how often should i let the fire die out and clean ashes?

[velvetfoot]

We've been burning 24/7 for a while now and removing ashes and retaining coals always is a little dance: keep the hot coals, remove the ash, without getting everything in the house dusty. As a Christmas gift, my daughter got me these items which makes this process significantly easier with SO much less mess:

Ember Extractor and Ash Scoop

At first I thought these were a little too fussy and over the top but, they are really great. They cost a little bit but hey, I don't get yelled at about ash dust in the laundry room anymore.

How well does the ember extractor work, if I may ask. I have the the scooper.

PS: This warm spell has been great for letting the coals burn down into ash.

 

[farmking5088]

I burn 24/7 and love the swing out ash door that I empty once a week while stove is going

Same with my TL 300 love the big ash pan, empty once every two weeks and im done.

 

[velvetfoot]

Barely enough ashes to empty, but I emptied them anyway!

 

[woodsman416]

I was just going to ask advice on what people do with the ashes once they are cold/no longer a fire hazard. I've been keeping mine in a large steel ash can (tightly covered) which is starting to get pretty full. Does spreading the ashes over the lawn have any benefit?

I dump them in my garden. They'll get tilled into the ground in the spring.

 

[HotCoals]

The ash does contain potash.

 

[lopiliberty]

I usually empty mine every Thursday and by that time they are usually starting to fall out the door. I let the stove go completely ice cold, cause if I try to remove ashes when its hot no matter how careful I am I get a house full of ash dust. When the stoves cold no dust what so ever. After the full bucket of ashes has sat outside on the patio for a few days I carry them up on the hill behind the house and dump them

 

[tfdchief]

One of my least favorite jobs, so usually the ash/coal bed is pretty deep, sloping toward the door, and no other choice. Then I have a small shovel that I place deep below the coals and lift and shake slightly until the coals fall off into the stove. And then I dump the shovel full of ash. I have done it that way for 40 years and by doing so, I don't have to wait until all the coals are burned down. Beware, you need a good pair of gloves to do it this way.

 

[Christopix]

How well does the ember extractor work, if I may ask. I have the the scooper.

PS: This warm spell has been great for letting the coals burn down into ash.

I feel that the ember extractor works better than I thought it would. I appreciate that it allows me to tend to the coals/ash quickly so as I have the door open for shorter times, letting less heat out. It makes quick work of sifting out the larger embers still good for heat (or still glowing) and allows ash and small pebble sized stuff to fall through. I pile up everything on one side of my stove, then sift and toss the good embers to the opposite side.

I find it useful too in that its rake/hoe quickly allows me to bring hot coals to the front of the stove AND to make a center tunnel (tunnel of love as its been called on here) from front to back in one quick motion. I lay one larger/flat split over this tunnel and tuck some other splits around it, and she is off.

The Ash Scoop is expensive. But its just too easy to clean out the ashes quickly and with no dust or burned hands. I figure both items will last me quite a while.

 

[velvetfoot]

Thanks.

 

[OldLumberKid]

I burn 24/7 too find it best to basically empty ash every morning or every couple days in the morning. Just take a few scoops out every day or other day and keep your red hots. I can't afford to let anything die down so I work around the hot ones and the ash best as possible

Reminds me of a recent conversation with my mum. In the 60's before we had gas fired centrl heating (beginning probably sometime in the late 60's) they used to keep the coal furnace going night and day. No idea when they removed the ashes though. I'll ask next time.

 

[Wood Duck]

I have to remove mine about twice a week or else they start taking up too much space in the stove. Also, when they get more than a couple of inches deep they can start to block the doghouse air supply, and that air is critical to the proper functioning of my stove.

I put some of the ash in the garden, especially ash that has a lot of charcoal in it, because the charcoal is good for the soil. The ash has potash in it, but is also rather alkaline, and I don't need any extra alkalinity in my garden so I don't put too much. Over the course of a winter there is too much ash for my garden and compost pile, so a lot of the ash gets spread in the woods. I don't put it on the lawn because the dog would track it into the house.