Cleaning woodstove glass

[ultrarunner]

You’re lucky they haven’t used gasoline to try and start a fire.

You are right...

I did have someone with pallet boards too big to fit so they were burning one end and kept pushing the boards in as they burned...

 

[BnRidge]

Burning a nice hot fire is a fine ideal. But in the real world, sometimes the stove needs shut down to keep from overheating the living space. Waiting until the wood load is fully charred sometimes does not fit a families schedule.

It takes about as long here to get the stove from cold start to cruising as it does to make coffee, pet the cat, and start the truck to warm it up, all in about 20-25min. When others then get up, they really enjoy the radiant heat. It's rare to have the place too warm or cold. Dry wood helps in a lot of ways. Keeping it above a stack temperature of 250f isn't really very hot for a wood stove. If creosote is forming a lot on the glass, then something else may be wrong, like wet wood, or leaking gaskets. A catalytic stove would run different also, which this one isn't.

 

[mikester]

Jotul oslo500, primary heat source for winter here, 27/7.
Burn dry wood, hot enough to prevent creosote build up, or hotter still to burn it back off (creosote condenses at 250f, will burn back off at 700f). The only cleaning I do is to use a damp cotton cloth to wipe gray ash buildup off the glass once a month or so. On startup the glass is cool, water vapor present, wood pops ash onto the wet glass. No creosote, ash just wipes off, rinse and toss in the laundry. A couple old wash cloths last a long time and are good too for wiping down the rest of the stove area.

Agreed.

Users with creosote problems need to buy a flue gas thermometer and learn to run their stoves hotter.

Creosote on the glass should be a warning sign that you probably have issues in your chimney as well and you need to get it inspected and cleaned.

 

[Oaktree]

It's less of a problem for me with the bans on heating with wood.

I think fireplace/stove in rentals is problematic...

Yeah, if I had rental property definitely no woodstoves allowed. Maybe tenants know how to operate one properly, but why take the chance?

 

[dj1701]

I burn coal. I had to replace my glass because I used glass cleaners with ammonia. They yellowed the glass to the point you could not see the fire. Now I just use white vinegar and a paper towel. Haven't had a problem since.

 

[MossRoad]

You are right...

I did have someone with pallet boards too big to fit so they were burning one end and kept pushing the boards in as they burned...

Works great for a campfire.... not so much in the living room. Yikes!

 

[MossRoad]

It takes about as long here to get the stove from cold start to cruising as it does to make coffee, pet the cat, and start the truck to warm it up, all in about 20-25min. When others then get up, they really enjoy the radiant heat. It's rare to have the place too warm or cold. Dry wood helps in a lot of ways. Keeping it above a stack temperature of 250f isn't really very hot for a wood stove. If creosote is forming a lot on the glass, then something else may be wrong, like wet wood, or leaking gaskets. A catalytic stove would run different also, which this one isn't.

View attachment 829276

Agreed!

Light a cold stove after monthly clean out.

26 minutes later, it's blazing away. Adjust it and you're done.

2 hours later....

 

[ruffdog]

Just like with Moss, I only get some build-up in the bottom corners of the glass. I might clean the glass half way through the heating season and also at the end.

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

I liked the aspect where the paper towel "cleaning supplies" are just tossed into the cold firebox to be burnt up with the next fire ;-) Maybe you do that with the cloth too, idk.

Lol, no. Mrs Slim would not tolerate throwing away cloth towels. These are "dog towels", which are kitchen towels that have passed their service life and then go into the "general cleaning" bucket. After wetting them completely and wringing out all the water that can be wrung out, just wiping the inside of the glass by hand, no scrubbing involved. Then the soot covered towels just go in the regular wash load and come out clean again.

I don't have a creosote build up problem at all, as like others have stated, I run a "hot" stove. And as most others do I'm sure, I only burn well seasoned wood, primarily Ash wood. I also have a thermometer on my wood stove to monitor burn temperature. The only build up I have is just soot/ash that just wipes off the inside glass easily.

 

[MaxLee]

Been burner for 23 years... best I found was Easy Off oven cleaner, spray on , let sit few minutes and clean as the day I installed it.