The Leaf Trick

whats the leaf trick?

Franks said:

whats the leaf trick?

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Does he mean Leaf Blower trick used for cleaning.

Zap

I'm guessing he does. Just was wondering if there's another trick out there

jj1949 said:

Has anyone that has used this trick tried to divert the soot and ash from just going up in the air. I would like to try this but I think my neighbors knowingly would have a fit, especially the one next door with the new steel siding. It looks like a great idea but it is somewhat of a concern to me....I know my stove would love it too....

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Well of course you have to do it while they're not home ;-)

The day I did mine the wind was blowing right out to the street so my neighbors got lucky but seriously if you expect a problem wait until they're not home or do it after dark.

I think he is asking if there is a way to "point" the ash somewhere by using a diverter

My leaf blower came with a bag. I am new to this and haven't tried it when the vent was really dirty, but to test it, I had the part where the soot comes out pointed to the ground instead of up in the air. If you're doing it from a roof, I like the idea of waiting till it's dark...

just point the leaf blower towards the ground.
i don't think a bag will work because it will get covered with ash and it won't be able to breath.

Might try blowing it towards the ground into a trashcan or barrel of some sort of container with water. Add some soap or dishwashere detergent to break the surface tension of the water then turn on the blower. It might not trap all the ash/debris but should eliminate some of it.

If you seal off the vent cap I don't think it will work ,because the air won't be able to flow .I would think that it is the big air volume that is the key .

Excell said:

If you seal off the vent cap I don't think it will work ,because the air won't be able to flow .I would think that it is the big air volume that is the key .

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If I am understanding correctly it will do a great job cleaning out the stove but the rest of the chimney won't be cleaned via this procedure. Still sounds like a worthwhile venture to me... Prolly a good idea to run a brush through the rest of the chimney...

Personally I used the blower from a step-ladder at the end of my chimney and cleaned the stove and entire chimney at once but either way makes sense as long as you don't mind brushing out the chimney manually.

If worried about the neighbor, wait til it starts to get dark. I really wouldn't worry too much about covering the neighborhood with ash, as it seems to dissipate pretty well.

I've used the old leaf blower quite a few times, and never noticed any ash laying around after I did it, except for a little bit on top of the snow. My stove exhaust is on the side of the house, so that is why I noticed a bit on the snow. I don't think you'd see any if you have to do it from the roof. It really is amazing what comes out of that stove pipe!

yes you could see some if your doing it from the roof.

no pane said:

yes you could see some if your doing it from the roof.

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These two pix are the best advertising for the "leaf blower trick"...

Pic are worth a 1000 words!

You know I just finished reading an article about how low the particle emissions are on pellet stoves. I suspect that if one were to include an annual leaf blower style cleaning in those calculations then the pellet stove may lose ground to coal burning for being a clean heat technology based on those pictures!

Slow1 said:

You know I just finished reading an article about how low the particle emissions are on pellet stoves. I suspect that if one were to include an annual leaf blower style cleaning in those calculations then the pellet stove may lose ground to coal burning for being a clean heat technology based on those pictures!

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Kinda like Al Gore's electric bill and private jet escapades.

the blower trick in nice but still need to pull the blowers and clean the blowers and chambers by hand
here are just a few photos that will show you why.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?page=1&aid=119593&id=61927828163

pulled my exhaust blower after and it was spotless
but it doesnt hurt to check

no pane said:

pulled my exhaust blower after and it was spotless
but it doesnt hurt to check

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How old was your stove and how many tons burned through it?
First 4 or 5 tons my exhaust blower was still clean too.
Actually on my stove the room air blower gets caked up faster.

I can say I pulled my exhaust blower after 5 ton and it was clean, I was also using the leaf blower method.

hearthtools said:

the blower trick in nice but still need to pull the blowers and clean the blowers and chambers by hand
here are just a few photos that will show you why.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?page=1&aid=119593&id=61927828163

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I'm sure glad when I work on my stove it doesn't look like any of the pic you have on facebook.
That has to be from a stove that no one took care of.

I did the leaf blower trick today as I am using my 45th bag today. I used my gas powered unit and the cloud was awesome. Cleaned the whole thing in about 1/2 hour. Absolutely great!!

jamesdjs said:

hearthtools said:

the blower trick in nice but still need to pull the blowers and clean the blowers and chambers by hand
here are just a few photos that will show you why.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?page=1&aid=119593&id=61927828163

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I'm sure glad when I work on my stove it doesn't look like any of the pic you have on facebook.
That has to be from a stove that no one took care of.

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I see it every day. House dust and pet hair.