Best method for cleaning glass?

Bmore · Dec 31, 2015

Hey All,
What do you use to clean your door glass? Starting my second season with wood a little less than dry. I like to clean up the door for company, but it is a tedious chore scraping with a razor. Any better cleaners or just need a wider razor?
Thanks!

Squisher · Dec 31, 2015

Wetted newsprint dipped in ash. Scrub, repeat if necessary and wipe clean. Only when the glass is cool of course.

tcassavaugh · Dec 31, 2015

i use a glass cleaner made for creosote removal, picked up at Ace, True Value and probably others.. it doesn't get it all but most of it. sometimes if you run a hot fire, it will burn off the glass. i've never used a razor so i can't comment on that procedure.

mellow · Dec 31, 2015

Our stoves have horrible air washes for the front window, for the hard crusty creosote the razor blade will be the quickest way to get it off. I have tried everything but after a couple long slow burns the glass can only be cleaned off with a nice sharp razor blade, you can try scrubbing till the cows come home with ash or other cleaners and it just won't work.

I found a razor blade holder that window washers use, it does a good job and allows me to put some pressure on the blade without it breaking.

Supersurvey · Dec 31, 2015

I use the Rutland cleaner. Not the spray. Use tbe paste it cleans 100 percent.

mellow · Dec 31, 2015

Tried the paste, it takes a while and quite a bit of it for it to soak into the creosote to loosen it up. I would have to put globs of that blue stuff on the window and rub till my arm hurt to try and get the creosote off.

Razor is hands down the fastest way to remove the junk off the window.

jscs.moore · Dec 31, 2015

Bmore said:
Hey All,
What do you use to clean your door glass? Starting my second season with wood a little less than dry. I like to clean up the door for company, but it is a tedious chore scraping with a razor. Any better cleaners or just need a wider razor?
Thanks!

I have a Hampton HI300 and in my first season of burning so haven't had much of a problem so far with the glass getting smoked up. I have tried to burn hot with very dry wood and so far have only gotten a slight film on the glass that wipes clean with a damp paper towel? P.S. I noticed the picture of your Buck 91...that's a beautiful looking insert and mantel. I know the Buck 91 is a big insert with a huge firebox that puts out a lot of heat! Have you had any concerns about the wood trim around the mantel getting too hot? I have had my mantel and wood trim clearences double checked by the dealer and he said they are fine...but sometimes the wood trim does feel hot to the touch above cast iron surround? So I'm just curious what your experience has been?

Squisher · Dec 31, 2015

Interesting replies. So far for me the newsprint has worked flawlessly but this is my first stove with a glass door and I believe the summits are somewhat renowned for keeping the glass clean, so that must be why I've found it to work so well.

saskwoodburner · Dec 31, 2015

Squisher said:
Wetted newsprint dipped in ash. Scrub, repeat if necessary and wipe clean. Only when the glass is cool of course.

This is the easiest, and simplest solution to dirty glass.

Of course, I'm lazy this year, and haven't worried about it, but it doesn't change that fact.

The dark stuff comes off pretty easy too with ashes, but if your glass is brown from anything other than a log that fell against it, I would say the burning temp is too low.

A hot fire should turn the brown crud (if you have any) into white haze anyways.

mellow · Dec 31, 2015

Check out this video for the blade I am talking about:

Bmore · Dec 31, 2015

jscs.moore said:
I have a Hampton HI300 and in my first season of burning so haven't had much of a problem so far with the glass getting smoked up. I have tried to burn hot with very dry wood and so far have only gotten a slight film on the glass that wipes clean with a damp paper towel? P.S. I noticed the picture of your Buck 91...that's a beautiful looking insert and mantel. I know the Buck 91 is a big insert with a huge firebox that puts out a lot of heat! Have you had any concerns about the wood trim around the mantel getting too hot? I have had my mantel and wood trim clearences double checked by the dealer and he said they are fine...but sometimes the wood trim does feel hot to the touch above cast iron surround? So I'm just curious what your experience has been?

My surround was getting a bit hot on the closest edges to the stove. The underside of the mantle gets warm but seems fine. I bent some aluminum to protect the surround. I checked it on hot burns with the IR gun and it seemed to do the trick. I wanted my shields small and not real noticeable. Turned out pretty clean.

Bmore · Dec 31, 2015

mellow said:
Check out this video for the blade I am talking about:

Thanks Mellow, looks much easier than what I'm doing. I will pick one up.

Bmore · Dec 31, 2015

saskwoodburner said:
This is the easiest, and simplest solution to dirty glass.

Of course, I'm lazy this year, and haven't worried about it, but it doesn't change that fact. The dark stuff comes off pretty easy too with ashes, but if your glass is brown from anything other than a log that fell against it, I would say the burning temp is too low.

A hot fire should turn the brown crud (if you have any) into white haze anyways.

Yes, the Buck would stay clean if I kept it nice and hot. I have to turn the air down to achieve all night burns and the outcome is normally hot coals and dirty glass in the morning. Sometimes it's all good with my best wood. Not cold enough here yet to give it all...

saskwoodburner · Dec 31, 2015

Bmore said:
Yes, the Buck would stay clean if I kept it nice and hot. I have to turn the air down to achieve all night burns and the outcome is normally hot coals and dirty glass in the morning. Sometimes it's all good with my best wood. Not cold enough here yet to give it all...

Give it a spirited run with some smaller splits or bigger kindling, just a 1/4 firebox kind of load. That brown should turn to grey or white.

mellow · Dec 31, 2015

Looks like the warm December is about to turn into cold January, I have been letting the heat pump run so far, looks like I will be starting a fire tonight and keep it going the rest of the season.

Heatsource · Dec 31, 2015

commercial stove glass cleaner, and a razor

jscs.moore · Dec 31, 2015

Bmore said:
My surround was getting a bit hot on the closest edges to the stove. The underside of the mantle gets warm but seems fine. I bent some aluminum to protect the surround. I checked it on hot burns with the IR gun and it seemed to do the trick. I wanted my shields small and not real noticeable. Turned out pretty clean.

Thanks for the pics...I really like what you did. I thought about a heat shield to be extra safe above cast iron surround but don't like how they look. What aluminum material did you use, where did you get it...and how did you adhere it to the surround? Looks great and is just what I would like to do!

Bmore · Dec 31, 2015

jscs.moore said:
Thanks for the pics...I really like what you did. I thought about a heat shield to be extra safe above cast iron surround but don't like how they look. What aluminum material did you use, where did you get it...and how did you adhere it to the surround? Looks great and is just what I would like to do!

I used some pre-bent peices of building materials and slightly re shaped to my needs. I have some drop ceiling wall tracks on sides, and door head flashing across the top. Sell it all in Home Depot. I was able to slide it between the brick face and wood surround. It pretty much stays up on its own. Tucked in some extra thick pieces as shims to keep it tight. No nails, glue, etc...

jatoxico · Dec 31, 2015

Oven cleaner. Dab it on wait 30 sec and wipe off.

Hickorynut · Dec 31, 2015

My lopi freedom insert gets smoky, dirty glass constantly. Wetted paper towels dipped in fine ashes works well for me if I don't let it go for too long. Otherwise, the carbon can cake on there hard and the razor blade then comes in handy. These guys that have a clean glass all time, must be nice :confused:

firefighterjake · Jan 1, 2016

Damp paper towel or newspaper . . . and if need be I dip the damp paper towel or newspaper into some of the fine ash and use that to remove any particularly stubborn spots on the glass.

bokehman · Jan 1, 2016

To get the glas to clean up you just need to get it hot. 750-800f for half an hour should be good. But you need the air turned right down or the glass will never get hot enough to clean up. Only way to keep glass clean is good wood. If you burn crap/unseasoned wood you need lots of air, and when you have lots of air running through your stove the glass will never get hot enough for pyrolytic cleaning.

Bmore · Jan 1, 2016

bokehman said:
To get the glas to clean up you just need to get it hot. 750-800f for half an hour should be good. But you need the air turned right down or the glass will never get hot enough to clean up. Only way to keep glass clean is good wood. If you burn crap/unseasoned wood you need lots of air, and when you have lots of air running through your stove the glass will never get hot enough for pyrolytic cleaning.

That's interesting, I will try it out with good wood. I keep the air wash open trying to clean the glass. Never thought to turn the air down to heat it off.
Thank you

blueguy · Jan 1, 2016

I stopped trying to continuously keep my window clean - it'll only gunk up during the next load anyways. When I do clean it, I use a razor blade followed up by some ceramic cooktop cleaner.

Judging by some of the replies in this thread, there aren't any BK owners that have replied so far [emoji2]

begreen · Jan 1, 2016

True, we burn a hot fire starting up every morning. Our stove glass gets cleaned about once a month during ash dumping. Even after a month all there is on the glass is a thin haze. Wood ash on a damp paper towel works fine. In commercial products Rutland's glass cleaner works well and lasts forever.

Best method for cleaning glass?

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