Drilling glass

[men8ifr]

Should it be possible to drill the glass in my double glazing. I was going to drill 15mm hole at the bottom and one at the top, force hot air through it until the moisture has gone and reseal with silicone.

I tried one pane and had to press so hard on my (used) ceramic drill bit that I cracked the window - would new bits work?

 

[masona]

You can't really repair a misted double glazing unit, I know there're companies that do this but really it's only for short term. Best to get a new unit

 

[men8ifr]

Is that from experience? It's hard to see how this would not work...

If I blow hot air in this should dry out the silicon (would it not?) and then sealing it up again would allow it to absorb the small amounts of moisture that come through the unit over 5-10 years and hence stay condensation free...?

 

[mattylad]

If you want to do that take it out, make a hole in the sealing strip between the panes, then reseal that & refit the unit.

But I have the feeling that your going to need to be replacing the whole unit now it's cracked.

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

But the reason its got moisture in it in the first place is because the seal between the panes has failed.

 

[big-all]

how do you propose to replace the inert gas that makes d/g units so efficient!!!!

 

[masona]

Is that from experience?

Yes, fitted loads

It's hard to see how this would not work...

It may or may not work but not for long term

If I blow hot air in this

Do you mean drying the moisture, if so, then you have put more in because the hot air is moisture!

 

[noseall]

This thread's gotta be a wind-up surely?

 

[men8ifr]

But the reason its got moisture in it in the first place is because the seal between the panes has failed.

Or more possibly is leaks a small amount or air in/out and traps moisture gradually over 5-10 years and when the silicone? crystals around the edge absorb all the water they can take then the moisture builds up inside...

 

[men8ifr]

This thread's gotta be a wind-up surely?

No why do you think that? Some-one already mentioned profecssional companies repair double glazing probably with a method similar to this.

 

[men8ifr]

how do you propose to replace the inert gas that makes d/g units so efficient!!!!

Only a few modern and (more expensive) DG units have argon gas most I believe juat have......air. Argon has only a small effect on thermal efficiency - K Glass has a much bigger effect.

If I really wanted to I could push argon through the units from my welder's gas supply (don't worry pressure is very small) but I don't think it would be worth the bother.

 

[men8ifr]

Is that from experience?

Yes, fitted loads

It's hard to see how this would not work...

It may or may not work but not for long term

If I blow hot air in this

Do you mean drying the moisture, if so, then you have put more in because the hot air is moisture!

Fitted loads but repaired how many?

For long/short term i guess it depends on if the 'leak' that allows the moisture in is really getting worse or if it just leaks a constant amount from new. The windows misting up is not usually from a large sudden leak but rather from a very small leak - perhaps even permeability in the sealant that may have been present from new. If that's the case getting rid of the moisture including drying out the crystals it should last another 10 years. If the leak has got worse then of course this is not the case...

 

[men8ifr]

For the hot air - with some old units I dries out the crystals by putting them in the oven - you could tell they dried out as they changed color I think simply they get hot and water evaporates quickly from something hot - I would be trying to apply the same principle with blowing hot air into the glazing.

Yes hot air can hold more moisture but that does not mean it does, for example cold air entering the back of a hair dryer has a certain water content and after heating it has the same water content only the relative humidity has changed because hot air could hold more water but in this case won't - where would the extra water come from?

It would probably be beneficial to do this on a low humidity day so there is less moisture in the glazign before sealing it but as long as the water is evaporated off the glass and the crystals are dry then it shold not make much difference - after all I don't believe double glazing companies only seal their wondows on low humidity days.. (they probably wouldn't work in the UK if that was the case).

 

[men8ifr]

If you want to do that take it out, make a hole in the sealing strip between the panes, then reseal that & refit the unit.

But I have the feeling that your going to need to be replacing the whole unit now it's cracked.

Yes the cracked unit will have to come out I have another 10 that need replacement or repair. I was thinking if I could work out a method to 'fix' them I'd prefer to do that every 5 years than replace all the double glazing every 10 years...

 

[masona]

Is that from experience?

Yes, fitted loads

It's hard to see how this would not work...

It may or may not work but not for long term

If I blow hot air in this

Do you mean drying the moisture, if so, then you have put more in because the hot air is moisture!

Fitted loads but repaired how many?

Only new unit but no repair as IMHO it's waste of time. All I can say is good luck to you!