Am I doing this safely?

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Fifi

New Member
Sep 15, 2011
52
Near Heathrow UK
Ok looks like being a newbie I should check what I'm doing here:

I have several smoke detectors including one in the room with my old fashioned open fire

I always put the fire guard in place before leaving the room

I have a fire extinguisher ready in the room just inside the door

I had the chimney swept, checked and repaired before starting to use it and will have it swept once a year

I'm using the tongs and poker so I don't put my hands too near and have pair of fireside gloves ready

The ashes: I need to get an ash can then.....but I don't put them out until they are cold........by the next morning they are mostly cold enough I poke them around to check for if they look glowing still and separate them. Then cautiously put hand near to see if any heat, then cautiously touch.......they usually feel cold so I put them in newspaper in a platic bag....I guess this is very bad....but they do feel cold anyway. The bag goes outside under car port ready for later disposal in garbage or dig into garden.

I'm guessing it doens't take as long to cool down as woodstove ashes and you all need to remove them warm to re-use stove next day?

Looks like I should get a Carbon Monixide detector quick though.
Fifi
 
I came back to ashes days later that I thought for sure were stone cold; I thought for sure I had all the large enough chunks of coals out of the stove that nothing in there could be hot; and I still turned my shop vac into flame thrower. The cat's reaction was priceless.

You need to get an ash bucket with lid. You'll be surprised to find how long those coals will last the first time you get a bit lazy or burn for an extended period of time and the ashes build up a bit. Easy to do that, then come back w/ your regular routine, then have a real issue.

pen
 
I wear the gloves most anytime the door is open. If something rolls, or whatever, you can make a quick grab.
 
The only thing I can see wrong here is the ash removal. It's amazing how good of an insulator ash is. I have had ashes several days old that once turned over and exposed to air will start back up. I use a big pot with wire handle for my ash can. It will hold about a weeks worth of ash. I put the ash in, take it to the back yard, put some water on it and let it sit until the next week when I'm ready to do it again. Then I just dump the slurry or ice block in the garbage can outside and start over again.
 
Always wear gloves. You may not need them but if a coal falls out while you are poking you can quickly grab and throw it back in.
As for the Ash. I dug a hole in my back yard and lined around it with the dug out dirt. Hole is about 3 feet deep and 2 feet in diameter. I fill the ash can in the morning and set it outside since I don't want it in the house using up my oxygen. Next day I dump the ashes in the hole. Out of the wind and with nothing to burn. I've never had a problem with this. At the end of burn season I cover the hole back up. It grows grass there in the summer and you can never tell it was ever there. When there is snow I scatter the ash on the snow in the driveway which helps it melt away.
 
+ whatever to both wearing the gloves (better to have them on and be ready for the unexpected) and a change up in the ash disposal method -- the current method is not safe.
 
If your wood is dry/seasoned, you'll be fine cleaning/checking once a year, esp in an open fireplace. IF the wood is wet/not seasoned, your might want to check mid-season, at least the first year.

DO get a metal ash bucket and a CO detector (or two).
 
This may sound kind of silly, but I've been looking online for metal ash disposal bin and can't find any. What do they look like, where can I get one? Am in UK.

I have a metal waste paper bin, I'll use that until I find one and I could put an old oven tray over the top to help keep air out, will that do?

Fifi
 
Sure. I'd assume since its sold as an ash bucket, the paint could handle the (modest) high temps....
 
That ash bucket will do the job :)

When it's inside or outside, park it on a non combustible surface .
 
lol thanks woodgeek and Dixie looks like we all found it at the same time.

So if you think the mini galvanized bin is ok, it is cheaper and I like the look of it.

Which would you choose?

Fifi
 
Galvanized is fine. Just keep it outdoors on a noncombustible surface.
I use an ashcan then dump that into a galvanized trash can when the ash can gets full.
The the trash can gets dumped over the hill when full.
 
I use a 10 gallon, galvanized trash can for our ashes. It sits on 3 bricks on the porch and is kept well away from combustible surfaces.
 
I use a galvanized trash can with lid. It sits on a concrete porch. I also have 3 concrete blocks shoved up against/around it to ensure high winds don't tip it over (I'm all about overkill when it comes to fire safety)
 
ansehnlich1 said:
I use a galvanized trash can with lid. It sits on a concrete porch. I also have 3 concrete blocks shoved up against/around it to ensure high winds don't tip it over (I'm all about overkill when it comes to fire safety)
Click to expand...

I wouldn't consider this overkill . . . I've seen far too many fires started by hot ashes.
 
I use one of them big winter themed popcorn tins. Probably only holds two gallons but i can squish the top to fit in my stove opening so i can shovel them in the can in side the stove. Kitchen oven gloves required from experiance. Then set in my gravel driveway lid on for a few days then dumped into my plowed garden.
 
I have a metal "bucket" (it's a vintage copper/brass coal hod) inside that sits on the stone hearth, but it is just a container to move them from the stove to the outside and into a 10 gallon stainless pail with a locking lid that sits on a concrete pad. I'll put the cold ashes on my garden in the spring, as I doubt the pail will fill up this season, we've only had to clean out about 3-4 times so far.
 
bin2-1.jpg


Here's my new baby bin ....on concrete surface.... put near sun lounger to show size proportion

Thanks for advice

Fifi
 
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