Is It Safe to Burn W/ the Door Glass Cracked?

I had a Hitzer 30-95 installed in October and I'm finally getting the hang of it. Since Thanksgiving it's gotten a lot colder and I've been burning it hotter, which has led to more ash buildup and clinkers; so much so that I have to nearly kill my fire to clean it all out. Yesterday I got sick of cleaning out the ash/clinkers every single week, so I emptied the stove and started burning wood. That was real fun waking up twice last night to refill it.

This morning I shoved a log in, closed the door and oops! The glass cracked. The crack goes from the side middle to the top middle and is about 10 inches long. The top piece of glass jiggles a little and the impact point has a 1/4" circular crack where the log hit it. This is my main source of heat and it won't be repaired until Wednesday. Is it ok to keep burning with that crack? (I've since switched back to coal)

Also, I've read some around here about dealing w/ ash/clinkers, but I have a really hard time with the buildup at the back of the Hitzer behind where the hopper sits. The fire bricks slant down toward the grates, but for some reason shaking doesn't seem to empty out that area. Am I possibly not shaking enough? (I've been shaking every 8 hours or so--and this sucker burns almost all the way open since I have a weird house layout and lots of drafts--I keep the dial between 12-14 and don't have a baro). Before, I was shaking every 4-5 hours and that seemed a bit much--I was dropping unburnt coal into the ash pan. 12 hours is way too long between shakes, but now it seems like 8 hours is a bit much. Ugghh! I've got so much unburnt coal that I'm picking it out of my ash can to save some---probably not worth my efforts though...

Is it safe to burn the stove with cracked glass I can only tell you what I would do. I would watch where the two pieces of glass meet. As long as they stay lined up with eachother, it seems unlikely the glass will fall out by itself. Be gentle when closing the door. Unfortunately you don't have a baro. damper. Should the glass in the corner fall out, your chimney could suck a heck of a lot of air in the hole left. However the hole would be well above coal level and hopefully would not cause your fire to overheat.

Your real problem appears to be dealing with ash buildup and clinkers forming. Hopfully someone with more coal experience than I have can give you more insite, but it kinda sounds like poor coal quality. My hitzer gets ash buildup and I have to shake the grates aggressively 2 or 3 times a day and poke the corners of the fire bed every few days, but I do not get the clinkers at all. Stay with it and keep reading on this website. Burning coal does get easier and smoother sailing with experience.

I think you'll get different recommendations on this but I would say to replace the glass. (If it's not so weak that it may fall out, you can still burn in your stove but I think it's worth the peace of mind to just replace it)
My glass broke 2 years ago on my Harman TLC & I replaced it....PLUS bought a while other door/window assmbly so if it happens again, I wont even have to shut down....I'll just take 2 hinge pins out , swap the doors & replace the glass at my leisure!...Good $100.00 insurance policy!

Maybe without a baro too much heat is going up the chimney, so you are forced to burn hotter, with the result being an overrun of clinkers? My experience has been that if you are burning quality coal, and keeping the temps reasonable clinkers shouldn't be too much of an issue.

As for the glass I can only think of reasons why you should NOT stop burning coal immediately . These include inability to control air flow, hazardous gasses potentially entering the living space, the potential for the crack to grow bigger, not safe to leave unattended including when you are sleeping. Should I go on?

If you have no other options be sure you have operating CO and smoke alarms

I'd change the glass if it were me. I too keep a spare glass for my 50-93. You never know when something happens.

As long as the glass is not ready to fall out, it should be safe to keep burning coal.. If the piece of glass falls out, your draft will drop, and the fire will likely go out.

As for having to burn at near maximum all the time:: INSTALL a BaroDamper.. many forum members have proven that not having excess draft results in more heat from the stove, less coal burnt and burning at cooler fire temps to get the same heat from the stove.. A BaroDamper is cheap at less than $50, and will pay for itself in amonth or so with lower coal use.

I'd replace the glass as soon as you can, if you are unable to replace it soon, you can install a piece of steel in it's place.

Greg L.

Wildernesscrier-- like LSFARM I would guess if the glass falls in/out your fire will almost surely go out - depending on your draft it CO monitor may wake you up. I have a Hitzer 503 and as others mention you should look at coal quality -- try a pallet of
Blaschak pea or nut. Also, the hints to slide a poker along the sides 2-3 times/week seem to work for me.keeps the ash build-up less and permits the fire to consume more coal. With the insert the is no barometric damper but I see here that many members like them -- can't comment. baldeagle

thanks a bunch all. I am burning Blaschak pea coal, so I don't think that's the problem. As a first time coal-burner, it really seems like great stuff. I did buy a pallet of bags, which is way too expensive at $360 for 2400 lbs. I'll look into some of the info on baro's. I think the problem w/ keeping it burning hot is that my house is really long, and my Hitzer is on the end w/ the bedrooms. We blow a fan toward the back to move the heat, which seems to do so-so. The front of the house gets hot...before moving my gas furnace thermostat it was reading in the mid-80's.

For now I can't put much money into any other changes (buy a truck for hauling coal, etc) since things are tight, so I'll just have to ride the winter out this year and scrounge for a baro whenever I can. I have a baby coming in June, so that's where the rest of my cash will be going for the next 18 years! (Sorry Jr, there's no breakfast today cuz daddy spent it on bags of Blaschak!)

Where's the best place to buy a barometric damper for under $50? The cheapest I found has a Tee and was $76 here: http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=2080921 ... caid=17902

I found one on Ebay for like $10, but I think I have to cut a hole in my flue and put it all together myself. No thanks. Which threads here would point me in that direction?

Also, the guy I go thru quoted me probably around $90 for a new piece of glass, but Devil505 you said you got an entire assembly for $100?! I probably need to go factory direct, but Hitzer's website doesn't have spare parts, etc. listed.

WildernessCrier ---- I bought Blashak @ dealers price here for$250/t ... the distributor was out of Pitts. Sounds like you are getting into coal burning, summer holiday's are finding a good price ....... does the coke plant over in Warren have a source of
anthracite? Maybe you have a breaker closer than you think? baldeagle

WildernessCrier - on another thought, I bought both my Hitzer's in Monaca, Pa .... that is not far from you, call and ask for Andy - I think the dealers name is "Buck Stoves". They stock some Hitzer parts. baldeagle

$240 a ton for bagged Blashak in Ohio? sounds like a good price to me.

EFO ---------$250/ton @ dealers cost bagged, out of Pittsburgh. Delivered to local dealer and picked up there. This is in Seven Springs area of SW PA. Best, baldeagle

efo141 wrote:$240 a ton for bagged Blashak in Ohio? sounds like a good price to me.

Brain fade, how did I come up with 240. 360 for 2400lbs = 300 a ton, right

I don't know what kind of math I was doing either (kindergarden?), but it seemed like a ripoff. Not so bad I guess for only one ton (not including a delivery charge---man I miss my Dakota). But then again, how much am I wasting up my chimney? In the beginning of winter I went through one pallet in about two months--that's maybe $200/mo to heat my house.

I was talking to a buddy who just got a coal furnace and he said it wouldn't be too much to cut the chimney and add a baro--I was thinking about doing it myself and causing a worse disaster which would in turn force me to use my gas furnace. But even at $50-75 for a nice baro on a tee, why spend extra if I can get it cheaper? (if I don't mess it up)

The reason I'm fretting is because this project was huge for me. I built the hearth and faux wall myself, put up the stone, etc etc. I thought I'd be able to relax all winter But, I'm still working.