Glass vs. creosote

[Highbeam]

I use the razor blade, actually a box cutter blade, to scrape off that thick, crusty, bubbly, type of creosote. We're not talking about an amber film here guys and probably not talking about anything remotely tarlike but more like hard bedliner material such as Line-X. The heavy dry accumulation does not cover the whole window so a combination of standard glass cleaning techniques (ash and paper, chemicals, rutland paste) plus the blade gets it clean.

The real heavy stuff is so dry that the razor blade shoots off black crystally powder as it works. Remember, the stove glass is not glass, it is clear ceramic. Supposedly quite resistant to this type of abuse.

 

[mstoelton]

I use windex it works great!

 

[begreen]

I cleaned the stove glass once this last season in January. It had a fine powder of ash dust on it. I used a little Rutland glass cleaner. The bottle is still half-full after 6 yrs..

 

[Woody Stover]

I use windex it works great!

I've seen a couple manuals that advised against using anything containing ammonia....

 

[Highbeam]

I've seen a couple manuals that advised against using anything containing ammonia....

On my old Lopi I would use pure ammonia on a paper towel. It worked well but not as well as the blue rutland liquid paste stuff. The fumes though, the ammonia is stinky.

 

[webby3650]

I used to be against the spray, Until I started using it regularly. I use the Woodstove glass cleaner from Meeco, I'm yet to find a stove with bad enough glass that it won't clean. I rarely ever need it at home, but I use it all the time in the field. It's so easy and cheap!

 

[Soundchasm]

On the downstairs beast (no airwash), I use a razor and 00 or 000 steel wool. I did use the liquid cleaners but they're such a mess. They etch the paint and stain the concrete along with the odor. I get the unit up to 450+, and it comes off w/o a fight. On the Jotul upstairs, just steel wool. My experience is that if it looks like I scratched it, it's not clean yet. When I'm finished it's spotless.

Off-topic household tip- I have some outdoor windows with terrible mineral buildup. I've used steel wool with some dilte CLR and gotten fantastic results.

Right or wrong, I'm going with the premise that the glass is harder than the steel in the razor. Just don't slice anything with that blade.

 

[ddahlgren]

Geez what are you burning? rail road ties or old phone poles.... If out of wood green is not the answer some sort of bio brick eco brick or pallets is the answer if they are not possible meet your fate and put on long johns a coat and run the heat enough to get the place to 50 something. Buy wood today or go cut it today and split it so it is ready in 2 years. Maple and other types are your friend for next year as around 9 months it will be ok but getting late already. All the wood dealers lie if you are buying they do not sell real seasoned wood that has been cut stacked and split for at least 2 years at least none in SE CT. do.

 

[Highbeam]

Nah, nothing wrong with burning green wood if you must. Just expect these issues along with others. I would not expect a man, woman, or infant to go cold when I have burnable firewood on hand.

 

[webby3650]

Nah, nothing wrong with burning green wood if you must. Just expect these issues along with others. I would not expect a man, woman, or infant to go cold when I have burnable firewood on hand.

Ive burned my share of under seasoned wood this year with decent results. I would do it again in a heartbeat if needed. The Oslo sure struggles with it, but the Ashford has next to no problems with it. Good thing that Oslo just sits unless its wicked cold!

 

[Slow1]

I'm surprised that nobody has yet suggested this - Check your gaskets for loose/leaking areas and replace as needed. It may be that this build up is related to an air leak changing/breaking the airwash flow or cooling the air near the glass. Also double check the rest of the stove to be sure all is in order.

After this - take the advice you first rejected and burn hotter with wood that has less moisture. I think cleaning the chimney is very likely in order too - at least a good inspection but I imagine it wouldn't take much longer to run a brush (or soot eater) through than to inspect.