My argon gas-filled replacement windows are six months old. Two of them
have developed strange patterns of silvery purple flecks that appear to
be on the inside of the glass.

Take a look: http://www.704westjoppa.com/window.gif

Any ideas what this could be? Reaction of the gas to something inside
the window? Broken seal on the window?

My window guy is coming out next week, but he hasn't heard of this
problem either.

Other thoughts?

WirelessNut wrote:
My argon gas-filled replacement windows are six months old. Two of
them have developed strange patterns of silvery purple flecks that
appear to be on the inside of the glass.

Take a look: http://www.704westjoppa.com/window.gif

Any ideas what this could be? Reaction of the gas to something inside
the window? Broken seal on the window?

My window guy is coming out next week, but he hasn't heard of this
problem either.

Other thoughts?

I was thinking something totally different until I say the photo. Call
the window company and have them take care if it. Six months old should be
under warranty.

--
Joseph Meehan

Dia duit

Who made the defective crap, what is your warranty. I suspect the Batch
will all fail within warranty. Is it a No name brand.

Depends on your definition of "no-name." The windows are Accuweld,
which, while not in the Pella/Anderson/Marvin league, is a large
company that's been around a while.

The fix should be covered under warranty, except for the all the little
escape clauses like "you must send in this card within 30 days of
installation to validate the warranty." Uh, never got a card nor heard
it mentioned.

Fortunately our installer is a good firm and I am hoping they stand by
the product they rep.

On 27 Feb 2006 20:48:01 -0800, "WirelessNut"
wrote:

My argon gas-filled replacement windows are six months old. Two of them
have developed strange patterns of silvery purple flecks that appear to
be on the inside of the glass.

Take a look: http://www.704westjoppa.com/window.gif

Any ideas what this could be? Reaction of the gas to something inside
the window? Broken seal on the window?

My window guy is coming out next week, but he hasn't heard of this
problem either.

Other thoughts?


My guess is that there's a layer of plastic in there between the
panes that's reflective in the IR spectrum, and/or opaque in the
UV spectrum, and it's delaminating from the glass it's glued to,

Any bets on whether the glass in those windows is in the
frames wrong-side out?

"Joseph Meehan" wrote in message
...
WirelessNut wrote:
My argon gas-filled replacement windows are six months old. Two of
them have developed strange patterns of silvery purple flecks that
appear to be on the inside of the glass.

Take a look: http://www.704westjoppa.com/window.gif

Any ideas what this could be? Reaction of the gas to something inside
the window? Broken seal on the window?

My window guy is coming out next week, but he hasn't heard of this
problem either.

Other thoughts?

I was thinking something totally different until I say the photo. Call
the window company and have them take care if it. Six months old should
be under warranty.

--
Joseph Meehan

Dia duit


Me too, Argon is a noble gas so it will not react with anything (that's part
of the reason they use it) I suspect the seal broke and you have oxygen
reacting with the coatings (often made of metallic thin films, so they can
oxidize if not passivated with another layer) or the Argon gas mix was
contaminated from the start.

The pattern has a granular look (grain boundaries) that suggests the coating
is reacting with something (silvery purple sounds like a metallic thin film)
but the lower half appears to have wipe marks. Maybe during assembly they
wipe the glass clean and that solution was contaminated.

Does it look different with polarized sunglasses (like how some car windows
look patterned) this may give you another hint.

Definitely pursue the warranty. I would definately consider that a
manufacturing defect whether that be the coating or the gas seal. In your
state the warranty card may be meaningless, any proof of purchase will
usually do and the installer may have his own guarantee and will make the
claim with the factory on your behalf (i.e. he has warranty with you and
they have warranty with him.)

I assume it looked OK when installed. How long did this take and did it
coincide with any severe weather (very cold or driving rain or high wind)?

WirelessNut wrote:
The fix should be covered under warranty, except for the all the little
escape clauses like "you must send in this card within 30 days of
installation to validate the warranty." Uh, never got a card nor heard
it mentioned.

Don't quote me, and IANAL, but I thought there was a Federal law prohibiting
that, i.e. requiring any warranty to be honored with any valid proof of
purchase date whether or not you register the product.

--
All relevant people are pertinent.
All rude people are impertinent.
Therefore, no rude people are relevant.
-- Solomon W. Golomb