (later ones without the ornate BS), easy to start,(read blast furnace) and durable do to the fact that made from high carbon steel (pipeline) where other welded plate steel stoves are made from mild or cold rolled steel. My stove is the 20" baby jane rated at 50,000 to 70,000 BTU/h. A low/med fire results in a 800* top between the cook plates. These stoves are easy get glowing red SO TAKE IT EASY. Good luck

I forgot to add If you need more heat set up a fan to blow across the top. The many surfaces work good at heat transfer.

Hi you seem to know about the Orley's. I just bought a house with a model MH-10742 in it and have no idea how to replace the glass or run the stove at all. I called the mfr and got no where with them. Any words of wisdom for me? Thanks in advance.

 

[drumbum]

Sorry for the delay in response, just got back from the coast. As for the model you have, I'm going to assume we're talking about a barrel shaped, side loading, dual air intakes on either side, and a rectangular protrusion on the front that houses the glass with a fleur- de- lis keeping logs from rolling forward. If so then the glass( clear ceramic) will slide out the right side after removeing the cover. There are two slots for glass, I think origanally they fitted with a gasket> I used some asbestos type automotive header wrap (thin strip tucked into groove to protect glass edges- 3sides). Order your ceramic glass ( two pieces) from One Day Glass online after measureing the size you need and account for a little clearance like 3/16" per height and width. As far as running the stove you'll probably want a damper in the stovepipe to help control draft. Starting a cold stove, have both air intakes open and gradually close as fire gets established. You can experiment with left and right air controls to put flame where you need it to get the wood going. Feel free to ask any questions if I've not been clear enough.