How often do you clean your stove?

Scrape the Burn Pot everyday. After about every 12-15 bags, I take off all the back baffles and the top one. I clean the exchange tubes with a brush and vac everything out with a shop vac. I make sure the holes in the burn pot are free. I put the shop vac inside the back right hole that goes into the back and suck everything out. I put a damp rag around it so it gets good suction. I empty the ash pan about once a month. And once a month I do the leaf blower thing.

ah. thanks for the damp rag tip.

i've been kind of scraping the one side i can hit with the edge of the crevice tool.

Really, are some of you pellet stove owners abscessed with cleaning? Because what I've read here, just doesn’t seem right. I mean to clean the glass and stove every day, is that really necessary or do some have nothing better to do? The comments about scraping burn pot and vacuuming ever day along with a every week big clean just does not make sense, it's almost like OCD, not necessary but do it anyway why? Everyone wants to have the best burning of pellets and the most btu's out of their stove but when I read about the frequencies of when and what is cleaned it just seems like over kill to me who is really a novice with pellet stoves. So questions is," are some of you telling the truth the whole truth about your schedule of cleaning your pellet stove"?
Rick

JBiBBs5 said:

I've only had my M55 for about two months now so I'm still a rookie. Up until this point I've been cleaning it every single Sunday morning. This includes a full vacuuming, emptying of the ash pan, and cleaning the glass.

Now am I doing this type of cleaning more often than most or is this typical?



PS. Picking up a ton of Barefoots this weekend to add to the stash.

Click to expand...

Twice a week.

Rick @ Great Northeast said:

Really, are some of you pellet stove owners abscessed with cleaning? Because what I've read here, just doesn’t seem right. I mean to clean the glass and stove every day, is that really necessary or do some have nothing better to do? The comments about scraping burn pot and vacuuming ever day along with a every week big clean just does not make sense, it's almost like OCD, not necessary but do it anyway why? Everyone wants to have the best burning of pellets and the most btu's out of their stove but when I read about the frequencies of when and what is cleaned it just seems like over kill to me who is really a novice with pellet stoves. So questions is," are some of you telling the truth the whole truth about your schedule of cleaning your pellet stove"?
Rick

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The cleaner the stove, the better they perform. In general.

To me it's the thought that I'm wasting money with a dirty stove, and cleaning it isn't such a chore either.

daily I scrape the pot (It really doesn't need it as I don't get clinkers)
pull the heat exchanger rod twice daily
pull the burn pot rod twice daily

clean glass a couple times a week

every weekend:
remove all baffles and brush and vaccuum heat exchangers
remove grates and burn pot and scrape
tap on ceramic brick to knock down ash
remove ash traps and vaccuum
vaccuum all ash out
clean window
empty ash pan and vaccuum
wipe down outside of pellet stove and hearth

we burn about 7-10 bags a week. Uncle Jed's cold remedy.

Rick @ Great Northeast said:

Really, are some of you pellet stove owners abscessed with cleaning? Because what I've read here, just doesn’t seem right. I mean to clean the glass and stove every day, is that really necessary or do some have nothing better to do? The comments about scraping burn pot and vacuuming ever day along with a every week big clean just does not make sense, it's almost like OCD, not necessary but do it anyway why? Everyone wants to have the best burning of pellets and the most btu's out of their stove but when I read about the frequencies of when and what is cleaned it just seems like over kill to me who is really a novice with pellet stoves. So questions is," are some of you telling the truth the whole truth about your schedule of cleaning your pellet stove"?
Rick

Click to expand...

Check your manual and remember the following then you can judge for yourself.

Cleaning frequency is driven strictly by the amount of ash produced by the pellets you burn and the number of bags you feed the stove.

For example burning dirt in a bag pellets may require you to clean the burn pot once or even two times a day when you burn a couple of bags a day.

The same stove with the same settings burning a high end pellet may go for 3 or 4 days before you have to clean the burn pot.

We won't even mention folks operating or have setup their stoves incorrectly.

For me I clean mine once a week, the entire process from turn off to fire in the stove again is under an hour and I can do it in 30 minutes if needed.

It is all ash driven.

So some folks want a nice clear look at the fire so they clean their stove glass once a day, some folks don't burn over night so they clean things in the fire box every morning before they light their stoves, some folks don't burn while at work so they clean things in the firebox before they light the stove when they get home. Some folks do partial cleanings once a week and a really deep cleaning every ton. Your stove, pellets, and to some degree personal preferences will dictate your cleaning schedule.

The thing to carry away from this is that a clean stove is a happy, SAFE, and warm stove. 80+% of all stove problems are due to ash in the stove system somewhere.

Im at just over 60 bags (about 30 through the Quad and 30 in the Fahrenheit) and have yet to really clean the Fahrenheit. The Quad I did once, about a month ago (20 some bags).

The glass is so dirty on my Quad, I am almost ashamed. I have cleaned the exchanger a couple times (other than the rod) but only did a good cleaning once.

Last year with just the Quad, it was more frequently. But it doesn't get called on to much.

The furnace, I am kinda "testing" to see how long I can go? I have emptied the ash pan, but thats it. Not exhaust channels, vent, and the like.

Every year I get a little more lax about it. As long as its burning clean and it gets a Good cleaning every ton. Things should be good.

Every stove and owner is different. Some may require a good cleaning daily? I was cleaning my pot daily at the end of last season in the Quad. Bad Door gasket was giving me a bad ash cake problem. I limped it till the end of the season. You do what you gotta do.....
To each there own.

I scrape the Burn Pot every week. After a Ton of pellets I shut down the boiler and clean everything fron the flue to the fire box including the fan. In a normal winter I use 7 to 8 tons. So far I used 4.5 .

Not always sticking to the schedule, but I try to do a basic clean (vacuum, heat exchanger, burn pot) at least once every two days. With two stoves it means a rotating cleaning schedule. The every week or two do a deeper cleaning (take out baffles etc). It's about time for a full cleaning on both - planning to do that every 2 tons or less.

Want the stove to run efficient. I expect to be a high-tonnage user, so every per cent efficiency counts

I clean my Harman Accentra Insert, once a week and scrape the burn pot maybe every 3-4 days (I want to keep the perforations clear)

I just realized my first post on this site was in this thread. After a couple of months running my stove pretty much 24/7, here is the cleaning schedule that works best for my stove:

Every 3-4 days - Basic cleaning. I vacuum out all the ash including behind the ash doors, clean the burnpot thouroughly, use a medium paintbrush to clean all the nooks and crannies and heat exchange tubes, and wipe down the glass with a damp paper towel. This typically takes me about 20 minutes. Total downtime for the stove (cool down and cleaning) = 40 minutes.

Monthly (approx 1 ton of pellets) - Advanced cleaning. I do the same as above, plus I clean the exhaust vent. (This is where I wish I could do the leafblower trick!) I disconnect the exhaust vent from the combustion blower and vacuum/clean all the ash, using a wire brush and 12' flexible extension. I also like to empty the hopper and vacuum out the fines that have settled near the auger and wipe down the inside with furniture polish to keep the pellets sliding down the smoothly. This takes an additional 20 minutes. Total downtime for the stove = about 1 hour.

Yearly - Full teardown (I haven't done this yet) - All of the above plus: Pull the insert out of the fireplace completely and clean every inch of the stove, especially the fans and motors.

SmokeyTheBear said:

Rick @ Great Northeast said:

Really, are some of you pellet stove owners abscessed with cleaning? Because what I've read here, just doesn’t seem right. I mean to clean the glass and stove every day, is that really necessary or do some have nothing better to do? The comments about scraping burn pot and vacuuming ever day along with a every week big clean just does not make sense, it's almost like OCD, not necessary but do it anyway why? Everyone wants to have the best burning of pellets and the most btu's out of their stove but when I read about the frequencies of when and what is cleaned it just seems like over kill to me who is really a novice with pellet stoves. So questions is," are some of you telling the truth the whole truth about your schedule of cleaning your pellet stove"?
Rick

Click to expand...

Check your manual and remember the following then you can judge for yourself.

Cleaning frequency is driven strictly by the amount of ash produced by the pellets you burn and the number of bags you feed the stove.

For example burning dirt in a bag pellets may require you to clean the burn pot once or even two times a day when you burn a couple of bags a day.

The same stove with the same settings burning a high end pellet may go for 3 or 4 days before you have to clean the burn pot.

We won't even mention folks operating or have setup their stoves incorrectly.

For me I clean mine once a week, the entire process from turn off to fire in the stove again is under an hour and I can do it in 30 minutes if needed.

It is all ash driven.

So some folks want a nice clear look at the fire so they clean their stove glass once a day, some folks don't burn over night so they clean things in the fire box every morning before they light their stoves, some folks don't burn while at work so they clean things in the firebox before they light the stove when they get home. Some folks do partial cleanings once a week and a really deep cleaning every ton. Your stove, pellets, and to some degree personal preferences will dictate your cleaning schedule.

The thing to carry away from this is that a clean stove is a happy, SAFE, and warm stove. 80+% of all stove problems are due to ash in the stove system somewhere.

Click to expand...

Thank You Smokey for the clarification about cleaning Pellet Stoves, as I said I'm a new-b and my Harman Accentra is being installed this Friday. I bought all the good stuff to clean ,( Linteater with Ext.), ordered a Ash Vac, and a few other items. I was just a little intimidated after reading how often and what type of cleaning some do. I mean going from a wood stove Insert to a pellet stove insert, the cleaning is much more schedule at sooner time period, and I wondered if I made the correct choice with the pellet insert. I love to see a fire or the fire in the window of a stove or pellet stove insert, so comforting and warming, I just grew tired of the wood after 25 years, that's what drew me to the pellet stove. Thanks again.
Rick

Hey Rick,

I have the same stove, and I love it.

For cleaning, they will give you a scraper tool (which I've only had to use on the burn pot for scraping)

For all other cleaning, I use an old paintbrush (which works great - because since I clean weekly the ash hasn't hardened. If you wait too long in between cleanings, the ash can get baked on. So I use the paint brush on all surfaces - also on the Harman, make sure you get up behind the top. A lot of ash settles up there and I didn't notice until my 2nd or 3rd cleaning). I also leave the stove plugged in but off, so that the fan will continue to run while I run the paintbrush over all of the surfaces, so it sucks the ash cloud out of the house.

I use a shop vac to get up all the ash after emptying the ash tray.

And they will also give you a wire brush for the air holes.

It's a simple process, and only takes me 15 minutes on the Harman.

Yeah, some people over do it....

movemaine said:

Hey Rick,

I have the same stove, and I love it.

For cleaning, they will give you a scraper tool (which I've only had to use on the burn pot for scraping)

For all other cleaning, I use an old paintbrush (which works great - because since I clean weekly the ash hasn't hardened. If you wait too long in between cleanings, the ash can get baked on. So I use the paint brush on all surfaces - also on the Harman, make sure you get up behind the top. A lot of ash settles up there and I didn't notice until my 2nd or 3rd cleaning). I also leave the stove plugged in but off, so that the fan will continue to run while I run the paintbrush over all of the surfaces, so it sucks the ash cloud out of the house.

I use a shop vac to get up all the ash after emptying the ash tray.

And they will also give you a wire brush for the air holes.

It's a simple process, and only takes me 15 minutes on the Harman.

Click to expand...

Hey move maine,
thanks for the reply and the instructions on your cleaning schedule. I did some research on pellet stoves and the Harman and the Enviro M55 stood out for me, both were cast which I liked and both put out a lot of btu's. Harmon dealer was much closer to me then the Enviro.

Clean every week with a vacuum, scrape burn pot, empty ash and clean glass. Every other week scrape the exchangers, remove plates, baffles, etc and clean more completely. Every ton, leaf blower.

I have a Lopi Pioneer and the ash piles up pretty quickly, if I don't open it up, slide the ash pan open and brush the ash out of the burn area every 2-3 days. Its very easy to do and takes less than 5 minutes. I usually use a small shop vac at the same time just because I don't like the dust in the air from using the brush alone. Vac out the burn pot, air passages, etc. Wipe off the glass if I remember. Easy and simple to do. Why not? Ash pan needs emptying every 2-3 weeks. RT

I cleaned out my burn pot once, but there was nothing in it.

I do vac when needed.

Just wondering how do you keep warm when your stove has been let go cold for cleaning?

Como said:

I cleaned out my burn pot once, but there was nothing in it.

I do vac when needed.

Just wondering how do you keep warm when your stove has been let go cold for cleaning?

Click to expand...

i see you have a ps50 too.

i have found that the fly ash in my ps50 rarely (never say never. but so far, never.) contains any embers by the time i go through these steps.
turn the t-stat off, let the fire die down a bit, pull the cleaning rod, put my leather gloves on and scrape the burn pot w/ a long shafted flathead screwdriver,
brush the ashes back from the back baffle plates, remove them and brush them down and brush down the rest of the interior, use a shop brush to get in the channel to the combustion blower, reinstall the baffle plates and with my paint brush, spread the ashes flat again in the firebox..
then i finish with a small wire brush on the walls of the burnpot and also clean the thermocouple housing, clean the glass and by then the ashes are ready for me to vacuum.
i had been hand checking the ashes when i first started cleaning this way. but now i am reasonably assured that at this point i'm good to go w/ my metal canister ash vac.

i fire it back up before i've lost more than about 3 or 4 degrees in the stove room.

the pellets i'm burning are pretty ashy. (i still like them for the price) so when i'm lazy i'll just open the door and brush the piled up ash away from the burnpot rim and and clean the next day.
i'm close to needing another natural fiber paint brush. but i've been using this one three months and the cheapies are around two bucks.


* i guess i should add , don't blame me if your vacuum catches on fire and your house burns down because you listened to me.
use your own best judgment (as i most certainly hope everyone does)

but really. if you have a metal canister vac, and you check inside when you're done, i think you can safely do hot cleaning w/ a ps50 stove.

SmokeyTheBear said:

Trickyrick said:

JBiBBs5 said:

I've only had my M55 for about two months now so I'm still a rookie. Up until this point I've been cleaning it every single Sunday morning. This includes a full vacuuming, emptying of the ash pan, and cleaning the glass.

Now am I doing this type of cleaning more often than most or is this typical?



PS. Picking up a ton of Barefoots this weekend to add to the stash.

Click to expand...

Each stove and pellet is difference but I need to empty the ask every week in deep winter. If the ash pan is full I might as well clean it. Then I used a meat thermometer and found that the clean stove runs 10 to 15 degrees warmer than the stove after 1 week of burning. That was enough for me. I clean every week then a leaf blower trick every ton and an full teardown every year.

Click to expand...

Funny thing about ash on the exchangers ;-).

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For someone that isnt very handy what does a full tear down consist of? I dont have any problem with the weekly maint. But can you just touch briefly on a full tear down. I have a Harman accentra insert.

Weird tolienish figure said:

Rick @ Great Northeast said:

Really, are some of you pellet stove owners abscessed with cleaning? Because what I've read here, just doesn’t seem right. I mean to clean the glass and stove every day, is that really necessary or do some have nothing better to do? The comments about scraping burn pot and vacuuming ever day along with a every week big clean just does not make sense, it's almost like OCD, not necessary but do it anyway why? Everyone wants to have the best burning of pellets and the most btu's out of their stove but when I read about the frequencies of when and what is cleaned it just seems like over kill to me who is really a novice with pellet stoves. So questions is," are some of you telling the truth the whole truth about your schedule of cleaning your pellet stove"?
Rick

Click to expand...

The cleaner the stove, the better they perform. In general.

To me it's the thought that I'm wasting money with a dirty stove, and cleaning it isn't such a chore either.

Click to expand...

On my CB1200, burning American Fiber from Home Depot:
Empty ash pan once a week
Scrape the pot every couple day
Once a week, remove and clean the baffle covers, clean the exhaust plenum, clean the glass, bang on the flue , run the brush up 8 feet, and vacuum any dust.
Im sure I could the flue cleaning go every ton, but I think the exhaust fan life is tied to the flue being clean, it has to better for it.

At the end of the season Im going to order a new gasket for the exhaust fan, remove it, clean the inside like its factory new, paint as needed.

I clean my Harman when the ash pan is near full. (3/4 -1 ton) It runs pretty much the same after a ton of pellets or when it`s just been cleaned.

investor7952 said:

SmokeyTheBear said:

Trickyrick said:

JBiBBs5 said:

I've only had my M55 for about two months now so I'm still a rookie. Up until this point I've been cleaning it every single Sunday morning. This includes a full vacuuming, emptying of the ash pan, and cleaning the glass.

Now am I doing this type of cleaning more often than most or is this typical?



PS. Picking up a ton of Barefoots this weekend to add to the stash.

Click to expand...

Each stove and pellet is difference but I need to empty the ask every week in deep winter. If the ash pan is full I might as well clean it. Then I used a meat thermometer and found that the clean stove runs 10 to 15 degrees warmer than the stove after 1 week of burning. That was enough for me. I clean every week then a leaf blower trick every ton and an full teardown every year.

Click to expand...

Funny thing about ash on the exchangers ;-).

Click to expand...

For someone that isnt very handy what does a full tear down consist of? I dont have any problem with the weekly maint. But can you just touch briefly on a full tear down. I have a Harman accentra insert.

Click to expand...

Both blowers are taken out and cleaned and the combustion blower (exhaust) cavity is cleaned (there may be a gasket that needs to be replaced, they don't hold up all that well when you remove the blower, if your stove uses them be sure to have a new one on hand before removing the blower), on a lot of stoves removing the combustion blower also allows better access back into the heat exchanger. You should take advantage of this and clean that area all the way back to the outer set of ash traps. The goal in doing a full teardown cleaning is to get to all of the places that are difficult to get too with various stove parts in the way. You can run various brushes/rods into areas without fear of damaging things. You also remove all removable baffles and ash trap covers, the goal is the same to get access to otherwise hard to reach places that trap ash. Your are in essence following (and cleaning) the combustion air path from air intake to the vent termination. The room (convection, distribution) blower is also cleaned and then you follow the convection air path cleaning as you go.

Things used in cleaning are rods, brushes, compressed air, vacuums (perhaps including a leaf blower in vacuum mode), and gaskets.

Then you decide on how to protect any metal surfaces from rust if this cleaning is done at the end of the season.

I clean my pot once a day and clean everything else once a week or so. Seems to be enough. Since we are on the subject of cleaning, I have cleaned out my vent once so far, and the stove has been in operation since 12/3/2011. What is the frequency of this and can someone elaborate on the leaf blower method? I basically took my venting apart last time and it was kind of a PIA.... My stove is a free standing quad cb1200 with indoor pipe going up 6' then elbowed out the wall and terminated. Not sure if a leaf blower is even applicable for me. I do not use an OAK.....