Thread on exploding glass in doors

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The person did who asked the questions on the website I posted. It actually was a funny read, as he stated "I was proud of my wife, she only ran one full circle in the kitchen before grabbing the fire extinguisher".

That website's editor and a lot of people here, including you Mr. PooooooK, wrote some excellent posts in response.
 
The thread isn't really about exploding glass doors (very rare), but about the potential cause - puffback, which is more common, especially in stoves that inadvertently allow one to add air to a fire under the grate. It is pretty common for new wood burners to have less than ideal starting methods and wood that is only partially seasoned. When their fire is balky and smoldering, they get a bright idea to open up the ashpan door which puts a mass of air under the fire, similar to a forge. That may get the fire going, but then if the person closes the ashpan door and walks away, what typically happens is the fire goes back to smoldering, but now with some hot coals underneath. The stove fills with dense wood gas that eventually ignites. When it does, it can do so with a powerful explosion, aka puffback. The solution is easy - don't do this! And don't burn damp wood.

More often we get questions about cracked glass. This is almost always user induced, often from closing the door on a too large log or mistakenly hitting the ceramic glass with a tool. If ignored, a failure may follow. Murphy's law says that this may happen at the worst time.

If you are concerned about having a stove with glass, take a look at the Woodstock Classic or a Sedore. Or get the stove you like and remove the ceramic glass. Take the window to a metal shop and have them cut you a plate of steel to the same dimensions+thickness and replace the glass with the steel. Be sure they treat the ceramic glass nicely. It is expensive.
 
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