oven door glass?

[777funk]

I would guess this could be an FAQ but I didn't see anything when I searched. Oven door glass is cheap and plentiful. Can it be used or will the high heat demolish it quickly? Anyone tried it?

 

[TimfromMA]

I'm no expert and far from certain of anything but here are my thoughts.

Ovens are used for a couple hours here and there to cook dinner. Wood / pellet stoves are used for months on end over the winter.

The open flame of a wood / pellet stove is alot hotter than the temperatures inside an oven.

 

[777funk]

Thanks TimfromMA. I'd think the big problem if it exists would be the temperatures. Heat cycling (expand/contract) is probably more wearing than a continuous gradual change in temp and expansion like with a wood stove and of course ovens have the same glass for 50 years heat cycling for 2 meals a day in many cases. My guess is the higher heat would be the killer if anything. We're both speculating of course. But I'm just curious if it'd work. I did a little looking and actual wood stove glass (ceramic) can be found from $40-80 on the low end and crazy prices on the high end ($200 and beyond). So it'd be nice to have an easy to find lower cost alternative... if it'd work... But that's the question!!

EDIT: just did a little more homework and it looks like oven door glass may be tempered and also low heat conductivity. The second part isn't what we're after with a wood stove. I'm not sure about the first (would make it hard to cut to size if not already there).

 

[BruceNorEast]

While original manufacturer replacements aren't cheap (I think mine is about $175), consider what could happen if it fails; on my stove, I think a crack that allowed air in would create an overheat situation. If nobody is there to notice... Yikes!

I dont know about cooking stove glass, but think wood stove glass is ceramic with special coatings.

Hope you find a reasonable option. Good luck.

 

[TimfromMA]

I think a crack that allowed air in would create an overheat situation. If nobody is there to notice... Yikes!

Pellet stoves require negative pressure in the combustion chamber. A crack in the glass would be caught be the vacuum switch and shut the stove down.

 

[Lumber-Jack]

As far as I know, oven door glass is just tempered glass, and although they use to use that years ago in wood stoves nobody uses it anymore for safety reasons. All newer wood stoves use clear ceramic material which is more expensive yes, but it is rated for much higher temperatures and has better heat cycling (expansion and contraction) properties. Also, all range oven doors have two layers of glass, while your wood stove only uses one.
If you need to replace the glass in your wood stove and feel the need to cheap out, uses a piece of 1/4" sheet metal. It won't be pretty, but it will be a lot safer.