newbie how to keep it clean and the wife from being pissed?

Keep a spray bottle of water around and lightly mist the ash before you sweep it.
Dont clean it to often, a good ash bed in the insert will yeild easier startups and a more efficient burn.
Use a shop vac (if the stove is dead cold) with the finist filter you can find
Use a cheata ash vac made by loveless ash company.
Wipe it down with a damp sponge. This might encourage rust if the stove is not enameld.

Jewelry will help, diamonds are a girls best friend.

One would think that "warm" would offset "pissed", but it doesn't. Of course one would also think that those who will be enjoying the house being 75 degrees with wood, versus 67 degrees on propane would want to help help cut, split and stack the wood. And, one would also think that those people enjoying the 75 degrees would'nt mind just every once in a while helping carry wood in to the firepace. I think I'll stop thinking.

You're in NJ!

(A former Jersey boy here)....

If, for instance, you are from Cherry Hill and have white carpets, then it's gonna be tough. If you are from the shore, and she is used to sand and fleas anyway, there should be no problem.

I think MSG has the read answer - Avoidance! Don't clean it out very often. And his other ides are good also. :coolgrin:

reed102 said:

One would think that "warm" would offset "pissed", but it doesn't. Of course one would also think that those who will be enjoying the house being 75 degrees with wood, versus 67 degrees on propane would want to help help cut, split and stack the wood. And, one would also think that those people enjoying the 75 degrees would'nt mind just every once in a while helping carry wood in to the fire place. I think I'll stop thinking.

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If you think that is bad, try getting in bed every night smelling like wood smoke. It's the ultimate "anti-romance" perfume.

I don't know about America, but on National Geo channel I saw pics of the ladies carrying firewood on their backs for miles.

one tip that has helped me keep the dust down is to wait until the firebox and ashes are cool. i've noticed a big difference in the amount of dust rising from the ash when the ashes are cool vs being hot.

MSG already nailed some pretty good points. As far as smoke when loading, you might try to wait until the wood has burned to coals and is not emitting much (if any) smoke -or- you may have some luck if you open the draft a few minutes before adding new wood. This should help warm the flue and create a better draft.

As far as "warming" the wife to the idea, I can only suggest good communication - find out exactly what she finds objectionable and what she finds desirable then work towards reducing the former and accentuating the latter. Maybe a romantic candle lit dinner infront of the roaring fire on a frigid evening? Or some other romance as the flames twinkle late into a cold, dark winter night?

As far as the wood smoke smell - women are crazy with smell. I found out a few years ago that my wife loves my $3/bottle aftershave and is more or less impartial to my $40/bottle cologne. Maybe if you burn a nice aromatic wood like oak or hicory, stoke the fire and get a little "smelly" then give her a good experience while you smell of eau 'd wood, she might warm up to that as well.

Corey

firewatcher said:

thanks for all your advice and tips.

How does one stop those dust clouds from happening when scooping ash into the bucket?

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Do it very slow!

Agreed, very slowly. Another thing that works, but EXTREME care is required. While pouring the shovel out in to your ask bucket, have a vacuum running nearbymaybe a good 2' above the bucket. The vacuum will pull in the dust, and no sparks or ashes.

BeGreen said:

Ya need one of these

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:lol:

Roospike said:

BeGreen said:

Ya need one of these

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:lol:

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Your good.Only you could have found that pic.

When cleaning out ash have the ash container very near the open door the draft will suck the bad air out of the room. Do not pour ash into a bucket. Place the loaded shovel on the bottom of the container and slide the ash into it with as little drop as possible, very slowly.

Wood burning is messy, get her to reload and clean it out, she will see what you are up against. Then buy her one of these Rainbow vacuum . I have a old one found while scrounging wood. They use water as a filter, no need to worry about sparks in the bag, they suck better than a Hoover. Its the best vacuum I have ever used.

Another good idea is to take the ash out when a decent UP draft is in the stove and chimney. If you stove has a bypass damper, open if fully. This will allow some of the dust to get sucked up the chimney, especially if the ash bucket and shovel are kept as close to the door as possible

MountainStoveGuy said:

Dont clean it to often, a good ash bed in the insert will yeild easier startups and a more efficient burn.

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Don't mean to high jack, but I'm curious about this statement. How does a layer of ash give a more efficient burn? I was thinking less ash means more exposure to fire bricks reflecting the heat back to make it hotter? Or does the ash act the same way? My stove manual also states to keep a small layer of ash in the firebox. Heck I've done it both ways, with ash and without and don't really see a difference except the ash gets messy after awhile.

As far as ash removal, I scoop it out, lower it to the bottom of the bucket, and gently slide the ash off the shovel. If you dump it in ash will fly up all over the place.

Last year I thought I saw a thread where someone manufactured a scoop that had a cover over it. Looked like it would work well.

DriftWood said:

"... Wood burning is messy, get her to reload and clean it out, she will see what you are up against. Then buy her one of these Rainbow vacuum . I have a old one found while scrounging wood. They use water as a filter, no need to worry about sparks in the bag, they suck better than a Hoover. Its the best vacuum I have ever used.

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I second Driftwood's recommendation. The Sears canister has been sitting in the closet since 1985, the day the Rainbow came in the the front door. Try it, you will like it! ;-)

Todd said:

MountainStoveGuy said:

Dont clean it to often, a good ash bed in the insert will yeild easier startups and a more efficient burn.

Click to expand...

Don't mean to high jack, but I'm curious about this statement. How does a layer of ash give a more efficient burn? I was thinking less ash means more exposure to fire bricks reflecting the heat back to make it hotter? Or does the ash act the same way? My stove manual also states to keep a small layer of ash in the firebox. Heck I've done it both ways, with ash and without and don't really see a difference except the ash gets messy after awhile.

As far as ash removal, I scoop it out, lower it to the bottom of the bucket, and gently slide the ash off the shovel. If you dump it in ash will fly up all over the place.

Last year I thought I saw a thread where someone manufactured a scoop that had a cover over it. Looked like it would work well.

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Ash is a very good insulator, and will raise combustion tempertures inside the firebox.

I do what Driftwood said. I have a metal pail and put it close to the open stove door. I fill the shovel and slowly put it in the pail while keeping the pails cover over it. While I'm scooping again the cover is on the pail. You can see the chimney's draft sucking the dust back into the stove.
Dan.

Hold the ash can lid over the can when you empty the shovel, slide the shovel out and qiuckly close the lid. This will contain most of the dust as long as you don't bang the full shovel on something as you're going from the stove to the can.