We've had the stove since Nov and this is the first time I'm seeing this. I used a wet paper towel to clean the glass but this won't come off. It's also on the metal part of the door below the glass. Almost looks like burnt oil. Anyone know what it is - how it got there - how to remove it - how to prevent it from happening again? Thanks for any info you can provide.
Cleaning the Quad MVAE today and saw this on the glass - won't come off...
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![[Hearth.com] Cleaning the Quad MVAE today and saw this on the glass - won't come off...](/talk/data/attachments/155/155413-b7bb04b78358521f3f84526a58250c79.jpg?hash=uJaSaIiIzt)
Hi PelletGirl,
Creosote staining perhaps? Any changes in your flame quality? Have you changed pellets prior to you noticing it ?
Does it feel oily? Is there any similar discoloration in the pellet drop chute? Possible scenario could be your auger gearbox is leaking gear oil down the pellet chute and getting picked up by the pellets, then igniting / vaporizing in the combustion air coming through the burn pot. That's about the only way you could be getting oil into the combustion process that I'm aware of.
I'll defer to kap or other AE owners as to the possible cause, but you could try dipping a wet paper towel in fly ash and see if that will take it off. Others find that glass stove stop cleaner is good for taking off discoloration. Make sure to remove any glass cleaner residue off the glass so it doesn't contact the stove gasket, which can degrade it over time.
Creosote staining perhaps? Any changes in your flame quality? Have you changed pellets prior to you noticing it ?
Does it feel oily? Is there any similar discoloration in the pellet drop chute? Possible scenario could be your auger gearbox is leaking gear oil down the pellet chute and getting picked up by the pellets, then igniting / vaporizing in the combustion air coming through the burn pot. That's about the only way you could be getting oil into the combustion process that I'm aware of.
I'll defer to kap or other AE owners as to the possible cause, but you could try dipping a wet paper towel in fly ash and see if that will take it off. Others find that glass stove stop cleaner is good for taking off discoloration. Make sure to remove any glass cleaner residue off the glass so it doesn't contact the stove gasket, which can degrade it over time.
We did change pellets to AWF White Pine. I noticed they add vegetable oil to their pellets and was wondering if that could be the cause. The wet paper towel does not take the discoloration off. It looks just like when your cooking oil starts to burn in a pan. I'll have my husband check the auger gearbox just in case. Thanks!
PelletGirl,
Some manufactures use vegetable oil to lubricate the pellet die in the extrusion process. At <1%, that small of an amount wouldn't *seem* to be the cause of your glass residue issue.
Reading on-line reviews of the AWF's, nothing jumped out that other users have had similar glass discoloration issues burning them. Most common reported issue seemed to be that they tend to hang up in the hopper.
Some manufactures use vegetable oil to lubricate the pellet die in the extrusion process. At <1%, that small of an amount wouldn't *seem* to be the cause of your glass residue issue.
Reading on-line reviews of the AWF's, nothing jumped out that other users have had similar glass discoloration issues burning them. Most common reported issue seemed to be that they tend to hang up in the hopper.
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If it didn't happen till the change of pellets, I would guess them. Have you noticed if the new pellets make the stove "overfire" , by higher/hotter flame? You can try some type of glass polish to get rid of it. I think Rutlands sells some for fireplace glass. Just make sure to clean up after with some Windex to get rid of any residue of cleaner. And make sure not to get anything on window gasket. It is strange it would do it by the airwash. I have had my AE since 06, and have never had something like that. kap
Damp paper towel dipped in ashes will get it off.
Once cleaned off i treat my glass with Rutland "White Off" Ceramic Glass cleaner.
It seems to "seal" the glass and makes cleaning easier next time.
http://www.amazon.com/Rutland-2-Pint-White-Off-Glass-Cleaner/dp/B001AWFLHY
I bought a bottle about 5 years ago and still have 1/2 left.
Put a dime sized dribble on a dry paper towel and wipe it over the entire glass area.
Then using a circular motion rub it around to cover the whole glass area.
Use a second dry paper towel to wipe it off (Like waxing a car).
If you see any smears go back and re-wipe.
If the ashes don't work the cleaner will.
Works well.
Good Luck.
---Nailer---
Once cleaned off i treat my glass with Rutland "White Off" Ceramic Glass cleaner.
It seems to "seal" the glass and makes cleaning easier next time.
http://www.amazon.com/Rutland-2-Pint-White-Off-Glass-Cleaner/dp/B001AWFLHY
I bought a bottle about 5 years ago and still have 1/2 left.
Put a dime sized dribble on a dry paper towel and wipe it over the entire glass area.
Then using a circular motion rub it around to cover the whole glass area.
Use a second dry paper towel to wipe it off (Like waxing a car).
If you see any smears go back and re-wipe.
If the ashes don't work the cleaner will.
Works well.
Good Luck.
---Nailer---
Thanks for all the suggestions. I'll show my husband all this and we'll figure out what to do. I hope it is just pellets. We have six bags of them left so we'll see what happens when we change again. Also, our stove turned off twice with these pellets with an error code of "missed ignition" or something like that. I moved them around the hopper and hit retry and it worked again. We gave it a cleaning today so hopefully whatever is causing it has been remedied.
Sounds like that may be your pellets hanging up in the hopper along the hopper sides and not feeding down into the auger opening, which was a common complaint of other AWF burners apparently. Keeping the hopper sides and bottom clear of pellet dust seems to help, as does waxing the hopper surfaces with car wax or silicone spray. Make sure you buff the hopper real well after you use any spray or wax compound to avoid transferring it to the pellets.
When I had a batch of pellets that would hang up, I sprayed my hopper with Protect-All liquid carnuba wax, available at Wal*mart in the Auto / RV section. It worked the best of anything I tried.
RKS130
Minister of Fire
Wilbur Feral
Minister of Fire
Get it as well from time to time. Clean with Rutlands and see if it comes back after the cleaning.
Funnydirt14
Member
I agree with SidecarFlip. My glass had some residue that looked burnt on. Used the magic eraser and some multi surface cleaner and it's gone.
Thank you all - feel better knowing I'm not the only one and it seems to be a minor issue.
Other issue: how dirty the glass gets. These photos are less than one day after cleaning - don't know if you can tell but it is a semi-circle of very dark - almost black - ash residue. Is there an adjustment I can make so this doesn't happen or is it just the pellets?
![[Hearth.com] Cleaning the Quad MVAE today and saw this on the glass - won't come off...](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/155/155433-964545a3e56017c3000ef495a069393c.jpg?hash=j5WwCoEYTO "[Hearth.com] Cleaning the Quad MVAE today and saw this on the glass - won't come off...")
![[Hearth.com] Cleaning the Quad MVAE today and saw this on the glass - won't come off...](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/155/155434-ca4e39c1b7a54784641aafdfa94baa70.jpg?hash=lcSVPr0vkL "[Hearth.com] Cleaning the Quad MVAE today and saw this on the glass - won't come off...")
Other issue: how dirty the glass gets. These photos are less than one day after cleaning - don't know if you can tell but it is a semi-circle of very dark - almost black - ash residue. Is there an adjustment I can make so this doesn't happen or is it just the pellets?
PelletGirl,
Did you change your fuel selection menu to 'softwood' when you changed to the AWF pellets?
Did you change your fuel selection menu to 'softwood' when you changed to the AWF pellets?
Yes, we changed it. The glass also got dirty fairly quickly with the Oakies DF. Maybe it's my stove with the softwoods. We always had hardwood before that.
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