EZ Off for glass

[jrcurto]

I hope everyone is having a good burning season so far, my Rangeley is doing very well. Just wanted to let anyone kow that if you want to clean your glass quickly while the stove is cool, EZ Off makes a grill cleaner that works almost instantly. Although I have used oven cleaner in the past, this stuff doesnt smell as bad as full strength and is better than the fume-free. I mix some 1 yr old oak in with my white ash on occasion and it results in sooty glass. Just so I dont get yelled at for not burning dry wood

 

[Martin Strand III]

Most everyone now days doesn't throw money away, by buying glass oven cleaners and such, to clean their dirty stove glass.

Right in front of you, you'll find the free stuff ready to use.

Just put some ash on a damp cloth and have at it.

Aye,
Marty

 

[Hogwildz]

All it takes is on hard, or foreign none ash element to make the glass nice and scratched.
I know many use ash, I don't. Cleaner is not that expensive. If I can't afford a that, I have bigger problems.

 

[PapaDave]

I've got a bottle of the Rutland conditioning glass cleaner. I've had it for about 3 years and it's still almost half full (notice I didn't say half empty? ;-) ).
It's 8 ounces, so not a ton of cleaner at all. Price on sticker is $3.92 from the Wallmeister.
I don't use it every day (don't need to) or even once a week, just whenever I feel like it (as long as it's at least a little dirty). I figure I've got at least this season and probably next before this bottle is used up.
Doesn't take much most of the time, but I'll get stuff on the glass that's a bit stubborn and have to use a little drop more. I also just used a damp washcloth yesterday (cold glass) and most of the crud came off.
Heck, last year I was taking a wire wheel to the stove and repainting. Got the idea that the gasket cement on the glass gasket needed to come off, so I used the wheel on it.
If I look at the glass just right, I can see some little scratches at the edges. Pretty tough stuff.

 

[Martin Strand III]

All it takes is on hard, or foreign none ash element to make the glass nice and scratched.
I know many use ash, I don't. Cleaner is not that expensive. If I can't afford a that, I have bigger problems.

For eye glasses, this matters.
For a camera lens, this matters.
For window glass, this matters,
For automobile windows, this matters.
For binocular lenses, this matters.
For thermal glass in a wood stove door, this matters not.
* You can see flames thru a scratched glass, if you wish
to watch flames.
* If seeing clearly thru a wood stove glass door were at all critical,
all wood stove doors would have glass, which they do not,
and proper care would then be required.
* If you burn hot and not smolder your fire, you get minimal
creosote build up on the glass door.

It seems some "prefer" not to scratch the glass in their wood stove
doors and spend money to avoid scratches with store bought cleaners.
This is fine. Of course you can do this albeit a waste of money.

I have cleaned my wood stove glass for years, without scratching it
appreciably, using small amounts of fine wood ash, a damp cloth
and care. If this did not work so well, I might have to buy a glass
cleaner. However, this is simply not the case.

To those who enjoy wasting money on small unnecessary items,
like glass cleaners: please contact me - I have a wonderful tire
cleaner to sell you...

Aye,
Marty

 

[jrcurto]

Sure Marty, Ill buy the cleaner from you, I like Armor All on my tires as well.

 

[Martin Strand III]

Sure Marty, Ill buy the cleaner from you, I like Armor All on my tires as well.

Thanks, but you've missed something: I don't have glass cleaner because I don't use it.

Aye,
Marty

 

[Troutchaser]

It boils down to what degree the glass is sooted up. I've smoldered fires through the night and woke up to find black glass. Hand over the oven cleaner please.
For day in and day out mid-winter burning, a moist napkin does the job.

 

[castlegates]

I have a mist sprayer and I hold it BACK and mist the glass until it should be wet (most of it steams right off; I do this while hot so don't stream it, mist it). I close it, open and repeat it it's bad. Once it's been closed for a while and heated up nicely, I open back up, dip a paper towel into my vat of humidity water sitting on top of the stove and it wipes right off. THis depends a lot on how your stove burns and how efficient it is (just a guess). When I've got wet pieces in there, more smoke/creosote crap accumulates and coates everything. When it's nice and dry, all that coating burns off and the inside of the stove and glass burn clean )

 

[bogydave]

I hope everyone is having a good burning season so far, my Rangeley is doing very well. Just wanted to let anyone kow that if you want to clean your glass quickly while the stove is cool, EZ Off makes a grill cleaner that works almost instantly. Although I have used oven cleaner in the past, this stuff doesnt smell as bad as full strength and is better than the fume-free. I mix some 1 yr old oak in with my white ash on occasion and it results in sooty glass. Just so I dont get yelled at for not burning dry wood

Tried it tonight, glass looks good clean.
Thanks for the tip.
I think it will soot up but I got the heave stuff off the bottom corners that's been there since early spring.
Hoping it don't soot up as bad now that I cleaned it.

 

[Trktrd]

I have found that a little hydrogen peroxide on a paper towel or rag works wonders, and cheap too.

 

[Adios Pantalones]

Burn hot once and there's no black. Now just wipe with water and a paper towel.

If you're burning correctly you should only have haze on the glass- easy to remove.

 

[Hogwildz]

For thermal glass in a wood stove door, this matters not. This is a matter of opinion, which I bet most here would disagree with you.
* You can see flames thru a scratched glass, if you wish
to watch flames. Again, I am sure, most would rather not have the glass scratched and have to look a the fire through a haze of scratches.
* If seeing clearly thru a wood stove glass door were at all critical,
all wood stove doors would have glass, which they do not,
and proper care would then be required. I don't know of any new finer line wood stoves that don't have a glass for viewing.
* If you burn hot and not smolder your fire, you get minimal
creosote build up on the glass door. It is not creosote that is the problem, even if you burn correct with good wood, you will get fly ash build up, and if you burn North to South, with the ends too close to the glass, the nasties coming out the end of the splits will also add to the build up on the glass.

As I expressed, some like to use ash, some don't. I have an old glass that you can't see anything but a glow through from doing so. I prefer to see the fire. Clean your glass as you wish.

 

[snowleopard]

Agree with Hog on this one. I tried the ash trick once, found it pretty messy, and also heard little scritch-scritch sounds. About the same time I read a post on here from someone asking why her glass had so many fine scratches in it, creating a clouded appearance. I put 2 and 2 together, and came up with springing for the Rutland. Recently I also tried the hydrogen peroxide trick--it works really well, so thanks for that one! Sometimes I use both together. I clean my glass more than anyone I know, because I love that `fireplace' view that I get with a clean glass. Sometimes I just burn it off, and other times I clean it.

I can see flames through a scratched glass, if I wish to watch flames. I can look at the mountains through a piece of scratched up plexiglas, too, but I prefer my windows.

I know that not all woodstoves have glass--I lived for years with the kind that didn't. That's why I bought a stove with a window in it, because I like seeing the fire. That's why I bought a Hearthstone over a Fireview, in part, because of the big glass door and beautiful secondaries. So why in the world wouldn't I keep the fire visible?

If I burn my stove hot all the time, the house gets too hot. I shut it down at times, and sometimes my glass darkens. Sue me.

"It seems some “prefer†not to scratch the glass in their wood stove
doors and spend money to avoid scratches with store bought cleaners.
This is fine. Of course you can do this albeit a waste of money."

I "prefer" to take care of the investment I made in my stove and to take a few minutes of my time to preserve a pleasure I enjoy. I bought the stove for aesthetics as well as heat, and I don't mind taking care of it. I love watching the flames in the evening. My family congregates around the stove and we enjoy the fire.
Who's to say that this is a waste of money? Some people buy beer, drink it, and flush it down the loo later. Some people buy People magazine, fingernail polish, or tickets to a monster truck rally. Some people go to the Olympics, and some people scuba dive. If you have discretionary funds, and want to use them to enhance your life in ways that are meaningful to you, it's your business. What matters to one person doesn't matter to everyone. I don't require anyone else to pay for my Rutland, and last I heard, they weren't clubbing baby seals to make it.

I don't need tire cleaner for my 91 Subaru. Would I mock the Ferrari driver for cleaning his/her tires? Nope. I would assume that if they cared enough to invest in a car like that, it's natural to want to take care of it.

 

[firefighterjake]

Burn hot once and there's no black. Now just wipe with water and a paper towel.

If you're burning correctly you should only have haze on the glass- easy to remove.

Couldn't say it any better . . . well other than the fact that I'm really cheap and just use a few sheets of newspaper instead of paper towel.

I used to use the ash dipped newpaper . . . but found like you said . . . if you're burning correctly with good wood and doing things right you should only need a damp newspaper sans ash . . . although truth be told . . . I didn't worry too much about using the fine ash either.

 

[pen]

I think this horse has been ridden as far as it is going to (or needs to) go.

Good suggestions.

pen