Thetford

All our products incorporate thermally toughened glass (Also known as "tempered" or "heat-treated" glass) which is tested in accordance with BS3193 and additionally meets the stringent requirements of EN30 European Standards for cooking appliances. We therefore pride ourselves on the high quality and length of service our products achieve.

To achieve this high standard samples are taken from each batch and subjected to:-

A supported glass panel is shattered with a centre punch in the area which is uninterrupted by holes.  Within 5 minutes of fracture, the glass particles are counted  in a square of side 50mm.  The number of particles should not be less than 60.

Glass panels must not fracture when heated to 185oC and 1 Liter of cold tap water is poured onto the center of the panel, from a height of 150mm.

Glass panels must not fracture when subjected to the impact test - a weight of 1.8 kg is dropped 10 times on each side of the glass.

When glass breakages occur this is generally due to either an edge chip or a sharp object inducing a stress into the glass. The breakage may not occur immediately, but inevitably the glass will shatter within a short period of time due to the induced stress fracture. The affect is similar to a car windscreen which will shatter for no apparent reason even though it has sustained many hits from road ‘chippings’.

Finally and in the unlikely event of a glass breakage, one can be reassured of the safety aspects of toughened glass. When this type of glass shatters, due to an induced stress fracture, it is specifically designed to safely shatter into many small harmless pieces.

I am sorry that we were unable to assist you further in this instance.