When do I clean my firebox...

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David Tackett

David Tackett

Member
Oct 17, 2012
178
Waynesburg, Kentucky
I started a fire in my new to me Buck 91 on Saturday and it is still burning. I have not had to build a fire in 3 days. And I don't see any reason I will have to start one. So, is there a time when I need to let it burn out and clean the ash out? Every time I reload the stove in the afternoon or morning there is always a coal bed. Even when the stove is down to 200 degrees on the cat probe, it is still full of coals. If I pull the coals forward like some people on here say too, the front of the stove would be full of coals and I would not be able to get wood in it. Am I doing something wrong? Should I let the coals burn down further? Any advice is appreciated.
 
When pulling the coals forward they should burn down during the course of the next burn cycle.
 
I use this one to keep the coals during cleaning: http://www.koalkeeper.com/
I push everything in the back, then sift through to get the coals which I dump in the front. Afterwards, I get the ash out with my shovel. New wood, some kindling and the fire will be going strong in no time.
 
Grisu said:
I use this one to keep the coals during cleaning: http://www.koalkeeper.com/
I push everything in the back, then sift through to get the coals which I dump in the front. Afterwards, I get the ash out with my shovel. New wood, some kindling and the fire will be going strong in no time.
Click to expand...

I made one of those, bought a regular shovel and drilled holes in it with my drill press.
 
David Tackett said:
So, I pull all the coals forward, let them burn down some, then add more wood later?
Click to expand...
If your stove is size well for your home, the heat that the coals give off should still heat your home to some degree. But, what I was getting at, was you rake the coals forward, add wood, and the next burn cycle the coals that were brought forward will burn down.

If you are dealing with a large coal bed, that either means your wood is not dry or that your stove is undersized for your needs.
 
I try to wait till its warmish to empty the stove. I empty mine maybe every 5-6 weeks or so.
When I put fresh wood in I spread the coals evenly around in the stove and then put wood on top. Not sure in the coals foreword, would make new wood harder to load sitting unlevel.
 
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Since I have an ash pan it is a bit different, but I clean out the ash pan and clean the stove 1-2 times a week . . . usually on the weekend and once mid-week. I tend to push the coals aside and let the ash fall down into the ash pan (I suspect other folks without ash pans would separate the two as well and just scoop out the ash) . . . generally I do this first thing in the morning after an overnight fire when the stove is not quite so hot. At the same time I clean up the hearth and give the glass a quick few swipes with a damp balled up newspaper.
 
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firefighterjake said:
Since I have an ash pan it is a bit different, but I clean out the ash pan and clean the stove 1-2 times a week . . . usually on the weekend and once mid-week. I tend to push the coals aside and let the ash fall down into the ash pan (I suspect other folks without ash pans would separate the two as well and just scoop out the ash) . . . generally I do this first thing in the morning after an overnight fire when the stove is not quite so hot. At the same time I clean up the hearth and give the glass a quick few swipes with a damp balled up newspaper.
Click to expand...

Same here. Once a fortnight I also give the stove a really good clean too, under, behind, and have a quick check inside the flue too.

I know I probably don't have to be so obsessive about it, but I'd rather err on the cautious side.
 
nate379 said:
I try to wait till its warmish to empty the stove. I empty mine maybe every 5-6 weeks or so.
When I put fresh wood in I spread the coals evenly around in the stove and then put wood on top. Not sure in the coals foreword, would make new wood harder to load sitting unlevel.
Click to expand...

This is what I currently do.
 
I usually find a couple of bigger bits of kindling to put behind the coals, then stack the new wood above leaving air gaps for the fire to find it's way through.
 
On our stove, just before the burn get down to all coals, we open the draft full. This will maintain the heat while also burning down the coals. However, we don't do this until winter time when we are burning more wood than we do now. Even though this is our only source of heat, we rarely fill the stove until the outside air goes down. Last night it was 16 for the low and I had put 1 good sized split plus 3 really small ones and it kept us very warm all night. Started right up when we got up and actually has been a bit too warm in here today.
 
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