Repairing sealed unit double glazing
 

Any suggestions for overcoming misted sealed units, is it possible to drill
hole and allow it to dry out?

thanks

Ken

Ken wrote:
Any suggestions for overcoming misted sealed units, is it possible to drill
hole and allow it to dry out?

Drill two holes on the outside. (~5mm)
Diamond grit bit in a dremel or something.

At this point you may blow through with some fan, taped to the window.
it'll take a few hours to clear.

Now, make 2cm*2cm squares of glass, and silicone round the top three edges,
leaving a gap of some 1mm and covering the hole.

This should stay clear almost all the time.

Ian Stirling wrote:
Ken wrote:
Any suggestions for overcoming misted sealed units, is it possible to drill
hole and allow it to dry out?

Drill two holes on the outside. (~5mm)
Diamond grit bit in a dremel or something.

Just realised, if the glass is tempered, as it may be with newer windows
(date?) it'll explode into little bits when you do this.
On the plus side, there will be no fog on the bits.

"Ken" wrote:
Any suggestions for overcoming misted sealed units, is it possible to
drill hole and allow it to dry out?


Don't drill any holes in the window if it's safety or tempered
glass!!! Apparently the drilling holes trick only really works
if you get it when it first mists up. If there's been any beads
of liquid rolling down the inside then the water marks will
always be there.

We have discussed replacing sealed units in double-glazing
a few times on here, and I have just paid to have a large
picture window unit replaced. I would consider DIYing in
the future, as the procedure itself was fairly straightforward.

I have put before/during/after pictures on a web page, along
with a brief description of the process involved, he
http://www.bat400.com/diy/repl*acing-sealed-units.htm

Al Reynolds

"Al Reynolds" wrote:
http://www.bat400.com/diy/repl*acing-sealed-units.htm

But for some reason (OE?) the link came through as mangled
when I read my post. It should be:
http://www.bat400.com/diy/replacing-sealed-units.htm

Al

"Al Reynolds" wrote in message
...
"Al Reynolds" wrote:
http://www.bat400.com/diy/repl*acing-sealed-units.htm

But for some reason (OE?) the link came through as mangled
when I read my post. It should be:
http://www.bat400.com/diy/replacing-sealed-units.htm

Al

Why is perfectly good glass replaced in this age of recycling?

Why can't the panes be separated, cleaned and then re-engineered into a
unit?? No glass cutting or supplies needed (other than the edges).

In article ,
Ken wrote:
Any suggestions for overcoming misted sealed units, is it possible to
drill hole and allow it to dry out?

Think there's an article in the FAQ about how to do this?

--
*Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

john wrote:

"Al Reynolds" wrote in message
...
"Al Reynolds" wrote:
http://www.bat400.com/diy/repl?acing-sealed-units.htm

But for some reason (OE?) the link came through as mangled
when I read my post. It should be:
http://www.bat400.com/diy/replacing-sealed-units.htm

Al

Why is perfectly good glass replaced in this age of recycling?

Why can't the panes be separated, cleaned and then re-engineered into a
unit?? No glass cutting or supplies needed (other than the edges).

Because getting the panes off is decidedly non-trivial.
The glue is rather tenacious.
And, you've got to get all traces of it off, or the new pane may fog.
And if you just throw the glass in a glass recycling bin, it takes relatively
little energy to remake it.

In article ,
"john" writes:

Why can't the panes be separated, cleaned and then re-engineered into a
unit?? No glass cutting or supplies needed (other than the edges).

They can if you can take it to a sealed unit fabricator
and live with a large hole in the wall until it's done.
I was warned to dismantle and clean up the glass myself
if I did this, as they may not do that well enough, and
it is annoying to have a nice newly sealed unit which is
still dirty on the inside. Make sure you record how thick
the unit was before dismantling though. I didn't actually
do this as the frames needed replacing and the rotten
sash boxes removing too, so it was new windows all round.

--
Andrew Gabriel

In message , Al Reynolds
writes
"Ken" wrote:
Any suggestions for overcoming misted sealed units, is it possible to
drill hole and allow it to dry out?


Don't drill any holes in the window if it's safety or tempered
glass!!! Apparently the drilling holes trick only really works
if you get it when it first mists up. If there's been any beads
of liquid rolling down the inside then the water marks will
always be there.

Stuart Turner (I think) posted some years ago here about how he did
this, involving a vacuum cleaner and silca gel IIRC, it all seemed a
bit of palaver o me TBH. (Google Groups is your friend)

We have discussed replacing sealed units in double-glazing
a few times on here, and I have just paid to have a large
picture window unit replaced. I would consider DIYing in
the future, as the procedure itself was fairly straightforward.


Yeah it's not hard, though does need doing properly if they aren't to
fail prematurley. I really don't think it is worth the effort of trying
to repair one TBH, a replacement isn't really that expensive
--
Chris French

In article ,
Ian Stirling writes:
Ken wrote:
Any suggestions for overcoming misted sealed units, is it possible to drill
hole and allow it to dry out?

Drill two holes on the outside. (~5mm)
Diamond grit bit in a dremel or something.

At this point you may blow through with some fan, taped to the window.
it'll take a few hours to clear.

Now, make 2cm*2cm squares of glass, and silicone round the top three edges,
leaving a gap of some 1mm and covering the hole.

This should stay clear almost all the time.

Trouble is, by the time it mists up, the desiccant all round the
separator has already expired. Just drying the air alone isn't
going to help for long as it will mist as soon as any more moisture
gets in (or temperature drops below dew point). I don't know what
desiccant is used, but maybe gently heating that also to drive off
some moisture so it can work again would get you a bit more time.

--
Andrew Gabriel

Andrew Gabriel wrote:
In article ,
Ian Stirling writes:
Ken wrote:
Any suggestions for overcoming misted sealed units, is it possible to drill
hole and allow it to dry out?

Drill two holes on the outside. (~5mm)
Diamond grit bit in a dremel or something.

At this point you may blow through with some fan, taped to the window.
it'll take a few hours to clear.

Now, make 2cm*2cm squares of glass, and silicone round the top three edges,
leaving a gap of some 1mm and covering the hole.

This should stay clear almost all the time.

Trouble is, by the time it mists up, the desiccant all round the
separator has already expired. Just drying the air alone isn't
going to help for long as it will mist as soon as any more moisture
gets in (or temperature drops below dew point). I don't know what
desiccant is used, but maybe gently heating that also to drive off
some moisture so it can work again would get you a bit more time.

No.
The idea is to vent it to the outside.
I may not have made this quite clear.
If you do this, then it is less likely to mist over - as unless it's foggy,
the air outside is always at a humidity under 100%.
As in most cases, the outside pane will be slightly warmer than the
external air, it's therefore not going to be able to condense, if the
vents are of adequate size.

On 11 Jun 2005 10:27:02 GMT, Ian Stirling
wrote:

And if you just throw the glass in a glass recycling bin, it takes relatively
little energy to remake it.

Glass isn't recycled though. If you're lucky it ends up as glasphalt
(road aggregate), if you're unlucky it goes as landfill. Very little
goes back into glassmaking as cullet, and almost none as primary glass
for direct re-melting. Glass recycling _as_glass_ is pretty broken in
the UK.

In message , Ian
Stirling writes
john wrote:
Why is perfectly good glass replaced in this age of recycling?

Why can't the panes be separated, cleaned and then re-engineered into a
unit?? No glass cutting or supplies needed (other than the edges).

Because getting the panes off is decidedly non-trivial.
The glue is rather tenacious.
And, you've got to get all traces of it off, or the new pane may fog.

I keep contemplating this route myself. The large window in the lounge
(about 4sqm) is just starting to mist up, and its large size makes it
worth "having a go" at a repair. Anything under 0.5sqm I wouldn't
bother, as new small units aren't too expensive (£40-50 per sqm I
believe).

Plan A is to drop the unit out, drill a couple of holes through the
spacer bars and blow dried compressed air (at very low pressure
obviously!) through the unit, and maybe warm the spacer gently to
attempt to dry out the desiccant. A bit of silicone to bolster the seal
if any weaknesses are visible. Bit of a problem though as Axminster no
longer sell the compressed air drying doodad I was going to use.

Plan B is source some new spacers strips and rebuild, initially
separating the unit by sawing through the old spacer. I agree cleaning
the old spacer adhesive off maybe difficult.


--
steve

Steven Briggs wrote:
In message , Ian
Stirling writes
john wrote:
Why is perfectly good glass replaced in this age of recycling?
snip
Plan A is to drop the unit out, drill a couple of holes through the
spacer bars and blow dried compressed air (at very low pressure
obviously!) through the unit, and maybe warm the spacer gently to
attempt to dry out the desiccant. A bit of silicone to bolster the seal

It's very absorbative - to dry it out appreciably, you're going to need to
heat to maybe 80C.
And evenly, or you'll crack it.
if any weaknesses are visible. Bit of a problem though as Axminster no
longer sell the compressed air drying doodad I was going to use.

Take a coil of hosepipe.
Place in a pan of water.
Place the pan in the freezer.
Wait n hours.
Now, if you don't blow air too fast through the hose, it'll come out with
very little moisture in.
I've also wondered why CO2 is not used, as it would seem to have about the
same performance as argon fill, but at a fraction of the price.
I can only assume some issue with Al corrosion in damp atmospheres.

Plan B is source some new spacers strips and rebuild, initially
separating the unit by sawing through the old spacer. I agree cleaning
the old spacer adhesive off maybe difficult.

I've done this (to reuse the glass for something else).
It's a horrible job.
The spacers have some sort of gloopy black mastic on them, which gums up
the saw, so it doesn't really want to know.
Scratching the glass is easy.
....
If I was to try this again.
I would build a little wood block or something to hold a stiff blade, like
a stanley knife, with a little cigarette-lighter "blowtorch" playing on the
blade.
In the hopes that running this repeatedly over the edges would eventually
get the mastic away, and allow the aluminium to be scored through.
Actually, I lie.
On reflection I'd use a much stiffer guide, and a 5mm carbide burr in the
dremel set at ramming speed.

On 11 Jun 2005 23:32:08 GMT, Ian Stirling
wrote:

I've also wondered why CO2 is not used, as it would seem to have about the
same performance as argon fill, but at a fraction of the price.

Argon has a low thermal capacity, even at low pressures, that helps
with the loss due to convection from one surface to the other, the
saving is probably low, but with larger windows used these days than
before, every little helps. Plus, it makes them sound high tech.
--
I think computer viruses should count as life. I think it
says something about human nature that the only form of
life we have created so far is purely destructive. We've
created life in our own image. - Stephen Hawking

In message , Ian
Stirling writes
Take a coil of hosepipe.
Place in a pan of water.
Place the pan in the freezer.
Wait n hours.
Now, if you don't blow air too fast through the hose, it'll come out with
very little moisture in.

Ah good idea, I was thinking bucket of water & ice cubes, but of I've
got one of those coiled air lines, put that in a bucket / large pan of
water and freeze the lot solid. Splendid idea.

--
steve

"Ian Stirling" wrote in message
...
Ian Stirling wrote:
Ken wrote:
Any suggestions for overcoming misted sealed units, is it possible to
drill
hole and allow it to dry out?

Drill two holes on the outside. (~5mm)
Diamond grit bit in a dremel or something.

Just realised, if the glass is tempered, as it may be with newer windows
(date?) it'll explode into little bits when you do this.
On the plus side, there will be no fog on the bits.

I think my windows may well be tempered glass.

Thanks for some really interesting answers from everyone

Ken