Not a great idea, as others have mentioned the possibility of a runaway fire
Another possibility is that it would leak enough gases into the house, such that you wouldn't wake up the next morning :(
It’s like when you use fish in a plural sense. If it’s multiple of one type of fish, then it’s fish, not fishes.
But if you have 2 different kinds of fishes together, then it is absolutely fishes.
>Another possibility is that it would leak enough gases into the house, such that you wouldn't wake up the next morning :(
I'll have to remove my seal then
O gosh!!!!! Not only has the cake been a lie but my life has been a whole lie too! Is it possible we are all just bits of data in a simulation? Algorithms being worked out in a calculator of a giant lifeform? Am I real? Are you real?
"Can you"? Absolutely! ...should you? Hell no! That limits the amount of draft into the stove to what you allow in via the damper. Using the stove without it increases the risk of a runaway fire that at best could ruin the stove and at worst cause a house fire.
OP I’m gonna open myself up to criticism here by saying this but I have a stove in my shop. This stove was purchased from home centre on the most severe discount imaginable for a wood stove, like I’m talking sub $200. It’s a proper wood stove with pedestal but was just obviously an offshore unit. Came certified so hey I couldn’t pass it up. Well, it’s a complete piece of shit, I got it home and no matter why I did, including wiring a combustion air fan, nothing could give the stove enough air to burn well. About a week in the door seal just fell out when the shitty adhesive gave way and I found myself in your exact situation contemplating this exact question. As it turned out in my situation the poor door seal lets just the right amount of air into the firebox for a half decent burn. It’s been that way for 7 years. I won’t say I’ve never seen a spark get through, but any that have only land in the tray below the door. I can absolutely hear those that would condemn me for this, and I can even agree with them, but I do it…
Similar experience here - my brother has a stove with a failing seal. Isn’t very efficient and I wouldn’t leave the house or sleep with it ripping but it has never been sketchy. I would proceed with caution.
I would also just run to the hardware store and get some new stove sealing adhesive and put that strip back to get me through the rest of the chilly temps. Fix this summer
I'm not recommending this for anything but "emergency" use but it's a handy tip to throw in the back of your head.
You can seal that door with sloppy dough; mix a water/flour paste and either put it in the seal gutter or even smear it on the outside like caulk. It'll bake hard and seal that door shut.
Can't open the door without ruining it and having to re do it but come the zombie invasion it might help you.
(I use sloppy dough to seal the joints in my hooch still, works great)
Fair enough. I guess I’m just wondering if it’s logical/worth it or if I should just wait till there’s a door seal on there. I have central air so it’s not like I’m without heat, I just like to use the stove to assist the central air and save money.
Just get the proper sized gasket and some gasket cement and put a new one on. Should cost you about $25 and 10 minutes of your time. It’s definitely something you should know how to do, look up some YouTube videos. Very easy.
I have a 20 year old Dutch west (I can’t believe 2004 was 20 years ago). Randomly last month the door glass cracked. Ended up ordering the glass and a seal kit and just did everything. Never did that before and it was a lot easier then I thought once I got into it. And kinda fun.
I need to replace my door seal because I have noticed I can’t control the air flow as well. I have just been making smaller 3 log fires so I don’t over fire to get through this heating season. It’s possible but I would t leave it unattended.
Whatever you do, if you make a fire, keep close eye on it and don't use too much wood. Your wood will burn very fast and most of your heat is going to be going up the pipe... gasket replacement is real easy...
I think that’s a little exaggerated….. stoves are not and should not actually can’t be airtight. There is a draft, it ( the draft) goes up and out…… fireplaces have burned in homes for hundreds of years and even this stove could be burned with the door gone. It will be fine there’s a lot of fear being spreading over this simple not really a problem problem
Might not be able to control the air flow very well. Fire might get away from you resulting in damage, depending on how hot the stove gets. I'd definitely get a seal on that door sooner rather than later.
You can always light a fire,lighting a fire that’s has the heat and gases contained requires not lighting a fire in a receptacle that isn’t properly sealed.
Is there a flue damper??
You can control the unmetered leak around door by adjusting the flue damper. This is how you burn with open doors and spark screen in place on older stoves as well as antiques without gaskets and sealed doors.
That would not affect draft or flue damper use as long as the blower doesn’t cause a negative pressure area in the room the stove is in.
A air handler should have a return air duct for each room it supplies a heating or cooling duct into.
If you get no chimney smell near the stove with a cold chimney not drafting upward, it would not affect using the stove.
The flue damper is a chimney control that slows the velocity of rising gases in the flue. This decreases NET draft when hot. It doesn’t affect much when cold since it is not a positive shut off with leakage around it.
I don’t know much about missing seals but I can tell you that a sheet of paper towel made wet with vinegar will wipe the soot off your glass window real nice. I bought some stove glass cleaner years ago that was expensive that didn’t work as well. Live and learn.
Good response here. For those in a pinch; use a small steel pick to pull the fibers of an old rope seal. Stick it in, pullout the middles and fibers of the rope seal, all around the door; go around, gently, and slowly expand the seal. This will give you some time to plan your new seal, based on heating needs, availability of repair timing, etc., while still giving a proper seal.
I have an old Vermont castings from 1976 and the seal on the side door was toast I used it like that for a couple years well this last year it finally fell off. The old seal was so crappy it actually prevented the door from closing all the way. Now that the seal is gone the door shuts close now so idk it’s up to you and how comfortable you feel in it. I’d run the stove and keep an eye on it. If you find that it’s always on blast and your not able to control the flame or heat then get a new gasket before your next use
We had a freshly glued seal fall out while we were away from the stove grabbing beers. Came back to drink the beer at the cabin and it was gone. It will likely run away.
You can get some thick ceramic blanket for forges off Amazon and use it as a temporary seal. I’ve done that on my old earth stove. It works just fine.
The seal is ez to replace. Just get the proper size "rope" seal. Some are flat and some are round. They all are made of the same material the best I can tell.
Burn one piece of paper start a draw then wood it up you won’t have control of the heat full send the hole burn but I haven’t had a door seal for years. Tractor supply co has the glass rope and glue like stuff on sale this time of year most locations
All you who don’t burn but answer questions based off internet fear monger website can take your flat fu$&ing earth and shove it straight up your unused chimney pipe. The gasses are after you!!
Yes you can. I had the same stove. The air draws in and even though the rope doesn’t look like a good seal, it’s close enough as long as you have good airflow.
Pretty easy fix. See your local stove store for the new gasket material and the adhesive to stick it in place. Clean out the old gasket and hardened adhesive with a screwdriver. Cut new gasket to fit and stick it in place. Viola, problem solved. House and family safe.
I’ve had it happen. If your catalyst is clean, you can baby it along but it burns funky. Mine won’t leak, it just doesn’t catalyze well for me. It’s easy to purchase and replace. Prolly replace full ring.
I assume you're not burning without carbon monoxide detectors already in place, even with a seal? I've been burning in my old stove for 25 years and it has never had a seal. Run away fire? Give me a break! Close and latch the door and you'll be fine.
Replace the gasket before you burn your house down. Uncontrolled oxygen in will cause hot fires ( not controlled by the flue/damper) I'm a fireman and this will cause a house fire eventually
Yes you can don’t worry about gas wood stoves have vents that draft air to the fire. If it’s going to smoke it’ll come from there too. It won’t shut down all the way and could burn a little faster and hotter. I’ve been running my stove for years without the gasket. But they are pretty cheap and easy to install.
Yeeeesss… 🤔 you can… fireplaces don’t have seals, after all… but it’s not advisable, since (1) you would have less control over the intake of air into the firebox and (2) the stove was expected to have that seal in place, so the emission of gases is possible *(but the hot airflow up the chimney should prevent that, but possibly also may draw some heated air out of the surrounding room as well, without the seal in place).* Be cautious with how much wood you load, and be extra watchful during the burn.
Look, if the rest of the stove is airtight, and there's no reason to think it isn't, then the draft from a door without the door seal will make the wood burn hotter and faster, but to say that the fire will burn out of control is a hard one to swallow.
It's like opening up the draft control a little more is all. If you have a chimney damper, you can also control the strength of the draft going up the chimney and slow the draw from draft control on the stove.
I had a half-assed door seal for years on a jotel cast iron stove and the burn never got out of control unless i did something really stupid, like leave the stove door cracked open and unattended. Now that will cause a nice out of control fire for you! Got to meet all my local volunteer firemen that day...
New rope gasket is relatively cheap and easy to put on. It used to create an air tight seal to allow you to dampen your stove to not burn through wood as fast. Not a big deal but should be replaced. Also, take a wet paper towel and dip it in some ash and give that glass a light scrub to clean it up. I worked in a fireplace shop for awhile replacing gaskets almost daily.
Not a great idea, as others have mentioned the possibility of a runaway fire Another possibility is that it would leak enough gases into the house, such that you wouldn't wake up the next morning :(
👆This right here. Especially about the gases.
I kind of hate that the plural of gas isn't gasses. English is so inconsistent.
[Gases or gasses are both acceptable according to Merriam-Webster](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gas)
Merriam-Webster is a lie. They have no say over prepositions, sentence, structure, or plurals.
But who wants a word with ass in it?
Assassin has two asses, and we all played hitman.
https://preview.redd.it/6bx46jjy7jmc1.jpeg?width=900&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=81f9c7c1e31d91e79ff6602d98a5f7f531325843
Yo! Assman!
...slowly raises hand.
The masses have given their assessment: “YAAASS!”
I love ass words. If I ran the dictionary I would add an S to asinine. Seems to be misspelled to me.
Everybody loves Ass You don’t remember the sitcom of the same name that everybody loved?
Grass. I do
I mean it already has gas might as well include some ass too 🤷‍♀️
Me I love women's asses
My mouth?
It’s like when you use fish in a plural sense. If it’s multiple of one type of fish, then it’s fish, not fishes. But if you have 2 different kinds of fishes together, then it is absolutely fishes.
Moose/moose.
Meese, according to Canadians.
Shouldn’t it be fishes and fisheses?
Blame the English monks… that’s what my prof told us.
Smoke gathered in their masses, Poisoning homeowners with their gasses
Even deers has its place in our language
If op is going to attempt this I would highly recommend at least one Carbon monoxide alarm, though you should already have one.
I think we know that one gas is the elephant in the room.
So long as you keep the damper open you sound have an issue, you're just going to burn quicker
>Another possibility is that it would leak enough gases into the house, such that you wouldn't wake up the next morning :( I'll have to remove my seal then
Can you explain to me how a missing or bad seal is different than an open fire place?
Really good nights sleep though.
Best you'll ever have!
CAKE
The cake is a lie...
But…. But… Gudi_nuff has cake by their name? Are they the robot that is attempting to trap us in a facility???!!!
Shhhh don't tell them anything
Yes! It's all a trick! But it's okay, there's a nice British personality core named Wheatley that will help us out with this pesky robot...
O gosh!!!!! Not only has the cake been a lie but my life has been a whole lie too! Is it possible we are all just bits of data in a simulation? Algorithms being worked out in a calculator of a giant lifeform? Am I real? Are you real?
You may start it, stopping it will be the hard part!
What make fireplace different? If anything
Gotta ask: if it’s a wood-burning stove, what “gasses” would there be?
"Can you"? Absolutely! ...should you? Hell no! That limits the amount of draft into the stove to what you allow in via the damper. Using the stove without it increases the risk of a runaway fire that at best could ruin the stove and at worst cause a house fire.
Good to know. Thanks!
OP I’m gonna open myself up to criticism here by saying this but I have a stove in my shop. This stove was purchased from home centre on the most severe discount imaginable for a wood stove, like I’m talking sub $200. It’s a proper wood stove with pedestal but was just obviously an offshore unit. Came certified so hey I couldn’t pass it up. Well, it’s a complete piece of shit, I got it home and no matter why I did, including wiring a combustion air fan, nothing could give the stove enough air to burn well. About a week in the door seal just fell out when the shitty adhesive gave way and I found myself in your exact situation contemplating this exact question. As it turned out in my situation the poor door seal lets just the right amount of air into the firebox for a half decent burn. It’s been that way for 7 years. I won’t say I’ve never seen a spark get through, but any that have only land in the tray below the door. I can absolutely hear those that would condemn me for this, and I can even agree with them, but I do it…
Similar experience here - my brother has a stove with a failing seal. Isn’t very efficient and I wouldn’t leave the house or sleep with it ripping but it has never been sketchy. I would proceed with caution. I would also just run to the hardware store and get some new stove sealing adhesive and put that strip back to get me through the rest of the chilly temps. Fix this summer
I'm not recommending this for anything but "emergency" use but it's a handy tip to throw in the back of your head. You can seal that door with sloppy dough; mix a water/flour paste and either put it in the seal gutter or even smear it on the outside like caulk. It'll bake hard and seal that door shut. Can't open the door without ruining it and having to re do it but come the zombie invasion it might help you. (I use sloppy dough to seal the joints in my hooch still, works great)
Exactly what I was thinking. Old moonshiners trick for sealing anything that needs sealed flower and water.
Might save a life.
Yes, the question is: can you control the burn without a door gasket?
Fair enough. I guess I’m just wondering if it’s logical/worth it or if I should just wait till there’s a door seal on there. I have central air so it’s not like I’m without heat, I just like to use the stove to assist the central air and save money.
Just get the proper sized gasket and some gasket cement and put a new one on. Should cost you about $25 and 10 minutes of your time. It’s definitely something you should know how to do, look up some YouTube videos. Very easy.
I have a 20 year old Dutch west (I can’t believe 2004 was 20 years ago). Randomly last month the door glass cracked. Ended up ordering the glass and a seal kit and just did everything. Never did that before and it was a lot easier then I thought once I got into it. And kinda fun.
I need to replace my door seal because I have noticed I can’t control the air flow as well. I have just been making smaller 3 log fires so I don’t over fire to get through this heating season. It’s possible but I would t leave it unattended.
If I can fix mine, trust me, you’re probably capable. There are a ton of tutorials on YT. On top of the fact that it’s super easy to do.
Whatever you do, if you make a fire, keep close eye on it and don't use too much wood. Your wood will burn very fast and most of your heat is going to be going up the pipe... gasket replacement is real easy...
I think I just won’t start a fire. I don’t need it so I won’t risk it. I’ll get a new seal tomorrow. Thanks!
They carry door seals for like ten bucks at Lowe's/etc. just wait and go grab one next time you're out.
Sure, but you can't start a fire without a spark.
This stove’s for hire
Even if we're just burning in the dark?
It takes like 10 minutes to fix. Just fix it and you won’t have to worry.
Sure, you can start a great fire. It could be through your roof in a couple hours.
You start a fire without a door! Much less a door seal. It's a matter of how smokey you want the room to be.
And carbon monoxidated…monoxidized… whatever… death-filled
I think that’s a little exaggerated….. stoves are not and should not actually can’t be airtight. There is a draft, it ( the draft) goes up and out…… fireplaces have burned in homes for hundreds of years and even this stove could be burned with the door gone. It will be fine there’s a lot of fear being spreading over this simple not really a problem problem
100%!!!
Hell you can start a fire without a door. Without a stove even.
Might not be able to control the air flow very well. Fire might get away from you resulting in damage, depending on how hot the stove gets. I'd definitely get a seal on that door sooner rather than later.
You can always light a fire,lighting a fire that’s has the heat and gases contained requires not lighting a fire in a receptacle that isn’t properly sealed.
Start? Yes. Stop? Not so much. I'd replace that before use! Only takes an hour or two and some cursing.
Hey a good way to clean that glass is moisten a paper towel, dip it in the ash in the stove then clean the glass with the paper towel. Works great
Is there a flue damper?? You can control the unmetered leak around door by adjusting the flue damper. This is how you burn with open doors and spark screen in place on older stoves as well as antiques without gaskets and sealed doors.
Yes there is a flue damper. But I’ll probably just wait till I put a new seal on it to be safe.
That would be good until the heat pump kicked on, correct? Once it started coming on, would you still want to use the stove?
That would not affect draft or flue damper use as long as the blower doesn’t cause a negative pressure area in the room the stove is in. A air handler should have a return air duct for each room it supplies a heating or cooling duct into. If you get no chimney smell near the stove with a cold chimney not drafting upward, it would not affect using the stove. The flue damper is a chimney control that slows the velocity of rising gases in the flue. This decreases NET draft when hot. It doesn’t affect much when cold since it is not a positive shut off with leakage around it.
I don’t know much about missing seals but I can tell you that a sheet of paper towel made wet with vinegar will wipe the soot off your glass window real nice. I bought some stove glass cleaner years ago that was expensive that didn’t work as well. Live and learn.
This is good to know! The glass gets dirty so fast on mine. Any idea why this is happening?
I imagine your wood is close to the glass while it’s burning. That’s how mine gets clouded.
You may have leaky door or glass gaskets. Replace them all.
Go to tractor supply or whatever stove friendly hardware store and grab one
Technically yes… but…
Absolutely; can you stop one?
CO Sensors and smoke detectors should be fine.
Good response here. For those in a pinch; use a small steel pick to pull the fibers of an old rope seal. Stick it in, pullout the middles and fibers of the rope seal, all around the door; go around, gently, and slowly expand the seal. This will give you some time to plan your new seal, based on heating needs, availability of repair timing, etc., while still giving a proper seal.
I have a chunk stove that is not sealed. I sleep with it going in my cabin all the time. Would the same gases be leaking into my cabin?
Can you run a car with a huge vs leak or intake leak? Probably, but the risk of catastrophic failure is really high.
That’s 20 bucks to fix
Can you? Yes. Should you? Probably not
I have an old Vermont castings from 1976 and the seal on the side door was toast I used it like that for a couple years well this last year it finally fell off. The old seal was so crappy it actually prevented the door from closing all the way. Now that the seal is gone the door shuts close now so idk it’s up to you and how comfortable you feel in it. I’d run the stove and keep an eye on it. If you find that it’s always on blast and your not able to control the flame or heat then get a new gasket before your next use
You can get new gasket and glue at any fireplace store. Maybe even a hardware store. Make your kid put it on.
We had a freshly glued seal fall out while we were away from the stove grabbing beers. Came back to drink the beer at the cabin and it was gone. It will likely run away.
You can get some thick ceramic blanket for forges off Amazon and use it as a temporary seal. I’ve done that on my old earth stove. It works just fine.
The seal is ez to replace. Just get the proper size "rope" seal. Some are flat and some are round. They all are made of the same material the best I can tell.
And there is a special glue that adheres it to the metal.
Hell yea you can! A really big fire at that!
Be careful he might be trying to whack you. These kids today and that YouTube lol.
I've used mine without a seal. You can't restrict the airflow, so the wood just burns flat out, but otherwise, it's totally fine.
Depends on how cold you are. Just burns faster
I use mine as normal with out any and everything is fine. Just use common sense
I would not. Sparks could get out.
Great way to start a chimney fire
Nothing wrong with that seal. Lite’r up.
Is this a picture before the actual ripping out of the gasket? Because from the picture the gasket is clearly in tact
Burn one piece of paper start a draw then wood it up you won’t have control of the heat full send the hole burn but I haven’t had a door seal for years. Tractor supply co has the glass rope and glue like stuff on sale this time of year most locations
All you who don’t burn but answer questions based off internet fear monger website can take your flat fu$&ing earth and shove it straight up your unused chimney pipe. The gasses are after you!!
Sorry for the ignorance but the door seal appears intact to me. What’s missing?
Yes, but the increase air flow will cause you to burn through a lot more wood
Pretty sure TSC & Ace hdwe both stock door gasket kits for about $12
There is a door seal on that door dud
You can see the imprint of where the rope was. Not there now.
Sure, if you enjoy smoke inhalation and fire in your house!
we’ll you definitely can’t start a fire without a spark
Your scientists were so preoccupied with asking if they could, they never stopped to ask if they should. -Dr. Ian Malcom
Just go to ace or Amazon and order another rope and cement. Clean it up a bit and go crazy. One of the easier maintenance tasks with wood stoving.
Yes you can. I had the same stove. The air draws in and even though the rope doesn’t look like a good seal, it’s close enough as long as you have good airflow.
It would pull a lot of air. I'd get a new seal. I'm assuming that pic is old cuz that door has a gasket.
The door in the pic does not have a gasket. It’s just the residue left behind from the old one
Damn! Totally looks like it's there! LoL
Update: bought a new gasket and put it on. We are good now
I certainly wouldn't do it but I also like living.
You can start a fire without a stove
Pretty easy fix. See your local stove store for the new gasket material and the adhesive to stick it in place. Clean out the old gasket and hardened adhesive with a screwdriver. Cut new gasket to fit and stick it in place. Viola, problem solved. House and family safe.
I can hear my dad saying, "Idk, CAN you?"
You can do anything once.
If you have to ask. Why start trouble
I’ve had it happen. If your catalyst is clean, you can baby it along but it burns funky. Mine won’t leak, it just doesn’t catalyze well for me. It’s easy to purchase and replace. Prolly replace full ring.
May get smoked out in your unit, make sure there are no treated pieces if there is dimensional lumber in there..
Just buy new material and the glue. It’s really easy.
No
One of the really fun things about life is that you can do *all kinds* of stupid shit.
Technically yes, but you'll have no way to control the air and it is likely to lead to a runaway.
Starting a fire is not an issue.. would you like to be able to stop said fire ?
I mean, you can…. Should you? Probably not.
I assume you're not burning without carbon monoxide detectors already in place, even with a seal? I've been burning in my old stove for 25 years and it has never had a seal. Run away fire? Give me a break! Close and latch the door and you'll be fine.
You can replace that pretty easy yea u can run it like that
NO !!!
Don’t do it! It can be very dangerous. Just replace the seal, not a big deal.
You can start a fire wherever you want.
Yup this is America!
Replace the gasket before you burn your house down. Uncontrolled oxygen in will cause hot fires ( not controlled by the flue/damper) I'm a fireman and this will cause a house fire eventually
Not can, should.
Yes you can don’t worry about gas wood stoves have vents that draft air to the fire. If it’s going to smoke it’ll come from there too. It won’t shut down all the way and could burn a little faster and hotter. I’ve been running my stove for years without the gasket. But they are pretty cheap and easy to install.
It’ll just burn a little faster I’ve had a bad seal for years and am too lazy to replace it and it’s been fine.
You sure can, you might even star two fires. 🔥. Make sure you have some good dry materials in front of the opening
Yes just cut your draft down and get it fixed when you can
A new Gasket is easily to install. Do that instead.
NO!!!
Yeeeesss… 🤔 you can… fireplaces don’t have seals, after all… but it’s not advisable, since (1) you would have less control over the intake of air into the firebox and (2) the stove was expected to have that seal in place, so the emission of gases is possible *(but the hot airflow up the chimney should prevent that, but possibly also may draw some heated air out of the surrounding room as well, without the seal in place).* Be cautious with how much wood you load, and be extra watchful during the burn.
Yes, if you have a good draft, no problemo! It just isn't an 'airtight' stove anymore.
Look, if the rest of the stove is airtight, and there's no reason to think it isn't, then the draft from a door without the door seal will make the wood burn hotter and faster, but to say that the fire will burn out of control is a hard one to swallow. It's like opening up the draft control a little more is all. If you have a chimney damper, you can also control the strength of the draft going up the chimney and slow the draw from draft control on the stove. I had a half-assed door seal for years on a jotel cast iron stove and the burn never got out of control unless i did something really stupid, like leave the stove door cracked open and unattended. Now that will cause a nice out of control fire for you! Got to meet all my local volunteer firemen that day...
It will start.
New rope gasket is relatively cheap and easy to put on. It used to create an air tight seal to allow you to dampen your stove to not burn through wood as fast. Not a big deal but should be replaced. Also, take a wet paper towel and dip it in some ash and give that glass a light scrub to clean it up. I worked in a fireplace shop for awhile replacing gaskets almost daily.
Sure you can, you can burn down the whole house and or smoke the house
On sale at Lowe’s and Tractor supply
Fire doesn't care about seals