Wood stove

[sherpa]

I have a wood stove with a glass window in the door.
It seems that the glass gets smoked up and you can never see in through the glass.
Is there something you can put on these glass windows to keep them clear?
Thanks,
sherpa

 

[Mousefield]

Don't know of any product that stops the glass from getting coated.
I will occasionally get my glass "smoked". In my case it is from damping down the fire so it is more smoldering rather than burning. I do burn wood that has been cut and under cover for about 4 years so it is dry. The other reason you can get the glass smoked up is by burning wood that is still high in moisture content. If it happens I will burn a hot fire and that removes most of it. Then when the glass is cold, I spray a bit of windex on the glass then scrub with some steel wool and then wipe it with paper towel. Gets it nice and clean again.

 

[sherpa]

I have washed the glass with windex but it gets dirty again pretty quick.
I thought there may be something you could put on that glass that would keep it clean.

I know I have use some wood that was not completely cured but most of the wood is good.
sherpa

 

[Deere Dude]

It seems to me that the design of some stoves and fireplaces are not conducive to smoke buildup on the windows. I had a fireplace that the windows stayed fairly clean and the one I have now is terrible, and the wood is extremely dry and the fire burns hot.

All I could suggest is to find something to clean them easier. I tried something like Jungle Jake, which is something like Simple Green, I think and that loosens the black stuff right up. I just spray it on from a Windex type bottle and use some balled up newspaper dipped in water then dip it in the ashes and scrub away. Then I use wadded up newspapers and clean water to clean it up after it's all loose.

I hope someone comes up with an easier fix for me also.

 

[Brushhill dave]

My better half washes ours off with damp paper towel and ash from the fire and it works great. I talked to the place where I bought my stove and they didn't know of any product to keep the black off the window.

 

[MotorSeven]

Mouse is right..it's the wood. It has to be a minimum cut and dried hardwood, stacked properly and covered for a year. A clean hot fire of seasoned wood will burn the soot right off the glass.

 

[Pirate]

Mouse is right..it's the wood. It has to be a minimum cut and dried hardwood, stacked properly and covered for a year. A clean hot fire of seasoned wood will burn the soot right off the glass.

Really? I burn oak that has been dried for years. My glass gets smoked up no matter what, how hot, etc...

It's the stove, not the wood.

 

[Mousefield]

Really? I burn oak that has been dried for years. My glass gets smoked up no matter what, how hot, etc...

It's the stove, not the wood.

I have burned wood for about 30 years in 3 different stoves with glass doors.
The only time I get soot/black buildup on the glass, as stated in my earlier post, is if I damp down the fire too much so it is just smoldering. Haven't burned non dry wood for many years but that can also cause soot/black build up on the glass. If you are burning dry wood with a hot fire and getting soot on the glass then I think something is wrong with your setup. Just doesn't seem right, with dry wood and hot fire to get soot on the glass. You would think that just about everything including smoke would get burnt. Just saying.

 

[MotorSeven]

Really? I burn oak that has been dried for years. My glass gets smoked up no matter what, how hot, etc...

It's the stove, not the wood.

Heck, all stoves are different, I guess it could be the stove. I only have experience with Hearthstone's and with proper wood the glass cleans itself. Of course mine is black as soot right now as I am way behind on firewood since i started building the log house.

 

[Ken45101]

Some stoves are designed better to keep an air wash flowing across the glass. But also how you burn has an effect. A good hot fire will minimize or even clean up the glass. I only have to clean ours once or twice per season.

Ken

 

[sal64]

i have same prob when i bank the stove the glass becomes black ,i add wood burn it hot for about 10 min and all the black burns off.

 

[Ken45101]

i have same prob when i bank the stove the glass becomes black ,i add wood burn it hot for about 10 min and all the black burns off.

Of course it depends on the design of your stove but perhaps you are cutting it back too much or too soon. If you are building creosote on the inside of the stove, what's going on up in the chimney?

Ken

 

[scott_vt]

Heck, all stoves are different, I guess it could be the stove. I only have experience with Hearthstone's and with proper wood the glass cleans itself. Of course mine is black as soot right now as I am way behind on firewood since i started building the log house.

Good Mornin Rick,
I presently use a Heritage Hearthstone and I only get buildup on the glass when burning slowly ! Good seasoned wood and a hot fire usually takes care of the glass..

If it does get dirty I use crumpled newspaper moistened with simple green and some wood ash to clean it up...

 

[nue2farm]

Damp paper and wood ash, from the stove, works for me. Have fun and stay safe...

 

[Scooby074]

Wet wood, stove design or excessive damping are the cause of the smoked up windows.

 

[DennisArrow]

The causes for dirty glass is:

Burning green wood.
Damping the fire down to much for the stove design.
Clogged pipe/chimney and it doesnt draw right when damping down the fire.
The design of the stove doesnt "air wash" the glass properly.
Or a combination of 2 or 3 of the above.

Creosote remover by "Rutland" once a week keeps my pipe, internals, and glass CLEAN
Oven cleaner cleans creosote from glass quite well.

The only time I use windex on a paper towel is when ash, not black creosote, gets on the glass.....I TOTALLY MUST HAVE CRYSTAL CLEAR GLASS to be happy.

Burning a hot fire at least once a day really helps keep EVERYTHING, glass, pipe, and stove, really clean. This means in the 550 to 700 degree range on my thermometer attached to the pipe.

If you are getting creosote on your glass on a constant basis.......WHAT IS HAPPENING TO YOUR PIPE??????????

God bless......Dennis