Black on the glass after few hours!

[kingteto]

Hi All,
I have Quadrafire Mt. vernon insert. I clean the glass every other day , but there are too much black on the glass after I run it for few hours.. Please see picture.

I run it on flame 4 using hardwood pellet green supreme http://greensupremewoodpellets.info/
Please advise! The stove was not like that before using the same setting. Thanks for your help!

 

[RAVinMetrowest]

I found that my glass has air holes around the perimeter that can get clogged with FOD.

I've used my compressor to blow them out.

I also use the 2 Rutland products, ending with the conditioner. It improves cleaning as well.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Did you adjust the stove to match the new fuel supply you are feeding it?

 

[kingteto]

Did you adjust the stove to match the new fuel supply you are feeding it?

yes .. nothing changed, i;m using the same since the beginning of the winter .. I'm reading about airwash, but I;m not sure where is that

 

[kingteto]

I found that my glass has air holes around the perimeter that can get clogged with FOD.

I've used my compressor to blow them out.

I also use the 2 Rutland products, ending with the conditioner. It improves cleaning as well.

I will look at the glass from inside when it cool down to see if there is any holes there. Thanks

 

[kappel15]

A sure cause of dirty glass right away is a dirty stove. Have you cleaned the exhaust path? Thru stove and exhaust pipe? Cleaned the holes at bottom of heat exchanger? Pot holes clean? Running a little rich? The AE doesn't have air holes. kap

 

[kingteto]

A sure cause of dirty glass right away is a dirty stove. Have you cleaned the exhaust path? Thru stove and exhaust pipe? Cleaned the holes at bottom of heat exchanger? Pot holes clean? Running a little rich? The AE doesn't have air holes. kap

This is my first year with this new stove. So I assume the exhaust path still clean, But I added screen with big holes at the end of my vent to block bugs maybe this causing issue.

 

[kappel15]

Some that have put screens on the end caps, had issues with it getting frosted over or dirty. You need to take your baffle off and see how dirty the fins are on the heat exchanger. When you clean them, you also need to suck out the holes at the bottom on both sides. kap

 

[LordmetalZ28]

Its the green supremes. There loaded with bark this year. Im going thru the same thing. Ive burned half a ton of these green supremes this year. Cant wait till there gone. My stove is clean to. I go over certain sections of the stove daily, weekly, monthly.

 

[LordmetalZ28]

These green supremes are very inconsistent this year varying from bag to bag.

 

[Jigger]

I have an Englander stove that is vent directly through the wall. To a 7 foot double walled 3 inch chimney. The pipe going through the wall is 24 inches long. If I do not clean out the chimney at least once every 2 weeks. The horizontal pipe collects enough fine dust. That it starts to chock off the exhaust. Which causes the fire to starve for air. I can tell this is happening because my glass will start to turn black very similar to yours. I took a short video of the amount of ash that collects in the pipe. Mind you this is after one week of operation.

 

[cold front]

I'm not a stove pro but, based on my experiences with this type of problem on my first stove; I can say that if the build up is greasy black it's crap pellets or slow burn low flame and if it's a dry glossy black build up you getting too much combustion air and too quick a burn.

 

[lagger]

Its the green supremes. There loaded with bark this year. Im going thru the same thing. Ive burned half a ton of these green supremes this year. Cant wait till there gone. My stove is clean to. I go over certain sections of the stove daily, weekly, monthly.

could be .. I bought 5 or ten bags to try and will not buy more .. glass clouded over with brown stuff after 1/2 bag.. ashy as heck and low heat too

 

[MommyOf4]

I had the same issue with my stove. I completely cleaned out my stove only to find out it was the stinkin' pellet brand!

 

[SidecarFlip]

I have an Englander stove that is vent directly through the wall. To a 7 foot double walled 3 inch chimney. The pipe going through the wall is 24 inches long. If I do not clean out the chimney at least once every 2 weeks. The horizontal pipe collects enough fine dust. That it starts to chock off the exhaust. Which causes the fire to starve for air. I can tell this is happening because my glass will start to turn black very similar to yours. I took a short video of the amount of ash that collects in the pipe. Mind you this is after one week of operation.

Hope you didn't give any pedestrians lung cancer.....lol

 

[SidecarFlip]

Hi All,
I have Quadrafire Mt. vernon insert. I clean the glass every other day , but there are too much black on the glass after I run it for few hours.. Please see picture.

I run it on flame 4 using hardwood pellet green supreme http://greensupremewoodpellets.info/
Please advise! The stove was not like that before using the same setting. Thanks for your help!

View attachment 148280

It's either loaded with ash (you need to clean it out frequently) or your a/f ratio is wrong. I don't go with bad pellets. Any pellet will burn correctly with little deposit on the glass if the a/f ratio is correct and the stove exhaust path is clean.

 

[Harvey Schneider]

There are two areas that need attention on the MVAE.
There are two rectangular ports at the back, behind the baffle, one to each side of the feed chute. Ash will fill these, especially if you are burning a very dirty pellet. I use a five foot piece of flexible plastic tubing from the hardware store, coupled to my ash vac to clear these passages. I hold one hand where the tubes meet and use the other to manuver the plastic tube into the ports. Obviously this is done with the stove stone cold. I do this about once a month.
The other is the holes in the fire pot that bring air into the burning pile of pellets. There are some near the front of the pot that are difficult to see and can easily be overlooked. The tip of the odd shaped tool provided with the stove can be used to ream the buildup out of these holes. That includes the slit that is facing the igniter.
If either of these areas is clogged, the stove will soot up the glass quickly.
That being said, the quality of the pellets makes an enormous difference. I used to go a week between cleanings with Greene Team, or Lignetics pellets. This year I switched to LG Granules and I find that after two weeks I can still see the fire clearly. The glass does have some haze around the sides, but the center is still mostly clear. The LG's are a softwood pellet and produce less ash and soot.

 

[SidecarFlip]

A length of 3/4" od garden hose with the end cut on an angle works well too. 3/4" snugly fits the refucer coupling on a shop vac btw.

 

[F4jock]

Its the green supremes. There loaded with bark this year. Im going thru the same thing. Ive burned half a ton of these green supremes this year. Cant wait till there gone. My stove is clean to. I go over certain sections of the stove daily, weekly, monthly.

Amen! With respect to ash production one of the worst pellets I've ever used!

 

[F4jock]

It's either loaded with ash (you need to clean it out frequently) or your a/f ratio is wrong. I don't go with bad pellets. Any pellet will burn correctly with little deposit on the glass if the a/f ratio is correct and the stove exhaust path is clean.

And what loads it with ash? Those GS pellets. One of the ashiest pellets I've tried. Won't use them again unless no others are available. Have now run five weeks without a major cleaning on Lignetics. Just one ash dump and three glass and firebox sweeps. Probably going to clean it today just because.

 

[hyfire]

Any horizontal section will fill with ash, its just the nature of things, here is mine after 40 bags........

 

[rona]

This is my first year with this new stove. So I assume the exhaust path still clean, But I added screen with big holes at the end of my vent to block bugs maybe this causing issue.

That screen can plug up with frost or soot in the winter. We take them off. When we the last time you pulled the heavy heat exchanger and cleaned it? If you have been burning since fall it is time to clean it.

 

[Harvey Schneider]

That screen can plug up with frost or soot in the winter. We take them off. When we the last time you pulled the heavy heat exchanger and cleaned it? If you have been burning since fall it is time to clean it.

That should be part of a thorough stove cleaning about every half ton. Mid winter, for me, that comes out to about every two to three weeks. While the soot behind the baffle hurts heat exchanger efficiency, the lower vent passages seem to be the weak point when it comes to blocking air flow.

 

[tjnamtiw]

yes .. nothing changed, i;m using the same since the beginning of the winter .. I'm reading about airwash, but I;m not sure where is that

ARE YOU SURE??? That flame looks awfully high! From the manual >
''On HIGH setting, the flame will extend approximately 8
inches (203mm) out of the firepot. If it is not 8 inches
(203mm) tall, increase the flame height.
• On MEDIUM or LOW setting the flame will be shorter.
• Reduce the fl ame height if the fire has tall flames with
black tails and seems somewhat lazy. This may also
indicate that the firepot and/or heat exchanger needs to
be cleaned.''

'Black tails' could be causing your black glass, perhaps?? You CAN'T count on using the same settings since the beginning of winter. Pellets change even from the same manufacturer let alone if you change brands. These things are not set and forget.

 

[F4jock]

These things are not set and forget.

Unless of course you have a Harman.