I believe I already know the answer to this question, however has anyone ever successfully repaired a patio door that had condensation between the panes. It is the fixed portion of an 8′ patio door. It is a wood frame panel. The glass is seperated by alum. channel that I assume has some dessicant into to absorb moisture. The doors are probably ten years old and in pretty good shape except for the condensation. Fix or replace?
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I have always wanted to try getting a bottle of dry gas (argon?) and continuously bleeding just a tiny amount of the gas through a needle into the space between the two panes. A small, steady stream would continuously flush out the moisture laden air. It would undoubtedly be an expensive solution, however, what with the bottle purchase (lease?) regulators, etc, not to mention where you would hide the thing. But my guess is that it would work (No money back guarantees, however...) I am not so sure whether just using dry gas to flush out between the panes and then resealing the unit would work, but might be an interesting experiment.
any good glass company can reglaze them for you
Mike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
See extensive previous posts on glass etching of inside of insulated glass. Not just "fogged", glass is often etched.
I did 3 sections of a 9 foot door a few years back. The tempered glass does not etch as badly as regular glass, so there is some hope.
Dissassemble the panes using thin blade and heat gun (hair dryer also works). Clean well. Do on cold dry day or use your argon welding bottle to flood the glass. Have considered filling with propane but never tried that. Resealed mine with Silicone, used silica gel for dessicant. They have not "fogged" since I did then about 10 years ago.
Have never been able to "fix" regular glass as the etching is too bad (have taken 10 or so apart and tried).
Thanks. I will give it a try this weekend before I go buy a new thermopane.