Over Firing

My WM 523 can glow red on top. It seem I am unable to control the air flow. There is no gasket around the doors and the air flows.

Any suggestions on controlling the fire? I am afraid it will burn the place down.

I'm not familiar with that stove but it sounds like a prime candidate for manual pipe damper, do you have one?

I ran a 523 for many years and never had a problem with it. I used a MPD with it. No baro , just a MPD. Thats got to be getting a lot of air for that to turn red. The top feeding door was not a tight fit but the bottom ash door was a good tight fit, that is how my 523 was made. When it was burning the draft on the ash door would only be open about 1/4" to 1/2" depending on the type of day it was. The top air slots on the feed door were closed. I also sealed the gap where the cast iron top of the stove meets the sides of the stove with furnace cement. After shaking and reloading I was able to control the burn with the ash door draft open 1/4" - 1/2" and the MPD 3/4 closed.

I do have aMPD. I have used a couple of stoves and some you can almost choke out the fire by using MPD. However, the WM does not react as it should. It keeps roaring.

I have tried to seal all areas that I expect suck air and even made mental notes off the areas to seal, but the fire continues to rage at times. I just installed anew stainless chimney from the stove through the roof, a new MPD too before the firing season

Warm morning stoves ordinarily have a tight fitting ash door. Do the dollar bill test. If necessary you can put a thin bead if high temp. silicone on the door flanges and close the door on a sheet of waxed paper placed on the stove body. The mating of the cast iron door flange to the sheet metal also could leak air as well as the rest of the ash compartment. The door is the most likely however.

Not sure where you are, but it sounds like you could have some bituminous coal?
Try to control the under fire air.
When bituminous coal warms up it gives off a lot of gas and heat then it burns nice, but air control may be the biggest suspect.

Thank you for the wax paper and silicon suggestion.

I appreciate everyones suggestions.

The stove is at my camp and I won't be able to get back there until May. I will be able to try the suggestions then. I do remember that at the bottom in the back of the stove there are to small holes (about 1/8 drill bit size). Are those holes suppose to be there?

I am also going to check the MD to see if it has been damaged from over firing this past winter. I far above the stove do you suggest the damper be?

drilled holes in the rear of the unit do not sound correct at all!!! did this stove come from a previous user who had no draft? I know they are not huge holes but its like leaving your bottom door open (no way to control anything if you have open holes)... stuff some furnace cement in them for starters and see what difference you get.

Nepa has some incredible info on stoves that cannot be found anywhere else.... start here Manual for Locke Warm Morning Model 400 ???

In my "best guess" I would agree that those holes shouldn't be there and maybe in that location the stove has rotted thru.. Maybe someone who knows the stove better could chime in

I don't ever recall holes on the 523 that you are talking about. The only place that allowed air to flow was the ash door draft opening and the draft slots on the feed door and these were controlled by me on how I wanted the stove to burn.