Avalon astoria cleaning question ?

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coobie

coobie

Member
Jan 20, 2010
110
southern michigan
I have a question for you folks who have the avalon astoria how do you clean the 2 small air inlets in front of the stove?I was told the only way to clean them was to insert a small hose up the vent from a cheetah ash vacuum.Is this the correct way?Thanks for any information.coobie
 
coobie said:
...... how do you clean the 2 small air inlets in front of the stove?......
Click to expand...

I had an Astoria, and there are no air inlets on the front of the stove, unless Travis changed the stove since 2005. All burn air comes in from the back, AFAIK.
 
macman said:
coobie said:
...... how do you clean the 2 small air inlets in front of the stove?......
Click to expand...

I had an Astoria, and there are no air inlets on the front of the stove, unless Travis changed the stove since 2005. All burn air comes in from the back, AFAIK.
Click to expand...
I am purchasing a new astoria and there are 2 small metal air inlets in front of the stove and the dealer told me the ONLY way to clean them would be to buy the cheetah vacuum with the flex hose option to clean the air inlets.coobie
 
coobie said:
I am purchasing a new astoria and there are 2 small metal air inlets in front of the stove and the dealer told me the ONLY way to clean them would be to buy the cheetah vacuum with the flex hose option to clean the air inlets.coobie
Click to expand...

You SAW these air inlets with your own eyes? If so, then they changed the stove completely since I saw a new one in the dealer showroom last year....it was the same as mine....no air INLETS on the stove...period.

If he said air inlets, but meant ash traps, that's a different thing completely.
 
macman said:
coobie said:
I am purchasing a new astoria and there are 2 small metal air inlets in front of the stove and the dealer told me the ONLY way to clean them would be to buy the cheetah vacuum with the flex hose option to clean the air inlets.coobie
Click to expand...

You SAW these air inlets with your own eyes? If so, then they changed the stove completely since I saw a new one in the dealer showroom last year....it was the same as mine....no air INLETS on the stove...period.

If he said air inlets, but meant ash traps, that's a different thing completely.
Click to expand...
Well he (dealer) said air inlets maybe he meant ash traps.I did see them with my own eyes they are 2 small removable black metal caps(maybe 2X2) located each side of the burn pot,bottom front of the stove.coobie.
 
coobie said:
Well he (dealer) said air inlets maybe he meant ash traps.I did see them with my own eyes they are 2 small removable black metal caps(maybe 2X2) located each side of the burn pot,bottom front of the stove.coobie.
Click to expand...
There are 2 ash trap covers on the outside of the stove held on with 2 bolts that allow you to clean the ash trap behind the firebox. There are also 2 "doors" inside the firebox that lift up and out. Both of these things I mentioned lead to the same exact place. They are NOT air inlets.

Yes, a vacuum with a small rubber hose is good for cleaning the ash from that hidden area, but you don't need a Cheetah vac to do it. Is he trying to sell you one? They are VERY expensive, and you can do the same thing with a small inexpensive shop vac with rubber tubing duct taped to the nozzle.
 
My Afton Bay has a ash trap on each side and I hook up a 2 ft.plastic hose to my shop vac.you dealer wants to sell you a spendy vac.
Al
 
macman said:
coobie said:
Well he (dealer) said air inlets maybe he meant ash traps.I did see them with my own eyes they are 2 small removable black metal caps(maybe 2X2) located each side of the burn pot,bottom front of the stove.coobie.
Click to expand...
There are 2 ash trap covers on the outside of the stove held on with 2 bolts that allow you to clean the ash trap behind the firebox. There are also 2 "doors" inside the firebox that lift up and out. Both of these things I mentioned lead to the same exact place. They are NOT air inlets.

Yes, a vacuum with a small rubber hose is good for cleaning the ash from that hidden area, but you don't need a Cheetah vac to do it. Is he trying to sell you one? They are VERY expensive, and you can do the same thing with a small inexpensive shop vac with rubber tubing duct taped to the nozzle.
Click to expand...
The 2 doors inside the firebox are the ones that I am talking about they lift up and out.No he is not trying to sell me the cheetah vac but stated I might want to buy one with the hose kit to clean the stove correctly.coobie
 
I have a Yankee Bay, basically the same stove. I clean the vents you are talking about every few days with a standard 5 gallon shop vac using the straight hose attachment. Every ton or so, I remove the bolt on cleaning plates on the side and loosen the ash with a refrigerator coil cleaning brush while running the vac at the opposite opening.

The flaps you speak of can be tricky to remove until ya get the hang of it.
 
Paul D. said:
....... loosen the ash with a refrigerator coil cleaning brush while running the vac at the opposite opening.......
Click to expand...

never thought of the coil brush....thanks Paul! That will work on my Englander, and I'm sure many other stoves as well.
 
Hello

I also have an Avalon Astoria and just use a shop vac with the crevice tool. I just lift off the doors and the end of the crevice tool can fit in and suck out all the ash. It works great. I leave the crevice tool on and use it to clean all the ash left after sweeping most of the ash into the ash dumps. When the ash pan gets full I dump it into our garden for the spring!.

Don
 
Don2222 said:
Hello

I also have an Avalon Astoria and just use a shop vac with the crevice tool. I just lift off the doors and the end of the crevice tool can fit in and suck out all the ash. It works great. I leave the crevice tool on and use it to clean all the ash left after sweeping most of the ash into the ash dumps. When the ash pan gets full I dump it into our garden for the spring!.

Don
Click to expand...

Don, you really need to get a rubber hose to attach to your vac. I know from experience that there is a LOT more ash you can't get to just vacuuming through the trap doors w/ the crevice tool. Try taking the outside ash trap covers off, and look up in there w/ a flashlight.

Also, after you remove the "firebrick", bang on the back wall w/ a small mallet or hammer....amazing how much crud will fall that you'll never get to otherwise.
 
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