Cooktop Glass Shattered

TxNew23ers

Our Cooktop glass shattered.

This was only our 2nd time taking the 320 out for a weekend and when we were cooking on the stove the glass covered basically exploded glass all over!  Nobody was hurt, but our meal was ruined and we spent 30 minutes just gathering up the glass that had shot out all over the place.   Has anyone else heard of this happening?

Denny16

Did you get your pan too close to the glass, or perhaps it was touching it?

Cheers

TxNew23ers

@Danny16.   We were cooking what we thought was normally.  Why would they put that glass on there if it wasn't heat resistant?

Denny16

It is heat resistant but only to a point, not to direct high heat or open flame.  

Having the glass explode sounds like it was in direct contact with something extremely hot while the glass was cold.  You can contact nüCamp Dustomer Support and see what they recommend.
cheers

lkc001

I have also heard of someone's glass top shattering because they closed the glass lid before the burners had cooled off.   I would also contact Nucamp.  Please come back and post about Nucamp's response so we will know if it is a flaw in the materials or ??

KCode

@TxNew23ers Yes it happened to us this July! Very scary explosion and sort of inexplicable. We were cooking like usual, cooktop was up and not touching the window frame. There was no huge temperature differential. Just went BOOM! nüCamp sent out a new one and I hope it never happens again.

Marceline

TxNew23ers said:

@Danny16.   We were cooking what we thought was normally.  Why would they put that glass on there if it wasn't heat resistant?

This may be a dumb question, but how was the glass positioned when it shattered? Was it flipped up or was in down over the burners?

TxNew23ers

@Marceline.   Yes, it was in the up position and we were cooking with 2 small skillets.

qhumberd

Certainly sounds like a failure of the tempered glass. It is known that if there is a defect in tempered glass that a thermal stress can cause spontaneous breakage: See number 6 in this link:

https://www.bdcnetwork.com/12-facts-about-heat-treated-glass-why-stronger-isn’t-always-better

Did the cooktop shatter into pieces about thumbnail size or in random size pieces? @TxNew23ers and @KCode

Maybe seeing if a piece of heat-strengthened glass can be used would be safer. A glass shop can make one to size I believe.

KCode

@qhumberd The pieces were shards smaller than thumbnails. 

qhumberd

@KCode so from my research it seems NuCamp should consider heat strengthened glass for the cooktop, as tempered can spontaneously shatter with a thermal stress as you experienced. 

PNWtabber

I wonder why they choose to use glass as a cooktop cover.  Seems there have been many incidences of the glass shattering.  If nothing else, it would seem to be a legal liability if someone got injured.  Just thinking out loud.  I haven't looked at a lot of other brands of trailers and now I'm wondering if using glass is common in the industry.  

VictoriaP

PNWtabber said:

I wonder why they choose to use glass as a cooktop cover.  Seems there have been many incidences of the glass shattering.  If nothing else, it would seem to be a legal liability if someone got injured.  Just thinking out loud.  I haven't looked at a lot of other brands of trailers and now I'm wondering if using glass is common in the industry.  

The stove is an industry standard, and like all the appliances, nüCamp neither designs nor manufactures it. 

qhumberd

VictoriaP said:

PNWtabber said:

I wonder why they choose to use glass as a cooktop cover.  Seems there have been many incidences of the glass shattering.  If nothing else, it would seem to be a legal liability if someone got injured.  Just thinking out loud.  I haven't looked at a lot of other brands of trailers and now I'm wondering if using glass is common in the industry.  

The stove is an industry standard, and like all the appliances, nüCamp neither designs nor manufactures it. 

This is a good point and a reason to notify both NuCamp and Dometic of this issue so they can determine if a production problem exists. This is a signal of a potential problem for user safety. It may be a very rare event or it may not, but as I have the same appliance in my rig, it would make me feel better to know.

VictoriaP

qhumberd said:

VictoriaP said:

PNWtabber said:

I wonder why they choose to use glass as a cooktop cover.  Seems there have been many incidences of the glass shattering.  If nothing else, it would seem to be a legal liability if someone got injured.  Just thinking out loud.  I haven't looked at a lot of other brands of trailers and now I'm wondering if using glass is common in the industry.  

The stove is an industry standard, and like all the appliances, nüCamp neither designs nor manufactures it. 

This is a good point and a reason to notify both NuCamp and Dometic of this issue so they can determine if a production problem exists. This is a signal of a potential problem for user safety. It may be a very rare event or it may not, but as I have the same appliance in my rig, it would make me feel better to know.

As someone who has dealt with multiple RVs, I personally think the glass topped stoves and sinks are a case of form over function, and I hate them. To me, glass has no place in a rolling earthquake like an RV. But, as I said, it’s an industry standard product produced by a large, well known, and mostly reputable industry-leading manufacturer, so obviously the industry feels it’s safe enough.

And yes, people experiencing this need to let both companies know about their issues. Companies cannot fix problems if they are not aware of them.

Tampakayaker

VictoriaP said:

qhumberd said:

VictoriaP said:

PNWtabber said:

I wonder why they choose to use glass as a cooktop cover.  Seems there have been many incidences of the glass shattering.  If nothing else, it would seem to be a legal liability if someone got injured.  Just thinking out loud.  I haven't looked at a lot of other brands of trailers and now I'm wondering if using glass is common in the industry.  

The stove is an industry standard, and like all the appliances, nüCamp neither designs nor manufactures it. 

This is a good point and a reason to notify both NuCamp and Dometic of this issue so they can determine if a production problem exists. This is a signal of a potential problem for user safety. It may be a very rare event or it may not, but as I have the same appliance in my rig, it would make me feel better to know.

As someone who has dealt with multiple RVs, I personally think the glass topped stoves and sinks are a case of form over function, and I hate them. To me, glass has no place in a rolling earthquake like an RV. But, as I said, it’s an industry standard product produced by a large, well known, and mostly reputable industry-leading manufacturer, so obviously the industry feels it’s safe enough.

And yes, people experiencing this need to let both companies know about their issues. Companies cannot fix problems if they are not aware of them.

Our old 1986 Coleman PUP had a metal cover over the burners.

Wasn't pretty, but it was sturdy.

VictoriaP

Tampakayaker said:

VictoriaP said:

qhumberd said:

VictoriaP said:

PNWtabber said:

I wonder why they choose to use glass as a cooktop cover.  Seems there have been many incidences of the glass shattering.  If nothing else, it would seem to be a legal liability if someone got injured.  Just thinking out loud.  I haven't looked at a lot of other brands of trailers and now I'm wondering if using glass is common in the industry.  

The stove is an industry standard, and like all the appliances, nüCamp neither designs nor manufactures it. 

This is a good point and a reason to notify both NuCamp and Dometic of this issue so they can determine if a production problem exists. This is a signal of a potential problem for user safety. It may be a very rare event or it may not, but as I have the same appliance in my rig, it would make me feel better to know.

As someone who has dealt with multiple RVs, I personally think the glass topped stoves and sinks are a case of form over function, and I hate them. To me, glass has no place in a rolling earthquake like an RV. But, as I said, it’s an industry standard product produced by a large, well known, and mostly reputable industry-leading manufacturer, so obviously the industry feels it’s safe enough.

And yes, people experiencing this need to let both companies know about their issues. Companies cannot fix problems if they are not aware of them.

Our old 1986 Coleman PUP had a metal cover over the burners.

Wasn't pretty, but it was sturdy.

Yep. Sturdy and not inclined to break in use. Two of my first three rigs had no cover at all. Camco makes a heavy cutting board cover with non slip that works pretty well. They used to make one with adjustable feet (similar to their sink cover) that could be fitted into the metal burner grates. That thing NEVER moved in transit. 

All had the same limitations as the current ones, in that they were heat resistant rather than heat proof. But none of those options are as sleek looking as fragile glass, so nowadays we’re stuck with a much more attractive but functionally inferior design.

ChrisFix

According to the Dometic website, the cooktop is available with either a glass or metal covering...although I've never seen a modern Dometic cooktop installed with a metal cover in any RV I've looked at.

https://www.dometic.com/en-us/us/products/food-and-beverage/mobile-cooking/rv-and-boat-cooktops/dometic-drop-in-cooktop-_-138695

• Optional glass or steel cover adds works space when the cooktop is not in use

rhyno

This *might* be the metal cover for the D21-SPW. I'm on my cell and can't verify atm... 

https://pantherrvproducts.com/dometic-50236-drop-in-cooktop-metal-cover/

**Edit** verified as "Compatible with Dometic 50214, 50216 and 50210 Cooktops" per site.

ChrisFix

rhyno said:

This *might* be the metal cover. I'm on my cell and can't verify atm... 
https://pantherrvproducts.com/dometic-50236-drop-in-cooktop-metal-cover/

Yup, that's the one. Even says it's compatible with our cooktop model - Dometic D21-SPW (50214)...

Denny16

That might be a good upgrade for the 320 TaB’s with their smaller galley area, and this is the trailer that seems to have the most issues with breaking the stove glass top.
cheers

VictoriaP

The 3 star review makes the metal one sound subpar in actual use. That said, if replacement is necessary, I’d probably deal with the metal’s fitment issues versus the potential for glass breakage.

I note both of the owners in this thread who’ve had recent broken glass have the 2021 Tab 320, which does have a different stove model than the 2020 and earlier. Earlier models have not seen a widespread issue with these; most breakage I’ve seen posted occurs when someone drops something onto the closed stovetop. Could be a fluke, could be a production flaw with the current stove model only?

MarkAl

The metal top does not seem to have the right hand cutout that helps clear the wall, so that would have to be modiied. For the 2021, don't know about the earlier models. I'm surprised about the heat shattering. I don't put real hot pans on the glass, I'll be aware of this in the future though. We also have a silicone mat over the glass to reduce scratches but mainly makes a small drop not sound like the glass was going to break.