Fridge top glass shattered

[Johnny Rocket]

With the (4mm thick) glass having only around 5 mm of engagement depth in the rear hinge channel section, and the front-to-back lid dimension being (from recollection) about 300mm, when you open your hob cover you are multiplying the lifting force at the catch so as to generate an edge force at the opening in the ‘jaw’ of the hinge C-channel which is (300/5=) 60 times that lifting force.

This correspondingly stresses the glass along the entire rear edge.

The tighter is the hinge the correspondingly greater are both the lift force and rear edge force.

When I broke my glass (my own stupid fault - I mistakenly turned the burner to idle, not off, and then shut the lid :-| ), I contemplated making a stainless steel replacement which would have been bulletproof.

I also considered hard-anodised aluminium, but it would nevertheless still scratch and look tatty quickly.

And, however, I really preferred to keep the original look and match to the lids each side, and for the replacement panel NOT to block out the light through the window when lifted (obviously also an issue with the stick-on surface protectors), so I had a piece of identical frosted glass custom cut to my template and toughened. £45 all-in.

Almost as difficult a job as preparing the new glass and restoring the existing channel sections was identifying a suitable adhesive. After a couple of false starts I spoke to Permabond Technical and used a 2-part grey epoxy with activator, and built myself a temporary jig with which to ‘pot’ the glass back into the cleaned-out front and rear castings such that everything was perfectly square, in line, matching the existing gaps and maintaining a continuous front edge curve (the epoxy kit was another £50!).

If you want better support of the glass then really you’ll need to make yourself a complete structural perimeter frame so that the glass (or whatever material) panel is substantially non-structural, and so is relieved of the 60x lifting load multiplier.

That’s a reasonable undertaking unless you have your own or a tame fab shop, and I don’t think it’s necessary either so long as the rear channel detail, glue gap and bonding are done properly.

I hope some of that might be useful - please shout if not!

Thanks.

 

[Vincent Mercer]

Thats really helpful... Its a real pain chasing the glass out of the groove in the alu extrusions. Its so soft it really easy to scratch it. I feel deterred by the cost and time necessary so will revert back to plan B... buy the VW replacement and fit new hinges. But many thanks for the detailed account of how to do it.

 

[Johnny Rocket]

Yes, raking and picking out the pieces of glass trapped in the channels, and then comprehensively clearing out all traces of the adhesive, is indeed one of the worst parts of the job.
I put my frames in a long wood-faced vice, but still kicked myself as when tapping the glass fragments out with a pick the casting would slip slightly in the jaws risking scratching the paint. But go slowly and carefully and it can be done.
The Al castings are certainly quite soft too.
If you do do it yourself, then when setting the new glass you must pipe the adhesive evenly all along the channel and in the right quantity such that when you push the glass pane in, you make sure to achieve an even-thickness fillet on each side of the glass, AND it must only just extrude into the open otherwise you have a hideous clean up job afterwards.
If there is not a proper fillet both sides of the pane then you’ll get metal-to-glass point contact which risks another breakage due to the edge load between the channel corner and the glass.
The adhesive must not slump too much, and be mobile enough that you can force it to squeeze out without needing a forge press!
Because I had 2 false starts with unsuitable adhesives, then by the time I settled on and used the Permabond epoxy I was a master at it, and everything went like a dream!

As I said in another post on this very subject, I was so furious at myself for my idiotic mistake, also just a little disappointed that the Wolfsburg Nanny State hadn’t put a gas feed interlock on the cover closure catch, that I determined to repair it myself at minimum cost.
Plus the £360-odd charged by VAG, and the ca. £270 by LL Parts, and the corollary of throwing away perfectly good metalwork, made me so despondent that I resolved to do it myself!

It’s not for everyone but it’s eminently doable!

Be aware too that the M4 button head screws clamping the hinges to the rail are quite soft and are installed with excessive Loctite. I started a bit enthusiastically and 2 stripped straight away. The best approach is to use a high-quality hardened undamaged hex bit or hex T-key (NOT a regular Allen key), preheat the screw and area well with a heat gun (or hairdryer), then tap the hex bit very sharply with a metal-faced hammer a few times to break the Loctite, and only then try to release the screw.
Trust me, drilling out the heads is laborious and well worth avoiding!

[here is a good source for quality screws if you lose any:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/150869239179?hash=item232081e58b:g:U5oAAOSwhQhefg32]

 

[SusiBus]

Great advice about breaking the loctite bond, I think I should send it to SMG Tonbridge. They broke one of the hinge bolts when replacing the fridge glass. Then said they couldn't drill out the broken off remains because it was s/steel in aluminium, so they would have to take the whole kitchen out and replace it. Luckily for me under warranty.

 

[Johnny Rocket]

Great advice about breaking the loctite bond, I think I should send it to SMG Tonbridge. They broke one of the hinge bolts when replacing the fridge glass. Then said they couldn't drill out the broken off remains because it was s/steel in aluminium, so they would have to take the whole kitchen out and replace it. Luckily for me under warranty.

 

[Johnny Rocket]

That's complete tosh (from SMG-T I mean!), but sadly, these days, the basic, let alone improvisational, skills of garage mechanics are rather lacking compared with those who have experience and some engineering nous!

As I said, I initially went off a bit quick with mine, so rounded the Allen sockets on 3 I think, before then following my own advice. I then drilled carefully with a 4mm drill centred in the pocket, going ever so slowly, re-centring all the time by leaning the drill a little, until the head popped off as a complete 'washer'. The remaining stand-proud could then be eased out using mini-Mole grips, having FIRST preheated the screw to soften the Loctite.

I've had a career in the design of vehicles subject to 200+g surface accelerations in certain parts, so thread-locking adhesives were an essential element of a fastener solution . . . a sharp shock to crack the adhesive followed by pre-heat can make the difference between easy dissembly and total wreckage.

In this case to be fair, the problem is less to do with the use of Loctite and more the awful quality (softness) of the screw.

It's also always worth at the outset neatly grinding away 1/4mm from the end of your hex bit, to make sure that the engaged portion is as precise and as snug-fitting as possible. Try different bits too.


I'm horrified but not really surprised at your outfit pulling the whole kitchen frame out just because they didn't have the skill or initiative to drill out an M4 screw - bonkers, and SUCH a waste!

 

[Painted Pilgrim]

We manufacture these ABS Carbon Fibre effect worktop protectors that simply stick on top. It won’t stop random failures such as you have experienced, but will offer a degree of protection in general use.
We also produce an aluminum option too.
All available direct from the manufacturer.

View attachment 106068

View attachment 106069

View attachment 106070

Nice! what cost are these for the older 2 piece set up please?

 

[Pure Worktop Protection]

Hi - All sets are the same price;

Brushed Aluminum £78.00
Carbon Fibre Effect £89.00

 

[dvla3336]

Hi - All sets are the same price;

Brushed Aluminum £78.00
Carbon Fibre Effect £89.00

i would to buy some worktop protection how can i do you have a website i have tried a search thanks

 

[WelshGas]

i would to buy some worktop protection how can i do you have a website i have tried a search thanks

Click on " Pure Workshop Protection " above in Post 33 and then click on "Start Conversation".

 

[Pure Worktop Protection]

i would to buy some worktop protection how can i do you have a website i have tried a search thanks

Hi
You can purchase these from our website:
Www.pure-plastics.co.uk
Please note however that for the old set up with just two glass sections only the Brushed Aluminum option is suitable.

Rgds
Brian

 

[dvla3336]

Hi
You can purchase these from our website:
Www.pure-plastics.co.uk
Please note however that for the old set up with just two glass sections only the Brushed Aluminum option is suitable.

Rgds
Brian

thanks just ordered