Can I wipe warm glass when I reload?

[Handy Daddy]

Hello everyone, this is my first post. I'd like to thank everyone on this site for their wealth of knowledge. I have learned a ton. I have been burning a Regency FP90 ZC unit (also called the EX90 with the faceplate) since November.

I have been burning wood that I split, stacked and covered two years ago. Mostly elm.

18' of 8" Stainless Duraplus Chimney Pipe

Because of the education that I have received from this site I am able to dial in the stove and get amazing secondaries and a ton of heat. I am very pleased with every aspect of this unit except for the air wash. On this unit the primary air also controls the air wash.

I believe I am burning properly. Seasoned wood, wide open for 15 or 20 minutes, slowly turning down the primary air until it is about 90% closed and great secondaries are burning. Unfortunately the glass does not stay clean. It is mostly white ash that is very easily wiped off with a wet paper towel when the stove is cold.

My question is, when I reload and the stove is warm but not hot, let's say 200 degrees, can I wipe the glass with a rag? Besides the obvious of not burning myself or igniting the rag, will this damage or scratch the glass? I'm just trying to figure out a way to clean it during long burn cycles. I usually burn starting Friday evening straight through until Monday morning and by Saturday afternoon the glass just looks like sh*t.

Also, if anyone is interested I'd be happy to give a full review of this unit. When I was shopping I found a couple of reviews regarding it on here but I'd be happy to elaborate.

Thank you!

 

[bholler]

it should be fine you could try loading so the wood is a little farther from the glass and see if that helps

 

[tarzan]

I'm sure the experts will chime in here but I have wiped my glass several times with stove top around 250*.

I even sprayed glass cleaner on the rag a few times. This MAY NOT be good advice but burning 24/7 it would bother me until I cleaned it.

 

[bholler]

i would not recomend using any moisture on hot glass at all you are just pushing your luck if you ask me

 

[gyrfalcon]

I wait until the stove is at the bottom of the burn cycle, then open the door wide and wait 5 or 10 minutes (not leaving the room and keeping an eye on it, of course), and it cools down enough to clean. I just use wet paper towels. If the glass is still a little too hot, wiping off the gray residue with the wet paper towel will create a lot of smears and I'll have to use several to get it reasonably clean. It's not necessary to get the glass as clean as you would want a window because it won't be visible against the backdrop of the fire.

 

[gyrfalcon]

i would not recomend using any moisture on hot glass at all you are just pushing your luck if you ask me

I've read over and over again on this site from people a lot smarter than me that this is not a problem with modern stove glass Might be for much older stoves, but not now.

 

[GeHmTS]

Put it in low burn and then wipe with a damp cloth, never dripping wet!

Damp means that you have hand squeezed out any water from the towel.

 

[bholler]

Your method of opening the door to let the glass cool is ok as long as you keep an eye on it like you said but moisture on hot glass can absolutely break it new or old it doesn't matter it is the same glass unless you go back to the old mica windows

 

[begreen]

That is not correct. Older stoves used tempered or pyrex glass. Modern stoves use ceramic glass, sold as pyroceram, neoceram robax, etc.., not tempered glass. Ceramic glass is like clear CorningWare. It is quite resistant to thermal shock. The main reason to not use water on the warm glass is that it will dry instantly and streak. I've cleaned our warm stove window several times using just a couple dampened paper towels.
https://chimneysweeponline.com/howindow.htm
https://chimneysweeponline.com/howindow.htm
demo of pyroceram's thermal shock resistance:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDKCMNaJP1M

 

[gyrfalcon]

Your method of opening the door to let the glass cool is ok as long as you keep an eye on it like you said but moisture on hot glass can absolutely break it new or old it doesn't matter it is the same glass unless you go back to the old mica windows

I have never once in more than 5 years read anybody on this site report having their glass break when cleaning it. And as I say, I have read over and over from the really knowledgeable people here that it's not an issue. Maybe if you threw a pail of ice water right at the window with a hot fire raging in the box, but not wiping off a nearly cold glass with a paper towel.

In practical terms, you can't effectively clean the glass of schmutz when it's blazing hot anyway, only after it's cooled pretty far down.

There's glass, and then there's glass. Pyrex cooking dishes, for instance, can go from cold to hot or hot to cold with no problem.

 

[gyrfalcon]

Ah, thank you, begreen. I was hoping you'd come by and set this straight with the voice of authority.

 

[bholler]

Ok yes pyro ceramic is much better at handling thermal shock but still not great. I stand by my statement that you are pushing your luck by using moisture on hot glass. And i have had 2 customers break their glass by spraying glass cleaner on hot glass. As long as the glass is relatively cool you would be ok but i don't know where that line is so i always recommend no moisture on hot glass period

 

[begreen]

If that was true there would be no ceramic glass cooktop stoves today. I suspect something else broke the glass. Probably it already had a fracture from a prior impact.

 

[robbydanilow]

I've done it many a time but with my side loader the minor burns kind of stink...

 

[bholler]

If that was true there would be no ceramic glass cooktop stoves today.

Like a said it handle it much better but it can still absolutely break from thermal shock. I have seen warnings about it in stove manuals if it was not a concern why would they warn against it? I absolutely agree it is not near as much of a concern now but it can happen.

 

[BrotherBart]

Yeah you can throw ice water on hot pyroceram or neoceram. In fact that Corning Ware in your cabinet is Pyroceram and it has been used for missile nose cones.

 

[BrotherBart]

Like a said it handle it much better but it can still absolutely break from thermal shock. I have seen warnings about it in stove manuals if it was not a concern why would they warn against it? I absolutely agree it is not near as much of a concern now but it can happen.

Be interested to know what current stove manuals warn against it.

 

[bholler]

I personally have broken a corning wear dish with thermal shock

 

[bholler]

Be interested to know what current stove manuals warn against it.

Ill have to look i am sure i have seen it recently but i dont know off hand

 

[DougA]

There is actually quite a lot of posting about corning glass breaking or shattering while in use. The majority of it is caused by using a dish that has a chip in it. Somehow once there is any damage to the glass, it lessens the ability to be break resistant. I was checking this a month ago regarding a discussion on using it for broiling.

 

[BrotherBart]

The original Corning Ware was made of pyroceram. They discontinued the line in 1999. I understand that a company in China now makes Pyrex brand and Corning Ware. With a different formulation. The new Pyrex is definitely subject to thermal shock.

 

[jatoxico]

I wipe dust/ash with newspaper while hot, no moisture needed. Not crystal clear but clean enough for another stove load.

 

[FionaD]

I've done it a few times with a couple of damp paper towels when the stove top is probably closer to 100-150. I've kind of given up on it though, the streaks annoy me more than the haze from fly ash

 

[gyrfalcon]

I've done it a few times with a couple of damp paper towels when the stove top is probably closer to 100-150. I've kind of given up on it though, the streaks annoy me more than the haze from fly ash

Open the door. It cools down pretty fast.

 

[FionaD]

Guess I'm too impatient