Dirty glass on my Quadrafire

[BethelStrong]

What’s normal accumulation for the glass on my Millennium 3100, or any glass faced stove?

Also, I’ve heard one should not use Windex, not that it cuts the buildup anyway, but more on that down below. I use a wet paper towel and some ash, which works great (and it’s cheap) to clean the worst of it (99%), but the residue from the wet ash is there unless I wipe it way too many times. I never seem to get it crystal clear. I mean, I can, but I usually give up around 99%.

What’s your glass cleaning process?


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[dBrad]

The next day's hot fire usually cleans up our quad 7100 glass. Once a week though I try to tackle the leftover buildup with wet paper towels dipped in ash plus Meeco Red Devil stove glass cleaner for the final pass.

 

[Chimney Smoke]

Dry wood and hot fires. I think I've cleaned my class 4 or 5 times since I started burning in October. And each time was mostly just fly ash haze.

 

[prezes13]

I have the same with my stove, fly ash haze. Even if a log falls down or I cut the air too much one hot fire cleans the glass. Too have clean glass it takes to have a dry wood.

 

[Rickb]

I usually clean mine twice a year. once around christmas and then again at the end of the season. I use a razor blade then follow it up a damp paper towel dipped in wood ash.

 

[BethelStrong]

This is weird, because I lean towards thinking I’m on the hotter side of fires. I do sometimes let the fire burn with the air shut way down, but only after getting it up pretty hot (sometimes too hot).

I like to think my wood is decently dry. It’s about 3 years old, but I’ll admit it gets wet from rain and snow at times.[woodshed is a Summer project]

My stovetop is normally around 400-700, hell, one time I got it to 950, and a few times above 800. (its my first year using a stove, so)

One thing is, I’m using pieces that are too long for my stove at times. I try to use 16-18in pieces to load the initial fire, but I then add a couple long pieces as the fire dies down, just so I can burn through that stuff. Much of my wood was cut by the power company from 3 huge maples that got too close to some power lines. My wood, free labor, bad cuts. To their credit (or mine), they cut it before I bought the stove.

I’m just wondering if my wood sits too close to the glass, and that’s how it’s getting dirty so fast. I only had about 3 or 4 ounces of soot on my very first sweep a few weeks ago, so I was thinking my wood was seasoned enough and the rain it gets at times wasn’t an issue.

Oh, and my wood is covered with a tarp, or an overhang. It’s just that it’s not perfect or I forget to tie the tarp.

My glass gets orangish... I clean it about 1x per week!


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[Riddlefiddle]

Don't need to clean the glass that often due to the airwash. But when I do, I use Windex. Never had a problem with it.

 

[Ludlow]

Yes, wood too close to the glass will gum it up. Razor blade and then ash on a paper towel does the trick. A real hot fire will clean it mostly off.

 

[Sodbuster]

distilled water, isopropyl alcohol and ammonia works for me.

 

[bholler]

As ludlow said if the wood is to close to the glass it will block the air wash causing building on the glass. I would guess that is what is going on because your store top temps sound reasonably good. I would recommend using pipe temps over store top temps though. I feel that is a better indicator of how things are working.

 

[Sawset]

I quit using glass cleaners years ago. When the fires get hot is when all but the fly ash cleans itself back off again. For cleaning the fly ash film that accumulates, a couple of wet wash cloths is all that is used. One to get most of it off, usually just a couple swipes. The second clean one as a final time over, just once, then leave it alone. Same anywhere on the outside - if I want it clean, then the wash cloth is clean, and only once over.

 

[therealdbeau]

Seeing a few suggestions for using razor blades here. Just adding my 2 cents to be very cautious when using a razor blade or you can permanently scratch the glass and if you're like me you'll be good and pissed off about it.

I still use a razor blade when I have to get real tough buildup off the corners of the glass but just have to be very careful and make sure the blade is flat on the glass.

 

[bholler]

Seeing a few suggestions for using razor blades here. Just adding my 2 cents to be very cautious when using a razor blade or you can permanently scratch the glass and if you're like me you'll be good and pissed off about it.

I still use a razor blade when I have to get real tough buildup off the corners of the glass but just have to be very careful and make sure the blade is flat on the glass.

If you bring the corners off of the blade slightly it makes scratching the glass very unlikely. Without a sharp corner you would almost have to try to scratch the glass

 

[BethelStrong]

What does fly ash staining look like?

Here’s what I’m looking at...

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[Sodbuster]

What does fly ash staining look like?

Here’s what I’m looking at...

View attachment 242260


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Just like that, except it looks like you had one split a little to close to the door. The rest will come off with an ammonia based glass cleaner and a paper towel.

 

[yooper08]

Just cleaned mine for the second time this year. Had a slight brown haze on it. I use the paper towel and ash method, let it dry, then use a damp clean paper towel to wipe that off. Glass is crystal clear after that.

 

[BethelStrong]

Just cleaned mine for the second time this year. Had a slight brown haze on it. I use the paper towel and ash method, let it dry, then use a damp clean paper towel to wipe that off. Glass is crystal clear after that.

I’m doing something wrong. I have a Millennium 3100, but it’s a 2009 (floor) model. Do they operate the same as the new ones?

I am sure my wood is close to the glass a lot of the time, and I could live with cleaning the glass a lot just to burn through this long wood. I’m just concerned it’s more than the long wood.


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[Ludlow]

Mine can get pretty bad glass even with one fire if I let it burn too low. But when its 80 degrees in the room its hard to burn it hotter. My glass gets just as bad as yours.

 

[BethelStrong]

Mine can get pretty bad glass even with one fire if I let it burn too low. But when its 80 degrees in the room its hard to burn it hotter. My glass gets just as bad as yours.

Maybe it’s a combination of things...

I think my wood could be dryer (gonna but a meter) so I’m planning on a shed of sorts this Summer.

My wood is too long. It’s not exactly my fault, because the powerline tree ninjas and I didn’t know what stove I’d have. Hey, it’s a lot of free wood and free ninja labor, so I’m going to burn it.

Also, as you are stating here, I think I burn too low. I mean, I get my stove HOT, but my house is small and it gets 75-80 real quick. I typically let it simmer after it gets going. I feel silly opening the windows every time I fire, but maybe I should keep the stove hotter and vent more to regulate.

Or, I guess I could just keep going as is, and clean the glass every few days

Thanks for the learnins...


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[Ludlow]

Mine states it can burn 18" logs. I cut them 16" because 18" is smack against the glass and E/W loading is not even possible. Had a few 18" splits and the glass at the end of them looked like it was spray painted except if I burned it like my avatar all the time.

 

[yooper08]

Its usually because of wet wood. My first year burning I cleaned it a lot more often because my wood wasn't fully seasoned yet. It wasn't bad per se, just could've used another summer under cover.

The alternatives are poor door gasket seal or burning too low. Do the dollar bill test on the door for the seal and watch your chimney outside to see how its burning. If all you see are heat waves, its burning clean. If there's smoke/steam, gotta turn the stove up.

 

[BethelStrong]

Its usually because of wet wood. My first year burning I cleaned it a lot more often because my wood wasn't fully seasoned yet. It wasn't bad per se, just could've used another summer under cover.

The alternatives are poor door gasket seal or burning too low. Do the dollar bill test on the door for the seal and watch your chimney outside to see how its burning. If all you see are heat waves, its burning clean. If there's smoke/steam, gotta turn the stove up.

Thanks for info.

So any time there is smoke, turn it up?

The reason I ask is sometimes I get the house way warm and then just throw in a log now and then on the red hot coals, but I keep it on low. At times there is some smoldering going on.


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[Ludlow]

Thanks for info.

So any time there is smoke, turn it up?

The reason I ask is sometimes I get the house way warm and then just throw in a log now and then on the red hot coals, but I keep it on low. At times there is some smoldering going on.


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Only way I can burn mine! If I load it up it will get so hot inside that Id have the windows wide open.

 

[BethelStrong]

Only way I can burn mine! If I load it up it will get so hot inside that Id have the windows wide open.

I’ve done that several times this month. Stove going, 2 windows wide open, birds chirping, me in T-shirt and undies.


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[yooper08]

Thanks for info.

So any time there is smoke, turn it up?

The reason I ask is sometimes I get the house way warm and then just throw in a log now and then on the red hot coals, but I keep it on low. At times there is some smoldering going on.

Ideally, yes, you shouldn't be able to see smoke outside. If you want a clean and efficient burn you would get the fire hot and burning, then turn it down, all say within 15 minutes or so. This prevents the smoldering and a provides a clean burn, which will also keep your glass cleaner.

If the house is that warm, why add another split so soon? Just let the coals burn down further, let the room temp come down a bit, and then add 3-4 splits to the smaller pile of coals. That coal bed can last for hours with a good amount of heat.