Glass replacement log burner help

[Shaun1976]

Hi this may be a stupid question  but can the glass be replaced with wire (old fire guard cut to size) in a log burner would it be safe and would it still burn ok thanks for your comments

[gobbypunk]

Hi the stuff you want is called Mica any ,wood burner shop should be able to get you some,you could replace with some steel no worries,but I would get the Mica .

Good luck with it 

Cheers Mark 

[Shaun1976]

Thankyou for your help mark just been reading up on this mica stuff am sure it would be beter than using steel and would look better

it looks so easy to fit too just cut with a sharp knife and scissors would it be ok to use without glass etc in but just put a fire guard up ?thanks so much shaun

Edited January 15, 2020 by Shaun1976

[openspaceman]

18 hours ago, Shaun1976 said:

Hi this may be a stupid question  but can the glass be replaced with wire (old fire guard cut to size) in a log burner would it be safe and would it still burn ok thanks for your comments

The trouble with that idea is that air will pass through the mesh and  spoil the air control, it would become half way between a n enclosed stove and one burning with its door open (or an open fire), so the efficiency would go down.

[bmp01]

Open fires win on appearance.

Stoves win as a means of heating a room because they only need to draw the right amount of air for the fire to burn. Compare that to the open fire that has a chimney that is also open to the room. The point here - once the chimney is hot it can move (draw) huge amounts of air from the room and that air has to be replaced from somewhere, usually from outside. 

By opening the fire door (or not having the glass in the door) you are converting your stove to something like an open fire because you've allowed as much air up the chimney as it can suck through the big opening.

 

Ceramic glass is used in stove doors. It's a special high temperature glass, available as cut to shape glass for common stoves but can also be cut to a template shape if need be. Quite expensive unfortunately.

Edit - I used the term 'Mica glass' which was wrong, Mica sheets are a different thing. Looks very thin and weak compared to the stove glass. 

 

 

 

Edited January 16, 2020 by bmp01

[Dan Maynard]

Stoves also win when not in use, all the rest of the time you have a howling draft up or down an open chimney.

I would say it's worth it to get new glass.

[gobbypunk]

Hi most wood burners have Mica not glass as it’s flexible readily available and in my experience not that expensive and you can still see the flames through it.

Cheers Mark 

[openspaceman]

1 hour ago, gobbypunk said:

Hi most wood burners have Mica not glass as it’s flexible readily available and in my experience not that expensive and you can still see the flames through it.

Cheers Mark 

I remember mica as being thin, flaky and fragile.

 

Our original baxi before I ripped it out 40 years ago had borosilicate glass (pyrex) in 1" strips, to allow for expansion I think.

 

The current Morso has a curved ceramic glass of some sort, ridiculously expensive and I am sure one day I will shut the door on a log that is too big for the firebox.

[BowlandStoves]

Surely it would be near impossible to control the air flow and as a consequence might there be potential issues with over burning?