Clean glass (for me anyhow)

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jkupcha

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Dec 21, 2006
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I've always (last 4 years) had a problem keeping my glass clean. Our Napoleon High Country has such a big firebox (4.5cu feet) that the glass just never seems to get hot enough to burn off any smoke/creosote. Anyhow this year I have tried a new technique that has really been working well. I start the fire and let it get up to temp with the doors ajar until the glass gets very hot(maybe 20 min). I sacrifice some btu's going up the chimney but when I do shut the doors the glass is so hot it stays clean. No expert here but to me it seems that the hot glass does not accumulate the smoke particles like cooler glass does. (anybody have info on that?)
And when I say dirty glass I mean dirty. Not just some soot that you can wipe away with a paper towel but in years past I would need to use newspapers and ash to scrub the soot and make a paste that slowly takes it off after rubbing hard. So the clean/hot glass trick is really worth it to me.

I am jealous of the people who can start up and shutdown and get soot on the glass but then just burn it off with high temps. Amazing to me because I have one of those cheap mag thermometers stuck to the doors and even with temps on the front doors showing 450-500 degrees it still never burns anything off. Now before someone tells me thats overtemping the stove remember this is a zeroclearance fireplace so its designed for those types of temps. Anyway with super dry wood (2yr) and this new technique my burning experience is sooo much better. - enjoy pilotjoe
 
ehh, i gave up on clean glass. I have a fan that blows across the front of the fireplace to distribute the air.

glad you have a solution though!
 
I use a razor blade scraper ...dip in water and scrape in one direction..1 minute job.
Do it when it's cooler...at reload ..I put my ash bucket under the door so the mess falls into that.
 
I have wiped a little bit of haze off of the glass on the 30 once since November. Just for the heck of it the one day I burned it down to brush the liner.
 
BrotherBart said:
I have wiped a little bit of haze off of the glass on the 30 once since November. Just for the heck of it the one day I burned it down to brush the liner.
Click to expand...


Bored, BB ?
 
Doing The Dixie Eyed Hustle said:
BrotherBart said:
I have wiped a little bit of haze off of the glass on the 30 once since November. Just for the heck of it the one day I burned it down to brush the liner.
Click to expand...


Bored, BB ?
Click to expand...

Pretty much. :smirk:
 
Your not even close to an over temp condition. Try burning it hotter. The kind of glass you describe sounds like pre EPA stove glass. Hard to believe post EPA would do that. I'm 2 weeks into my first EPA stove and glass in crystal clear still. Never has it sooted up at all.
 
Right guys..you never get a dirty window!
I bought some Eco-Bricks and did a fire with them and still got some brown smoke on the glass.
But that's another whole story.
 
HotCoals said:
Right guys..you never get a dirty window!
I bought some Eco-Bricks and did a fire with them and still got some brown smoke on the glass.
But that's another whole story.
Click to expand...

Live with it. I just do not get a dirty glass. Period.

That "low and slow" with the BK is where the dirty glass comes from. Primary air feeds the airwash that keeps the glass clean. Shut down the primary air and you get dirty glass. BK owners talk all the time about gunk on the fire brick and the back of the firebox. My stove looks like somebody tossed a bag of flour into the firebox when I get up in the morning.

I am sitting here watching the night burn settled in through perfectly clear glass. That I wiped on the 23 of December.
 
HotCoals said:
Right guys..you never get a dirty window!
I bought some Eco-Bricks and did a fire with them and still got some brown smoke on the glass.
But that's another whole story.
Click to expand...
If nothing else I am down right amazed at how the glass on that cheapy stove stays dead crystal clear. Not even the slightest haze. I even tried wiping it with a moist towel to see if something was on it. What came off wasn't visible before or after it was so slight. The windows in my house don't stay this clean. I would have thought when adding wood something would develope, but not even then. It really makes for an enjoyable experience seeing the fire like there is no glass in the door.
 
[/Live with it. I just do not get a dirty glass. Period.

That “low and slow†with the BK is where the dirty glass comes from. Primary air feeds the airwash that keeps the glass clean. Shut down the primary air and you get dirty glass. BK owners talk all the time about gunk on the fire brick and the back of the firebox. My stove looks like somebody tossed a bag of flour into the firebox when I get up in the morning.

I am sitting here watching the night burn settled in through perfectly clear glass. That I wiped on the 23 of December.
quote]
Ditto. My brick looks like I haven't had a fire in it yet after 2 wks 24/7 burn.
Click to expand...
 
BrotherBart said:
Live with it. I just do not get a dirty glass. Period.

That "low and slow" with the BK is where the dirty glass comes from. Primary air feeds the airwash that keeps the glass clean. Shut down the primary air and you get dirty glass. BK owners talk all the time about gunk on the fire brick and the back of the firebox. My stove looks like somebody tossed a bag of flour into the firebox when I get up in the morning.
Click to expand...

x2, my glass gets a white haze on it that's about it. If I place a split that's too long n/s that gets close to the glass it'll darken up the glass but will usually clean up by the end of the burn. I've wiped my glass down with a damp paper towel about 3 times this season.

HotCoals you can't expect to have those great burn times without giving up something! :lol:
 
BTW: Thanks pilot joe for the tip for folks with your fireplace model.
 
I usually let the fire get well started before completely closing the door (maybe 10 minutes or so). Then I let the fire burn fairly hot, gradually turning up the fan. Eventually, I starting lowering the air intake. This seems to work with good (well-seasoned) wood. Last year I had problems, but this year with better wood and more experience I have not had problems. I also make sure on subsequent wood additions that I distribute the wood over the whole of the box, so that even the corners are exposed to heat. Of course, it could be just the wood and nothing to do with imagined expertise!
 
Incompletely seasoned wood fuel causes glass to soot up, get dirty quickly. Better seasoned fuel equals more heat, cleaner chimney flue and cleaner glass!

Clean the cold glass with wet (damp) newspaper. Add some ash to clean the more stubborn spots!
Wipe dry with newspaper.
 
Yeah..my wood is ok but could be better seasoned.
I do run her choked a lot.
I do notice if I keep good flames in her all is good.
But I'll take my reload times with cleaning the glass bout every other day.
 
No dirty glass here with the Fireview, I haven't cleaned mine in 2 months. I do get some white haze in the shoulder seasons burning real low and slow but it's not that bad where you can't see the fire and it wipes right off with a damp paper towel. Wonder if double pane glass helps some?

The Keystone is a little different. During cold starts the lower corners may soot up some but after the stove warms up it disappears.
 
Just checked on her.
Been burning since 9 at around 550..hotter then I usually do...I have some decant flame...cat is about 3/4 on the scale stove top near cat is 550-600/if gun.
Glass is clean!
Thermostat is starting to cut her back now..it's on 2.5 instead of 1.5 or 2.
 
Sometimes, dirty glass is caused by uneven airflow through the airwash...the air will always take the path of least resistance. On my Z42CD, the left door glass would stay clean, while on the right door, the lower right corner would always turn black..
After checking the door and window seals for leaks and finding none, what cured the problem for me was using a couple of small magnets to partially block off two of the primary air holes above the left door..
 
When I first started using my stove I had trouble with it.

I have found that it I just leave the stove burn wide open for 20-30 mins and then close. Pretty much same idea that teh OP is doing.
 
I have a white haze near the bottom and i thought it was permanently etched but found that it will come off if you spend half a day rubbing it. Spray hearth glass cleaner wont touch it,but the ceramic electric glass top stove cleaner will at least take it off but it just takes forever. Going to try a good hot burn and see if it improves,I may have left the soot from the last burn in the spring on there over summer,probably not a good idea.
 
HotCoals said:
Right guys..you never get a dirty window!
I bought some Eco-Bricks and did a fire with them and still got some brown smoke on the glass.
But that's another whole story.
Click to expand...
You got it. I might not get 30hr burn times but the glass stays clean as the glass on my house period. In the last month I got a haze so light you had to do a test clean to tell anything was there. And it stays this clean all the time, startup , mid burn, burn down. Any kind of wood it just don't matter. And from a dirt cheap stove sold at the box store.
 
I suggest you don't choke her down. Open her up and let her run free like a wild crazy horse. Just when you think she has had enough open her up little more. That's how you keep your glass clean.
 
That should not be necessary on an EPA stove unless the wood is poorly seasoned. It can have the opposite effect of cooling down the fire and discouraging secondary burn. You keep your glass clean by burning dry wood and running the stove as designed.
 
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