Ash Variability

[hoverwheel]

I've been running an older EF2 most of this winter.

It goes a week at a time before needing a solid cleaning. Three bags a day will nearly fill the good sized ash pan by the end of the week.

I've burned several brands of pellets and I know that in some cases they're the same pellets by the same maker in different bags. Some hardwood some softwood some mixed. Some light some dark... No matter what they look like, labelled like or even cost, that pan has about the same amount of ash at the end of the week.

Is the amount of ash produced wholly dependent on the pellet or is the stoves efficiency a factor too?

I endlessly read how this pellet or that produces more or less ash but I just don't see it. What am I missing?

 

[GeHmTS]

All this pellet stuff is hog wash. Ash is a natural by product of combustion and will always be present. The real question is are you getting the heat you need. If so, then you seemed to be doing fine.

 

[Bill L]

There was a HUGE difference in amount of ash for me when I switched from Vermont softwoods to Energex/Lignetics hardwoods. The Vermonts have somewhere around .3% ash where the Energex was .7%, more than twice as much. This was directly observed in having to empty my shallow insert ash pan at about half the time with the Vermonts. The inside of the stove burn chamber also gets a lot more ash buildup in the corners, sides etc. you may not notice it as much between pellets with slightly different ash content, but a really low ash pellet makes a difference

 

[GeHmTS]

does a low ash pellet show a noticeable difference in heat.

 

[hoverwheel]

Not so much worried about ash but curious. I feel it is putting out the heat it is supposed to (although I don't have an output thermometer). I'd love it if it put out even more heat for the same pellets of course!

I expected to get more or less ash with different brands but to me it all seems to put out about the same.

 

[Adios Pantalones]

Not a pellet person, but if even if you double the amount of ash produced, that still represents something like less than a 1% difference in the efficiency of conversion from pellet to heat. So- can you really notice the difference if you- say- changed the feed rate by 1%?

 

[Snowy Rivers]

The type of stove and the style of burn pot makes a huge difference in the ash residue.

Our Quadrafire 1000 runs like a blow torch with very high pot temps and a lot of forced combustion air, and thus the fire is very hot and consumes more of the fuel.

The downside is the glass like clinker in the fire pot after a period of time.

Snowy

 

[alternativeheat]

I've been running an older EF2 most of this winter.

It goes a week at a time before needing a solid cleaning. Three bags a day will nearly fill the good sized ash pan by the end of the week.

I've burned several brands of pellets and I know that in some cases they're the same pellets by the same maker in different bags. Some hardwood some softwood some mixed. Some light some dark... No matter what they look like, labelled like or even cost, that pan has about the same amount of ash at the end of the week.

Is the amount of ash produced wholly dependent on the pellet or is the stoves efficiency a factor too?

I endlessly read how this pellet or that produces more or less ash but I just don't see it. What am I missing?

I thought the ash content was daily consistent with label on the bag. When it says less than 1% I got a little more ash than when it said '5 etc. And Okanagan DF a lot less. Then I hit on Natures Own where the label said less than 1% and got neatly 3 weeks worth of ash in 5 days. They were so ashy and low heat I returned the remaining 6 bags I had of them.

 

[hoverwheel]

Could it be my stove isn't operating hot enough to burn the pellets completely (even if the residue looks just like ash)?

This stove is quite old. Maybe the combustion blower isn't moving as much air as it should. I know the fire looks more "relaxed" than the fire in the newer stoves in the house. (but not having the black or blue flame tips mentioned in some of the stickies)

 

[Bill L]

Yes, you will get more ash with a poor burn, especially if you are pushing partially burned pellets out of the pot. I had that problem when I first switched to hardwoods. One good adjustment on the draft and it was much better

 

[Polar Bear]

I'm dying to find a low ash pellet around here. I wouldn't have to open the door other than for the weekly cleaning.

 

[Lake Girl]

does a low ash pellet show a noticeable difference in heat.

You should start reading your bags of pellets or researching for a testing analysis (Twin Ports is the common one). The Heartlands are approximately 8400 BTU on average; Indeck burns "up to 8,250" BTU. While I can't find any testing info for BTUs for Indeck, I do have double the ash than I do with the Heartlands for the same burn period. Heartlands are a softwood while Indecks are hardwood...

Edit: Yes, outside temps are comparable...

 

[GeHmTS]

No need to for me to do any research. I'm satisfied with my heat. I'm surely not going to start doing other people's research. My question is mainly rhetorical.

 

[boo boo]

I have been burning FSU pellets all year. The first lott was made 10-13 and the second in 12-13. The ash went way down with this new merge. May get an extra day before cleaning.

 

[hoverwheel]

Interestingly my last pellet purchase was 20 bags of LA Crete and 10 of Satisfaction. Both softwood which I've never burned before.

The EF2 has way less ash than usual for this time of week. 1.5 days on logik-ê followed by 3 of the LA Crete. I should have mountains and don't.