Glass door gets black?

[JoTy]

I'm trying to figure out how to operate my Osburn 1800 insert. What does it mean if the glass blackens? Am I doing something wrong with the wood?

 

[builderbob]

I'm trying to figure out how to operate my Osburn 1800 insert. What does it mean if the glass blackens? Am I doing something wrong with the wood?

May just be wood that hasn't been seasoned long enough. It would still have moisture which would form on the glass with creosote and blacken it. They say if you burn the fires hot enough, it burns the stuff back off the glass.

Quite often, people have posted also about cleaning their glass every so often cause it gets blackened.

 

[begreen]

JoTy. There are a lot of variables. Instead of guessing what is happening it may be easier to listen to how you are running the stove. Tell us every step you do, right from starting, to adding wood, timing, etc. Include a description of the wood, especially it's size (L, W & thickness) and weight.

Also, have you read pages 13-18 of the Osburn manual? Does it make sense? Are there questions about the recommended procedures?

 

[jqgs214]

Biggest culprit in black doors seems to be wet /unseasoned wood, long low smoldering fire, and gasket leaks at the door. Do the dollar bill test of the door gasket first. It it pulls out with no or little resistance tighen it. If your wood is dry and the door is tight then its more than likely your cutting air off too quickly. Also descibe the blackness. Does it look like black sticky stuff or like looking through a bottle of cola??

 

[MrGriz]

BG is right, a good description of your burning cycle would be very helpful.

The small side windows tend to get dirty in the bottom corners quickly on mine. I don't think the airwash gets at them very well. The rest of the glass does stay quite clean and when it does get dark a good hot fire will clear it up very nicely.

From this and the other thread, I'm guessing that you are not burning hot enough. Porbably caused by a combination of factors. First off, I would bet that your wood is not properly seasoned and dry enough. I think there is also a negative pressure effect in your home that is contributing to poor combustion.

Walk us through your process and we can help.

 

[Jfk4th]

I would say the wood is probably not seasoned enough so to make up for that you are going to have to burn it hotter (Open her up a little more). You don't want a full season of black because black on glass means black in the pipes. this can lead to overtime the nasty hard creosote. If this is your first season burning a stove let me tell you we have all been there and learned form members from of this group or just as time goes by. Remember good seasoned wood needs to be split and left for about a year, I am sure people have different opinions on what works for them but this is the general rule. It is hard sometimes to start out with a stove and then buy wood, you might have to bend over a little bit a pay for some seasoned stuff this year and cut and hunt for free wood for next year. That is what happened to me the first year and now I am ahead of the game. Good seasoned wood will burn hotter, give more BTU's, start easier, and give you a better experience with your stove.
Good luck