White fog on glass wont clean off VC Encore - 1 week old

[elmoleaf]

Burning wood is a dirty business (wood debris on the floor, ash debris spilling during cleanout, occasional smoke spills into the room, etc) that results in a bit of wear and tear on your house and stove. After 20 plus years, my stove has chips in the enamel, a bit of cloudiness to the glass and a repaired hinge seat. At one point, I thought it'd be nice to have crystal clear glass again...I wiped, cleaned, polished with some cleaner...it got somewhat better. Then I decided my time was better spent on other things than cleaning glass every other day....the glass maybe gets wiped off once or twice a year.
Aging and the imperfections it brings are normal.

 

[PapaDave]

It's just a lazy way of getting the thing up to temp again for me.

Well, you said it......
The glass is the least of your worries when doing this, as the cast parts of the stove may warp or crack. Now THAT will be expensive.

 

[Fire Breathing Dragon]

As I believe was mentioned above, dip a damp paper towel in the ashes & try rubbing with that. There's enough abrasive in the ashes to remove build-up without damaging the Pyroceram. For stuff that's been on there for a longer time, I've achieved pretty good results by using autobody fine-grit rubbing compound...

Hi, thanks DAKSY. I tried the damp paper towel and ashes rub down just now to no avail. Actually, while the glass is damp/wet from cleaning it looks perfectly clear but as it dries it leaves the foggy residue. The next time I am out to the store I will try the autobody fine-grit rubbing compound and see if that will polish it away. Since I have the same stove as Coffeeman I will be interested to see if anyone finds a solution to the fog. Once I try the rubbing compound I will post results if they come out favorable. Good luck guys and thanks for tips, experience goes a long way, thanks for sharing.

 

[Trktrd]

FWIW I use hydrogen peroxide to clean glass and have had great results.

 

[Fire Breathing Dragon]

FWIW I use hydrogen peroxide to clean glass and have had great results.

I read your post and tried the HP as you suggested but the great white fog prevails. I took that time to use the HP dampened towel and dipped it with ash and scrubbed really good on one small spot and nothing. I have hight hopes for the rubbing compound, on paper that seems like the solution.

 

[coffeeman]

Well, you said it......
The glass is the least of your worries when doing this, as the cast parts of the stove may warp or crack. Now THAT will be expensive.

You're absolutely right. I had no idea that it could get hot so fast. Believe me, my ash door start ups have already ceased. Is there a way to tell if something did get warped? Would it be obvious? I sure hope I didn't do anything serious. But then, the hottest the stove ever got by the thermometer was about 725 which is ok according to the manual as long as it's not continuous.

I would be interested to see how a rubbing compound and a buffer would do. There's got to be a way to get this stuff off.

 

[coffeeman]

I read your post and tried the HP as you suggested but the great white fog prevails. I took that time to use the HP dampened towel and dipped it with ash and scrubbed really good on one small spot and nothing. I have hight hopes for the rubbing compound, on paper that seems like the solution.

FBD, my experience is the same. I wipe it wet and it looks clear only to dry to a haze again. I hope to try the auto body compound sometime this week. Please post your results if you get a chance.

 

[Bub381]

Great! They've figured a way to test for overfiring. By all the solutions i've read here and you having no luck i'd say it's etched.

 

[jharkin]

Seems like you figured it out, but Corey may be on to something also. The glass is coated, you will notice if you order a replacement there is a left side and a right side and they are NOT interchangeable in spite of being identical in shape. If the factory messed up and installed it backward I could see this happening.

If this haze won't burn off in a raging fire I'd agree the glass is shot. When I get a white haze it usually wipes crystal clear with nothing but a damp rag.

 

[slindo]

On pitted glass you have a piece of glass with a bunch of little holes in it. To restore it to its original clarity you have to make the surface flat again which means grinding away the entire surface of the glass down to the level of the bottom of the pits. That means removing a lot of glass. And glass is HARD. Even with the appropriate power grinder it is going to take a long time, and results aren't guaranteed.

But, assuming from what you said that your stove is still under warranty, your first step, now that normal cleaning methods have failed, should be to contact the dealer you bought it from and see if it is covered by the warranty, before you mess it up trying to grind it clear since that may make a worse mess of it. OK you may have opened the ash door, but the glass still shouldn't have etched that quickly - we used to (back when people didn't know better) open the ash door on a regular basis, and we got 12 years out of the glass before it got foggy enough to interfere with viewing the fire. It's quite possible VC had a bad batch of glass.

You're absolutely right. I had no idea that it could get hot so fast. Believe me, my ash door start ups have already ceased. Is there a way to tell if something did get warped? Would it be obvious? I sure hope I didn't do anything serious. But then, the hottest the stove ever got by the thermometer was about 725 which is ok according to the manual as long as it's not continuous.

I would be interested to see how a rubbing compound and a buffer would do. There's got to be a way to get this stuff off.

 

[NE WOOD BURNER]

Back in the day I would keep a piece of tin foil handy to put in front of the glass to shield it during startup. Extra step but makes a huge differance when trying to keep glass clean for any length of time. when stove warms up and is burning, open the door and remove the foil. the moisture content of the wood is important on startup if clear glass is a concern. moisture carries particles and as it does in the bathroom it goes to the walls and cieling. just thought I would offer my solution that has worked for me. I have never had much luck getting glass clean on the used stoves that I bought to run over the years. So I replaced the glass and keep the old dirty ones around if I failed at getting ahead on seasoning wood.

 

[turbocruiser]

On pitted glass you have a piece of glass with a bunch of little holes in it. To restore it to its original clarity you have to make the surface flat again which means grinding away the entire surface of the glass down to the level of the bottom of the pits. That means removing a lot of glass. And glass is HARD. Even with the appropriate power grinder it is going to take a long time, and results aren't guaranteed.

I agree if the glass gets pitted but I would also think that you would be able to actually feel the pits when you were "rubbing" the glass with a razor at an angle. On my glass it is still super smooth and rubbing with razors neither cleans the stuff off nor does it give the razor any resistance. I'm thinking it really is a super thin film of minerals which were blasted onto and baked onto (but hopefully not into) the glass. The solution then is to remove the minerals without removing the glass and I'm hoping that the fine cut cleaner I'm using is helping so after another ten cleanings or so I'll see what it looks like. Like I already wrote above I'm really trying to resist the temptation to take the buffer out and buff out the glass.

 

[NE WOOD BURNER]

I just reviewed your pictures again. Look at the top of glass near the latch:very clean Now look at bottom where there is no latch that is where you have problems with your glass. I would bet you a large starbucks coffee that you have an air leak in your doors at the bottom(where there is no latch). It is routine to adjust the latch as the gasket material seats in. You could check the temp of glass when you run the stove. I bet its hotter where you have troubles on your glass. My two stroke engines only burn pistons on the side where there is an air leak! But they run mean when they are lean!

 

[jdp1152]

Anyway, the last thing I've noticed is that I don't notice the fog spot when stove is running! It just isn't apparent at all until I stop the stove and start cleaning. So, as much as possible I try not to worry about it especially because a factory replacement for my glass is going for over $200! Crazy. So unless I can basically buff off my fog spot i think it is there pretty permanently and I'm going to continue to try ignoring it.

Same with mine. Only really notice it during coaling or when not burning at all. Gives off a very slight rainbow coloring too.

 

[coffeeman]

I just reviewed your pictures again. Look at the top of glass near the latch:very clean Now look at bottom where there is no latch that is where you have problems with your glass. I would bet you a large starbucks coffee that you have an air leak in your doors at the bottom(where there is no latch). It is routine to adjust the latch as the gasket material seats in. You could check the temp of glass when you run the stove. I bet its hotter where you have troubles on your glass. My two stroke engines only burn pistons on the side where there is an air leak! But they run mean when they are lean!

Wow, you may very well be right. I say that because from the day I got the stove I noticed that the 2 doors don't line up 100% at the bottom like they do at the top. I did a dollar bill test there and thought it was sealed (but what do I know). I let it go since it didn't bother me aesthetically as long as it wasn't a defect to the performance. If you look at the one picture, you can see at the bottom where the right door doesn't flush up as deep as the left one. I wonder if that is the problem? If so, Vermont Castings should replace the door, yes?

Oh, and if that is the problem, the Starbucks is on me. Just pm me your address.

 

[NE WOOD BURNER]

Well who replaces what? Is not my business. If you want stuff to run right. You have to understand how it works! You now own the horse. get to know it and treat it kind because you aint getting your money back!

 

[HotCoals]

I guess that's not double pane?

 

[jharkin]

The encore switched from double to single pane after the 0028... AFAIK VC doesnt use any double pane glass now.

Also, its normal for the right door to stick out very slightly, especially with new thick gaskets, since the right door closes over the left at the center. Do a dollar bill check all the way around both doors. It should be tight enough to rip the dollar everywhere.

 

[31 bertram]

I have a VC 2550 and glass stays pretty clear. I'll wipe the insides with windex about twice a season and can see the fire pretty much anytime the fire's going.

 

[BrotherBart]

I'd let the dealer figure it out.

 

[31 bertram]

I'd let the dealer figure it out

Good luck with that.

 

[BrotherBart]

Good luck with that.

A week old stove that cost as much as that one, I would darn sure find out what they plan to do about it.

 

[31 bertram]

Yeah, while you are at it, I would also ask why those front doors are mis-aligned like that. That can't be good.

 

[firefighterjake]

If it's etched I doubt it (but I also doubt it's etched after a week no matter how bad it got). Do you clean it daily or did you let get really black in the corners for a week? I know my glass was difficult to keep clean for the first few weeks, but not I simple wipe down with a wet paper towel in the morning is all it needs, save some of the darker stuff below the ash lip.

Scotty....I've got some the CLR sitting under the sink. Not sure I want to be the guinea pig on trying in the glass though!

Never fear . . . I am your guinea pig.

I had some mineral deposits on my "glass" since I only use water and newspaper and our water is quite hard. It probably doesn't help that I sometimes clean the glass when it is warm/hot. The gunk was more of a haze and was in a small area, but I like the glass nice and clean so one day I used some CLR and voila . . . it cleaned it right up. I did however follow that up with just plain water . . . just in case. I suspect that continuing to clean the glass with water and newspaper will mean I will have more of this haze in the future though.

 

[FireBall]

Over time the glass on my stove also developed a slight haze- it is not visible when the fire is burning. I think my problem is same as that referenced by firefighter jake- we have very hard water and minerals in our water combined with cleaning when the glass was still warm caused the haze. Anymore I wait until glass is perfectly cool and only use vinegar. May give the CLR a try....