We’ve covered reasons stove glass can crack and how to easily replace it in other articles, but is it safe to continue using a wood burner if the glass is damaged?
The main point to bear in mind is that your solid fuel stove, be it wood burning or multifuel, is a closed heating appliance. It has specific controlled air intakes and a flue for exhaustion and is only safe and efficient to use when in proper working condition with all gaskets/rope seals and surfaces intact, including the glass. Any crack in the outer casing or glass of your stove needs to be addressed as a priority and the stove should not be used until you have done so. But why exactly…?
Firstly, from a safety standpoint, the crack itself is a weak point in the glass and will only get bigger and deeper with time and/or extreme heat (thermal stress). What may be a small, seemingly unoffensive crack now will soon become a large crack and eventually, may shatter or explode, leaving you with the unenviable task of picking shattered glass out of your carpet or worse yet, your loved ones.
From an operational standpoint, the volume of air a stove requires for efficient combustion and correct heat output is controlled by the air intakes and your operation of the burner. Cracks in the glass will allow extra air to be introduced into the process which could lead to over-firing (warping of the stove, voiding of the warranty etc and so on), extra fuel being required and your finely tuned burning technique to be thrown off. Plus, that extra air being drawn from the room into your stove needs replacing and more cold air could be pulled into the home to address the pressure imbalance.
And with yours and your family’s health in mind, any gaps in a stove such as cracks in the glass could lead to toxic gases (carbon monoxide) seeping out and into your home rather than being exhausted safely through the flue system; the potentially fatal knock-on effects of which are simply not worth risking.
Crazed glass, etching caused by the acidity of the fuel being used and unburned, poses less of an immediate risk to the safety and operation of your stove but should be rectified none the less as over time, through thermal stress and expansion, those fine lines obscuring your view of the fire can become deeper and form cracks.
Luckily, replacing the stove glass is a relatively simple and cost-effective process with replacement-glass.com. We are experts in precision cutting stove glass for hundreds of models of burners or custom made to your requirements. We cut from industry leading ceramic glass which unlike similar products, features a highly polished surface to delay blackening and is resistant to thermal stress under extreme temperatures whilst remaining clear. And our easy to follow guide ‘When Should I Replace my Stove Glass?’ takes you through the process of removing the old glass and fitting the new, step by step.