Advice from the more experienced on sooty glass

[MOCOMofo]

Been reading here for a while to get advice on how to best use our wood stove. The most common response to my issue is burning unseasoned wood. We try to get the wood as seasoned as we can but have to go by whatever guy we buy it from version of "seasoned"

That being said:

We have a County Flame (AES) BBF-1 insert that came with the house. No clue when it was installed and no clue about maintenance. We did have it inspected in the spring and got the flue cleaned. The problem is every burn I'm having to clean the glass and it's getting to be a PITA. Our neighbor also has a wood stove and doesn't have the same issue (same firewood vendor also)

We start the fire with clean glass and leave the door open until the fire gets raging. Once the cat temp hits 550ish we close the damper and let the cat do the work. The glass will stay clean for half an hour or so but you can see soot start to build up along airflow lines.

I'm beginning to suspect my cat may need cleaning or replacement. Would this help some or is it just something I'll have to live with?

 

[saydinli]

Sooty glass seems to be common with Cat stoves. Does your neighbour have a Cat stove or a baffle/tube stove?

 

[begreen]

Is your neighbor's stove a cat or non-cat? If it is a non-cat stove then the comparison is moot. A cat burns smoke off the smoldering fire, particularly when on low air. This helps extend the burn time, but it is not always good for keeping the glass clean as more volatiles and smoke can stay resident in the firebox.

Is there a thermometer for the catalyst temperature? That should indicate its activity. You can gently brush ash and dust from the cells or use a soft brush on a vacuum cleaner to gently vacuum. The manual goes into deeper instructions for more serious cleaning.

Here is a past thread on this insert that may be helpful
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/country-flame-bbf-experiences-season-3-pg-3.39836/

 

[MOCOMofo]

Spoke with the neighbor and they had no clue so I used my Google-Fu and discovered they have a Hampton HI300 - which is a non-cat stove so we can't compare. I ordered a moisture probe today so no more guessing about moisture content!

Thanks begreen, I'd seen and bookmarked that thread a while back! Thanks!

 

[Hogwildz]

Even with dry wood, burning the cat on low burn will most likely soot up the glass. That is the trade off for low & slow burns in a cat stove.

 

[Woodsplitter67]

Been reading here for a while to get advice on how to best use our wood stove. The most common response to my issue is burning unseasoned wood. We try to get the wood as seasoned as we can but have to go by whatever guy we buy it from version of "seasoned"

That being said:

We have a County Flame (AES) BBF-1 insert that came with the house. No clue when it was installed and no clue about maintenance. We did have it inspected in the spring and got the flue cleaned. The problem is every burn I'm having to clean the glass and it's getting to be a PITA. Our neighbor also has a wood stove and doesn't have the same issue (same firewood vendor also)

We start the fire with clean glass and leave the door open until the fire gets raging. Once the cat temp hits 550ish we close the damper and let the cat do the work. The glass will stay clean for half an hour or so but you can see soot start to build up along airflow lines.

I'm beginning to suspect my cat may need cleaning or replacement. Would this help some or is it just something I'll have to live with?

Just a heads up.. if your not processing the wood yourself, your not at the mercy of the firewood seller. If you feel the wood is not seasoned property than purchase next years wood now and season it yourself.. than you k ow what you have.
As for the dirty glass and your running a cat stove.. after your overnight burn, run the stove at like 600 for a little bit and the glass will clean right up..

 

[begreen]

Spoke with the neighbor and they had no clue so I used my Google-Fu and discovered they have a Hampton HI300 - which is a non-cat stove so we can't compare. I ordered a moisture probe today so no more guessing about moisture content!

Thanks begreen, I'd seen and bookmarked that thread a while back! Thanks!

Do you have the stove manual?

 

[MOCOMofo]

Do you have the stove manual?

Yes - downloaded a copy from the internets.

 

[Woody Stover]

Sooty glass seems to be common with Cat stoves.

Even with dry wood, burning the cat on low burn will most likely soot up the glass. That is the trade off for low & slow burns in a cat stove.

Not necessarily. Windows always stayed pretty clean on the Woodstocks I've run (double glass,) the Buck 91 and the Dutchwest. Now if you are in a hurry and don't burn in a fresh load much, then you might see some gunk on the glass when you go to reload the next time. Yeah, if you run 'em super low they will be more prone to blacken the window.
Probably the wood on the OP's BBF.

 

[Woody Stover]

Several weeks of haze, and that's about it.

 

[begreen]

About as expected. Cats run a bit dirty on the window. Our glass hasn't been cleaned yet this year and there's no soot on it. This is after burning about 3/4s a cord of wood. There is starting to be some ash build up. I'll clean it this weekend.

 

[Woody Stover]

Kinda gross. Our glass hasn't been cleaned yet this year and there's no soot on it.

That's not soot, it's just dark so you can't see the glass on the sides. If you look in the lower left corner you'll see that it's clear, except for the same haze you see in the middle.

 

[begreen]

See above. Posted a shot of our stove for comparison. I'll take a non-cat for fireview.

 

[Woody Stover]

Hard to tell from these pics but that looks like some light haze from here, not as bad as mine though. But if you say it's clear, it's clear. Then there's the other factors like the different woods we're burning and the fact that your stove is running hotter, longer into the burn. By the time it cools down, a lot of the gunk is burned out of the wood. That pic I posted was right after I lit off a load of Cherry and cut the air, but still a lot of flame. Flame was out shortly after that. I'd certainly agree that non-cats are gonna stay cleaner. I just took issue with the earlier statements that cats are known for gunky glass. BKs, sure..

 

[RobbieB]

I hate gunky glass, why not just put on a solid cast iron door?

 

[Mark N MO]

The glass on the bottom corners of our Buck 91 will get a slight build-up. When the air is closed way down for a slow burn, there's not a whole lot to airwash the smoke away from the glass. The shop that sold and service it, say they can tell we're burning dry wood by the way the glass looks. The manual says it will get discolored with normal use.

 

[Woody Stover]

The glass on the bottom corners of our Buck 91 will get a slight build-up.

Yeah that would happen on my 91 as well but it wasn't bad. You could still see the fire fine. It all depends how picky you are. The OP says he "needs" to clean the glass every day..some seem to want it crystal-clear all the time. He never said or showed how dirty it really is. For me, as long as I can see into the box for starting a new load, that's pretty much all I care about. I don't watch the fire much except a glance now and then more often when starting of course. Not much to see in my stove on low cruise..just some coals glowing.

 

[MOCOMofo]

The “need” to clean the glass disappeared this afternoon when I found packing the box full of wood instead of 4 or 5 pieces and bringing the fire forward toward the glass burned away all the gunk on the glass. Thanks to everyone who replied.