Gasket Issue?

I think I may have a Gasket issue either on my loading door or glass. The fire seems to be burning very much in front and going straight up and then back up the pipe. When I open the ash door to shake down or spark the fire up, I get a huge thrush of fire up the front of the loading door and really sucks out thru the pipe, obviously the pipe temp rises quickly. Something just does not seem right.

Any thoughts?

what model is this? is it a "boiler stove" or just a hand fired radiant or what? Any chance you have build up of ash in the rear grate area of the firebox somehow? I get uneven burn all the time throughout the firebox when an area is not breathing 'cause of ash buildup. this unit doesn't have a slice bar and slots for helping de ash does it? Any smokers in your household? gasket leaks can be discovered with a burning cigarette, or some other smoke pluming portable device, such as incense. look for irregularities in the gasket itself and if it seems intact, then for differences in the amount of dirt or dust in places. sometimes the buildup or lack of, can show where you have a leak. Lemme know about the stove.