Cleaning inside of door glass while running?
- darnskewered
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Smoke from a difficult start this afternoon (only second try, still learning) really made the freshly cleaned glass kinda black. I was wondering, if I were to open the door once the coal fire is fully started, and leave it open for a minute or two, would it still be a bad idea to try to wipe the glass with any sort of liquid? Is there any other method I could try that would not risk changing the temperature of the glass too quickly and risk shattering it?
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It takes a long time for the glass to cool. I wouldn't wipe with any cold liquid while it still is to hot to touch. For my mag stoker I made a door cover from light gauge galvanized sheet that slides under those outward flared lips on the top and bottom of the door opening. Screw a wood block to the center of the sheet to act as a handle for easier handling. The cover is not airtight, but it allows you to let the stove run while the glass completely cools. Then clean away.
Rick
Rick
- darnskewered
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Two questions:RFK wrote: ↑Thu. Jan. 17, 2019 11:10 pmIt takes a long time for the glass to cool. I wouldn't wipe with any cold liquid while it still is to hot to touch. For my mag stoker I made a door cover from light gauge galvanized sheet that slides under those outward flared lips on the top and bottom of the door opening. Screw a wood block to the center of the sheet to act as a handle for easier handling. The cover is not airtight, but it allows you to let the stove run while the glass completely cools. Then clean away.
Rick
1. Wouldn't the wood block burn since this would be place on the inside of the stove while running?
2. Would you be interested in making one of these for $ and shipping it to me?
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1. The wood block is on the outside of the sheet.
2.Sorry I don't have anymore sheet metal. I made mine from some scrap I had laying around. Very simple to make yourself. Get a piece of 26 gauge (about .020") galvanized sheet and cut a rectangle of 10 3/4" x 18" using straight cut tin snips. I snipped off 3/8" chamfers from each corner to make insertion easier but you probably don't have to do this. Screw a small piece of wood scrap to the outside center of the sheet for a handle and you are done. Sheet probably can be found at Home Depot or Lowes. If you don't have any wood scrap just buy a cheap wooden cabinet knob at any hardware store. You can find online sources for small quantities of metal that usually will cut to your specified dimensions for a premium charge if you can't/don't want to do this yourself.
I'll try to post some pictures when I get time later if I can figure out how to post pics.
Rick
2.Sorry I don't have anymore sheet metal. I made mine from some scrap I had laying around. Very simple to make yourself. Get a piece of 26 gauge (about .020") galvanized sheet and cut a rectangle of 10 3/4" x 18" using straight cut tin snips. I snipped off 3/8" chamfers from each corner to make insertion easier but you probably don't have to do this. Screw a small piece of wood scrap to the outside center of the sheet for a handle and you are done. Sheet probably can be found at Home Depot or Lowes. If you don't have any wood scrap just buy a cheap wooden cabinet knob at any hardware store. You can find online sources for small quantities of metal that usually will cut to your specified dimensions for a premium charge if you can't/don't want to do this yourself.
I'll try to post some pictures when I get time later if I can figure out how to post pics.
Rick
Great idea on the metal plate.
Pic's are easy....I just drag and drop the file into the reply window, wait for it to load and then scroll down and click on the 'inline' selection.
- lsayre
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You can pour liquid nitrogen onto 680 degree F. Robax without shattering it.
Disclaimer: Don't try this at home.
Disclaimer: Don't try this at home.
- warminmn
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I just used super fine steel wool. Dont use course. If you use liquid on a rag and slowly move it around I doubt you'd crack the glass. Spraying it on you'd run more risk. I used vinegar if I used any liquid. Im sure the tin in front would work great too.
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Here are some pics of the door cover plate:
Rick
When sliding the plate in it will be necessary to pry out slightly on the leading edge of the plate with a small flat blade screwdriver to get it to the outside of the stove face. This is why you don't want to make the plate out of anything too stiff. It needs to flex. Thanks Isayre. It's nice to know that cracking the glass with cold material is essentially impossible as long as it is ceramic. The times that I have cleaned when the glass was still very warm to the touch caused the cleaning liquid to dry almost instantly making cleaning difficult, so when I do clean, I just put the plate in and let the glass cool completely. Actually, I have long since joined the "embrace the orange glow club" and only clean infrequently. As most of us know it's a futile gesture to try and keep the glass clean anyway with a stoker. I put new glass in this fall before I started up and it was etching by the end of the first week.Rick
- mntbugy
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Rub the inside of the glass with 0000 steel wool while hot. Only takes at most 2 minutes. Can do while stove is running. Might need to do this a couple times depending on how cloudy it is.
- 2001Sierra
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If you can keep the glass clean over time on a stoker your will win a Nobel prize! I had a hand fed for over 25 years and it always cleaned right up, the new Keystoker NO WAY! The keystoker comes with a plate which hangs on the door opening. I now pop the door off to clean it better, but it is still a no go on truly clean glass.
- darnskewered
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Thanks so much for this advice! Ran to Wal Mart to grab some 0000 steel wool today and the results are below. Now I get to enjoy this huge snowstorm AND look at the nice blue flames in my stove
BEFORE USING 0000 STEEL WOOL: AFTER USING 0000 STEEL WOOL:
- 2001Sierra
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Not to be that guy, but let us know after a month or so of burning, and multiple cleanings. Once again stokers are totally different animal than batch burners or hopper feds when it comes to glass.
- darnskewered
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What are you saying...just that it'll get dirty again, or that the steel wool will scratch the glass or something else?2001Sierra wrote: ↑Sat. Jan. 19, 2019 4:30 pmNot to be that guy, but let us know after a month or so of burning, and multiple cleanings. Once again stokers are totally different animal than batch burners or hopper feds when it comes to glass.
Note, this black smudge on mine came from one particularly disastrous start. I got some starters from a local stove company and they were all duds, basically turned into smoke bombs. Thick black smoke was heaping out of the stove and it put out the fire I was trying to start. Had to revert to more traditional hardwood kindling method to get it started.
I don't care about it getting a bit cloudy or dirty over time, I just wanted to be able to see the flame.