how often do you remove ash?

[Backwoods Savage]

We like to leave plenty of ash in the stove. As to how often we clean the ashes, it is too variable to set a limit. During the coldest part of winter we will empty ashes maybe every 4th day. So far this fall I think we've done it twice. Probably if I had to guess an average for the heating season it would be weekly.

Most folks empty their ashes way too often and most also do not leave enough ash in the stove. We hear a lot about them being dirty so they want them out of the house and they also make such a mess, etc, etc. Well, they are not dirty (you can even use them to clean the black off the glass) and they need not be a mess. You can handle the ashes do you get no dust.....but not if you hurry. Do it slow and never drop the ashes off the shovel into the container. Gently lower the shovel down and then gently slide the shovel out from under the ashes. No dust, no mess.

 

[Dune]

Because of this thread, I decided to empty my ashes this morning. That should get me into the January thaw, without having too small a firebox some cold night before then. I will and always do, leave a couple inches in the bottom to protect the stove.

 

[basswidow]

I am guilty of removing the ash daily for the most part. Sometimes I'll let it go for a few days. When I travel, my wife burns 24/7 without removing the ash or cleaning the glass for 2 weeks at a time.

My morning routine is " I stir up the coals and move them to the side of the fire box. Take a sponge with ash to wipe the dust off the glass, and scoop out the ash. Put the coals to the center of the box and load in more wood with the air opened up". I thought this was the right way to do things?

What is the benefit of leaving alot of ash in the stove to inulate the coals?

Some of the ash is white and fluffy. In the core of the stove the ash is dark gray and like fine powder. That dark stuff has a ton of heat coming off it. Maybe I should leave it? When it's in my ash pail, I will leave it on the hearth for awhile - since it's giving off some really good heat.

 

[raybonz]

I am guilty of removing the ash daily for the most part. Sometimes I'll let it go for a few days. When I travel, my wife burns 24/7 without removing the ash or cleaning the glass for 2 weeks at a time.

My morning routine is " I stir up the coals and move them to the side of the fire box. Take a sponge with ash to wipe the dust off the glass, and scoop out the ash. Put the coals to the center of the box and load in more wood with the air opened up". I thought this was the right way to do things?

What is the benefit of leaving alot of ash in the stove to inulate the coals?

Some of the ash is white and fluffy. In the core of the stove the ash is dark gray and like fine powder. That dark stuff has a ton of heat coming off it. Maybe I should leave it? When it's in my ash pail, I will leave it on the hearth for awhile - since it's giving off some really good heat.

A layer of ash helps the stove run better for some reason and also is a good insulator to help protect the bottom of the stove.. I just removed some ash and left maybe an inch behind since the stove is cold and it is warm out here today.. Right now it's 56 degrees here which is amazing for Dec. 1st.. I leave my ash bin on the hearth for a week minimum to ensure it's cold before dumping it and then I like to dump in the woods in front of my house onto wet or snow covered ground..

Ray

 

[firefighterjake]

I am guilty of removing the ash daily for the most part. Sometimes I'll let it go for a few days. When I travel, my wife burns 24/7 without removing the ash or cleaning the glass for 2 weeks at a time.

My morning routine is " I stir up the coals and move them to the side of the fire box. Take a sponge with ash to wipe the dust off the glass, and scoop out the ash. Put the coals to the center of the box and load in more wood with the air opened up". I thought this was the right way to do things?

What is the benefit of leaving alot of ash in the stove to inulate the coals? The benefit is that the ash preserves the coals . . . my own feeling is that generally an inch or two will suffice . . . with fireboxes you will reach a point of diminishing return where too much ash in the firebox means less space for the wood . . . too little ash and you don't get the preserving properties.


Some of the ash is white and fluffy. In the core of the stove the ash is dark gray and like fine powder. That dark stuff has a ton of heat coming off it. Maybe I should leave it? When it's in my ash pail, I will leave it on the hearth for awhile - since it's giving off some really good heat. Uh . . . not a big fan of leaving hot coals/ash inside the home . . . even if it is in a covered ash pail . . . I would be a bit concerned on the fire/CO hazard possibilities . . . maybe it's just me going overboard with safety, but there is no way I want hot coals inside my house.

 

[Dune]

Metal garbage cans are perfect for ashes. With a tight fitting cover one will last for many years, even outside.

 

[basswidow]

Uh . . . not a big fan of leaving hot coals/ash inside the home . . . even if it is in a covered ash pail . . . I would be a bit concerned on the fire/CO hazard possibilities . . . maybe it's just me going overboard with safety, but there is no way I want hot coals inside my house.

[/quote]

Thanks - because I wondered about that (fumes) and I respect your input being a fireman.

I use a small galvanized trash can and when I say awhile, it's mostly no more then 10-15 minutes - while I finish my chores. The heat coming off it seems a shame to waste (perhaps thats why I should leave the ash in the stove). I have a 5 year old, so I also don't want something that HOT where he could touch it - so it's monitored (I would never leave the room while the ash bucket is there). The bucket is sitting on the stone hearth while I get the fire going and then it goes outside onto my porch away from the siding. When the house is cold in the morning from the fire running down, it's nice to warm up to that bucket while I get the fire roaring again!

I only scoop out the fluffy white ash and the gray fine powder into the bucket. I keep the coals in the stove. But I will take your advise to heart. Thanks.

 

[Kenster]

On recommendations from this forum, I started letting my ashes really build up this year. Several burns of half loads in the evening then fill-it-to-the-gills for an overnight burn. The ash is really thick now. I've been burning really big splits of well seasoned hickory, topped with smaller splits of some fantastic water oak. In the morning I'm finding very large and plentiful hickory coals and a stove top temp of 300 or better, where, in the past, the stove would be barely warm with hardly any coals at all.

A thicker ash bed is working for me!

 

[joefrompa]

Another member on here had a CO detector go off recently for leaving ashes in an uncovered area for 15 minutes inside his house.

Since reading that, I don't mess around. All ashes go outside on a masonry area.

 

[basswidow]

Another member on here had a CO detector go off recently for leaving ashes in an uncovered area for 15 minutes inside his house.

Since reading that, I don't mess around. All ashes go outside on a masonry area.

Damn,

See this is why I love this place. Good info I didn't know.

Guess I'll be taking a break on the ash removal, and when I do - they'll go straight out.

 

[Flatbedford]

I empty the Fireview weekly or so. More often in the colder weather, less in the milder weather. I leave an inch or so in the stove. I scoop the ashes into a steel bucket and dump them in a steel trash can with a tight fitting lid that is outside sitting on bricks. If there is snow on the ground, I dump the ashes on the snow drift at the end of the driveway. I empty the trash can when it is full and I have not added to it for a week or so, and if possible, I dump those ashes on snow too.
In the colder months, I have been known to dump a bucket full of coals in the outside can to make room for more wood in the stove. My drafty old house is just beyond the heating capabilities of the Fireview during a good cold snap, and excess coaling is a problem for us.

 

[SWNH]

I empty my ash pan daily

+1

If I wait for 2 days, it's overflowing.

 

[joefrompa]

I wanted to share that I ran a fire Tuesday morning and went to clean it out wednesday night (about 36 hours). I had some air flow going into the firebox and the damper was closed - basically, it was setup for an overnight burn that didn't actually last overnight.

Anyway, I hadn't touched the stove since that Tuesday morning. It had a solid 3" of ash throughout.

When I went over to the stove to clean it, I felt the top - still very warm! That's 400 pounds of steel sitting in an exterior masonry chimney at about 100-125 degrees after that long. Very nice.

Then I go to clean out the ash - Holy moly! I've got huge chunks of coals everywhere underneath all that ash. When I uncovered it all, the inside of my stove was radiating HEAT outwards. I couldn't believe this - all buried in ash. If I raked it all together, it probably would've been enough for a hot start using some quality small kindling. That's after 36 hours since the last load.

I attribute this to a very serious ash bed of a few inches, which I will now be allowing more often

Joe

Edit: And just in case you think I've got some sort of super dense ultra wood - I haven't been able to consistently achieve an 8 hour burn time. Usually after 8 hours my stove is at 150 degrees with pretty mild coals leftover.

 

[shawneyboy]

Anyway, I hadn't touched the stove since that Tuesday morning. It had a solid 3" of ass throughout.
Joe

Man solid 3" of ass??? I don't know if that is a good or a bad thing.

 

[SWNH]

Anyway, I hadn't touched the stove since that Tuesday morning. It had a solid 3" of ass throughout.

That is just wrong on so many levels...

 

[joefrompa]

Nothing insulates as well as that...

Fixed it.