How to tell if it's gas

I have a cust on our local golf course that want entire house done and had his windows replaced aprox 3 yrs ago from lowes and can't remember if he purchased gas filled dual pane. Is there a way to tell if it is gas or not? I am out in so cal desert so I dont think I would be able to see if any water has got in or etc..

i would think it would be stamped on the corner of the glass....all dual pain glass from my understanding are filled with gas. the way it was exsplained to me its not like filling a tire with air. they actual add beads inside the spacer that release the glass from the spacer into the inside of the pains...once its heated

would love to be corrected if im wrong? this how its was exsplained to me

Home Depot?

3yrs ago?

If there was gas in them, I bet you it is not in there now.

Home Depot around here carries Pella and Hansons(A large local company)

He said he got them at Lowes and they were pella.

There is a way to tell if they are leaking by detecting moisture with a little condensation trick and if that is there is moisture then the gas is gone.

Pellas are usually well-made so you are probably in good shape. Watch out for HD's Viking line.

being pella they should be high quality. I'm surprised the custy wants to film them, every person I've ever met with pella won't do it since it voids the factory warranty.

http://web.pella.com/products/Documents/Vinyl_Warranty.pdf

under restrictions. same reason my parents house isn't tinted since they have all new pella windows. I called the factory to confirm and they said that if you apply a film to their windows, it voids any glass breakage/seal/frame warranty. Talking to Joe my JWF rep he said the same thing Pella is the only company who restricts any film on their windows

Your rep needs to do his homework other window MFG's restrict films among other common items and void their warranties.

Some film MFG's will provided term for term coverage if there is a written window warranty in force. I imagine JWF is not one of them, thus the reps comment.

I have yet to find a window MFG that doesn't void the warranty if film is applied. The application of film is only one of MANY things that will void a window warranty. I would guess that at least 25% or more of the estimates I go on have conditions that void the glass warranty. People are quite suprised when it's pointed out to them. I keep warranty info for all the window brands I come across so I can show them since most of the time they don't have the warranty information anyway.

I meant to include this in the original post it's an age thing

This is "Pellas" diclaimer with regards to Argon just a VC said it probably isn't there anyway

Argon.
For Pella products labeled as having Low-E insulating glass with argon, Pella injects argon at the time of
manufacture. No warranty is made as to the amount or percentage of argon present in the insulating glass. It
is known that argon within insulating glass dissipates over time. The manner of use and conditions of
installation of the product will affect the rate of dissipation of argon out of the insulating glass. Pella makes
no warranty regarding the rate of dissipation of argon or the amount of argon remaining in the window at any
time after manufacture

I just look for the plug..

yep. we wouldn't be in business if we turned down ig units because of warranties. its not just pella.

I'm planning on using suntek IBDS 20%, do you all think it will be safe?

Pella Pro line are really crap windows and that's what a lot of DIY suppliers sell. Almost every customer we sell film has Low-e of one kind or another so we give them matching Huper warranty

According to their F2G chart if the windows are Low-E you are borderline....

Do you know the difference between Low-E coated windows and gas filled ??

No, I don't. Tell me.

instead of the normal glass absorbing the long wave radiation, the low e coating reflects it back, similar to how tint acts which helps keep the glass from heating up, thus saving you on cooling costs.

I wasn't asking because I don't know... I was asking because I don't believe the original poster knows.... dipstick

again. Low E does not save you on cooling costs. It reflects FIR back into the room saving you on heating costs.

Im sure he googled it as usual, get your ammo ready for the dumbazzes response

I know you know, I was stating it for the OP's benefit

I got it from wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low-e

reading it again I now see how it refers to also having a film applied to the outside pane to reduce the heat gain, and the low-e on the inside for heat loss

You aren't benefiting anyone in this case, quit spreading false information. Verify before you post.

yes your highness

How to tell if it's gas??? Hmm...............well, if scotty just passed through the room and ya smell something, it is probably gas....................

What is this trick you speak of regarding detecting little condensation?

I was wondering the same thing.... but I didn't figure I could pry it out of him..

The first image that flashed in my mind involved ice... or maybe even dry ice on the glass to see if moisture 'condenses' on the glass between the panes....
I haven't worked it all out in my head yet... that was just the image that flashed by when I read that...

Well, as for starting this post I still didn't get my answer. Thanks to those who tried to help me.

Well as far as I remember oxygen is a gas and so is nitrogen. Umm air would be in a gas form just a bunch of different stuff.
''Dry air contains roughly (by volume) 78.08% nitrogen, 20.95% oxygen, 0.93% argon, 0.038% carbon dioxide, and trace amounts of other gases'' I googled it.
thus yes the space between two panes of glass has gas in it. IT IS NOT A VACUUM. Good luck!

Jeff answered it on the 2nd post. I wasn't trying to take credit for it, went to lunch before I could point that out.

I've cleaned this thread up, let's try to stay on topic fellas.

and it was just starting to get fun...

You are correct, but there were no markings on the glass to indicate argon being there. I just can't take a chance on having anything break.

Maybe you should refer the job to someone who is familiar with flat glass work ???

If you can't figure it out you are over your head..

What was your reason for the cleanup of this?As most topics do go off track