Alterra Pro I3000 Black Glass

[scottvoel]

I am new to wood inserts but had the i3000 installed 2 weeks ago. I love the look but the glass is turning black after 1-2 days. The moisture of the wood is 10-20% and is being burned at a temp of 500-650. Does anyone have suggestion on how to stop this? And now that I have it, an easy way to clean it off without spending an hour or two?

Thank you all in advance.

 

[begreen]

That insert has a big wide glass. Usually the best solution is to burn a bit hotter for an hour or so. Where is the temperature being measured?

 

[scottvoel]

I am having a hard time getting it much higher than 680 or so which doesn’t seem to do any good at getting the black off. The temperature probe for the catalytic is located in the front left area (nearish to glass).

 

[begreen]

Is this the cat temp or stove temp? If it is the catalytic temp, it is very low. Usually this is a sign of wet wood that is poorly seasoned.

 

[kborndale]

How did you measure the moisture content of the wood? Did you grab an ax and resplit the piece of wood so that you can measure the inside of the wood? If you just measured the outside of the wood you are not getting an accurate reading.

 

[scottvoel]

Based on the manual this is the Cat temp. I got some new wood over the weekend and could get the temp up to 950 or so for periods of time. In reading the manual anything over 500 degrees is considered to be ideal burning. Event at 950 the the glass was not coming clean. I fear I'm going to have to put some elbow grease in and scrub the creosote off the glass.

I had not considered splitting the wood but I will attempt that tonight when I get home.

 

[Wisco Shepherd]

Based on the manual this is the Cat temp. I got some new wood over the weekend and could get the temp up to 950 or so for periods of time. In reading the manual anything over 500 degrees is considered to be ideal burning. Event at 950 the the glass was not coming clean. I fear I'm going to have to put some elbow grease in and scrub the creosote off the glass.

I had not considered splitting the wood but I will attempt that tonight when I get home.

if you got 20% on the outside without splitting you are in for a surprise. My guess is you are around 30%

 

[stoveliker]

Based on the manual this is the Cat temp. I got some new wood over the weekend and could get the temp up to 950 or so for periods of time. In reading the manual anything over 500 degrees is considered to be ideal burning. Event at 950 the the glass was not coming clean. I fear I'm going to have to put some elbow grease in and scrub the creosote off the glass.

I had not considered splitting the wood but I will attempt that tonight when I get home.

Cat temp is not relevant for window cleanliness. Firebox temperature is.

In fact,. smoldering a firebox of fuel will make a window dirty but could lead to very high cat temps.

I second the wood moisture concern.

 

[kborndale]

Sounds like wet wood is your biggest issue, as it is with most people when they are new to heating with wood. Get next year's wood now and you won't have this issue next year.

 

[Keith Wheat]

How hot does a firebox need to be to burn the glass clean? I have heard people say that they do not clean their glass; they just burn a hot fire and it comes clean. Is it safe to burn so hot or is the stove likely to be over fired? If one were to burn so hot, is it better to disengage the catalyst while doing so?

 

[stoveliker]

I don't know; it works for me if there is a hot fire going on, with lots of infrared radiating out to me thru the window. Basically burning near the max of what my stove can do.

The temperature of a firebox is rather varying at different places in the box, so is hard to quantify.

 

[begreen]

How hot does a firebox need to be to burn the glass clean? I have heard people say that they do not clean their glass; they just burn a hot fire and it comes clean. Is it safe to burn so hot or is the stove likely to be over fired? If one were to burn so hot, is it better to disengage the catalyst while doing so?

600-650º on the stove door should do it. Put a magnetic thermometer on the face or read it with an IR gun.