Replace glass gasket?

  • Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.

    We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.

    We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
When you see any signs of air leaking there or the gasket has become hard and brittle. I probably do mine every other year or so.
 
When you see any signs of air leaking there or the gasket has become hard and brittle. I probably do mine every other year or so.
What are the signs of air leaking?

The gasket isn’t hard or brittle. I don’t think we’ve ever changed it, and we are on our 6th winter with this stove.
 
What are the signs of air leaking?

The gasket isn’t hard or brittle. I don’t think we’ve ever changed it, and we are on our 6th winter with this stove.
Glass dirty near one edge of the glass or stove harder to control due to excess air being pulled into the firebox. You can also test with a cigarette lighter or other flame slowly moved around the glass edges when the stove is operating. If there's a leak you should see the flame get pulled in toward the stove.

Personally I would change it after 6 seasons but your call.
 
It’s occurring to me that I should change my glass gasket (it’s been 12 years).
 
  • Haha
Reactions: Dix
Do the dollar bill test, close the door on the bill and try to pull it out; if it is tight it's good, if it slips out easily then maybe it's time to replace it, unless your door is adjustable and you can tighten it up at any spots that fail the test.
 
I just picked up gaskets for my glass and door and wondered how brittle is that glass for changing the gasket? It has to have lost some temper after 5 years!.
 
I don’t believe the stove glass really changes in how brittle it is over time. It’s a ceramic so it’s not like glass in a window.
 
  • Like
Reactions: stoveliker
The glass in the door of your stove is not tempered.
Its strength comes from its chemical composition, not from an annealing sequence.
 
I just picked up gaskets for my glass and door and wondered how brittle is that glass for changing the gasket? It has to have lost some temper after 5 years!.
In my second year with the stove I cracked one of the panes by overtightening one of the screws that holds the retainer clips. So just be careful, the glass can take the heat but can crack under too much mechanical stress.
 
  • Like
Reactions: stoveliker
Do not over tighten glass clip screws. Just bring them up. Creating a pressure point on a glass will cause it to snap at high temp. If your stove is controllable (air wise), don't go looking for an issue. I've never changed a glass gasket on my own stoves, have changed hundreds for people who have broken their glass, or just "believed it was time to get it done". I've snapped screws, drilled out other peoples' snapped off screws (the Jotul Firelight cat rear burnplate screw comes to mind...). If you glass looks ok and you can control the air flow, leave it be. Good luck all.
 
  • Like
Reactions: stoveliker