Ash Bucket Recommendations?

[Honey Berry]

This is our second season with the wood stove. Last year we used an old metal 5 gallon bucket, but it is difficult to place the ashes inside without dumping them and creating an ash cloud. So I'm on a quest for a new ash bucket.

Any recommendations?

[uncle Will in In.]

Would it be possible to carry the pan that's in the stove out of the house before dumping it?? If we didn't take the ashes out often enough the stove pan was over filled and left a mess anyway.
Maybe a foot tub would work better for you. They are bigger around, but shorter in height.

[Honey Berry]

Hi Uncle Will, thanks for responding. Our stove doesn't have an ash pan, so we have to scoop out ash when the fire dies down or goes out. We try to sift the hot coals out the best we can before placing in the bucket.

Do they make metal foot tubs? I guess I'm not sure what this is....

[KMA1]

We have used a heavy duty galvanized outside trash can with a locking lid for several years. Maybe 7 or 8 gallons in size. I think I got it at Tractor supply. But the top being wider than the bottom helps with having to just dump the ashes. You can kind of ease them in, and you can carry several days ashes out at one time, with the sealing lid.

[65284]

Google coal hod, they work perfect for that job. Tractor Supply and several other places carry them.

[willowworker]

Originally Posted by KMA1

We have used a heavy duty galvanized outside trash can with a locking lid for several years. Maybe 7 or 8 gallons in size. I think I got it at Tractor supply. But the top being wider than the bottom helps with having to just dump the ashes. You can kind of ease them in, and you can carry several days ashes out at one time, with the sealing lid.

I do the same. If you shovel out ashes and place in can carefully there is no mess or ash cloud.

[kenworth]

Yep, ya can't just dump ashes from the top of the rim, you have to place them in a bucket, in the bottom, or you'll end up with ash clouds. Tried to get hubby to do this for years.

Two buckets allow for hot ashes to sit outside and cool down, while the other one can be used. Some ashes stay hot a long time.

3 fire bricks will hold the bucket off the floor if you don't have a fireproofed floor area.

[Shrek]

Originally Posted by 65284

Google coal hod, they work perfect for that job. Tractor Supply and several other places carry them.

Down here we call em coal scuttles and they are the only way to go for ash disposal

[gone-a-milkin]

They also make ash shovels that have a grate in them, so you can sift the larger coals out and pile them in a corner of the stove .
Then you use the regular ash shovel to remove the ashes.

I also deal with my messy DH shovelling wildly and dusting half the room with ashes.
Maybe it's a guy thing?

[radiofish]

Find yourself an old water bath canner with a matching lid. The handles on the sides, also make it 'handy' to use!

That is what I used on my old wood stove at the former house. I had to scoop the ashes out of the bottom of the wood stove, using a coffee can as a scoop and pouring them slowly into the bottom of the canner. Place it outside with lid on it for a couple of days, and no ash clouds when it is moved!!

My current wood stove has a catch box in the bottom of it, and I use a 55 gallon barrel outside as a depository for the ashes now!

[Harry Chickpea]

Leaf blower.

Its a messy guy thing. We know what we are doing. If it were a neat job, you girls would always be complaining that you wanted us to do it. This way nobody wants it to happen until really needed.

[suitcase_sally]

Originally Posted by kenworth

Yep, ya can't just dump ashes from the top of the rim, you have to place them in a bucket, in the bottom, or you'll end up with ash clouds.

You're right, kenworth. It's not the bucket, but the METHOD.

I have a Franklin-type woodstove, but any stove that opens in front will benefit from this trick - I open the doors while the fire is burning and open the flue all the way. I put my ash bucket in front of the fire, on the little shelf that sticks out below the door on a Franklin. As I'm scooping ash from under the log grate and putting it CAREFULLY in the bucket, the air flow up the stack will create enough draw to suck up any ash that goes airborne.

[alleyyooper]

I use what was sold at some places as a coal shuttle, ash hod other places. They have sort of a pouring spout at one end so a ash shovel can fit in it and dump ashes with out raiseing a cloud.



My ash door on the wood furnace is rather big so I use a short handle flat shovel to scoop them up and slide out part way then mist them with my pressureized mister bottle.

I spread the ashes in the gardens most of the fall and winter, but some do get spread around the front of the mail box if it gets icy and some on the drive in key places.

Al

[greg273]

The smaller galvanized trash cans with lids work pretty good as an ash-can. Fireproof, and the lid keeps the rain out. We just keep one by the back door nearest the woodburner room. Takes about 3 months to fill up.

[Maggie]

We use a water-bath canner as mentioned above. It sits inside a larger one (w/out a lid) with 2 fire bricks on the bottom. Our son also flippantly cleans out the ashes & gets it quite dusty.

[Horseyrider]

We always did as Greg273 suggested. An old fashioned ash can. Even had a bail on the top. We had a wood burning furnace, and the chance of having coals in the ash bothered us. This was a great way to clear the wood stove without having to wait for it to go cold.

We only use wood for the fireplace now, so the ash can is now a cat food container for the barn. We've had it about 30 years.