Woodstock Keystone problem?

[esparent]

I just reloaded the stove and shut the air down to 1.25 and then noticed these flames coming in from the left side of the glass. They look almost like little jets. My first thought is I have some air leaks there. This is the first time you’ve noticed them. 5 mins later they have gone away.

Set-up: Woodstock Keystone top vented, 1 45 and one 90 degree turn. 20’ of insulated pipe outside. It’s really cold right now 10 degrees F.

 

[esparent]

Sorry for typos! Did this on my phone.

 

[fire_man]

I would give Woodstock a call. They are really helpful and may just suggest some stove cement. It does sound like you may have an air leak.

 

[begreen]

Sorry for typos! Did this on my phone.

LOL, corrected.
Looks like it may be a glass gasket leaking in that area or a leak at the corner joint with the stone side.

 

[esparent]

Hoping for glass leak. I think that may be easier to fix. I replaced the glass (cause I broke it during transport of the stove) about a year ago and it was tricky getting the bolts and metal tabs that hold the glass in installed correctly.
If it is the cement joint leaking does that necessarily mean a rebuild or can I patch it?

 

[begreen]

Hoping for glass leak. I think that may be easier to fix. I replaced the glass (cause I broke it during transport of the stove) about a year ago and it was tricky getting the bolts and metal tabs that hold the glass in installed correctly.
If it is the cement joint leaking does that necessarily mean a rebuild or can I patch it?

Go with the simplest solution first. A call into Woodstock tech for tips on the glass installation may be helpful.

 

[esparent]

Go with the simplest solution first. A call into Woodstock tech for tips on the glass installation may be helpful.

I’ll try the glass tomorrow and run to the store from some cement just in case. So far I don’t seem to be having any trouble with over firing or controlling the air flow. I don’t want to keep running it much longer with the leak though. Fortunately we seem to be in for a few days of 30s and 40s.

 

[begreen]

If you are not seeing any change in behavior, it should be ok running it as is for the time being. I'd wait til Monday to see what Woodstock's techs say. Given that you worked on the glass and had challenges, that is a strong possibility of where the problem is.

 

[esparent]

Thanks for the advice! I’ll try to give an update when I get it sorted out.

 

[Highbeam]

Supposedly, air leaks like this or past the door glass are big causes for thermal shock damage of the catalyst. Especially bad with ceramic cats. So don’t wait too long.

 

[Kamiobi]

You might find this (broken link removed to https://www.woodstove.com/index.php/maintenance-a-repairs) useful if you haven’t seen it already.

 

[esparent]

Well I decided to just go for it and cemented the seam there. The glass seemed to be tight so I doubt it was that, plus if the air was coming in from the glass I would expect those jets in the video to be pointed towards the rear of the stove.

I’m sure that’s not the prettiest work but I think it’ll do.

 

[Highbeam]

Is that ultra black rtv silicone gasket maker?

 

[fire_man]

That sure does look like Black RTV. If so it will just cook right off.

 

[esparent]

No. It’s Rutland furnace cement. Rated for 2000 degrees. It the grey color but it was on on there for like 5 minutes when I took this.

 

[Highbeam]

No. It’s Rutland furnace cement. Rated for 2000 degrees. It the grey color but it was on on there for like 5 minutes when I took this.

Let us know how it works. Your air leak was huge!

 

[Hoytman]

That’s the new Rutland cement, right? Be interesting to see how it holds.

I would be real careful feeding this stove too much at one time. Enough fuel to get you some heat and watch it a while. If it goes well, add a little more here and there, but not all at once and I certainly wouldn’t fill it full. Get a bed of coals, then add a split or two at a time. I’d baby sit it until you can make the call or at least until you see your cement will hold...and I wouldn’t rely on that for long.

 

[esparent]

I've followed the instructions on the tube of cement and allowed it to dry for 24 hours before doing a small fire to dry and "cure" it for several hours. Then proceeded to a larger hotter fire. The air leaks in the video are gone. I watched it quite closely for over an hour and there was an intermittent area of flame low in the corner that I am a bit suspicious of. It certainly does not look like the jets in the initial video but I plan to let the stove cool back down and cement that area as well.

I talked to Woodstock and they advised cementing the seam as I have done. They felt that the seam was a much more likely source of the air leak than the glass. I'll try to do a final update later this week. Thanks to all for the advice, it is much appreciated!

 

[fire_man]

Excellent! Sounds like at the very least you know its not the glass. It's good you caught this early, you may want to inspect other areas inside the firebox when the stove is running since other leaks might not be as obvious.

 

[Hoytman]

Make sure to dampen the areas you apply cement to. This slows the curing process and helps prevent the cement cracking as it dries. I believe the tube says to dampen things. You might want to double check to verify that.

 

[esparent]

Make sure to dampen the areas you apply cement to. This slows the curing process and helps prevent the cement cracking as it dries. I believe the tube says to dampen things. You might want to double check to verify that.

You are right. I wetted the whole seam with a brush.

 

[fire_man]

There is something Magical about the Keystone/Palladian stove. It's flame pattern is so relaxing that it de-stresses me after a bad day at work. The Palladian is my most favorite stove ever.

 

[Highbeam]

There is something Magical about the Keystone/Palladian stove. It's flame pattern is so relaxing that it de-stresses me after a bad day at work. The Palladian is my most favorite stove ever.

Isn’t the avatar pic a PH?

 

[fire_man]

Isn’t the avatar pic a PH?

Yes but my second smaller stove is a Palladian - used on super cold nights to supplement the Progress.

 

[esparent]

Update:
After cementing another small section of the seam I’ve run maybe 4-5 full stove loads through the stove and it is running great. No apparent leaks or hot spots anywhere. Pretty pleased with the results!
Merry Christmas everyone!