Glass Cleaning ?

[tbear853]

Just curious .... Anyone want to describe the technique they use for cleaning the glass?

For years, if hot I brush the glass with a natural fiber brush, and it was OK, if cool followed with a spritz of window cleaner and paper towel. Was a number of years ago, a brush left some melted plastic residue, it apparently was not as natural as I thought. I let the stove cool then, and window cleaner would not clear the melted on plastic. I resorted to Windex and gentle scraping with a glass scraper with fresh blade. I got it off, and I still resort to the technique for the stubborn ash residue. I've noted a slight hazing, but just after cleaning it looks new.

I am curious as to if anyone has a better cleaner or technique for cleaning the cold room temp glass with just towels? When I use the glass scraper, it's with light pressure and well wetted glass using the Windex. I still get little globules of black pellet ash on it too, they get stubborn.

 

[bigealta]

If you burn hot enough there will just be dust on the glass. I wipe mine before cold starts with a wet paper towel. Cleans up in 10-15 seconds to good as new. Burning wet wood and or too cool leaves black creosote which is a hassle to get off. Dry wood is the answer.

 

[tbear853]

I think sometimes I get a bag or two of maybe not driest pellets. I'm gonna try the wet towel dipped in ash next time it's cool, and I'm gonna try the vinegar water idea too. I may have scratched the glass some, but when fresh clean it looks great? The natural bristle brush works OK for hot touch up cleans. I want to get away from using a glass scraper.

My stove originally had a back faux log, a door mount faux log, and a third faux log that rested in notches off the back one, they worked to guide the draft. The mid log broke, and the maker sent me a new set of a different material, then that mid log fell apart ..... so is no mid log no more. Might be why I get build up too, as I tried it once with just the back faux log and it dirtied faster.

 

[Dataman]

Wet Paper towel does the trick just fine for my Harmon XXV

 

[Whitenuckler]

If you burn hot enough there will just be dust on the glass. I wipe mine before cold starts with a wet paper towel. Cleans up in 10-15 seconds to good as new. Burning wet wood and or too cool leaves black creosote which is a hassle to get off. Dry wood is the answer.

I am doing the same with my P43- It burns good, and the pellets are good. I shut mine down, keep the room blower on, and 45 minutes later do a quick clean up. I use 1/2 a sheet (or one rip off). Divide that in 3. Dampen. Use the 3 pieces. If you let it go, it just gets harder. I like to scrape the burn pot when the fire is out every other day anyway.

 

[johneh]

I use a good wibow cleaner with paper towels on COLD glass

 

[Washed-Up]

Vinegar and water with a microfiber, I’ve also used eco-degreaser and it works very well just hard to get ahold of…Stoner invisible glass is a regular too…also treated the P61A glass with ceramic graphene and it seems to help

 

[tbear853]

I have some "Spot-X" which I used to clean water spots off a vehicle's glass that was spotted really badly on glass by prior owner, it's ground up sea shells into a fine powder, it removed water spots glass cleaner ignored. You just dampen a cloth, dip, and wipe good. I was looking on line tonight, some said don't use ammonia based cleaners.

 

[bogieb]

Most of the time I can just use a damp paper towel to wipe off the ash. However, I have gotten some of the harder hazing at times, and find that dipping the damp paper towel in the ashes, and a bit of scrubbing takes care of it well.

I also have a bottle of Rutland's Conditioning Glass Cleaner for stove, grill and hearth. I've had the bottle since 2014/15. It's so old, they changed the look (compared to the link above) - LOL

It will take care of the harder haze. I usually try to remember to use the Rutland's at the end of season cleaning. It leaves a silicone layer that is supposed to make cleaning easier.

 

[Whitenuckler]

Most of the time I can just use a damp paper towel to wipe off the ash. However, I have gotten some of the harder hazing at times, and find that dipping the damp paper towel in the ashes, and a bit of scrubbing takes care of it well.

I also have a bottle of Rutland's Conditioning Glass Cleaner for stove, grill and hearth. I've had the bottle since 2014/15. It's so old, they changed the look (compared to the link above) - LOL

View attachment 346107



It will take care of the harder haze. I usually try to remember to use the Rutland's at the end of season cleaning. It leaves a silicone layer that is supposed to make cleaning easier.

I think I remember reading about that ash method in a manual as a cleaning agent. I tried it before, and it works good. I looked up what my manual says:
"
Sometimes it will be necessary to clean accumulated ash from the glass surface; allowing this ash to remain on the glass
for long periods can result in “etching” due to the acidity of the ash. Never clean the glass while it is hot, and do not use
abrasive substances. Wash the surface with cool water, and rinse thoroughly. You may wish to use a non-abrasive cleaner
specifically designed for use on stove glass. In any case, dry thoroughly before relighting your stove.
"
I think they are right, if you clean it every day or other day it's not going to etch it's way onto the glass. For woodstoves cleaning that often would be hard unless you let the fire go out overnight, and doing it before lighting. For a small pellet stove like mine, I can get it cooled down pretty fast if I keep the distribution fan going. I also have cold air blowing at the stove from a duct.

 

[bigealta]

If you leave ash on the glass and have very very hot burn it will indeed "etch" the glass. So when you wipe it with water and paper towel it will look brand new but then when it quickly dries you will see the grayed "etching" in spots. The "etching" is actually not etching but the ceramic glass softening at high temps and the ash getting imbedded in the ceramic when it cools back down.

You can polish it out but it is a ton of work.
Details below and excellent description on why it happens.

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

 

[Ssyko]

I use simple green then windex 😝

 

[ARC]

Newspaper dipped in water dipped in ash pan, cleans the corn residue off the window and that stuff can be really hard.

 

[Dieselhead]

I don’t run a pellet stove but my wood stove is known to destroy the glass when burning low and slow. This product takes care of glazed creosote no problem. Wear disposable rubber gloves while cleaning with it is my advice.

 

[sandpipe]

If crappy pellets and low burning temps build up creosote on the glass I spray it with windex, catch the drip, and then take a single edged razor blade and scrape off the black hardened buildup. Just like a blade scraper for the inside of a fish tank to remove the algae.

 

[bogieb]

I think they are right, if you clean it every day or other day it's not going to etch it's way onto the glass. For woodstoves cleaning that often would be hard unless you let the fire go out overnight, and doing it before lighting. For a small pellet stove like mine, I can get it cooled down pretty fast if I keep the distribution fan going. I also have cold air blowing at the stove from a duct.

I clean mine with a damp paper towel once a week - in fact I did it yesterday afternoon. I don't have any reason to clean it more often as it is easy to remove, so isn't "etching".

I've rarely had to resort to using ash, and that was in the basement stove when I was burning SW pellets low and slow (and most likely didn't clean the glass except when cleaning the stove - because it was out of sight, out of mind).

 

[tbear853]

Last week or so, we had near zero days and some high winds. My old stove started sooting up the glass bad and was partially burning a lot of pellets. This morning I shut it down with idea being to do a really deep clean Mon or Tues, I thought maybe even with my newest vent cap outside, maybe the winds had somehow pressurized the exhaust, thus reducing combustion air, and my glass looked bad, worse than ever I recall. Last night I had cleaned the glass with that brush, and by this morning one could not hardly see flame, and the ash dump had a lot in it, I had just dumped it late last night.

I was frustrated.

By this afternoon, the stove was cold, so I dumped ashes again. It kept nagging at me, wind had died down before the stove messed up. WHY? Why was it acting so bad.

I was in the basement looking to bring stove vac, etc up for tomorrow, then I walked out to see if I could walk on the frozen snow to the cleanout, I did. I pulled the cap, was water and ash in it, then I pointed a leaf blower up into the cleanout. I knew the stove was closed, and I saw that up there at the new horizontal vent, where I had put a pretty open mesh to keep animals, birds out, half the holes were blocked. I had looked there a few times weeks ago, stove was then running good, but I let curiosity win. I pulled the trigger, instantly the holes opened and it rained black powder on me a lot.

I should have dressed with a garbage bag. I then figured that was it, and couldn't be much, pulled it again. Was a lot more ash, and suddenly I was a mess.

I went and took another shower then, got latex gloves, my clean stuff, did a good clean, Wife fired it up, I don't recall the last time I saw such a likely flame. I also was thinking my glass was ruined, but using the paste of old ash with a damp cloth, and some Windex with new scraper, glass looks new.

Happy Camper here now!

 

[johneh]

When you see the glass getting black in a short period, you
can bet your sweet bipi it is getting plugged with ash. Glad
things are working as they should

 

[tbear853]

About 5 hours in and flame is hopping and glass looks like it's missing it's so clear still, and maybe a thimble of ash in the pan ....

 

[Whitenuckler]

About 5 hours in and flame is hopping and glass looks like it's missing it's so clear still, and maybe a thimble of ash in the pan ....

I was looking up your stone model, and found this old threadI'm sure you remember:

B

Thread 'Newbie here with Vermont Castings Reliance 2220'

Oct 9, 2018

Hello
New to this forum and to wood pellet burners, but not to wood stoves and coal stokers.
I just acquired a VC Reliance 2220 from a local CL add.
The stove seems to be in fairly good shape, feeder works, exhaust blower works, and the two distribution blowers also work.

The problem right now is that the control board is non functional.
Now I know that these things are as rare as hen's teeth and that there are no spare parts and no documentation available for the board, so my plan is to build a new control system from a micro PLC.

My background is as a controls engineer and I...

• Bill A
• Replies: 66
• Forum: The Pellet Mill - Pellet and Multifuel Stoves

• 

 

[tbear853]

Oh yes, Thank you ...... I even saved copies of our messages, pics too. Seams to me that he found that a Harmon 851A board would work. In post #6 I see I had a notion might take mine outdoors to clean really good, but I checked what I could as that stove is up on a hearth and weighs 400 pounds or more. I was in my '30s when I put the stove in place after building the hearth, in 2018 I was in my '60s in midst of treatments, fresh out of Auto SCT stage. In post #7 I was thinking was in need of a TC, but I found out testing that mine in the stove tested good, and the original one was still good too. I have a new one never used too. In 1990s the dealer tech sent me a replacement for the original one just throwing parts I think, he sent it mail never checked the original, so I kept it then. Last year I tested that near new original TC, it tested good too so I put it back in and for the first time ever, I slowed the feed rate. Not a lot, just a turn to slower on the travel adjustment as I had just never considered it, but it cured some. Could be was all it needed when he sent that replacement in the 1990s as I can recall several years where I thought was just bad pellets.

Last night after the post 19 above in this thread, before going to bed, I increased the temp as a further test. Temps here got down to 6* or 7* F last night, got up at 10 AM this morning, Stove looked like last night, very little ash, putting out the BTUs.

After my mess creation with leaf blower up through the clean out tee yesterday, I have come up with a plan to fabricate an adapter to let me hook my large blower under the tee, it's long end pointed up through the tee, past that branch to stove, and being 115 vac I can set the button and plug it in from a safe place and avoid the soot shower. My last venturi tapered like flu vent end directed ash over yonder, this newest rectangle one just vents it down but it is not affected by winds so much. I had added the open mesh critter blocker (which just snaps in secured with a hook so maybe I just climb up and remove it during stove season?)

 

[bogieb]

I remove my exhaust terminations when I clean the stoves and use a copper wire brush to clean those out.

 

[tbear853]

Last week or so, ..... etc .... I knew the stove was closed, and I saw that up there at the new horizontal vent, where I had put a pretty open mesh to keep animals, birds out, half the holes were blocked. I had looked there a few times weeks ago, stove was then running good, but I let curiosity win. I pulled the trigger, instantly the holes opened and it rained black powder on me a lot.

I should have dressed with a garbage bag. I then figured that was it, and couldn't be much, pulled it again. Was a lot more ash, and suddenly I was a mess.

I went and took another shower then, got latex gloves, my clean stuff, did a good clean, Wife fired it up, I don't recall the last time I saw such a likely flame. I also was thinking my glass was ruined, but using the paste of old ash with a damp cloth, and some Windex with new scraper, glass looks new.

Happy Camper here now!

Well, so far, stove has been exemplary in it's running, and the glass does not blacken since then either. I have given thought to how to prevent a black soot shower, that was a huge mess. Wife said she never saw me so covered, even found some black ash leading to the laundry dump that just fell off me I guess. That older tapered termination had directed ash horizontally 15 feet outward across the yard, this new rectangular sheltered termination breathes good, but when blown out with such force as it did that day, it gets directed straight down. I have a couple options, but now I know.

 

[tbear853]

And here we are a month later after the really big cloud of ash in post # 17 above .... and yesterday we cut the stove off as we are dealing with a warm weather wave. That flame has been very happy since a month ago, and just a once a day quick easy swipe with the brush has kept the glass spotless, and every morning I remove a half cup of totally consumed ash.

Today, with stove cold, I decided to use the blower again, but used a short piece of old flue to make a split sort of tube to push up past the branch going to the stove, so all push was up the flue from here below. Recalling the complete mess on me last time, I wore a old long grease shirt and white helmet. I used the super blower first, and where last time I got dumped on, this time was just a few seconds faint black cloud, even left it blowing a minute. Truly I didn't really need the helmet and cover up.

Then I applied the yard vac end to pull stuff down and out, was near none. Then after removing the "branch block" so to vac the 3 ft section to the stove, it blew out the other end what it pulled in, was some more there but not a lot. That flue is CLEAN now.

Then, I squeaky cleaned the stove & glass, expecting a great remainder of burn season as they forecast temperature dropping next week.

Talking with my wife, she didn't recall me cleaning the flue last season, so it makes sense the issues I had with sluggish flames and quick dirtying and partial pellet burns.

 

[Retired Weatherman]

The previous owners of our house left a bottle of this that was about 1/4 full. I used it until it ran out, and it did the trick for harder buildup of creosote, though I'm pretty A-R about keeping the glass clean, inside and out. I'm using Weiman's glass cleaner (the opaque white stuff) on it now because I bought two bottles for my glass induction cooktop and we don't use it that often.

Whatever I use, I always go over the inside thoroughly with a wet paper towel to remove any leftover residue from the cleaner.

Most of the time I can just use a damp paper towel to wipe off the ash. However, I have gotten some of the harder hazing at times, and find that dipping the damp paper towel in the ashes, and a bit of scrubbing takes care of it well.

I also have a bottle of Rutland's Conditioning Glass Cleaner for stove, grill and hearth. I've had the bottle since 2014/15. It's so old, they changed the look (compared to the link above) - LOL

View attachment 346107



It will take care of the harder haze. I usually try to remember to use the Rutland's at the end of season cleaning. It leaves a silicone layer that is supposed to make cleaning easier.