Learned a valuable lesson Sunday

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esuitt

esuitt

New Member
Nov 27, 2010
214
Delta, Pa (amish country) right on the Mason Dixon
Shut down the stove on Sunday for weekly cleaning. After waiting for the stove to go through it's cool down process; approximate 45 minutes. I started with the burn pot, emptied and scraped it all out into the ash pans and sifted through the fines to break up any leftovers. Now the stove has been off for about hour and fifteen minutes, start the vacuum the ash pans out. Few minutes later got a really weird smell in the house, so I took the shop vac outside and took the lid off and ran my hands through the fines and ash in the bottom and did not find anything smoldering. But half an hour later wife came home and said that the vacuum on the front porch was smoking. Sure enough, went out and either sucked up an ember in the hose or motor and stuck there cause the bottom of the motor and filter has been completely melted off the lid.
 
Ed S said:
Shut down the stove on Sunday for weekly cleaning. After waiting for the stove to go through it's cool down process; approximate 45 minutes. I started with the burn pot, emptied and scraped it all out into the ash pans and sifted through the fines to break up any leftovers. Now the stove has been off for about hour and fifteen minutes, start the vacuum the ash pans out. Few minutes later got a really weird smell in the house, so I took the shop vac outside and took the lid off and ran my hands through the fines and ash in the bottom and did not find anything smoldering. But half an hour later wife came home and said that the vacuum on the front porch was smoking. Sure enough, went out and either sucked up an ember in the hose or motor and stuck there cause the bottom of the motor and filter has been completely melted off the lid.
Click to expand...

Dont feel alone, ive heard this happens alot! :zip:
 
That's how you know it's time to replace the filter :D
 
Thats why I reccomend an ash vac. I wonder how many of the folks that scoff at me when I suggest that and then end up with the same issue.
 
Franks said:
Thats why I reccomend an ash vac. I wonder how many of the folks that scoff at me when I suggest that and then end up with the same issue.
Click to expand...

X2 on that.....

My buddy was watching his parents house while they were on vacation. He used the shop vac instead of the ash vac and burned down there house down.........lesson learned on his part!
 
Guess someone with a higher authority was looking out for you that day. There is no problem using a shop vac with a hepa filter, but you need to exercise a little extra care when using something for things that it was not designed to do. I usually do a shut down and wait at least a few hours before using mine. On the few occasions that I could not do that, I used it as an opportunity to clean out the vac! Empty the tub into the stainless ash can outside, and wash out the hepa filter with water.
 
And never never never ever store ashes in any container on the porch. I have read over and over where homes burned down because of ashes left on the porch. An ash container needs to kept with a closed lid and on a non combustible surface and away from anything combustible. Just my 2 cents worth for whatever it may be worth!
 
Shop vacs make great pellet stoves! At least until they melt, the draft cannot be beat.
 
Czech said:
Shop vacs make great pellet stoves! At least until they melt, the draft cannot be beat.
Click to expand...

Yeah along with the nasty smell and smoke coming out of it! LOL

All laughing aside, yeah it was a dumb mistake. One you can bet will not be repeated again.
I have only had the stove 4 weeks now and the last two times I have cleaned and vacuumed it the same way. I use a screw driver or scraper and go through the fines and ash and only then will I sift through it with my hand to 'TRY' and make sure there are no warm spots left over.
 
I burned two bags last year none so far this year . I wait longer before I vacuum now .
 
Czech said:
Shop vacs make great pellet stoves! At least until they melt, the draft cannot be beat.
Click to expand...

Sure it can Czech, I did a leaf vacuum routine today and I can attest to the fact that they have a better draft than a shop vac, no I didn't catch any thing on fire. I did however locate some partially burned pellets that hadn't gone out in the ash pan. I also scared my chickens who are better than 150 feet from the venting. They didn't like that gray/black cloud that headed their way. The young ones hid under one of the coops and the big girls herded the young ones that were in their pen into their coop. A couple of the birds let me know in no uncertain terms what they thought of the leaf blower routine.
 
Yup. For this reason I shut the stove down for
at least 24 hours before using my drywall vac.
95% of the ash in the stove gets dumped in a
water bucket out in the back yard but I still
wait until it's been shut down for an entire day.
Overkill? Maybe. But it's a heck of a lot safer.
I got no problem running my furnace for that
one day a month.

Glad you're damage wasn't worse.
 
SmokeyTheBear said:
A couple of the birds let me know in no uncertain terms what they thought of the leaf blower routine.
Click to expand...
Guess it is a good thing my exhaust is at the front of the house and not at the back. My birds already cackle at me enough! Almost every time I walk out the door.
 
Xena said:
Yup. For this reason I shut the stove down for
at least 24 hours before using my drywall vac.
95% of the ash in the stove gets dumped in a
water bucket out in the back yard but I still
wait until it's been shut down for an entire day.
Overkill? Maybe. But it's a heck of a lot safer.
I got no problem running my furnace for that
one day a month.

Glad you're damage wasn't worse.
Click to expand...

Thank you!
Yes, it could have been worse in a lot of ways. Wooden tongue and grove porch, half ton of pellets sitting 5 ft from smoldering vacuum.
I do need new decking on the front porch, but not like that!
 
Major91 said:
Franks said:
Thats why I reccomend an ash vac. I wonder how many of the folks that scoff at me when I suggest that and then end up with the same issue.
Click to expand...

X2 on that.....

My buddy was watching his parents house while they were on vacation. He used the shop vac instead of the ash vac and burned down there house down.........lesson learned on his part!
Click to expand...

X3 on that...... $220 is pretty cheap insurance. No way would I risk my house to save that amount of money.
 
On the News Journals , web site Delawareonline , they had a picture of some guy standing on a part of his deck that was'nt on fire shooting a extinguisher at the back of his house that was fully engulfed. The cause was, He had put embers in a plastic bucket on his deck.,
 
ash vac best investment you can buy for the stove . $200 it was well worth it
 
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