When glass shatters at 11:30 p.m. in an otherwise still house it's an instant fright night."I thought someone was breaking in at first," says Roger Denino of Westfield, Mass.Fortunately, no break-in, but the source of the sound was almost as shocking: The outer glass door of the family's stone-cold Kenmore in-wall oven."It shattered on its own, spread out all over the kitchen floor," says Denino. "The oven was not hit or in use. I had to put my dogs outside to prevent injury from all the glass. However, my hardwood floors are scratched up."The oven, and its stainless-frame with missing glass, has remained unused since that mid-August incident. Denino and his wife bought the house in 2010, Kenmore model 790-series oven included."The warranty is up," he says, "but this is a safety issue — even if the glass breaks into 'safer' small pieces."Denino knows about "safer" pieces because he found many online complaints about "exploding" glass doors on Sears-issued ovens. The problem, he says, appears to be micofractures that eventually cause a rupture.

Sears, when contacted by The Bottom Line, took more than a month to respond to an inquiry about Denino's shattered oven door. It then seemed to blame the user:"Damage to the glass," says Larry Costello, a Sears spokesman, "can be caused by a number of things, including using the door to push in an oven rack or an object striking the glass — both examples may cause a weakness and lead to failure over time."The Bottom Line found multiple pages of complaints about shattered glass doors on Sear-issued ovens at the Consumer Product Safety Commission's SaferProducts.gov site. The federal agency compiles a database of complaints at the site for the public's use and encourages consumers, says spokeswoman Patty Davis, to report all safety-related incidents involving glass doors."We take all incidents involving shattering glass seriously," says Davis. "There are standards in place for consumer products that use glass which should lead to the glass breaking into nuggets and not shards, if the product shatters."

Seven owners of Sears model 790 in-wall ovens or stoves reported shattered glass doors in September alone at SafeProducts.gov.Each sounded as surprised at Denino.>> "The oven door exploded without anything hitting it, causing glass to be scattered in the kitchen. I have never seen an oven door s glass break in this manner.">> "Last night the oven window exploded, throwing shards of glass as much as 20 feet. . . . We had been doing nothing unusual, just using the oven to heat some food. The window has never been struck with anything.">> "After setting my Kenmore . . . electric range at 375 [degrees] to preheat and placed an aluminum pan in , I went upstairs with my two children, ages 2 and 4. I returned to the kitchen 10 minutes later . . . and noted a large amount of glass on the kitchen floor in front of the oven door. I then realized that the exterior glass panel of the oven door had shattered. . . . The radius of the glass was at least 5 feet from the oven. Very concerned and very thankful that my children were not in the kitchen at that time."

In each case, Sears responded with the same answer: "Sears Holdings takes product safety issues very seriously. We investigate each CPSC database incident report. We encourage our customers to provide additional information about incidents to our Customer Care Network, by calling 800-549-4505."Costello says Sears ovens, including Electrolux and Frigidaire ovens, use tempered or "safety" glass that complies with Underwriters Laboratories Safety Standards."best peephole for front doorAlthough infrequent," he says, "glass used in oven doors may break. . . . cupboard door handles canadaThe glass is designed to break into fragments with rounded edges if a failure does occur."patio door curtains blackout

To avoid such a failure, Sears offers these precautions:>> Do not close the oven door until all the oven racks are fully in place.>> Do not hit the glass with pots, pans, or any other object.>> Scratching, hitting, jarring or stressing the glass may weaken its structure causing an increased risk of breakage at a later time.That does not make Denino and other owners of shattered-glass appliances feel any better."I should not have to pay for this," he says, "and I am lucky nobody was injured."windows and doors queanbeyanIf Sears does not cover repairs when a shattered-glass oven or stove is no longer under warranty, it should make clearer the dangers when consumers purchase the appliance and display warnings more prominently in the manuals. glass door on oven explodesAnd if this is "safety" glass, maybe it's time to consider stronger, safer over-glass standards.glass shower door bottom sweep 3 8

Until then, when an oven glass door shatters, get out of the way — then file a complaint at SafeProducts.gov. Ghost Hunter Ed Warren DiesTwo Things That Make A Vehicle Whistle While It WorksConsumer Reports: Benjamin Moore Best Paint, Behr Best ValueAuriemma Turns To Knicks To Pick Up PointersWitnesses Detail Tense Scenes At Bank, Home As Cheshire Trial OpensTerrorism Suspects Used Naugatuck ForestI bought a GE electric oven in July 2009, replacing one left by the owners when we bought our house in 1986. shower doors glass tulsaSince I’ve been happy with other GE appliances, I expected to get years of trouble-free use from my $1,400 purchase. This week, the inner glass door of my three-year-old oven shattered into small pieces. I often hear from readers about their glass ceramic cooktops breaking or discolouring. That’s what I worried about when buying a new range.My new ceramic cooktop has held up well, but I didn’t think the oven door would be so flimsy.

I use the oven three or four times a week. And I’ve never used the self-cleaning feature. On Wednesday night, I cooked dinner and closed the oven door when I heard a cracking sound. Then, I saw hundreds of glass bits fall on the floor and into the bottom drawer where I keep my pots and pans.After cleaning the mess, I sent a message to @GE_Appliances on Twitter. The company responded within 15 minutes.“Sorry to hear this. I also contacted GE public relations, asking how frequently this happened, since a Google search for “glass oven door shattered” produced quite a few personal experiences and news reports.Kim Freeman of GE wrote to me Thursday, offering to give some context around the rare instance when the glass in an oven door does break.“It is an unfortunate reality that products do fail from time to time. It is our intent to do everything we can to protect consumers if a product does fail,” she said.“GE has used tempered glass in millions of oven doors for many years.

Because it must withstand repeated impacts from pots, pans and other cookware during normal use, the glass used for this application must pass very demanding UL (for electric ranges) and CSA (for gas ranges) thermal and physical shock tests.”Tempered glass, also called safety glass, is manufactured under stress to increase its resistance. (The same glass is used in auto windshields.)The tempering process results in glass that shatters into small, relatively harmless, irregular pieces when it breaks — not shards with sharp edges. While happy not to cut myself, I didn’t get an answer to the question I asked. Did I have to pay for the repair?Last March, Global TV News in Calgary and Edmonton reported about unexplained exploding glass oven windows. Three involved Kenmore ovens and the fourth was a Kitchen Aid.At the time, Sears Canada said it would do free diagnostic inspections of the doors on Kenmore ranges. And if owners had replaced or repaired the glass at their own cost, Sears would pay for the service call.“