Custom Door on a H.S. Tarm??

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pine grove coal user
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Post by pine grove coal user » Sun. Jul. 07, 2013 6:45 pm

As I get close to installing my new Tarm boiler, I'm still not happy about the solid door. I want a door where I can see at least a little bit of the 'Blue Ladies'.
Does anyone know of anyone who would be able to fabricate a custom door, one that has tempered glass? My goal is for a door with glass that is 8" x 8" or so.


 
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Post by Wanna Bee » Sun. Jul. 07, 2013 6:52 pm

How hard would it be to cut a hole in the door?
Get a piece of rated glass and make a retaining ring that bolts through from the outside creating a glass sandwich.

I have no idea what your door looks like but can't be that hard to do

 
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Post by Wiz » Sun. Jul. 07, 2013 9:27 pm

Take door to metal fabrication shop near you. They'll be able to make the 8x8 cut and fabricate a retaining plate like WB mention
Get temp glass prior to metal fab so they have all the pieces for proper fit. Stove gasket might work between door, glass and retaining frame for a seal.

 
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Post by dcrane » Mon. Jul. 08, 2013 6:04 am

Im not sure what your Boiler looks like or the material of the door in question but a few tips and pic of a typical easy glass install.

If your burning coal you should be using Ceramic NOT Tempered glass.
Photo shows simple straps/brackets that hold the ceramic in place (be VERY careful not to put to much pressure against the ceramic but just enough to put a little pressure against the glass gasketing)
In most cases cutting a hole in the door should not be a problem but bear in mind you don't want to loose structural integrity of the door (warping over time). If the door has any built in gussets in the casting or steel they are probably their for a reason and you should try to place a window in between these.
Also be aware that you don't need a large window to achieve your desire of being able to view the fire (a 4x4 would serve just as well as an 8x8 and might make your job a lot easier and cheaper).

post us up some pics when your done so we can see and to give a finish to the thread ;)
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Post by Lightning » Mon. Jul. 08, 2013 8:50 am

I've been contemplating the same. This year I plan to cut in a window in the load door. Or since I don't use the secondary draft on the load door maybe I should just place some glass over the vents :D .

 
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Post by coaledsweat » Mon. Jul. 08, 2013 9:19 am

Probably not a great idea. The risk of the door warping would be increased considerably as it wasn't designed for a glass install.

 
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Post by dcrane » Mon. Jul. 08, 2013 4:36 pm

Post some pics of the door when your able just so I can visualize this boiler. My guess is a small ceramic or Mica view would be fine and would not be a big deal and a bracket would be easy for either. I would be carful about its size in relation to the door or any gussets the door may have, so a 3x3 or 4x4 would be more realistic than an 8x8 :shock: Id also make sure any warranty period is long gone as well.

It could be that their are some United Testing Lab issue on whole house boilers/furnaces that prevent them from passing? Dave from LL might have some knowledge regarding this or anyone who has brought forth whole house boilers to U/L for testing? Id would seem to me that this would be a great feature that would be wanted by consumers for the cost of about $7.50 and would bring a HUGE aesthetic pleasing look to these big furnaces! So Dave.... If theirs no issue with U/L lets get some prototypes done before I buy mine :lol:


 
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Post by Wiz » Tue. Jul. 09, 2013 8:28 pm

After reading this I too think it would be nice to see coal fire on keystoker Ka 6. I contacted Keystoker to see if the have or could custom fab the door. Their reply."We have not tried to put glass in the door of a K-6 boiler. The glass we get is precut to size I don't know if we can cut it down to the size we need. I will have to check with the glass company."

My reply was in your professional opinion would this work or will it jeopardize the door strength in anyway. Now I'm waiting to hear back from them.

 
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Post by Lightning » Tue. Jul. 09, 2013 8:44 pm

Personally, on my appliance, my door doesn't get that hot meaning it stays under 400 degrees. So I don't fear it warping but on the same token I wouldn't cut in an 8x8 inch window. A couple inches should be plenty, or even a couple 2 inch windows spaced eye width so you can get a 3 dimensional view 8-)

 
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Post by dcrane » Tue. Jul. 09, 2013 9:49 pm

Wiz wrote:After reading this I too think it would be nice to see coal fire on keystoker Ka 6. I contacted Keystoker to see if the have or could custom fab the door. Their reply."We have not tried to put glass in the door of a K-6 boiler. The glass we get is precut to size I don't know if we can cut it down to the size we need. I will have to check with the glass company."

My reply was in your professional opinion would this work or will it jeopardize the door strength in anyway. Now I'm waiting to hear back from them.
"The glass we get is precut to size I don't know if we can cut it down to the size we need. I will have to check with the glass company." ... Your kidding me right :lol:

 
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Post by 2001Sierra » Tue. Jul. 09, 2013 10:55 pm

dcrane wrote:
Wiz wrote:After reading this I too think it would be nice to see coal fire on keystoker Ka 6. I contacted Keystoker to see if the have or could custom fab the door. Their reply."We have not tried to put glass in the door of a K-6 boiler. The glass we get is precut to size I don't know if we can cut it down to the size we need. I will have to check with the glass company."

My reply was in your professional opinion would this work or will it jeopardize the door strength in anyway. Now I'm waiting to hear back from them.
"The glass we get is precut to size I don't know if we can cut it down to the size we need. I will have to check with the glass company." ... Your kidding me right :lol:

Remember it is ceramic and not glass at all.

 
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Post by franco b » Tue. Jul. 09, 2013 11:16 pm

2001Sierra wrote:Remember it is ceramic and not glass at all.
Glass is a ceramic.

Noncrystalline ceramics[edit]
Noncrystalline ceramics, being glass, tend to be formed from melts. The glass is shaped when either fully molten, by casting, or when in a state of toffee-like viscosity, by methods such as blowing into a mold. If later heat treatments cause this glass to become partly crystalline, the resulting material is known as a glass-ceramic, widely used as cook-top and also as a glass composite material for nuclear waste disposal.

For almost 100 years Pyrex has been referred to as glass by both Corning and users. Several coal stoves use it in the door.
Last edited by franco b on Tue. Jul. 09, 2013 11:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.

 
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Post by 2001Sierra » Tue. Jul. 09, 2013 11:23 pm

OOPS :oops: I read it can be cut but is brittle, do not know all the details so my contribution to this thread is done :roll:

 
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Post by Wiz » Wed. Jul. 10, 2013 5:27 am

dcrane wrote:
Wiz wrote:After reading this I too think it would be nice to see coal fire on keystoker Ka 6. I contacted Keystoker to see if the have or could custom fab the door. Their reply."We have not tried to put glass in the door of a K-6 boiler. The glass we get is precut to size I don't know if we can cut it down to the size we need. I will have to check with the glass company."

My reply was in your professional opinion would this work or will it jeopardize the door strength in anyway. Now I'm waiting to hear back from them.
"The glass we get is precut to size I don't know if we can cut it down to the size we need. I will have to check with the glass company." ... Your kidding me right :lol:
Hey dcrane, only if they are kidding me :P

 
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Post by dcrane » Wed. Jul. 10, 2013 6:00 am

I was not so taken back by the fact people call it glass vs ceramic... tempered glass is used for most fireplace inserts, wood burning products, etc. (generally its that smoky looking "tinted" crap), Mica is used for a lot of coal burning products because the stove was built prior to ceramic glass being invented or the stove company was trying to make the product as cheaply as possible (the cost is far less expensive than ceramic glass yet it can withstand equal temps). ALL of the above can be cut to whatever size is desired and if ordering repeated/same inventory Ceramic can even be formed curved, etc. (Pizza usually comes 14" small or 18" large... I don't need to call a Pizza shop to ask if a pizza can be cut or made into 12"...that's what was kinda silly to me :lol:)

With ceramic glass one of the benefits is how easy it can be cleaned and the fact that if it breaks its generally still fully functional because it remains intact, Pyrex or tempered glass generally shatters into a million pieces (Pyrex is a brand name and im not sure the exact composition of it but I don't think it could be ceramic because I think it would be to costly).


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