EPA certified stove with a solid door, no glass...

I told her I'd ask, so here it goes..
Our office manager will replace her old smoke dragon this year, but asked what stoves are available with a solid door, no glass. Is such a thing even out there?
She'll need a 2.5 CF fire box at the minimum. 6" flue. Close CTC measurements also for a corner install.
Gold plating is an option, but not required. j/k
Thanks in advance, look forward to replies..

 

I gotta ask...why no glass? (or technically, ceramic)

 

About the only one I can think of...I'm sure there are others out there though...I think BK, or somebody will let you opt out on the glass...
DROLET - BLACK STAG II WOOD STOVE

 

She has young kids, concerned about breakage? Cleaning the glass was mentioned also, but she just needs more info to assuage that issue (it isn't).

 

Yeah, the bk was available with a solid door. Some people just have a fear of breakage.

 

She needs to watch this...that stuff is tough! And cleaning glass is a non issue with dry wood...as we all know

 

I'm going to show her this thread tomorrow, so feel free (and I mean it, let her know her options and your opinions ) so she can make an informed decision.
I appreciate everyone's input, I can only lend my input but I'm just one man. Strength in numbers..

 

Great vid. ! This will help.

" Hey Lonie, did you see that?"

 

I have three small boys... that glass is tough! With small children I have the stove screened in during the heating season so it never gets whacked or touched. During the summer, honestly they stay clear, we let them know that thing gets hot and going near it is just out of the question.

 

Has anyone here ever broken one? Outside of a regretable "oops" while moving or installing it, I would guess it is highly unlikely.

 

I've heard of people trying to force the door shut on a split that is not fully in and cracking the glass (ceramic)...but from what I remember the door was forced pretty good to even make the crack happen...a total "well, that was stupid" moment.
I was thinking about this a bit and I think what I would do if I was really paranoid about the window breaking, I would cut myself a sheet of light gauge metal (like 26-30 ga ductwork type metal...cheap enough to buy a piece at the hardware store) and have it stashed near the stove so that if the window broke I could open the door and slide the metal in between the stove body and the door, to be held in place by the door when latched...would probably be easiest if the metal was a little bigger than the door so you have something to hold onto easily...would have to fit/trim around the latch too.
The thing here is stove glass breaks so infrequently that I bet the metal would long be forgotten about of misplaced if you did need it!

Once you have a stove with a window (fire TV) you will never want one without! My current wood furnace has no window...my previous one did...man I miss it! The only solace I have is that it is in the basement, not the living room, so not a place that I hang out long term normally...the stove in the living room fireplace has a window... I can't imagine not having that!
BTW, the kids don't mess with it...they have been taught "hot, stay away" from day one...plus we have screen in front of it too...I took a free standing open fireplace screen and welded male brackets on it so that it kinda clips into female brackets that are part of a plate that the stove sits on...that way it can't be knocked over/out of place...works great.

 

Wow that was just awesome brenndatomu, extremely informative! Put any concerns I had about the glass breaking, thanks for sharing.

Correct me if I am wrong but essentially if your loading north to south and stuff it in and kind of jam it and it expands it could flex and break the glass.

 

Same here, I've taught my kids and they have gotten use to it and know do not mess with the stove. They feel that heat and they give it a wide berth. Even in the off season the stove is off limits you do not play around it, bang or throw anything near it. I wish I had room for a screen just to be extra safe. I still have 2 1/2yr old turning 3 this winter to contend with and watch, we are always extra cautious.

 

You mean the wood or the stove expands?

I would think that the wood definitely would not expand, and any stove expansion/ contractions would be minimal at most. I'd also say that one should never jam any wood in a stove, and not get that close to the glass.

 

Referring to what he is talking about in the video starting at around 0:50 about the glass flexing when a piece of wood is stuck or shoved up against it.

 

Maybe tell her that a stove model that loads straight in (north south) makes it impossible for a log to “roll” into the glass.

I have a BK stove that is famous for dirty glass and lack of a lively fire show. Still, only the bottom corners really get blocked and the rest is open to allow a very pleasant view of the glowing coals and occasional whisp of Fire.

How many people do you know that sit outside around a campfire with their backs turned to the fire the whole time? People love watching fire and that glass lets out a lot of heat for that warm-your-hands feeling.

 

Understood.

Yeah that ceramic is a lot tougher than you'd think it would be.

 

I was going to post this myself, but you beat me to it.

I did post it awhile back though. Very impressive.

To be certain...check with any manufacturers and see what kind of glass they are using. Some manufacturers brochures leave you in limbo as to what type of glass and how thick. To me...this some information should never have to struggle to look for or call a stove company to find out...it should be included in the brochures or in their website, BUT they all do not include this. Sad!!! I hate when so-called respected companies cut corners like leaving this info out. Other areas they fail to tell you about are stove body thickness, and how the doors are built and how door hinge are made. I hate having to call someone for this info. It’s silly. Be proud of the product you build, tell folks about it, or go home. LOL!


That guy was whacking the heck out of that glass!!!