The 2010-11 season started on Oct 31. Friday, Nov 26 I removed 2 gallons of ash.
My procedure . . .
As the fire cools down, keep raking coals to the back. Take care to not push ash to the back. In the front, keep raking carefully so that the ash glows. Once the water drops to say 140, rake the coals to a back corner. Then pull ash from the opposite back corner, to the front. Then move coals from one side to the other in the back. Pull ash forward from the other back corner.
There should now be a small bed of coals across the back. Load this with 3 small rounds so that you can maintain a fire. Continue to rack the ash in the front until it is minimized.
With the fire cooled, remove ash from the front. I use a handle-less spade. 4 scoops equaled 2 gallons (yup, I measured). I put a piece of SS masonry lath on the bucket. This will catch most metal and unspent fuel. Return the unspent fuel to the combustion chamber.
Now, having said all that, let me be clear.
Removing ash from the GW always leads to a troublesome fire. It seems to take 24-36 hours to right itself. I forgot to mention, only remove ash from the GW when you have a warming trend coming. My observation has been that, after removing ash, the fuel tends to burn up which means away from the coals. This doesn't produce heat nor new coals very well.
Some things I do to try to minimize the need for ash removal:
1) Avoid visibly wet wood. Even 24 hours spent inside next to the unit will help.
2)Avoid putting fuel into the unit that has ice on it. I know . . .DUH!, right?!?
3)Avoid over-filling. (Much easier said than done)
4)Do not put fresh fuel on top of partially burned fuel. If you do not open the load door until the water °F drops below your low set point (170 typically) this will eliminate premature loading.
Generally I would mention that you have to resist the urge to reach in a take out 'ash' on a regular basis. Especially now with it not spending much time below 30, keep the fuel to the back half of the CC. Use the front half of the CC for ashes. Stir them every time you load. This stirring will keep the ash from accumulating.
Horror story for ya. Probably one that every other GW operator can echo. First season. "why won't the %^@(& fire keep my water at 180?" In my case it was crappy wood and other operator errors. At least once a week I see the ash/coals up to and sometimes above the air inlets. Reach in, scoop stuff out, rekindle etc, with the typical 24-36 hour down time. go 5 days, repeat.
Just my observations
Jimbo
My procedure . . .
As the fire cools down, keep raking coals to the back. Take care to not push ash to the back. In the front, keep raking carefully so that the ash glows. Once the water drops to say 140, rake the coals to a back corner. Then pull ash from the opposite back corner, to the front. Then move coals from one side to the other in the back. Pull ash forward from the other back corner.
There should now be a small bed of coals across the back. Load this with 3 small rounds so that you can maintain a fire. Continue to rack the ash in the front until it is minimized.
With the fire cooled, remove ash from the front. I use a handle-less spade. 4 scoops equaled 2 gallons (yup, I measured). I put a piece of SS masonry lath on the bucket. This will catch most metal and unspent fuel. Return the unspent fuel to the combustion chamber.
Now, having said all that, let me be clear.
Removing ash from the GW always leads to a troublesome fire. It seems to take 24-36 hours to right itself. I forgot to mention, only remove ash from the GW when you have a warming trend coming. My observation has been that, after removing ash, the fuel tends to burn up which means away from the coals. This doesn't produce heat nor new coals very well.
Some things I do to try to minimize the need for ash removal:
1) Avoid visibly wet wood. Even 24 hours spent inside next to the unit will help.
2)Avoid putting fuel into the unit that has ice on it. I know . . .DUH!, right?!?
3)Avoid over-filling. (Much easier said than done)
4)Do not put fresh fuel on top of partially burned fuel. If you do not open the load door until the water °F drops below your low set point (170 typically) this will eliminate premature loading.
Generally I would mention that you have to resist the urge to reach in a take out 'ash' on a regular basis. Especially now with it not spending much time below 30, keep the fuel to the back half of the CC. Use the front half of the CC for ashes. Stir them every time you load. This stirring will keep the ash from accumulating.
Horror story for ya. Probably one that every other GW operator can echo. First season. "why won't the %^@(& fire keep my water at 180?" In my case it was crappy wood and other operator errors. At least once a week I see the ash/coals up to and sometimes above the air inlets. Reach in, scoop stuff out, rekindle etc, with the typical 24-36 hour down time. go 5 days, repeat.
Just my observations
Jimbo
