Carbon build up

[vtwoodcutr]

I have had this Vermont Castings Winter Warmer for about four years now and every since it's installation the front glass has had a carbon build up issue. This year I replaced the catalyst and the front door gasket during the annual cleaning. Today, we fired up the unit and after only three hours of burning the glass is already covering with carbon. Always starts at the lower left corner and builds it's way up the glass. We clean it off each morning and it is a pain for sure.
We have tried different air levels, smaller amounts of burning wood etc and nothing seems to help. The vendor is useless in his responses. Can anyone suggest what we are doing wrong or what a solution might be.

 

[DexterDay]

What is your wood situation??

What type of wood???

How long has it seasoned?? A couple months??

Do you buy your wood, or C/S/S your own??

 

[remkel]

Wood would be my suspicion also.

 

[vtwoodcutr]

All off the wood burned in this unit came from one wood lot and consisted of hard wood that my brother and I cut and stacked over a period of three months.The trees had been cut two months before we got into the lot and we stacked the wood and dried it from June until the next year burning season a year and a half later. This lot of split wood was always covered and lasted us for three years. Is it moisture that causes the carbon build up? What are your thoughts on the wood that I burn?

 

[MasterMech]

Burning low and slow all the time can cause soot to build up on the glass even with decent, seasoned wood. Moisture IS a major factor as well. Try burning hotter fires. My old stove would foul the glass quickly aftera reload but if it was burning hot it would burn off the soot in no time once the fire got cranking.

 

[SKIN052]

Could be a draft issue. How is your chimney set up?

 

[steeltowninwv]

my glass always looks bad this time of the year...low and slow burning