Dirty glass - 44 Elite

[Mikeb]

Hey all,

Just had a 44 Elite, pro installed, this year. Have been burning it for several months now. Really like the stove, except for the glass doors needing cleaning after every burn. I've owned several Lopi freestanding fireplaces in the past and have not had this problem. Is this just the nature of the beast? Moisture meter reading of wood ~13. They even darken after burning fire logs (Idaho or presto).

Thanks, Mike.

 

[Isaiah53]

I have been running a 44 Elite for 4 years and this is my experience: Running on full air will keep the glass clean. In order to run on low or minimum air, you generally need to turn the blower speed down to avoid overcooling the firebox (I go down to minimum blower). The key is to keep the firebox temperature sufficiently hot. I place a magnetic thermometer on the door rim near the bottom below the door handles. If I can keep it above 400 F, it generally minimizes the creosote on the doors. If I cannot maintain the temperature above 400 F, I go to full air. I gave up trying to run it on low overnight because it always blackens the doors when the firebox cools down. Keeping the box loaded, using smaller sized pieces of wood and N/S loading also helps. I also have very dry wood and still clean it probably once a week, but it is much better since I started monitoring the temperature and turning the blower down.

 

[webby3650]

We burn a 44 for display in the showroom. The glass gets black if it gets turn down. It's One major down fall of this unit, nice heater though.

 

[Dinnerbellmel]

We burn a 44 for display in the showroom. The glass gets black if it gets turn down. It's One major down fall of this unit, nice heater though.

Is this common for other units as well? I have a Quadrafire 7100 and I turn it down at night. The doors seem to be dirty when I get up in the morning. Should I leave it open as Isaiah commented above?

 

[FPX Dude]

I have 36" vs. 44" and really no glass problems at all. I set blower speed at 2/3 and never touch it, it's like that all the time. I can't shut the air all the way down as yes that will get some glass discoloration and blackening. Since there are no preset air settings, I'd say it's generally around 1/4 open. Meaning, that I slide the lever all the way to the right and then back it off to what feels like about that much. As for glass, I clean about 1-2 times a month from smoky residue that seems to appear, but I think that's pretty typical of any window, and I like it clear.

 

[webby3650]

I have 36" vs. 44" and really no glass problems at all. I set blower speed at 2/3 and never touch it, it's like that all the time. I can't shut the air all the way down as yes that will get some glass discoloration and blackening. Since there are no preset air settings, I'd say it's generally around 1/4 open. Meaning, that I slide the lever all the way to the right and then back it off to what feels like about that much. As for glass, I clean about 1-2 times a month from smoky residue that seems to appear, but I think that's pretty typical of any window, and I like it clear.

The 36's air control is above the door and the 44's is below the door. Maybe there's something to that.?

 

[Mikeb]

Thanks guys ... glad its not just me I'm gonna try burning "choked / low fan" to see how it does, and then maybe " no choke / low fan". I never thought about the fan cooling the box, makes sense though.

Kinda sucks not being able to choke it down for the overnight burn ... this thing is hungry at no choke! This is probably the worst I've ever witnessed. Just the learning curve I guess.

Thanks again.

 

[vetrano]

I have been running a 44 Elite for 4 years and this is my experience: Running on full air will keep the glass clean. In order to run on low or minimum air, you generally need to turn the blower speed down to avoid overcooling the firebox (I go down to minimum blower). The key is to keep the firebox temperature sufficiently hot. I place a magnetic thermometer on the door rim near the bottom below the door handles. If I can keep it above 400 F, it generally minimizes the creosote on the doors. If I cannot maintain the temperature above 400 F, I go to full air. I gave up trying to run it on low overnight because it always blackens the doors when the firebox cools down. Keeping the box loaded, using smaller sized pieces of wood and N/S loading also helps. I also have very dry wood and still clean it probably once a week, but it is much better since I started monitoring the temperature and turning the blower down.

Isaiah53 - Do you have any issues with temperatures getting too high if you fully load the stove with wood and keep the full air? I'm trying to keep the glass cleaner on my Regency CI2600 which appears to have a similar issue with dirty glass when the air is closed off.

 

[Isaiah53]

Isaiah53 - Do you have any issues with temperatures getting too high if you fully load the stove with wood and keep the full air? I'm trying to keep the glass cleaner on my Regency CI2600 which appears to have a similar issue with dirty glass when the air is closed off.

I apologize for not responding sooner, but I have been away. No I have not seen temperatures over about 600 F ever. I think certain types of wood might be able get too hot if heavily loaded, but I have not seen it.

 

[vetrano]

I apologize for not responding sooner, but I have been away. No I have not seen temperatures over about 600 F ever. I think certain types of wood might be able get too hot if heavily loaded, but I have not seen it.

Thanks for getting back to me. Where do you measure temperature? My temperatures are much higher but I am measuring the cat exhaust.

 

[Isaiah53]

Thanks for getting back to me. Where do you measure temperature? My temperatures are much higher but I am measuring the cat exhaust.

I place a magnetic surface thermometer on right side door rim just below the handle/lever (near the bottom of the door). I try to put it close to where the creosote first starts to form on the glass.