Sierra T4500 Glass/Gasket Replacement?

[warnott]

Hello - Just purchased a Sierra T4500 from a private seller. I have had a fire going the past three days and notice that the glass in the corners is looking a little "burnt" (mostly on the outside tops of both pieces of glass). Is this normal?

The glass was perfectly clear before I used it. When do you know you need to replace the glass and/or gasket and where would I go about purchasing these? Does anyone know the part numbers that I need?

Thank you.

 

[BrotherBart]

Yep. The T4500 had a crude attempt at an "airwash" for the glass. What they did was no gasket on the top of the glass so air was pulled in in the hope it would move down the glass and keep it clean. Didn't work too well. The gasket for the glass is ribbon gasket for stove glass available at any stove store and most ACE Hardware stores.

Keeping the glass clean with the stove is a chore.

Enjoy the old stove. It is a beast. I burned in one for 21 years. It is a creosote factory though.

 

[warnott]

Thanks for your reply. Now that I know that the "burnt" glass is normal I feel better. Will putting in the "missing" gasket on the top of the glass make the stove not perform correctly in any way or should I just leave it how it is?

I am so happy with the beast - and warm finally. I will keep an eye out for the creosote. Do you recommend using a CSL log after a couple of months of use?

 

[BrotherBart]

I recommend:

1: Line the chimney all the way to the top.
2. Burn nothing but dry wood in the 20% moisture content range.
3. Do not choke that sucker all the way down and let the wood smolder. Maintain at least a five hundred degree stove top temperature for cleaner burning.
4. Inspect the chimney once a month.
5. Use "Anti-Creo-Soot" spray in the fires to prevent glazed creosote in the smoke chamber and chimney.

 

[Wood Heat Stoves]

You can keep the creosote under control and help keep your glass cleaner (not clean) by burning only dry wood, not letting the fire smolder dampened own for long periods of time and opening the stove up and letting it burn hot on a regular basis. A good time to do that is when you reload it. You want to get the chimney good and hot so creosote won't condense on it. It's also very important to sweep your chimney at a minimum once a year, but it may be necessary to do more often.

 

[warnott]

Thanks for the creosote info. When I replace the gasket around the glass, should I leave the top without the gasket as it was intended for "airwash" or is it OK to replace it all around?

 

[Wood Heat Stoves]

That depends on how important seeing anything through the glass is compared to controlling the burn rate of the stove. You could replace the gasket leaving the gap as originally intended, and if you found you weren't able to control the burn rate enough, just add the missing section to it using the same gasket cement to glue it in. Keep in mind, it's not good to dampen your stove way down and burn a smoldering fire for long periods so you don't need to make it too air-tight. All you're really looking for is to make it controllable enough to hold a fire overnight.

 

[warnott]

Excellent advice, thank you. Yes, indeed, all I do want is the fire to last throughout the night. That is much more important to me than seeing the fire. Obviously, this is my first fireplace! Thanks again.

 

[BrotherBart]

Leave the top of the glass un-gasketed. The air coming over the top of the glass also provides a crude secondary burn function. Over five hundred degrees stove top you will see that the air travels under the smoke dam in the front and across the baffle creating rolling blue secondary burn up at the baffle. You will need to experiment, but with mine leaving the primary air slides open about a inch each after the stove was up to temp let'er burn nice and smoke free.

 

[Wood Heat Stoves]

You're welcome! Burning wood is different from turning up the thermostat. It's a skill you acquire over time through experience. I'm sure you'll do fine with a little help from the forum.