Dealing With Ash Buildup During Cold weather

Mrs.Swirtz · #21 12/09/13, 02:29 AM

I don't know how you can keep your fire going all the time at those temps without getting your house super duper hot. Does it not have enough insulation?I have 2-3 small fires a day depending on the temp, anywhere from 40 above to 40 below. My stove doesn't have an ash drawer , before I start the morning fire I scoop out the ashes every few days. I don't understand how you can keep your stove going 24/7 and not have to open the windows because of the heat.

badlander · #22 12/09/13, 07:39 AM

We do have to do some heat adjustments during the day.. usually we open the upstairs door and the doors to the attached shop where we spend a lot of time so we go from heating 1300 square feet to heating 3500. The house is well insulated but the shop is a work in progress and a little leaky. With temps in the teens the stove gets a workout. But. It can heat the house to over 90 without struggling. I know cause we have tried to see what it can do.

big rockpile · #23 12/10/13, 06:13 PM

Ok had the same Stove you can just pull the Ash Box out and dump it don't take the block out. Also found cut wood short and put straight in get more wood in than cross wise. Leave you damper open a little on the front during the night if you don't it will put out your fire.

brushrunner

haypoint · #24 12/10/13, 06:41 PM

Try it. Pull the plug and see if you can control the fire with the ash pan. I know someone that has a wood fired boiler that has a temp control in the back that opens and closes the air intake. It broke. So the rear air intake is plugged and air intake controlled by the ash pan.
You think you have a lot of ash, just think about those that burn a log truck of wood each winter.

big rockpile · #25 12/10/13, 06:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by haypoint

Try it. Pull the plug and see if you can control the fire with the ash pan. I know someone that has a wood fired boiler that has a temp control in the back that opens and closes the air intake. It broke. So the rear air intake is plugged and air intake controlled by the ash pan.
You think you have a lot of ash, just think about those that burn a log truck of wood each winter.

The Heater is to be basically Air Tight, the Block is Fire Brick to keep it from getting the metal hot. The only problem I had with this stove is getting the fire started, just open the Door a bit until it's going the close it.

big rockpile

mrs whodunit · #26 12/10/13, 07:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thermopkt

I can't answer the plug question, but as for the ashes, what I do is let the fire die to a hot bed of coals, push them to the side and shovel out ashes. Then push the coals to the other side and shovel out that area. It's not a thorough clean out, but it helps tremendously and doesn't require letting things get too awfully cold.

Our stove is small and we've had below zero all week. I have to this every other day or so. The fire is usually hot enough that I have to wear a glove to do this. Then I dump the bucket in the burn barrel.

Yep thats what I do. I use a welding glove though because the coals are so stinking hot.

Our stove can hold a lot ashes and wood. I clean it out once a month if its really cold and every couple of months if we arent using so much wood.

badlander · #27 12/10/13, 08:32 PM

Thanks bigrockpile. Yes we leave the damper open at least 50 percent at night.

Actually we have had little trouble starting the fire. We use a propane torch or an electric heat gun-plenty of kindling and poof! Fire.

The main problem is that the stove holds the heat for so long. If there is 2 inches of ash in it and the top looks dead, if you dig down the bottom layer will still be red hot. You can skim off the top layer but to give it a good clean out you have to really let it die down.

big rockpile · #28 12/10/13, 10:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by badlander

Thanks bigrockpile. Yes we leave the damper open at least 50 percent at night.

Actually we have had little trouble starting the fire. We use a propane torch or an electric heat gun-plenty of kindling and poof! Fire.

The main problem is that the stove holds the heat for so long. If there is 2 inches of ash in it and the top looks dead, if you dig down the bottom layer will still be red hot. You can skim off the top layer but to give it a good clean out you have to really let it die down.

Truth with ours I just raked the ash off with Stove Poker, take Shovel put it in Metal Ash Bucket, didn't fool with taking it out the Bottom ash Pan. If got too much Hot Coal Build up just take some Hot Coals out. Make sure to use Leather Gloves and watch where you dump them.

I might add on my Wood Heaters I always had one of those Fans that fit in the Pipe.

big rockpile

TnAndy · #29 12/12/13, 04:28 PM

We have the same type of stove in the basement. Has a small, square metal plate recessed down in the firebrick, and an ash pan underneath. Never used it.

Upstairs, we have a wood insert with no ash pan.

Both get cleaned the same way....wait for the fire to die down quite a bit, rake the glowing coals on top to the side, clean out the ash below using a shovel and ash bucket, rake the coals back to the other side, repeat.

It's easier to do that than to dig out the plug IMHO......and an ash bucket with a handle on it is easier to handle than the ash drawer.

You simply catch the fire at a low point and do your clean out, then build it back up. I usually do it first thing in the morning before building the fire back up for the day.

And NO, I would not leave it out.....you'll feed 2-3 times the air volume up that hole as you would if you had the air control fully open.

guy_cynical · #30 12/12/13, 06:09 PM

Lehmans has a modified ash shovel called a coal keeper that can help with ash management in stoves. Basically scoop up ashes and coals - shake the shovel - ashes fall through the bottom of the shovel while coals stay. A description is listed on lehmans.com (search for coal keeper).

oregon woodsmok · #31 12/13/13, 10:13 AM

I never use the ash pan. For all I know it is full to the top with old ashes and providing nice insulation to protect the floor of the house.

Unless temperatures are negative outside, I can't run the fire all the time. It was 28 degrees outside this AM when I got up and 74 degrees inside the house. I had put wood on the stove at 11 PM, and nothing since then. 2 hours later it is still 28 degrees outside and 72 degrees inside the house. I might not light a fire until this evening.

I use well dried wood and only remove ashes about 3 times each winter. I use an ash shovel, take the ashes off the top of the fire bricks and put them into a metal ash bucket. The ashes might have live embers and I set the bucket someplace where it can't start a fire for 3-4 days until I get around to dumping the ashes in the bed where I grow tomatoes.

This is a 2,000 square foot house, heated only with the woodstove. The big secret is that the house is well weatherized: good insulation, double glazed windows, well sealed doors. The woodstove will cook us right out of the house if we try to burn it full time.

When it gets to about minus 9 degrees, the fire has to burn full time and I load the stove up and keep it cranking. Other than that, I have to let it go out in the middle of the day. There are plenty of opportunities to clean out the ashes.

By the way, I've lived with a dozen different wood stoves. Not one of them has run its best right after being cleaned. It takes a couple of days of ash build-up for the stove to reach its best performance.

badlander · #32 12/13/13, 11:01 AM

We were out of town for a couple of days on business and did a clean out when we got home.DH and I were both amazed to find warm embers under the dead ash after two days of not being tended. they weren't hot enough to build a fire up on but they were definitely very warm to the touch. We may use the clean out plug to clean the firebox but not leave it out given that as stated the stove is made to be airtight.

GoldenCityMuse · #33 12/21/13, 12:07 AM

My wood stove has a small airtight door I open to access the ash pan. I open it, take out the ash pan using the handle, leaving the access door open. Dump the ashes outside and put everything back.

Works great.