first fire question (glass darkening)

[Mroverkill]

Ok so i went through 7 pieces 4 for the startup started it up with the super ceder(really like it ) set the timer and let it roll on low after about and hour or so then went up to med after another hour i threw in another piece and let it run on high till it had a nice bed of "coal" got some creaking and light poping other then that just the smell of it burining it in and all.


now is having 3 or 4 piecec of wood in it a good amout in it to have at a time or what ??? i dont want to "overload" it so i thought id ask


Here is my only question might be nothing but thought id ask the glass seemed to darken in a few spots is that normal, is that just the glass getting dirty if so do you just windex it clean?? i havent opened it yet since its still pretty hot letting it cool down till it get out of work then ill look.




put out some good heat from what i had loaded in it




sorry for the noob questions but i want to do this right and all

 

[Fsappo]

Northern NJ, huh?

 

[Mroverkill]

yup why

 

[op_man1]

Here is my only question might be nothing but thought id ask the glass seemed to darken in a few spots is that normal, is that just the glass getting dirty if so do you just windex it clean?? i havent opened it yet since its still pretty hot letting it cool down till it get out of work then ill look.

A good way to clean your glass is to use a damp newspaper and dip it in ash. Didn't think it would work that well but I tried it and it will really do the trick.

Don't know particularities of your unit but the darkening of the glass could mean a few things (wood not dry enough, or perhaps the fire was just not very hot, which is ok for a break in fire) so I'll let others address that one.

 

[NH_Wood]

Since it was likely the first fire of the year, you likely burned a cooler fire first and might have built up some creosote on the glass. Once you consistently burn hot fires, the airwash system should clean most of the brown haze/build up off of the glass. Now.....if your wood in not fully seasoned, you will get that build up consistently throughout the winter. My wood was not optimal last year, and when I'd burn full loads, with the wood a couple inches from the glass, I'd get a lot of build up toward the lower corners of the glass. The airwash system couldn't touch it. My wood for this year is nicely seasoned and I'm expecting to have much cleaner glass. We'll see. How well seasoned is your wood supply. What types of wood are you burning and how long has it been seasoning for? Good luck. Cheers!

 

[Fsappo]

yup why

You bastages stole my football team

 

[Mroverkill]

ahhhhh so its nothing to really worry about then i was hoping it was from not running it to hot for a .000001 of a second i said oh shoot does that mean i was to hot. Yea i think the wood was fine it was wood from 2 years ago nice and grey

 

[Todd]

It's still early, draft is sluggish this time of year and could also cause some dirty glass.

 

[begreen]

A stovetop thermometer will help you know how hot the stove is getting. It will probably read around 400-600 depending on the stage of burn. I would guess that with just a split or two burning the stove didn't get too hot. Once it is up to temperature it should keep the glass pretty clean as long as the wood is dry. Patience, you'll be burning full loads of wood in a month or so.

 

[DanCorcoran]

You don't say if this is your first modern EPA woodstove, but if it is, I strongly suggest you get online and read the owner's manual before further usage (assuming you haven't already done so). There's usually a lot of good (and important) info in owner's manuals, as well as on this website. You can spend many hours profitably learning about stoves, wood, etc., on this site.

(But with a 25-ton splitter and 90 posts on this site, I guess you're not a total newbie!)

 

[Mroverkill]

yea lol its a modern NON cat stove

 

[Mroverkill]

just got off the phone with the company that installed the stove and they said it was underfired told them how i was worried i was to hot and i was guessing and all they said stop by and well give you a mag temp gauge with temp readings and is color coded so you know how good your firing


.

 

[begreen]

That's good of them. I don't particularly like the color coding as the normal operating temperature varies with the stove and the thermometer location. Pay closer attention to the actual temperature.

 

[fossil]

Sometimes the window on our Liberty will blacken up depending on the wood species, and how we've got it loaded, and how hot it's burning. Getting the fire nice and hot will burn that build-up right off and clean up the window. Firing the stove hot (even overfiring it) will not result in creosote depositing out on the window...quite the opposite, in fact. Rick

 

[Mroverkill]

yea time will teach me all this but a temp gauge will assure me on what im doing.


thanks guys

 

[firefighterjake]

Random thoughts . . .

Glad you're getting a thermometer . . . I'm a big proponent of stove and flue thermometers -- good for knowing how hot is too hot and how hot is too "cool" -- helps avoid over-firing, excessive creosote production and in running the stove more efficiently.

Cleaning . . . there are many ideas on how to clean the glass. I'm one for going the cheap and easy route. As OP Man mentioned . . . damp newspaper dipped in a bit of the wood ash works like a charm nearly every time.

Reasons for the brown glass . . . they've already been mentioned . . . 1) not running hot enough which is quite common on early season fires, folks without thermometers who think the stove looks or feels hot enough and folks doing the break-in fires which don't allow the stove to get all that hot, 2) unseasoned wood and 3) when wood comes to rest up against the glass during the burning process which interferes with the air wash system.

You may choose to clean the glass . . . or if it is a matter of not getting the stove hot enough or wood has rested up against the glass . . . the next time you get the stove really working it will burn off . . . and disappear like magic.

 

[vvvv]

air leak around glass or door might be cause?

 

[Mroverkill]

well its on now have it on the top of the stove and running 450 at the moment few creeks and noises here and there so far so good this time i have no smell lol

 

[Mroverkill]

. . . . . 500

 

[begreen]

Sounds like liftoff. Have you backed down the air supply?

 

[Mroverkill]

yea i did then it settled at 500 525 and stayed there

 

[soupy1957]

I just use a piece of Paper towel on the glass..............works fine..........don't wet it, just wipe with one. Comes right off.

+1 on the Thermometer!

-Soupy1957

 

[Mroverkill]

ok ok so i MUST admit i tried the wet paper towel and some ash didnt think it was gonna work BOY i was wrong it took it right off like a hot knife in butter