Back up ceramic glass ?

[Robbie]

Yes I'm asking lots of questions, but I need to know lots of answers from the pros here.

Last winter, I got to thinking, which my wife says I do too much of.........and I wondered what might happen if a person had a great fire one cold night and accidently hit the ceramic glass with a poker and it broke..................Gosh I hate to think about it.......but it could happen I guess ?

Would it be smart to have a peice of metal pre cut to fit exactly the front of the stove door just in case to prevent fire from getting out of control until you could damper down and slowly put fire out ?

Then would it also be a good idea to keep an extra glass pre cut to fit your stove just in case so you could remove door and install glass as soon as your stove cooled.........or is this me just thinking too much ?

Other wise, we might have to wait weeks for a new glass and during this time...........it's back to gas heat.

Robbie.

 

[Roospike]

Yes I'm asking lots of questions, but I need to know lots of answers from the pros here.

Last winter, I got to thinking, which my wife says I do too much of.........and I wondered what might happen if a person had a great fire one cold night and accidently hit the ceramic glass with a poker and it broke..................Gosh I hat to think about it.......but it could happen I guess ?

Would it be smart to have a peice of metal pre cut to fit exactly the front of the stove door just in case to prevent fire from getting out of control until you could damper down and slowly put fire out ?

Then would it also be a good idea to keep an extra glass pre cut to fit your stove just in case so you could remove door and install glass as soon as your stove cooled.........or is this me just thinking too much ?

Other wise, we might have to wait weeks for a new glass and during this time...........it's back to gas heat.

Robbie.

Good point . We heat 100% with wood so i understand the question well. After i had done a lot of research on the ceramic glass used in wood stoves and know now that they are super strong . I just put it in the back of my mind .

 

[Shane]

The metal plate is probably unnecessary. Are you really going to grab a 400 degree door and mount the plate in it? The extra glass isn't a bad idea. I can't remember on the mission stove but if you have square glass you have no worries if it breaks. Call the local glass shop and tell them you want a piece of neo-ceram of whatever dimension and pick it up after work.

 

[Robbie]

Shane, I figured in an emergency I could just put a peice of sheet metal against the front of the stove door, maybe figure a way before hand to just pop it on, or hold in place with a poker until a person could get the stove cooled down.

I know it sounds kind of silly, but a buddy of mine said he broke his glass with a log one time and he had to find something to put against the hole, not sure what he ended up doing but this story just made me think.

I don't usually worry about stuff too much but I just want to make sure I am as prepared as I can for safe stove operation even in the event of a slight emergency that could fall outside normal operating procedures.

Click link below to see my stove and glass shape.

Robbie.

 

[Shane]

Looks like that link has the mission pictured and the cottage in the specs. At any rate I believe it to be rounded at the top. Since that's the case I'd get one from your dealerto have on hand. And I suppose if you were to take a plate and put gasket rope on one end then hold it on with a poker or whatever that would work in an emergency situation. I suppose your just a little bit more McGyveresque than I am. Wish you lived in my area I have a Cottage on the floor I can't give away.

 

[Robbie]

Your kidding ? I just love that little stove. My dealer in Tenn. has one too.

Yes I noticed there was an error in specs. Mine is the mission and I talked to my dealer about buying the cottage as an extra...............but I thought it was a little much to spend now since I just bought the mission last fall.

I understand the mission stove is discontinued now........sad.

The cottage has all the same parts inside it seems to me, even the door and glass and everything looks to be the same (not sure). I don't know where you are located (I do now) but I'm sure shipping would be a huge amount of $. to me since it weighs about 300 pounds.

Robbie.

 

[MountainStoveGuy]

You must be a patient man to think that you can hang out in front of a hot stove, holding a steel plate, and waiting for it to go out. I would recommend a fire exenguisher in the event of a emergency. Usually when it breaks, it just fractures. If this is the case its perfecly fine to leave it untill it goes out. If you knock a hole in it, watch it close to make shure it doesnt overfire, and if it does over fire, douse it with a exenguisher. Beyond all that, just be carefull, watch the knots in the wood and make shure you dont have any corners of the wood sticking out. There realy is no exuse for breaking you glass with a piece of wood. The ceramic glass is tough, you would have to hit it pretty hard to break it with a poker.

 

[BrotherBart]

The guy that sold me the Sierra had a great story about door glass. Around one in the afternoon one day he gets a call and a small voice asks "Mister, how much does a new glass for a wood stove cost?". He asked what kind of stove "A black one. And could I get it today?"

Poor kid busted a door glass and was trying in vain to get it fixed before mom and dad got home.

 

[wg_bent]

Robbie,

Your thinking too much. If you break the glass so as it's completely broken (catastrophic failure), then you better start spraying your fire in the stove with water via a squirt bottle to get the fire out. Let the stove cool, then get it repaired properly. I wouldn't stick a piece of aluminum or steel in place of the glass "in a pinch" then go to bed feeling like the stove was in good shape for the night. I'd use the oil/electric/propane/other for a couple days.

Also, that glass is seriously strong, and a crack most likely won't impact the stove much, BUT a hole will. If you put a hole in the ceramic glass, you've done something seriously wrong. Don't sweat it.

 

[Robbie]

Warren, your right, I'll just forget about it.............I do worry to much sometimes about things that probably will never happen.

Thanks a bunch for the advice.

Robbie.

 

[elkimmeg]

One final thought many stoves hav the option to opperate with the door open and a spark screen.
loosing the glass would cause the stove to opperate in this manner You would watch and monitor the situation
some one suggested a splay bottle that would be best to reduce the fire still better letting burn out you could ruin your stove if cool water hits hot iron you would not want to throw water in there unless it prevented a larger catastrophy Intermittem spray mist if anything. Think about it with the glass gone, more air is entering the fire box, it will act to cool it and most your heat will go up the chimney along with most sparks and smoke. One4c the fire burns out, you are right do not use the stove I would first check to see if the cermamic glass is carried by a local glas shop or contact you dealer for replacement which ever is cheapest of offers the shortest time frame. You stand a better chance of breaking a spare piece, than the one in the stove.

Tell me do you own a bomb shelter witha year's supply of essentials. Remember Bush suggested duct tape and plastic. Not one of his smarter speeches

 

[Robbie]

elkimmeg, HA ! No, I am not that far gone.......yet.

No, I have decided the glass "extra" is too much.



Robbie

 

[ebytown]

I broke the glass on my Jotul Castine three days ago, and the fire was not a huge problem. It happened when a log with an odd bump on the end was slightly hanging out of the stove near the hinged side of the door. When I closed the door (a little forcefully, I admit), the log caught the edge of the glass. It broke into 4 pieces and the whole thing fell out. I had a big load of coals and wood in the box and panicked about the fire for a moment, but just monitored it (and the flying cinders) and it did not overheat. I had to leave the house when there was still a lively bed of coals, so I leaned two cookies sheets up against the opening to deflect any cinders. Everything was fine.

The replacement Robax ceramic glass, which had to be custom-cut with an arch at the top, cost about $130 (Canadian dollars, which is about US$110) and I found a local guy who could do the job right away (recommended by a local stove store). Otherwise it would have been a wait of about a week for shipping from a Jotul distributor, and I was told it would be about $200+.

By the way, I think my original glass from Jotul was too narrow, which is one reason why the log caught the edge of the glass. I had the new one cut 1/4" wider and it fits better and isn't smoking up quite as much as the original glass.

 

[begreen]

Good that you kept a cool head Gail. I have been worried by the large glass on our Castine as well. It does seem a bit vunerable to being hit while using a poker and we've had more than one log roll into it. You're correct that the stock glass is a bit skimpy. It barely straddles the door gasket. It's interesting to hear that the larger glass is sealing better. I have suspected a weak glass gasket seal which is made worse by the lack of center clips (like on the Oslo). Jotul, are you listening?