Dirty Glass

[Beer Belly]

I've seen a couple of Pellet Stoves, and they all seem to have dirty, black glass.....looks like creosote......is this normal ??

 

[heat seeker]

No.

A brown, powdery coat on the glass is normal, it's just flyash and wipes right off.

Black means poor combustion.

Creosote on the glass means very poor combustion.

 

[Beer Belly]

What can cause poor combustion ??, and how do you correct it ??. My Nephew bought a house with a Pellet Stove with this issue, and I have no idea on how these things run....all I know is load up the hopper, set the thermostat, and let'er rip.

 

[fmsm]

air/fuel mixture, get a tight, bright, bouncing flame is how I was initially taught.

 

[Beer Belly]

Ah.....so there is more to it than load'em up and let it rip. How does it work with a thermostat if the air needs to be adjusted ??

 

[Ranger72]

Depends on the stove. Some have air/ fuel trim adjusters and/ or dampers. Also, for what it is worth, some pellets will get the glass dirtier than others. The side glass panels on my stove over time always get a buildup. It wipes right off though.

 

[Grateful11]

I fired off our Insert for one fire last weekend and decided to see if I could clean the glass before the cold blast came in. Not much on it but a smoky film and just a tad glaze on the very bottom edge. My wife just bought some Glass Plus and man did that stuff clean the glass, looks like brand new even after running non stop for 4 days.

 

[Bob E]

I hear you on the pellets. I have some that burn real sooty, but no matter how I adjust my stove on heat range 1 and 2 the glass on my door turns black within about half a bag of any pellets. After heat rang 3 it's more of whitish gray haze, and if I crank it up past heat range 5 any black that has accumulated slowly dissipates.

 

[Ranger72]

That is the other thing: on low burns, the glass will get a tad dirty.