Condensation inside double-glazing sealed units.

Good day..

I've noticed that one of my double-glazed windows has condensation inside its sealed units. I gather this means that they are no longer sealed. Does this mean that its thermal insulation properties are now significantly reduced? I'm trying to determine whether it is worth paying out for new sealed units or not. I can put up with the sight of the condensation.

Many thanks... A

Reply to
Al Shahadie
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Well, I imagine its slightly worse, but from one of mine here its not much according to a thermometer pressed against the glass, about 1 degree different to the next pane at -11 outseide when I last tried it. Not entirely scientific of course... grin

I can see a hair line crack, or rather I've had it seen for me, but as its not got any bigger, I'm also loathe to do much as the make of window is now so old its probably a window replacement job.

Brian

Reply to
Brian Gaff

"Brian Gaff" wrote in news:k31rc5$5rf$ snipped-for-privacy@news.albasani.net:

Thanks for the reply.

I would think you could easily get a made-to-measure sealed unit to fit your window. Perhaps someone here can confirm this.

A
Reply to
Al Shahadie

If there's any difference at all its trivial

NT

Reply to
meow2222

Apart from looking a bloody mess.

Reply to
Mr Pounder

well not quite.

The difference between argon filled, vacuum, and air is significant.

Whether it's worth the cost of a new panel is a quite detailed calculation, however.

Reply to
The Natural Philosopher

Yup - they need to be totally air tight to prevent condensation... (normally they are purged and filled with dry gas prior to sealing during manufacture)

Probably not... it depends a bit on what sort of unit it was in the first place. The highest insulation value modern units are filled with argon rather than air - this adds a small gain in performance. If you have lost the seal then you can assume that you now have ordinary air in the gap and so will lost the slight advantage the argon may have given (if you had it in the first place!). Also damp air will conduct heat a little better than dry air.

From a cost perspective - you would not regain the cost of the unit in a reasonable timespan. Hence it really comes down to aesthetics.

Reply to
John Rumm

John Rumm wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@brightview.co.uk:

Thanks for your input. I'm now wondering if I can eliminate the condensation in some way, say by drilling acouple of small holes through the glass, say in opposite corners, and blowing warm dry air through.

A
Reply to
Al Shahadie

Yes of course you can. This will work very well indeed. A cracking idea. Well done for finking of this solution.

Reply to
Mr Pounder

If you can get the desiccant out you can cook it dry then pour it back in, if you can pour it back in.

Getting the right width is crucial as the spacing strip that goes around it after you put the unit back in is different gauge for different units.

Or was a long time ago. I haven't touched one in sooooo long.... the whole design could be different from what I remember.

Reply to
Weatherlawyer

Al Shahadie formulated the question :

You could experiment with some plastic fish tank air tubing, a fish tank pump, a tin box filled with dry silica gell and a two holes in opposite corners of the panel's seals.

Reply to
Harry Bloomfield

Yes. We recently had our two old kitchen windows replaced, as they were almost falling out on their own, and the carpenter made up two new oak-framed windows, and had double-glazed panes made to fit.

Reply to
Davey

And plug the holes with silicone? I thought of something along those lines for the failed unit I have, but it doesn't address the original leak and I have no idea where it is.

Reply to
Graham.

Graham. pretended :

Then re-seal it all of the way round.

Reply to
Harry Bloomfield

Years ago, I saw such a solution suggested, although without the warm air blow. It was emphasised that the holes should be drilled through the _outside_ pane though. If you drill through the inside pane, warm moist air from inside the house will just diffuse into the airspace between the panes and condense on the inside of the outer pane. This is avoided by drilling from the outside. Leave the holes permanently open to allow air to circulate slowly and evaporate any existing or future condensation. Not tried it myself so don't know if it actually works.

If you do nothing, the moisture will slowly attack the glass and deposit a white film on the inner surfaces of the panes, which you then can't remove, no matter how dry it is between the panes. So if you're going to go down the hole-drilling route, do it soon. If the alternative is replacement, you've nothing to lose by drilling, even if the glass breaks: you were going to replace it anyway.

Reply to
Chris Hogg

To some extent, sure, though I think we can forget about vacuum here. But a= ny gas in the unit will have been lost long before it started to mist. It p= retty well always is.

Not too hard to look up u values for air versus argon dg, estimate an avera= ge winter temp and calcualte the difference in heat loss and cost. Not wort= h it though.

In principle they can be demisted by drilling a hole at the bottom of the e= xterior pane and plugging it with fine sand with a tiny bit of epoxy added.= The porous plug allows very gradual air exchange with outdoors, and since = air in the panel is warmer, and outdoor air at most 100%RH, the panel's air= will become drier over time and very slowly clear.

NT

Reply to
meow2222

It's always difficult to start a drill on glass without using a centre punch.

Reply to
Mr Fuxit

"Mr Pounder" wrote in news:k328sn$9ta$1 @dont-email.me:

Can anyone recommend a suitable type of drill bit that won't break the bank? I don't think I've ever tried drilling through glass before.

A
Reply to
Al Shahadie

Al Shahadie presented the following explanation :

You do not drill the glass, you drill the edge of the seal.

Reply to
Harry Bloomfield

Harry Bloomfield wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@NOSPAM.tiscali.co.uk:

How does one remove the sealed unit? It's something I've never done before. I always assumed that would be made intentionally difficult, to hinder burglars...

A
Reply to
Al Shahadie

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