progress hybrid glass

[joshrohde]

Does anyone have the issue of the glass not staying clean? My PH glass gets real dirty when I do a low long burn with the air all the way closed. Would this be caused by the wood I'm burning or just the fact I closed the air down all the way? The glass seems to clear up when I burn the wood real hot with active secondaries.

 

[kennyp2339]

Suppose to do that

 

[Tenn Dave]

I have had the PH for 2 years now and have never had to clean the glass. I live in Tenn where winters are moderate and I burn the stove at the lowest air level possible. Only once has my glass gone black, and as you said, it cleared right up the next time I burned the secondaries hot. I should also mention that I burn very well seasoned oak and hickory. Got to love it

 

[Tenn Dave]

I have had the PH for 2 years now and have never had to clean the glass. I live in Tenn where winters are moderate and I burn the stove at the lowest air level possible. Only once has my glass gone black, and as you said, it cleared right up the next time I burned the secondaries hot. I should also mention that I burn very well seasoned oak and hickory. Got to love it

edit: Don't get me wrong - the glass is not crystal clear by any means. It does look a little dusty with a few brown spots in the corners.....but the fire view is still beautiful. Enough so that I have not felt the need to clean it.

 

[Slow1]

I like the crystal clear view so I routinely will clean (damp paper towel) if cool enough. Amazes me each time just how much better it can be when I do this. I think the dust builds up slowly and I just don't notice....

As to turning black - on occasion I've had some darkening during burn, particularly if I have it raging and then turn the air down quickly leaving the top 1/3 of the stove full of secondaries and the bottom apparently starved for O2 and the bottom will darken for a bit, then once the wood burns down it clears right up (leaving some dust it seems).

IF your wood is a bit more damp then I would expect more darkening than when really dry - at lest that seems to be the case for me (I don't check M/C of my wood, but some is clearly better than others (i.e. bottom of the wood pile seems to always be more damp).

My only "problem" with the PH glass now is that I have a permanent "etched" oval near the top. Apparently some earlier models (such as mine) had something about the glass that the IR coating is burning off and/or otherwise etching. Folks at WS offered to replace glass at cost or somesuch but didn't have a price when I called... I keep debating about the effort required (risk of screwing up seals etc) vs the less than perfect view of the fire...

 

[joshrohde]

The wood I am burning had been sitting outside for roughly a year and a half however it was uncovered for a majority of it until I transported it to my home this fall. I am going to guess it is due to the wood. I need to build some sheds to store it next this summer instead of simply placing a tarp over it and bricks under it. If I get a good hot fire going it clears off almost entirely by itself. I was just curious whether other folks have had the issue. Seems to me most folks don't have the glass darkening at all from what they're saying and for me it happens regularly with the air closed up.

 

[fox9988]

If I burn with the draft shut on a fresh load of wood, I get some brown haze on the glass. It burns off with a mild fire but, done repeatedly, leads to a white fly ash build up on the glass. Not enough air passing through the air wash for the amount of off-gassing. Try setting your draft a little higher during the first hour or two of the burn. YMMV, I burn a Keystone.

 

[valuman]

Not sure if this will help the OP but my wood is not fully seasoned either and I'm getting around that by keeping it inside, near the stove for a couple of days before burning it. Since I started "power drying," the glass on my Fireview has stayed clear. Before that I was getting soot sometimes.

 

[rideau]

It's the result of your wood being a bit wet. Dry wood won't do that. Won't harm anything.

 

[toddnic]

It's the result of your wood being a bit wet. Dry wood won't do that. Won't harm anything.

Yep, wet wood! I've had the same issue with my glass from time to time when I am burning not ideal wood. Give it a little more air when you are burning wood with a higher moisture content and your glass problem will go away.

 

[joshrohde]

I built a new firewood rack next to my PH out of black pipe to dry wood a little before I burn it. I guess my problem is burning less than ideally seasoned wood. I have some really dry softwoods I burn hot to clear the glass. I'm going to get on drying wood for next year and preferably the next couple years after that so I don't have to deal with this again. Here's some photos.

 

[Tenn Dave]

I built a new firewood rack next to my PH out of black pipe to dry wood a little before I burn it. I guess my problem is burning less than ideally seasoned wood. I have some really dry softwoods I burn hot to clear the glass. I'm going to get on drying wood for next year and preferably the next couple years after that so I don't have to deal with this again. Here's some photos.

Sweet setup..... As your wood seasons more not only will your glass stay cleaner but the overall performance of your PH will improve. Stove top temps and burn times stand to benefit.