Glass Gasket Questions

[tutu_sue]

How do you tell if your glass gasket is leaking? I know of the dollar bill test for the door gasket, but what about the glass? Are there any special signs or symptoms of leaking glass?

 

[elkimmeg]

Sue let me take a stab at glass gaskets how do you know if they are leaking?

where they leak one might find a dark cresote trail, Probably near the cornors

Next borrow someone's cigeette and light it and use the smoke One might also use a candle
watch the smoke of flame when held near the glass. ( one needs a decent fire and draft going)

If the flame or smoke it drawn towards the glass you have a leak

 

[Gooserider]

The only two things I can think of is to see if the glass feels loose in the door frames, in which case the gasket is definitely bad. Or to try doing the incense test - get a stick of incense in your favorite flavor, and move it slowly around the seams while burning it. Best to do this twice, once when the stove is burning well and once when it is out. If the glass is leaking the smoke should either get sucked into the gap or be blown away from it. (You can do the same thing with a cigarette if you prefer)

Why do you think you have a leak? Generally gaskets on stuff like windows that don't get disturbed much are pretty durable.

Gooserider

 

[tutu_sue]

Yeah, I have a dark, shiny creosote looking spot on the right lower side of the door. We changed the door gasket last week, but it doesn't look like the black spot is going away. I'm going to keep an eye on it. If it doesn't burn off, I'm going to have to suspect the glass gasket in that corner. I've never heard of air leaking in from the latching mechanism, have you? This is on the Jotul F3CB stove. Thanks for your help.

 

[wahoowad]

Sue,

I've been eyeing my door and door gasket a bit lately too. I do have some black creosote marks on the door, but think some of it is due to stove design and things in the way of airflow around the door, like that part that shields the door mechanism from the firebox. I'll post a pic of mine if you will post a pic of yours

I know my glass moves - noticed it recently while cleaning it. Like you I'm just not sure how tight it needs to be. Mine will move if you put moderate pressure on it - doesn't take much though. I saw some darker areas on the glass gasket and wondered if that was a telltale sign of creosote, or me focusing on it too much. I don't find those two Jotul glass holddown mechanisms very substantial, but have yet to take a screwdriver to them.

Oh yeah, as far as the smoke test....the heat of the stove creates too much air movement (hot air rising, cold falling). I've never been able to get a lazy smoke trail close enough to the stove to test this.

 

[tutu_sue]

Wahoowad,

I will try to get a pic up as soon as I can - 'tis the season - I hope you understand...

 

[precaud]

How do you tell if your glass gasket is leaking?

This technique may not be suitable for visual types, but it's foolproof for us auditory folks. Try this only when the stove is cold. Open the door so that it is flat in front if you (i.e. perpendicular.) Tap uniformly around the perimeter of the glass, say with the handle-end of a small screwdriver or just thwap it with the back side of a finger. Listen to the pitch of the sound made. The tone should be pretty uniform around the whole thing. Where the pitch is the lower, the coupling between the glass and gasket is loose and that is where a leak is.

The larger the glass, the more difficult the interpretation of the sound is. But if you tap in the middle of the glass, that is the deeper pitch that you can ignore as you tap around the edge. It's changes in the higher pitches you're listening for.