I was wonder how often you have to clean stoves with large capacity hoppers? Sometimes I cant get home to refill and Im left with a chilly house. How long can you run large capacity hoppers before the pot needs cleaned? Can you burn through say 120lb hopper safely without backing the pot up?
Large Capacity Hoppers?
- Thread starter Turbo-Quad
- Start date
-
Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.
We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.
We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil. -
Super Cedar firestarters 30% discount Use code Hearth2024 Click here
- Status
IHATEPROPANE
Minister of Fire
I have a 140lb hopper and can go 2 days without refilling it on low. No issues at all with the burn pot over flowing. For most pellets I have to clean out the ash after 7 days.
How many lbs can you go through before cleaning it out now?
Use this amount and divide it by the hopper size your thinking about...
-or are you looking for a new stove?
Use this amount and divide it by the hopper size your thinking about...
-or are you looking for a new stove?
The hopper in the BigE is big to begin with, I think 120 or 140lbs which is one of the reasons I went with it. I need to be able to fill it and let it run in my garage for long periods of time without reloading it. I can go many days without issue if it is full to start. They also sell a kit to extend it even further but I don't see the need with my setup.
I have en Enviro Maxx in my store that we run for 7-10 days at a time without doing anything but adding pellets....and I mean anything. 7-10 days =15-20 bags of pellets. It could go longer, but I like to clean the glass sometimes. I've had a Harman P-68 with hopper extension (~130 lbs capacity) run for approx 40 bags before we sut it down to empty...did have to scrape the burnpot for about 15 seconds every day, but that was it.
How long can you go now without cleaning the pot? How big is the Non- AE hopper?
With that being a Quad.... I wouldnt think it could "build up" pellets in the pot?? My Quad has so much air, that it self cleans constantly. I pull the pot rod maybe once a week and I have burned almost 20 bags in it, since it last cleaning. Can go about 24 hrs on a hopper full (80 lbs). Cleaning comes when I get time.
If its building up pellets, there may be an underlying issue? Bad gaskets, Failing Combustion blower motor, Etc... All Quads I have seen are pretty clean (pot).
With that being a Quad.... I wouldnt think it could "build up" pellets in the pot?? My Quad has so much air, that it self cleans constantly. I pull the pot rod maybe once a week and I have burned almost 20 bags in it, since it last cleaning. Can go about 24 hrs on a hopper full (80 lbs). Cleaning comes when I get time.
If its building up pellets, there may be an underlying issue? Bad gaskets, Failing Combustion blower motor, Etc... All Quads I have seen are pretty clean (pot).
Turbo-Quad said:
Lot of good feedback here, i'd like to also point out that it is my belief that it doesn't really matter if you have a 40lb hopper or a 400lb hopper as long as you have the stove tweaked correctly and are using good fuel. I'm running a Maxx with a 120lb hopper, I can burn 400lbs easily without touching the burn-pot - with that said, i've also burn crappy pellets and had to scrape, clean, remove clinkers from the burnpot only after a crappy 40lb bag of pellets.
Even if I had an unlimited hopper capacity, that rock-hard carbon build-up would still accumulate after time, so I make it a habit of scraping the burnpot a couple times a week (between weekly cleanings) - just to keep it clear.
im gonna go out on a limb here so dont take this the wrong way.
it makes no sense to put a big hopper on a stove that cannot burn through what you can put in it without shutting it down to clean. i currently run our PAH unit and its a 120 lb hoper , i can fill it start it and forget it when its empty vac it out and repeat. im sure "big E" owners will chime in with similar claims and i would expect that to be accurate. being able to run a full hopper nonstop should be a criteria for installing the big hopper IMHO
it makes no sense to put a big hopper on a stove that cannot burn through what you can put in it without shutting it down to clean. i currently run our PAH unit and its a 120 lb hoper , i can fill it start it and forget it when its empty vac it out and repeat. im sure "big E" owners will chime in with similar claims and i would expect that to be accurate. being able to run a full hopper nonstop should be a criteria for installing the big hopper IMHO
Euromax in our showroom has a 130 lb hopper and I have run it for a week at a time without trouble. Never tried to stretch it out longer than that though.
Our Europa had a 75lb hopper , but it only needed to run at 1-2lbs per hour to keep our showroom warm. Every 2 weeks was our schedule for that one.
Our Europa had a 75lb hopper , but it only needed to run at 1-2lbs per hour to keep our showroom warm. Every 2 weeks was our schedule for that one.
On my st croix I can go 1-1 1/2 days w/out opening the front door. That is about how often a have to drop the ashes. This is done on the run. I can easily go 2 weeks, sometimes 3 weeks w/out shutting stove down. Harman P38 I can run it 1-2 weeks straight w/ minimal attention. Scrape out the burnpot on the run every so often. I would not want a stove that requires cleaning out daily. That is about like burning cordwood.
stoveguy2esw said:
x2 but then some of us would need stilts and additional hopper bracing to load up the hopper under that criteria ;-) .
SmokeyTheBear said:
I'd need at least a 14 bag hopper. Stove runs a solid week between cleanings(or far longer if I get lazy). About the only time it goes down during the week is when I forget to add fuel. And you know what happens when that happens! :red:
There is an advantage to a tall stove. Very long convection tubes and most of the heat is on the bottom. So to me it adds to the amount of heat it can transfer into the room.
imacman said:
EASY NOW big fella! maybe set the stove ion the basement , cust a hole in living room floor above the stove with a funnel to the hopper, then fill the living room up with pellets :lol:
stoveguy2esw said:
Someday will have them 2 ton silo's out in the yahd(New England for yard) and a attachment to autofill the hopper. Now if we can only find a fridge that auto loads the next case of brews?
120 lb hopper, never had to open the door mid-week, shut down and clean Friday or Saturday. generally 1 bag every 12 hours or so to keep her topped off.
- Status