cracked my glass

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Flame On

Flame On

Member
Sep 25, 2008
80
Southeast PA
I let the door swing back too hard and cracked the glass on my VC Winterwarm Small. What are my options here? The manual says to use VC glass because it is coated on one side to reflect heat back into the box. (And I believe that as my arm has felt the heat coming off that thing when I load.) Others on the site have said to hit onedayglass.com for a new piece cut to size. Is the ceramic glass I get from onedayglass.com the same thing?
Once I get the glass, replacement seems pretty simple unless there is a reason to swap out the gasket. Thoughts on this?
 
Check out the local glass shop. They generally have great prices and will get you burning again pretty quickly. If you can take the door off for them to take measurements and fit the glass even better. When I had to replace glass in my last stove they installed a piece of ceramic coated glass for me.

Matt
 
I can't speak to the one side coating but I tried my local glass shops and they wanted and arm and 2 legs for a piece of neoceram so used onedayglass. If you order from them, make sure you pay attention to their statement that they will be within 1/16th. I ordered full size and had to use my Dremel to get the piece to fit. I was able to get 2 pieces and paid less than I would've for 1 at my local stove shop including shipping.
 
Also, you might as well replace the gasket while you are at it. Measure what you need now and make sure you have it on hand. I waited until the glass came and found nobody carried the size/shape gasket I needed.
 
Update
I spent the morning getting the lowdown only to discover that my best bet is to order the replacement part from VC. The Neoceran and Pyroceran glass that are avaible online and at local glass shops do not have the infrared (IR) coating on the outside. This coating is put on to reflect heat back into the box to get your fire even hotter. It is applied to the outside of the glass and when you mount new glass, it has to be put in a certain way.
As much as I wanted to order a piece of the far cheaper Neoceran, I went with the replacement piece from VC.
 
Flame On said:
Update
I spent the morning getting the lowdown only to discover that my best bet is to order the replacement part from VC. The Neoceran and Pyroceran glass that are avaible online and at local glass shops do not have the infrared (IR) coating on the outside. This coating is put on to reflect heat back into the box to get your fire even hotter. It is applied to the outside of the glass and when you mount new glass, it has to be put in a certain way.
As much as I wanted to order a piece of the far cheaper Neoceran, I went with the replacement piece from VC.
Click to expand...

I'm embarrassed to say, I can't quite remember how I solved this problem. My Intrepid was burning over a long, cold weekend in SE Pennsylvania, and I had let the coal bed build up way too high. It was over the ash fettles, touching the glass. This is before I had the fireproof gloves to handle the ash pan. (I could have shoveled them out - duh!) The glass on one of the doors cracked while I was standing right in front of it. Good thing I wasn't out of the house or something, although I believe it would have been OK anyway.

I did that same dance, chasing down the glass, and I think I found a glass place in Wilmington, DE that carried the stove glass coated one side. But if memory serves, I ended up going with VC factory glass. It also fits perfectly too, which doesn't hurt.

When you change it out, also maybe consider going to the homestore and replacing the screws with some grade 8 hardware if you can find it. This way you won't ever strip them trying to get 'em out in the future. If no grade 8, still not a bad idea to get a few new stove bolts to have on hand. Mine are almost all 1/4-20, common stuff.

Changing the gaskets is a must. You don't have to do both doors together, but buy enough gasket material for the other, and buy the glass for both doors now, better than waiting around later on. Bring a sample of the gasket with you, because if the guy doesn't know exactly, he's gonna ask "Is it 1/4", 3/8"?"
 
Flame On said:
Update
I spent the morning getting the lowdown only to discover that my best bet is to order the replacement part from VC. The Neoceran and Pyroceran glass that are avaible online and at local glass shops do not have the infrared (IR) coating on the outside. This coating is put on to reflect heat back into the box to get your fire even hotter. It is applied to the outside of the glass and when you mount new glass, it has to be put in a certain way.
As much as I wanted to order a piece of the far cheaper Neoceran, I went with the replacement piece from VC.
Click to expand...


How much did VC charge for the glass and what is the expect turn-around time for delivery? VC tends to be a bit of a pain in the ass when it comes to the wait time for replacement parts.
 
I ordered the glass through a VC dealer in Jersey called Hot Box. They were the cheapest. Alot of the dealers were rude and overpriced. They couldn't be bothered with a part order. In the end however I had to pick up the glass myself at a supply house down by the NE Philly airport. Total damage to the wallet 300 bucks. My advice, don't ever crack your glass.
 
My advice is to forget about the hype about the IR coating. Rick
 
BrowningBAR said:
How much did VC charge for the glass and what is the expect turn-around time for delivery? VC tends to be a bit of a pain in the ass when it comes to the wait time for replacement parts.
Click to expand...

My local dealer took one out of the unit on the showroom floor last February and only charged me cost for it...close to $100 for an Encore.
 
BrowningBAR said:
How much did VC charge for the glass and what is the expect turn-around time for delivery? VC tends to be a bit of a pain in the ass when it comes to the wait time for replacement parts.
Click to expand...

You got that right. I broke one of my refractory bricks during cleaning, and ordered a new one from my local dealer. Took about 5 weeks to come in, went to pick it up last Monday and the damn thing was broken when I opened the box in the parking lot! I went back in and showed them and now I get to wait who knows how long for another one, that's possibly broken.

Also when my Montpelier meade surround came in last year the installers didn't open the box until the day of installation (2 months after the surround came in) and lo and behold the surround was broken so I got a nice 5 week wait on that.
 
fossil said:
My advice is to forget about the hype about the IR coating. Rick
Click to expand...

I agree with that sentiment.

SolarAndWood said:
BrowningBAR said:
How much did VC charge for the glass and what is the expect turn-around time for delivery? VC tends to be a bit of a pain in the ass when it comes to the wait time for replacement parts.
Click to expand...

My local dealer took one out of the unit on the showroom floor last February and only charged me cost for it...close to $100 for an Encore.
Click to expand...

You have an Encore and a King?
 
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