Keeping glass clean on multi fuel stove?
Discussion
I clean the glass every day on our stove at least once sometimes twice to avoid it getting too bad.
It's not difficult to clean, I leave the doors open let them cool and use one of those sponge scouring pads, what do you use do?
Any tips, anything we can put on the glass to prevent build up?
We burn a mixture of logs & "rose blend" a compressed tea bagged shaped solid fuel.
It's not difficult to clean, I leave the doors open let them cool and use one of those sponge scouring pads, what do you use do?
Any tips, anything we can put on the glass to prevent build up?
We burn a mixture of logs & "rose blend" a compressed tea bagged shaped solid fuel.
You could have a valid point with the air, we to have it choked well back currently as the place is plenty warm enough, would currently get too hot if we let it burn any faster than we are.
Another quick question, there are two small "air intakes" at the very top one either side, what effect does opening/closing these have?
Another quick question, there are two small "air intakes" at the very top one either side, what effect does opening/closing these have?
Burn properly dry fuel without any additives on a bed of ash (seems to burn hotter); make sure the air wash or similar control is set correctly to keep flames away from glass.
Clean with damp newspaper and a little bit of the (fluffy white) ash from yesterday's fire - less likely to scratch than anything more abrasive.
Clean with damp newspaper and a little bit of the (fluffy white) ash from yesterday's fire - less likely to scratch than anything more abrasive.
1441 said:
You could have a valid point with the air, we to have it choked well back currently as the place is plenty warm enough, would currently get too hot if we let it burn any faster than we are.
Another quick question, there are two small "air intakes" at the very top one either side, what effect does opening/closing these have?
Be careful you don't fill your chimney with creosote and other deposits running it cold, if it's depositing on the glass imagine what it's depositing on the colder chimney. Another quick question, there are two small "air intakes" at the very top one either side, what effect does opening/closing these have?
The two air intakes you speak of are probably your secondary air/air wash which will help tremendously with keeping the glass clean, you should have these open and the bottom vent closed on most stoves when burning wood. More info on the stove make and model will help us help you...
Thank you, your replies have prompted me to look further into this, it's not just light it and forget, we have wrongly assumed fires like air from the bottom, it appears logs don't like this they prefer the opposite.
Unable to give make & model it was installed prior to us purchasing the property, it does supply our hot water (gallons & gallons) of it, I can add photos?
Unable to give make & model it was installed prior to us purchasing the property, it does supply our hot water (gallons & gallons) of it, I can add photos?
use the wood ash and a bowl of water with an old newspaper.
Dip the paper in the water and then on the ash and wipe on glass.
polish with dry paper.
free, no chemicals, no unnecessary abrasion.
job done
PS buy better kiln dried wood. It will save you money in the end as it produces tons more heat and loads less grief, as above.
cheers.
Dip the paper in the water and then on the ash and wipe on glass.
polish with dry paper.
free, no chemicals, no unnecessary abrasion.
job done
PS buy better kiln dried wood. It will save you money in the end as it produces tons more heat and loads less grief, as above.
cheers.
Cheers guys, genuinely learned a lot about how to drive a fire allready this evening, still plenty to learn though.
Thank you for mentioning the stacking of logs, they aren't touching the fire, we had allready learned that lesson but I apreciate your taking the time to mention it.
Kiln dried logs, we have acquired quite a bit of land with the property with quite a lot of timber available, I think we should store this (cut in June) maybe for use next year and buy in a bit for this season?
I cleaned the glass and opened the two upper vents, it's running a lot cleaner on the glass front, also thank you for identifying the stove, I have been able to download the manual for it.
Thank you for mentioning the stacking of logs, they aren't touching the fire, we had allready learned that lesson but I apreciate your taking the time to mention it.
Kiln dried logs, we have acquired quite a bit of land with the property with quite a lot of timber available, I think we should store this (cut in June) maybe for use next year and buy in a bit for this season?
I cleaned the glass and opened the two upper vents, it's running a lot cleaner on the glass front, also thank you for identifying the stove, I have been able to download the manual for it.
1441 said:
Kiln dried logs, we have acquired quite a bit of land with the property with quite a lot of timber available, I think we should store this (cut in June) maybe for use next year and buy in a bit for this season?
Timber is best cut in winter - less sap in the wood. Will take longer to dry having been cut in June. Ideally store under cover, but also somewhere with good air flow. Round logs are best split while still damp, and then will dry (and burn) better.
I would definitely buy in for this season, and maybe next depending on what sort of storage conditions you have.
When burning wood, you want to leave a bed of ash and let it build up a little bit. I burn artificial heat logs made of pulverised waste wood compressed into cylinder shapes. I use one of these as a rolling pin to flatten the ash from last night's fire before building this evening's fire. I only remove ash perhaps once a week, and I never remove it all - only reduce its depth a bit.
Both the top and bottom vents should be fully open when lighting your fire, and you may find it helps to leave the doors ajar by just an inch to creat a fast flow of air for the first few minutes. Once it's beginning to roar, close the doors. You can close the bottom vent completely once the fire is nicely established, and shortly after you can start closing the top vents slightly to control the burn, but never close the top vents completely. How much you close them depends a lot on your stove, and how strong your chimney draw is. I can virtually close my top vent almost completely, and you can hear the fire sucking air in. Aim to make the flames slow down a little bit, and you know you've got it just right if there's a strange, transparent 'curtain' of flame hanging above the wood and dancing slowly.
I really wish my stove had remote controlled vents. Perhaps this is an application for a Raspberry Pi and a couple of stepper motors...
Both the top and bottom vents should be fully open when lighting your fire, and you may find it helps to leave the doors ajar by just an inch to creat a fast flow of air for the first few minutes. Once it's beginning to roar, close the doors. You can close the bottom vent completely once the fire is nicely established, and shortly after you can start closing the top vents slightly to control the burn, but never close the top vents completely. How much you close them depends a lot on your stove, and how strong your chimney draw is. I can virtually close my top vent almost completely, and you can hear the fire sucking air in. Aim to make the flames slow down a little bit, and you know you've got it just right if there's a strange, transparent 'curtain' of flame hanging above the wood and dancing slowly.
I really wish my stove had remote controlled vents. Perhaps this is an application for a Raspberry Pi and a couple of stepper motors...
Edited by Dr Mike Oxgreen on Friday 27th November 06:15
tokyo_mb said:
Ideally store under cover, but also somewhere with good air flow. Round logs are best split while still damp, and then will dry (and burn) better.
The airflow makes a hell of a difference. I built a leanto log shed using 4" planks with about a 3/4" gap between each plank. The wind whistles through it and the logs dry out way quicker than my fathers do stored in a shed. 
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