Why would oven glass randomly shatter?

JackeeBoy

My wonderful house that keeps on giving....Moved into a house with an integrated kitchen only for both the washing machine and fridge to go within a year and now on year 3, the oven probably needs replacing.

We have one of those integrated oven/grill combos. Six or so months ago I was using the grill and when I opened it, the inner glass shattered and glass went all over me leaving a few cuts here and there. I thought maybe someone put the glass the wrong way round when cleaning it or something so when I opened it, I snapped it in half. Never thought much about it.

Today, I am pre-heating the oven and prepping my food when suddenly, the inner glass just shatters into pieces. This is without me touching it. As the door was closed, only tiny bits of glass came out but it was fortunate my child wasn't in the kitchen.

Any idea why this would happen?

jackieblack

I’ve had that happen twice, both times after I’d cleaned the glass. The manufacturer said that it could have been caused by a slight abrasion on the glass caused by the cleaning product.

Simple solution is... I don’t clean the oven glass any more (:D) and it hasn’t happened since

Aylesbury_Duck

Sometimes it's just an invisible imperfection in the glass that eventually shatters through mechanical or thermal stresses. It could also be a result of the same stresses on a point you've accidentally knocked, for example with the corner of a baking tray. If they are cheap appliances it may be that the quality of the door itself isn't great and has warped/flexed over time, causing the glass to weaken. There's no way of telling whether the weak point was inherent, has lasted but finally failed after years of use, or whether it's a more recent weak point that's gone the same way. I doubt you're doing anything to particularly cause this, unless you recall knocking the glass at some point?

tightrs

Aylesbury_Duck wrote: »

Sometimes it's just an invisible imperfection in the glass that eventually shatters through mechanical or thermal stresses. It could also be a result of the same stresses on a point you've accidentally knocked, for example with the corner of a baking tray. If they are cheap appliances it may be that the quality of the door itself isn't great and has warped/flexed over time, causing the glass to weaken. There's no way of telling whether the weak point was inherent, has lasted but finally failed after years of use, or whether it's a more recent weak point that's gone the same way. I doubt you're doing anything to particularly cause this, unless you recall knocking the glass at some point?

totally agree with this point when the oven door shattered at home i noticed the wife was shutting the door and knocking the shelves back into the oven as she had pulled them forwards when taking items from the oven :beer:

JackeeBoy

Thanks all. No knocking of the glass that I can think of. When the grill shattered, it was something I hardly ever used.

I'm in two minds whether to buy a new oven or buy another glass panel. I'm a little worried that the glass shattered because the frame around it may be warped somehow and it will happen again with new glass. Just can't afford for that to happen with my little one around.

Aylesbury_Duck

You could get some heat-resistant film to put on the cold side of the glass. That way, if it shattered, it should be held in place.

Fire_Fox

JackeeBoy wrote: »

We have one of those integrated oven/grill combos. Six or so months ago I was using the grill and when I opened it, the inner glass shattered and glass went all over me leaving a few cuts here and there. I thought maybe someone put the glass the wrong way round when cleaning it or something so when I opened it, I snapped it in half. Never thought much about it.

Today, I am pre-heating the oven and prepping my food when suddenly, the inner glass just shatters into pieces. This is without me touching it. As the door was closed, only tiny bits of glass came out but it was fortunate my child wasn't in the kitchen.

Any idea why this would happen?

Probably a silly question but ....

Are you definitely using the oven/ grill according to the user manual? Two ovens I can think of having used, the door is supposed to be ajar whenever the grill is on.

I have been guilty of using the oven door to push the shelves in the last inch or two, as Tightrs describes. And guilty of jerking it fully open, or resting a hot baking sheet on the open oven door.

Ruski

Smeg and Neff are renown for shattering glass... Not one of these per chance??

FreeBear

Ruski wrote: »

Smeg and Neff are renown for shattering glass... Not one of these per chance??

My oven door exploded just before Christmas shortly after Sis used it. Wasn't a Smeg or Neff (but it was a cheap "budget" brand). Why the door shattered, I wouldn't like to say. It could have been a manufacturing fault, or as a result of being closed a couple of times with a mild bang. Might have even been a tiny scratch in the glass.


Replaced the oven with one from Indesit (another "budget" model/brand) with a blanket ban on Sis using it.

JackeeBoy

Ruski wrote: »

Smeg and Neff are renown for shattering glass... Not one of these per chance??

A STOVE Newhome brand.

Just so weird it happened on both the oven AND grill within a short amount of time.