Question regarding Alderlea T6 wood stove

[heater963]

Hello and Happy Holidays to all,

I have had an Alderlea T6 for 3 years now with no complaints. Tonight I was looking at the heat ex changer baffle system ( the top Stainless Steel plate with holes in it) and noticed it was not directing secondary burn flames out of most of the holes. I read about the flaky gasket that Alderlea uses on the rear air box as posted by member HogWildz. That was good to know as I am sure my gasket is in bad shape or even gone, as I have cleaned the stove twice since I bought it.

Shouldn't flames be rolling out all the plate holes once the stove is hot and I close the air lever down restricting airflow?

I also noticed the "airwash system" does not work like it once did. My glass gets sooted up fairly quickly and there is no longer the smoke that used to be seen washing across the stove door glass.

Sounds like she needs a "tune up", but I wanted some advice from the folks on this forum, as Hogwildz posted a lot of very useful info with pics etc.

Hope to hear from anybody that can help me with these issues.

Thanks in advance and may the New Year be good to all of us.

Pete; Sutter Creek, Ca ( 90 miles west of South Lake Tahoe)

 

[begreen]

Welcome. The factory baffle gasket needs to be replaced each time the baffle is removed. If it hasn't been replaced it most likely has turned to dust and is no longer there. Pick up a 3 pack of baffle gaskets and replace or make your own. I replaced ours with one woven like Hogwildz did and it's working fine. But the symptoms sound more like some of the wood being burned might not be fully seasoned. The baffle gasket shouldn't affect the airwash. If the flue and cap screen is clean then I would try some wood from a different part of the wood pile.

gasket picture here
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/quiet-day-good-time-to-clean-the-t6-and-chimney.157005/

 

[heater963]

Thank you very much.

 

[Woody Stover]

The baffle gasket shouldn't affect the airwash.

I have a hard time envisioning the entire system, but could it be a "path of least resistance" thing? i.e. could more of the available draft be spent pulling easy air through the gasket gap instead of pulling more limited air through the baffle holes, resulting in less draft available to pull air through the air wash?

 

[heater963]

I have a hard time envisioning the entire system, but could it be a "path of least resistance" thing? i.e. could more of the available draft be spent pulling easy air through the gasket gap instead of pulling more limited air through the baffle holes, resulting in less draft available to pull air through the air wash?

This is very possible. I do hear a wisping air type sound when the stove is really hot. It is likely that the rear gasket is gone. There is only one way to find out. "begreen" told me every time one removes the baffle assembly the rear gasket needs to be replaced on the T6. I have cleaned it twice and never replaced the gasket. That is definitely a good starting point.

Thanks for your help.

 

[bcrtops]

Yes, it sounds more like less than fully seasoned wood problem to me.

Not that it is the best, but I have run my stove w/o that baffle gasket for several years & it works just fine & all the secondary holes are feeding air to the fire. I may have been lucky in that my baffle fits fairly tight at that point, however. (Next chimney cleaning it will receive a new gasket).

 

[Squisher]

I agree the gasket is good to have but following the path of least resistance theory I can't see it snuffing out secondary combustion not having one. I've run successfully with and without one.

 

[begreen]

Yes, there is a basic mechanical seal made even without the gasket. I can see some leakage happening without it, but not enough to seriously affect operation. FWIW making up one out of 3/8" stove door gasket took about 20 minutes. It looks like it will last for years.

 

[Squisher]

I carry a bunch with me now because PE is so extensive around these parts. It is such a simple inexpensive thing it doesn't make sense to run without one.

 

[begreen]

Good deal. How is the Super working out? Sounds like it's going to get a workout after this weekend. Hope you're feeling better by then.

 

[Squisher]

It's worked out fantastic. It's changed up my burning a bit for sure. Sometimes I forgo the summit in the basement so we can enjoy the insert upstairs and we don't get overheated. I pretty much need to see -10c or colder to use both without it getting to hot. I couldn't be happier with it really. Way more enjoyable than the open inefficient smelly fireplace. The draft is incredible too, no spillage issues at all.

I really like/find with the Super it's easy to just chuck a piece or two on now and then as compared to the summit which seems to work much better by burning full loads/cycles.

The fire enjoyment factor is way up. With the old open fireplace we might have had a handful or two of fires upstairs a year. Now we have one nearly daily. And my kid finds the downstairs stove overwhelming for 24/7 burning at times(mostly her own fault for leaving her basement bedroom door open).

Surprisingly to me even with only the super running upstairs and the furnace never cycling on while it's running it still stays reasonable downstairs. Not super chilly like I thought it might.

 

[heater963]

Yes, there is a basic mechanical seal made even without the gasket. I can see some leakage happening without it, but not enough to seriously affect operation. FWIW making up one out of 3/8" stove door gasket took about 20 minutes. It looks like it will last for years.

Hi,

I made a gasket out of the 3/8" rope gasket today and put it all back together. It is not seating properly, so I cannot get the pin back into the hole. It is about 1/16" between hole in rail and hole in baffle. I fired it up and saw no secondary burn going on. The flames were turning blue in the main combustion box. Maybe 5/16" will work better. I tried to pull it into alignment and it is a no go. Poor design to place such a flimsy gasket in such a hard to reach place. I like the make it yourself rope gasket, as everything I have read states it works well and long term. Do you know if the air tube actually slides into the baffle itself or does the air tube just kiss the baffle with the gasket making the seal? Thanks.

 

[heater963]

Hi,

I made a gasket out of the 3/8" rope gasket today and put it all back together. It is not seating properly, so I cannot get the pin back into the hole. It is about 1/16" between hole in rail and hole in baffle. I fired it up and saw no secondary burn going on. The flames were turning blue in the main combustion box. Maybe 5/16" will work better. I tried to pull it into alignment and it is a no go. Poor design to place such a flimsy gasket in such a hard to reach place. I like the make it yourself rope gasket, as everything I have read states it works well and long term. Do you know if the air tube actually slides into the baffle itself or does the air tube just kiss the baffle with the gasket making the seal? Thanks.

Also, do you know where I can buy the original gasket online? I have looked and it is like a controlled item. Thanks!

 

[bcrtops]

The air-tube slides into the baffle. The gasket is quite thin, actually.
Get the gasket at your local dealer, or order from www.chimneysweeponline.com .

I have some flat glass gasket that got sent me without any adhesive -- will try to make a gasket out of that stuff once I use the 2 "factory" ones.

That retainer pin is kinda hard to get in sometimes, even w/o a gasket. Takes some wiggle work -- moving the baffle around a bit to get it to finally line up.

 

[begreen]

That retainer pin is kinda hard to get in sometimes, even w/o a gasket. Takes some wiggle work -- moving the baffle around a bit to get it to finally line up.

Yes, I'd try a bit more. Make sure the gasket is surrounding the secondary feed tube and not overlapping an edge.

 

[Hogwildz]

Put an awl or screwdriver in the baffle pin hole to help line them up. You'll have to compress the gasket some. After the first season, it will flatten enough to fix this issue. When you swept the stove, did you cover the rear channel that feeds the baffle, with a rag? If not, you may have accumulated sweepings down the channel, blocking it. This will kill the air to the baffle causing no secondary action.

Also, try letting the wood bunr slightly longer and see if that helps get secondaries going and keeping door window from getting gunked up.

 

[Squisher]

Yes the 'air tube' must definetly insert into the baffle. Honestly once you get it sorted, you'll be amazed how simple it really is. As long as nothing is warped and everything is lined up it's easy peasy to place the baffle on and put the pin in. The first time will be the hardest.

I clean stoves for a living and really like the baffle system of the PE's.

 

[bcrtops]

Yes the 'air tube' must definetly insert into the baffle. Honestly once you get it sorted, you'll be amazed how simple it really is. As long as nothing is warped and everything is lined up it's easy peasy to place the baffle on and put the pin in. The first time will be the hardest.

I clean stoves for a living and really like the baffle system of the PE's.

Yes, it is one of the most simple systems I have seen on a wood stove. I like the KISS principle as it always requires less maintenance. And............relatively easy to access & clean the whole smoke stack!