does my firebox have a leak?

[Ropelie]

I have noticed my fires running hotter than usual and there is a "blowtorch" like flame coming from the same spot every load. I have checked the ash dump and that is secure. Could I have popped a weld or something? Also noticed I have to tighten the door down a little harder than I use to to get a seal. Here's a picture.

 

[Batman]

What kind of stove? cast iron plates? welded steel box? can't discern much from that photo. I see the bright jet of flame, but it's not clear what part of the stove it is coming from. Check your gaskets and the fit of the door(s). Is there an ash pan? Sometimes ash or dead coals can get packed in behind the pan, making the ash door hard to seal.

 

[dafattkidd]

It's hard to make out what we're looking at. Any way to post a video? Is that blow torch like flame coming from around the door? Could just be a gasket failing. What kind of stove are you burning in? (It can be helpful when included in your signature)

 

[Ropelie]

Steel englander madison. I did have a problem withthe ash dump accidentally dislodgeing, this flame isn't over the dump though. The flame is coMing from the bottom of the box. The picture is rotated. Secondaries are on the left, bottom of the box on the right

 

[prezes13]

Check the gasket. Sometimes I get flames in one spot form time to time but it's only wood offgasing. If it in the same spot all the time I say you might have a leak.

 

[Ropelie]

Gasket around the door? Ill check it. And the flame has been in the same spot for 3 fires

 

[prezes13]

Yes do the dollar bill test around the door.

 

[Ropelie]

I have a dollar bill folded in half and on the bottom part of the door it slides out, easier than the other sides. Pass or fail?

 

[Batman]

Inconclusive. Test should be with a single thickness of dollar bill. You should be able to pull it out without tearing, but on the other hand, not without some resistance. Ambiguous enough? Additionally, some areas of the door perimeter may be more snug than others. Another diagnostic test is holding an incense stick ( chanting optional),or a cigarette( careful not to breathe the noxious fumes ) around the door and watching for smoke getting sucked through the doorframe. That would be on a vigorously operating stove, of course. To further muddy the waters, the stove may change shape slightly when hot. A gasket that is making a borderline seal with a cold stove dollar bill test might be leaky at operating temperature.


You could try tightening up the door latch, following whatever procedure englander recommends. That will be edifying, but may shorten the service life of the gasket a bit, since they can only be squished so much.

If that doesn't do ya, then try repeating the test with hundred dollar bills.

 

[Ropelie]

Unfortunately all I had were 100$ bills, went through a couple but oh well... heres a short video. Im watching it now and it is burning way more vigorous than previous fires with the same amount of wood. It's concentrating on the right side of the box which also has never happened before.

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[Batman]

That fire does indeed display a good measure of vigor. Perhaps a little vim as well. Too much vigor to spot the exceedingly vigorous flame that precipitated this thread. Did you snug up that door already?

Writing that previous reply actually inspired me to fetch a racthet and a 11mm socket to adjust my latch.

"Judge not something something...."

 

[Ropelie]

This is without adjusting the door. I just pulles the ashpan and held a lighter to the ash dump and it "sucked" in. Is this normal? If i uses aome fireplace mortar on the plug would that take that out of play? I'll let this die out and adjust it, hopefully before tonight.

 

[Batman]

Cant say if that's normal. My stove has a grate instead of a plug. The ashpan door is gasketed, a critical item. I don't know the Madison, but I doubt that the plug is meant to make an airtight seal. Is there an ashpan door gasket? If so, round up another c-note and put it through its paces.

Make sure that crud buildup behind the ashpan is not making the pan impinge upon the door. When I empty my pan, I always have to hoe out a pile of such ash. I have a simple tool for that. It's a maybe1/8" rod with a small piece of flatstock welded to the end, approx 1x4 inches. Works like a champ.

 

[Ropelie]

There's no gasket on the ashpan, the pan itself has gaps all over it. Looks like the air comes in through there anyway. coaling stage now and theres definetely more flames right over the ash dump.

 

[Batman]

Well, I downloaded the Madison manual. It seems that I was flat out wrong about the ash plug. I thought I was wrong once before, but I was mistaken.

Since there is no sealed ash pan door, the fit of the plug must be kinda important. Maybe check the mating surfaces of both the plug and the 'dump.' I am unfamilliar with how snugly they are meant to fit. Perhaps some other ash plug owners could speak to that.

The only other thing I can think of (besides ribald jokes), is to inspect and test the window gasket.