Glass cleaning

[Ctwoodtick]

I’m new to pellet stoves, having just had a castle serenity installed in finished basement. Really love it so far. Just curious how much buildup on glass is normal. The buildup I get so far removes easily with damp paper towel. Been 2 days since I wiped glass and and a brown haze most prominent on each side of the glass. Kind of looks like an X-ray of set of lungs. Does this look about normal?

 

[rich2500]

About normal for the Serenity. Don't know if it's the dirty glass but the flame looks too dark orange. Maybe you could get a pic with the glass clean.

 

[Jhawknseattle]

I agree flame looks pretty dark. While that kind of buildup is not unusual for a pellet stove, it might be being made worse. Picture is obviously still, but flame almost looks like it might be fairly lazy, might need to figure out a way to increase airflow.

 

[Ctwoodtick]

Yes, my wife put it on thermostat setting and the stove was on lowest setting. Have never seen flame that lazy yet. I’m currently going into fire off mode and will start it back up in manual setting to see if it goes back to more normal looking flame.

 

[Jhawknseattle]

I'm not familiar with your model of stove, but I know alot of stoves have an adjustable damper that let's in more or less air. Could be something as simple as that, but again, I'm not sure if that ones has an adjustable damper.

How's the insulation in your house? Any drafts? Another option would be an oak, but I didn't have to do that at my house, nice old house with just enough drafts.

 

[Ctwoodtick]

Just figured it out. I put the burn pot/ fire pot back in incorrectly after cleaning it off the other day. Rookie mistake.

 

[Ssyko]

Yep been there! Lol

 

[nailed_nailer]

They (pellet stoves) generally get dirty glass inside of 24 hours of burn time
Not much you can do about it even if your burning conditions are correct.

Couple of tips for actually cleaning the glass.
1. DO NOT use any ammonia based cleaner on ceramic glass.
2. Only clean cool glass never when hot.
2. I use a damp paper towel with some firebox ash on it to clean the glass.
3. I also use Rutland "White Off" ceramic glass cleaner to clean and seal the glass. This seems to make future cleanings easier.
4. If you do get some kind of melted stuff (plastic/skin/etc.) Wet the glass and use a single edge razor blade to scrape it off. Never scrape dry glass.

Hope that helps,
---Nailer---

 

[jackhammer]

The better the pellet, the less cleaning you will do. This included the glass. I usually clean my stove every other week when I get softwood pellets, every week with cheaper, hardwood. If you try a few bags of different pellets, you may see a difference.

 

[mtm105]

I like to wipe down glass with wet towel daily.
It won't clean up glass perfectly, but avoids more work in future cleanings.

 

[gfreek]

My dealer gave me an 8 oz container of this with purchase and still have about 1/4 of it left after 9 years. It stinks though....

Speedy White cleans fireplaces, stoves, stonework, gas fireplace glass and more!

speedywhite.com

 

[Ssyko]

I use this

Dollar General | Save time. Save money. Every day.

Dollar General makes it easier to shop for everyday needs by offering the most popular brands at low everyday prices in convenient locations and online.

www.dollargeneral.com

 

[Washed-Up]

Yup I use eco-degreaser and it strips the glass down to looking new...and always when it’s shutdown and cold

 

[missing link]

me go get Mean Green after next sunrise
ML

 

[Connecticut Yankee]

Stove Bright also makes a glass cleaner that works well. It's mostly isopropanol, but it apparently has some other ingredients, because pure isopropyl doesn't do as good a job.

 

[SidecarFlip]

Said before, I'm cheap... I use a natural bristle paintbrush and brush the glass a couple times a day with the unit running. Takes all of 10 seconds. Start at the top sideways and the vertically down until the fly ash is removed. Close the door and keep on trucking. All good. 1" brush is what you want. They sell them by the bag at Harbor Freight. 5 bucks, 10 brushes. Called a 'chip brush'...

 

[SidecarFlip]

Yup I use eco-degreaser and it strips the glass down to looking new...and always when it’s shutdown and cold

With my method, hot or cold or in the pot 9 days old don't matter. I like doing it hot myself. The brush don't care, neither do I.