Be carefull with your old dead ashes!!

Back in December I took a half-burned log out of the fireplace in the shop (can't remember why) and threw it in the snow. The next morning I went out to start another fire and there was a completely bare circle of grass surrounding what was left of the log, which was still red in some places. It had been windy and there were flurries off and on all night. Blew my mind.

I have dumped the ash bucket into plastic buckets and melted them.

Doesn't a tight-fitting lid smother the ashes?

craigs said:

Back in December I took a half-burned log out of the fireplace in the shop (can't remember why) and threw it in the snow.

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Iv'e been seen running through my living room with a smoldering split on my way out the door, due to either hissing water out the checks or maybe even a over cranking fire.! Kinda makes ya look foolish with the oven gloves, tongs, goggles, sparks flying etc etc

Dan, no, it won't. Those live coals will keep for a long time in the ashes. It is not uncommon to hear of someone finding live coals in their ash buckets even after 2 weeks! Probably most of us have heard or seen where someone has sit their ash bucket on the patio or back porch and later find the wood under the bucket has charred! I believe it was on this forum someone posted about a fire getting started on a porch from the ash bucket.


This is why you should NEVER SIT AN ASH BUCKET ON OR NEAR SOMETHING FLAMMABLE.

I usually do not scoop out many coals, if any, as I try pretty hard to just get the ash. That said, I never have anything 'live' in my ash bucket at 3 days, which is about how often I dump it being that I take the ash out of the Olympic and empty the ash pan on the Jotul every 3 days. My ash bucket is a metal can with a lid that I got at agway a few years back. Next year I am going to be dumping them into a steel garbage can outside at the 3 days mark so I can save them for easy use on my lawn, shrubs and compost...

All these posts are making me 2nd guess my ash disposal method which is in a pile at the edge of the woods just off the backyard. I always seem to be dumping embers as well as ash, too.

Backwoods Savage said:

Dan, no, it won't. Those live coals will keep for a long time in the ashes. It is not uncommon to hear of someone finding live coals in their ash buckets even after 2 weeks! Probably most of us have heard or seen where someone has sit their ash bucket on the patio or back porch and later find the wood under the bucket has charred! I believe it was on this forum someone posted about a fire getting started on a porch from the ash bucket.


This is why you should NEVER SIT AN ASH BUCKET ON OR NEAR SOMETHING FLAMMABLE.

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+1 . . . Next to responding to chimney fires perhaps the most problematic issue I see from the fire side or fire prevention and suppresion I should say when it comes to woodstoves is the improper disposal of ashes with folks assuming that they are harmless and sticking them in plastic bags, plastic buckets, cardboard boxes, etc. and then leaving the ashes on the porch, deck, garage, etc.

Just the other day after getting rid of some of my ashes and cleaning the door glass i smelled plastic burning.A hole the size of a dime melted in my plastic ash trash container.Found some hot coals in it,so i did a early dump of it into my mulch pile which is covered by 6" of snow.I will be extra careful for now on when cleaning out the wood ash.

A few hours ago I bought at Home Depot a 6-gallon galvanized steel (ash) can with a tight-fitting lid. Not only is it hard to pry the lid off, the bail on the can can be lifted to lock the lid in position as well. I plan to make a small sandbox on my porch to set the can in, so that the bottom of the can won't be in contact with any flammable material.

DanCorcoran said:

Doesn't a tight-fitting lid smother the ashes?

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Eventually. I empty my ashes into a (surprise!) ash can, with lid. I have seen live embers in the ash can as much as three days later, with the lid on all that time.

I scoop the ashes into a 2.5 gallon stainless steel bucket, and then leave it sit on the front steps (concrete) for several days before dumping it in the trash. I've been figuring that even one nighttime temp of 15-20 degrees would kill a any remaining embers, but so far I think I've usually let it sit about 3 days before I empty it. (Mostly out of laziness: I don't need the bucket again until I need to cleanout the stove, so I just leave it out there full.)

A few years ago, there was a story in the local newspaper regarding a fire which destroyed a wood outhouse. For those who don't know, people often use wood-fire ashes instead of lime to cut the smell in privies. Anyway, the owner claimed she'd let the ashes sit in a bucket for "almost three weeks" before using them in the privy. No way to prove whether she really let them sit that long, but in any case, there are numerous cases where "old, dead ashes" turned out to be less than "dead." If you dump them, you gotta make sure they aren't put in or near combustible materials.

My father set the woods on fire dumping ashes, it didn't burn much and not sure if he knew until the next day but a 20 by 20 section to the left of the garage was black. I keep mine in a steel coal hod for days before I dump them.

Ten gallon galvanized trash can. Set it behind the stove on the hearth (old fireplace opening). The only time I move it off there is to dump the ashes at the dump - maybe 3 times a year.

Yep...I burned my plastic ash bucket too....Hubby's a fire dept chief---I got teased for days!
(Yes, I have a metal one now!)
Quick question...(I'm kinda new to this woodburner thing...) Does anyone else have
a tough time getting a nice rolling fire on two days of ashes? We have a medium size
Hearthstone Heritage and by the second day it's sluggish and I have a hard time
keeping the temp. in the burn zone. Any suggestions?

I use a metal can with a snug lid. This winter I used ashes on the driveway instead of sand, and had a few live embers; sure helped melt the ice!

ispinwool said:

Yep...I burned my plastic ash bucket too....Hubby's a fire dept chief---I got teased for days!
(Yes, I have a metal one now!)
Quick question...(I'm kinda new to this woodburner thing...) Does anyone else have
a tough time getting a nice rolling fire on two days of ashes? We have a medium size
Hearthstone Heritage and by the second day it's sluggish and I have a hard time
keeping the temp. in the burn zone. Any suggestions?

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Yeah, I think I would give both you and your husband a hard time for using a plastic bucket for ashes. Good move on buying a metal bucket.

As to your question . . . I'm not quite sure what you're asking . . . are you saying you have a hard time getting a good fire going after two days of burning? If I'm reading this correctly it sounds like you're saying after Day 2 you have quite a bit of ash/coal build up and you can't get a good, hot fire . . . perhaps due to the excessive amount of ash/coal.

A good way to reduce the amount of coals in your firebox (at least for me) when there is a lot . . . is to throw a single split on the coals, open up the air and let it go for a half hour or so which typically reduces the amount of coals . . . also waiting a bit longer to reload the stove often helps . . . wait until the coals are the size of golfballs before reloading. Doing so should increase the amount of space available in your firebox to add more wood which should result in more heat.

Another possible problem with the sluggish fire is having the ashes block your incoming air inlet . . . I am not familiar with the Hearthstone line up and where the incoming air is . . . however with my Jotul the incoming air is in front . . . so I routinely use a poker, shovel or small split or round to push away the coals/ash from the air holes when I reload the stove.

Finally, as mentioned . . . having an inch or so of coals is a good thing . . . it preserves the coals and helps with heat retention . . . but I suspect that's not the question you were asking.

coaly said:

I think my ash pile is the reason for global warming. It's kinda like a volcano inside.

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Holy cow Coaly . . . how long have you been burning . . . and/or are you using a wood boiler or furnace . . . I've been burning for nearly two years now and have nowhere near that amount of ash . . . and yes . . . it does look a bit like a volcano cone.

My stove has a shaker grate and the number of live embers is pretty minimal. (Old cookstove like what grammy had - only get a 3 hour burn, so the fire and coals burn out more or less completely. Usually have to shovel out the ash pan every 3 or 4 days into a metal ash bucket. Fills up after about 1.5 weeks.

Then we usually wait for snow to be in the forecast before spreading on the lawn. There's already a layer of snow on the lawn, but getting a fresh layer makes it just that much safer - and more sightly after the grey snow gets covered up.

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