Dirty Glass

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LJ4174

LJ4174

Member
Jul 26, 2008
100
South Eastern PA
So I've been burning my Mt. Vernon for going on 3 weeks now. The glass gets black/white within a day of cleaning it. I clean it with a damp paper towel, then use the glass cleaner I got from the place I bought the stove.

Is there any way around this or is this just a fact of burning???
 
If it's getting black, it sounds like your stove may be running a little rich... although I know nothing about your stove.

BTW, brown glass typically means it's running a little lean.
 
It is a fact of burning- you are shooting for the gray ash, which can only be achieved by air restrictor (damper) adjustments.
 
Well it's gray at first, but then I think after the build up it just looks black, but it's all around the top...

So sounds like it's just a fact of burning other than cleaning it, can't do anything about it???
 
If it comes off easily then you are fine, if it is brown and difficult to remove then add more air.
 
Utilitrack said:
If it comes off easily then you are fine, if it is brown and difficult to remove then add more air.
Click to expand...

Nope it comes off easy, actually last time I cleaned it I ran the vacuum brush over it and that got 95% of it off, then I just use the glass cleaner I mentioned to clean it. It just looks so nice when it's nice and clean...
 
LJ4174 said:
Nope it comes off easy, actually last time I cleaned it I ran the vacuum brush over it and that got 95% of it off.....
Click to expand...
I do the same thing with the vacuum brush....I think your OK.
 
Plain and simple.. the glass on any stove will get "ashed-up". Simply clean it at an interval that is appropriate for your tolerance for cleanliness. Personally, I do it once a week, unless expecting company.
 
I hope I can slip this in on this post but I'm having a dickens of a time with my Mt Vernon AE freestanding. I'm getting a soot build up on my glass and this morning when I cleaned the baffle it was in the same shape. I'm burning Marth wood pellets(junk) but trying to control this stove is somewhat of a question to me. I've run this t-stat in Auto but it doesn't seem to burn hot enough under that setting. If I run it in manual it reaches the set temp to often which makes the stove cycle way to much. No doubt that's not good for the ignitor. There are no adjustments except for low through high for the feed, flame adjustment and with four tons of this crap in my garage I'm afraid somewhere along the line it won't be healthy for the stove. At present I have to clean the whole thing every other day which is crazy. Cleaned my outside vent this morning and black ash flakes came a tumbling down. Ran the pellet brush up there multiple times and hopes this takes care of that problem until Saturday again. I called the distributor this morning who I bought these pellets from and am waiting to hear back from him. I can get Lignetics for 240.00 a ton so would like to hear from anyone who's been burning these or any suggestions about the soot problem. All replies are appreciated. Thanks
 
Thank you to those that have responded. I'm a pellet noobie who's been wondering how to properly adjust my damper. To recap is it safe to go by the rule of thumb that if the glass is:
- black or black-ish I'm running it too rich. That is my damper is open a little too much
- brown means I'm running a tad on the lean side. Not enough air, open the damper a tad
- both the brown & black messes are difficult to get off
- grey is ash, grey ash is your friend, you're burning right and it's easy to clean off

Now, what if part of the glass and part is grey?

Thanks,
j
 
jj1949 said:
I hope I can slip this in on this post but I'm having a dickens of a time with my Mt Vernon AE freestanding. I'm getting a soot build up on my glass and this morning when I cleaned the baffle it was in the same shape. I'm burning Marth wood pellets(junk) but trying to control this stove is somewhat of a question to me. I've run this t-stat in Auto but it doesn't seem to burn hot enough under that setting. If I run it in manual it reaches the set temp to often which makes the stove cycle way to much. No doubt that's not good for the ignitor. There are no adjustments except for low through high for the feed, flame adjustment and with four tons of this crap in my garage I'm afraid somewhere along the line it won't be healthy for the stove. At present I have to clean the whole thing every other day which is crazy. Cleaned my outside vent this morning and black ash flakes came a tumbling down. Ran the pellet brush up there multiple times and hopes this takes care of that problem until Saturday again. I called the distributor this morning who I bought these pellets from and am waiting to hear back from him. I can get Lignetics for 240.00 a ton so would like to hear from anyone who's been burning these or any suggestions about the soot problem. All replies are appreciated. Thanks
Click to expand...

First, this would have made a good stand-alone topic. (Start a new thread for this on the main page.) Second, I know this much, if you're not using a thermostat with your stove, don't run it in T-STAT. And third, if you can get Lignetics for $240 a ton, I'd say go for it. I've heard good things about Lignetics and if your stove likes them that'll be sweet. As for all the other stuff, you'll probably get answers by starting a new thread.
 
lass442 said:
jj1949 said:
I hope I can slip this in on this post but I'm having a dickens of a time with my Mt Vernon AE freestanding. I'm getting a soot build up on my glass and this morning when I cleaned the baffle it was in the same shape. I'm burning Marth wood pellets(junk) but trying to control this stove is somewhat of a question to me. I've run this t-stat in Auto but it doesn't seem to burn hot enough under that setting. If I run it in manual it reaches the set temp to often which makes the stove cycle way to much. No doubt that's not good for the ignitor. There are no adjustments except for low through high for the feed, flame adjustment and with four tons of this crap in my garage I'm afraid somewhere along the line it won't be healthy for the stove. At present I have to clean the whole thing every other day which is crazy. Cleaned my outside vent this morning and black ash flakes came a tumbling down. Ran the pellet brush up there multiple times and hopes this takes care of that problem until Saturday again. I called the distributor this morning who I bought these pellets from and am waiting to hear back from him. I can get Lignetics for 240.00 a ton so would like to hear from anyone who's been burning these or any suggestions about the soot problem. All replies are appreciated. Thanks
Click to expand...

First, this would have made a good stand-alone topic. (Start a new thread for this on the main page.) Second, I know this much, if you're not using a thermostat with your stove, don't run it in T-STAT. And third, if you can get Lignetics for $240 a ton, I'd say go for it. I've heard good things about Lignetics and if your stove likes them that'll be sweet. As for all the other stuff, you'll probably get answers by starting a new thread.
Click to expand...

actually i must admit i find this suprising , we tested with marthwood pellets a couple years ago and they were actually one of the better pellets i had worked with (i agree though that lignetics are super too) but the marthwood pellets generally are a brand that i hear very few complaints about (and trust me i hear more complaints about pellets than you can shake a stick at) though i havent burned any this year. does your supplier store the fuel indoors? is it possible they may have picked up some moisture even before you may have bought them?
 
author="StrangeRanger"
- black or black-ish I'm running it too rich. That is my damper is open a little too much
- brown means I'm running a tad on the lean side. Not enough air, open the damper a tad
- both the brown & black messes are difficult to get off
- grey is ash, grey ash is your friend, you're burning right and it's easy to clean off


Thanks,
j
Click to expand...

I think you have the lean/rich thing backwards.

Running Lean means there is too much air for the fuel,

Running Rich means too much fuel for the air.

So if you're lean you want to close the damper a bit to give it less air.

If you are running Rich then open the damper to give a bit more air.
 
"Running Lean means there is too much air for the fuel,

Running Rich means too much fuel for the air. "

At least that's the way cars work ;)

Jim
 
Just an FYI, I was told not to use glass cleaner on the Mt Vernon's glass door. I was told it will create a permanent fog because the glass is ceramic coated. It was recommended to me by the installer that you only use wet paper towel and for stubborn staining wet a paper towel full of ash... don't know if this is true--just passing it along
 
mainegeek said:
Just an FYI, I was told not to use glass cleaner on the Mt Vernon's glass door. I was told it will create a permanent fog because the glass is ceramic coated. It was recommended to me by the installer that you only use wet paper towel and for stubborn staining wet a paper towel full of ash... don't know if this is true--just passing it along
Click to expand...

Yes it works good for stubborn stains. I had a brown stain on my glass that would not come out with anything I used. Tried the wet paper towel with ash, stain gone....................
 
timalabim said:
author="StrangeRanger"
- black or black-ish I'm running it too rich. That is my damper is open a little too much
- brown means I'm running a tad on the lean side. Not enough air, open the damper a tad
- both the brown & black messes are difficult to get off
- grey is ash, grey ash is your friend, you're burning right and it's easy to clean off


Thanks,
j
Click to expand...

I think you have the lean/rich thing backwards.

Running Lean means there is too much air for the fuel,

Running Rich means too much fuel for the air.

So if you're lean you want to close the damper a bit to give it less air.

If you are running Rich then open the damper to give a bit more air.
Click to expand...

Bahh... that's what I meant to say. Thanks for the correction.
j
 
I just use a dry piece of crumpled up newspaper. You can use it when the stove is hot or cold. Works great.
 
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