The glass on a woodburning stove is many things – heat resistant, highly polished, heat stable – but one thing it isn’t is toughened. Therefore, it should be expected that this will need replacing at some point in a stove’s life.
Cracked, shattered or crazed glass can be caused by a few common factors:
- Closing the door on a protruding log.
- A rogue fireside tool.
- Over-firing causing the door to warp, putting stress on the glass.
- Over-tightening the clips that hold the glass in place, which will expand with heat.
- Uneven casting.
- Natural heat expansion.
- Acidity in the fuel being used.
But we are here to help! We supply precision cut glass for any stove model (either pre-cut or custom made for you) and our helpful guide will take you through replacing your stove’s glass step by step.
- As with all stove maintenance, allow the burner to cool fully before attempting anything.
- Ideally, remove the door and lay on a flat surface. It’s not the end of the world if you are unable to do this, it just makes life easier.
- Loosen or unscrew the retaining clips that hold the glass in place. If these have seized up over time, use some WD40 or gently tap the screws.
- Remove the old glass wearing gloves if it is smashed or has sharp edges.
This is an ideal time to also replace your rope seals if they are frayed, hardened or loose. Please see our guide on Replacing Rope Seals.
- Clean the stove door removing any loose or flaking material.
- Place your new glass into the door making sure it is central, has room to expand and creates a seal with the stove rope.
- Now this is important! Reattach the retaining clips removed in step 3 but do not over-tighten. You want these to be finger tight only. As the stove heats up, all metal fixings including the retaining screws will expand, putting pressure onto the glass. Too tight and they will cause the glass to crack.
- Replace the stove door back onto its hinges.
Ordering Replacement Stove Glass
At Replacement-Glass.com, we are experts in precision cutting stove glass for hundreds of models of stoves or custom made to your requirements. Simply check our listings for your make and model of stove or alternatively, select Cut to Order – Replacement Stove Glass and enter your dimensions. If the glass is shaped at all (i.e. it features an arched top or curved/angled corners… anything but a plain square or rectangle), then we will require an accurate template posting to us. We supply industry leading, heat stable ceramic stove 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 with no discolouration.