Stove Door Glass VERY sooty - How to clean/keep it clean?

[777funk]

I've noticed that (in just a few days of burning on my new used stove with FRESH replacement glass from a local glass shop) the door has become black near the bottom and almost non transparent. The top looks ok. How do I keep this thing clean? It's a cat stove and wood isn't fully seasoned but lights up right away over coals (20-40% moisture content)

 

[Beer Belly]

Clean with a damp cloth or paper towel dipped into cold ash should clean it up. The unseasoned wood is likely the cause, as is low temps in the stove.

 

[Batman]

Seconded. You needn't buy any special products for cleaning that "glass," though I have heard that they work. I use a crumpled up newspaper, dampened and dipped in ashes, to remove most of the crud. Then I finish it with a dry paper towel. A little Ammonia works well to solve soot/creosote, but it smells harsh. Razor blades too, if you must.

A hot fire usually cooks the soot off too.

 

[Grisu]

Don't reduce the air as much to keep the air wash active and given your unseasoned wood clean your chimney often.

 

[777funk]

I just cleaned it and there was no way this black layer was coming off with just the lye/ash damped towel. It was caked on grainy black creosote (not going to wipe off). Even with a razor blade it was hard to scrape off.

I noticed that this thing is very smokey if I open the door while the cat is engaged. However it doesn't look too smokey in the glass while it's burning. If I get it really hot and bypass the cat (i.e. lighting the stove), very little to no smoke comes back. I assume this is because the chimney is hot/drafting.

 

[bens_igloo]

Hi 777funk,

I've had very good results with the ceramic cooktop cleaners and paper towel, even for the toughest of soot spots. Since I have a ceramic flat top stove, I don't need to any additional products

Usually I'll clean my insert glass once a month or so with this method.

 

[KindredSpiritzz]

I've been struggling with the same situation so far this year. Not tamping my intake air down all the way has helped some but my glass still gets dirty, altho not as bad or as often anymore.
After experimenting with a few different things we found a wet magic eraser works quite well even on the caked on stuff but it does take some elbow grease to get thru it.
Also rubbing on A-Ben-A-Qui ( a universal cleaner ) worked pretty good too. My creosote wasnt coming off with a wet newspaper dipped in ashes, thats for sure.

 

[Jags]

You shouldn't be opening the door without the cat being bypassed. Thermal shock is bad news for cats. Sounds like your wood is causing this - possibly/probably along with low stove temps. What are the cat temps and stove temps like during your cruising stage?

Rutland glass cleaner - if you are gonna buy a product, make it this one.

 

[777funk]

What's interesting is that the broken glass that came with this stove was clean as a whistle. I doubt the previous owner took perfect care of the stove and he owned it for a couple decades.

EDIT: Jags, just saw your post. Thanks! I'll watch opening the door in the future. No idea on cruising temps. There's an old thermometer that moves but only in a small range. I've labelled what it does as cold medium and hot on it's dial. Hot is big flames from a couple logs for 20 minutes. I usually run it on medium which is a couple big logs glowing.

I'm still curious on the old glass being clear as day. Could it be my new glass that's the problem?

 

[Highbeam]

Razor blades for me followed by rutland stove glass cleaner for the final polish. We're not talking about a haze or film but an actual thick layer or hard solid creosote. What really happens is that you get used to the partial glass blockage, not much to see anyway.

 

[Fsappo]

Buy some stove glass cleaner from your local Hearth shop, take the door off so it sits level (horizontal) and spray a bunch. Let it sit for a few hours, rinse, repeat, follow up with the ash trick. Just keep in mind that under the same conditions its gonna get filthy again until you adjust your fuel or burn habits.

 

[Jags]

Could it be my new glass that's the problem?

Probably not. You are dealing with a wood problem. Less than dry wood along with low stove temps will cause this every time.

You may also want to do the dollar bill test on the gasket in the area that is getting gunked up.

 

[Fsappo]

Probably not. You are dealing with a wood problem. Less than dry wood along with low stove temps will cause this every time.

You may also want to do the dollar bill test on the gasket in the area that is getting gunked up.

He couldn't have that IR glass from a glass shop, could he? The stuff with the rainbow coating? and if yes, could that being faced the wrong way do it? I seem to recall something from a former mistake.

 

[Jags]

He couldn't have that IR glass from a glass shop, could he? The stuff with the rainbow coating? and if yes, could that being faced the wrong way do it? I seem to recall something from a former mistake.

EEEK. I hope not. I don't think that stuff is rated high enough for stove use. And I doubt seriously if it would pass the shatter test required for stove glass. (technically not glass).

 

[Fsappo]

I am describing it wrong. The ceramic glass..Robax? was it called. Designed for stove use a while back and if you looked at it from an angle, in the right light, after eating a magic mushroom, it had the same kind of rainbow appearance as oil on water

 

[Jags]

I am describing it wrong. The ceramic glass..Robax? was it called. Designed for stove use a while back and if you looked at it from an angle, in the right light, after eating a magic mushroom, it had the same kind of rainbow appearance as oil on water

Ahhh...yes. I have seen that stuff. Hmmmm...that makes it a possibility.
I would still lean towards wood quality - 20-40% as stated by the OP makes me suspicious. Not knowing stove top temps lean me even further towards that direction.

 

[777funk]

Just talked to the glass shop owner and he said it's Pyroceram. It was a slight off clear/amber color when new.

He said his stove also soots his glass up pretty good. He also said that most of the glass he's replaced has been similar. He said a foaming glass cleaner that they use on trucks works pretty good for cleaning it off.

 

[Fsappo]

Just talked to the glass shop owner and he said it's Pyroceram. It was a slight off clear/amber color when new.

He said his stove also soots his glass up pretty good. He also said that most of the glass he's replaced has been similar. He said a foaming glass cleaner that they use on trucks works pretty good for cleaning it off.

So buy some from him, right?

 

[NJ_Burner08002]

Burn it off

 

[777funk]

I used him for my replacment glass ($125 = ouch!). So I'm guessing he's going to say that it's all going to be like this in his defense. It may very well not be the glass' fault here. But I will say the old glass looked pretty clean. Unfortunately it was the prev owner who did that burning and it came to me broken so I have no direct comparison. I'm guessing the soot has to come from somewhere though so it's likely not the glass' fault.

NJ Burner, I actually tried that (put a fire next to the glass) and even used took a torch to it after that didn't work. No joy in it coming off. Razor blade does work but even at that it's difficult.

 

[jigger47]

Never tried it but a member stated that a stove company told him to use beeswax for the glass.

 

[777funk]

Not the glass' fault. Just looked at the rest of the stove interior and it's also coated with shiny black bubbly material (guessing creosote). I scraped all of it off the glass door with a razor blade. Came off fine. Looks good again. The damp ash towel method worked great for the lighter stuff.

I'm going to burn hotter and see if that keeps it down.

 

[BKVP]

Let the ash accumulate so that your fire is built closer to the height of the glass door. Load wood north south, that is the end facing you. Also, use smaller diameter pieces which will permit more air circulation. The others hit all the other points that would help.

Stay warm!

 

[HotCoals]

From a cold start ..start the fire from the top and that will help.

 

[smokedragon]

I would still lean towards wood quality - 20-40% as stated by the OP makes me suspicious. Not knowing stove top temps lean me even further towards that direction.

+1 to that.

Our wood is measuring 13 - 16% but we are getting about the bottom 1/3 of the glass with this exact coating he describes. On the nights it has gotten really cold and we have opened the stove up, 85 - 90% of this has vanished. I think knowing his stove temps and running it hotter will help. Dryer wood too.