Lots Of Ash

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jrsdws

Feeling the Heat
Feb 9, 2011
430
Central Illinois
Other than quality of pellet, what are some other reasons one might have alot of ash?

I just finished a one bag burn of some Pro Pellets in my Baby Countryside using the cast iron pellet pot and the longer I went in the burn, the more the ash built up in the pot...along the rim of the pot...just stacked everywhere. With that build up came a less efficient burn. My various (but constant) temp measurements all fell along the way. After letting it burn out and cool, I swept the ash and dumped the firepot into the ashpan to collect for measurement. I cleaned exactly 1 cup of ash after burning just one bag. I suppose that'd be ok if it was all going to the ashpan on it's own.

I try to adjust the damper on the fresh air intake when it starts burning well....and again after an hour of burn time. I'm trying to adjust for a blue colored flame at the coal bed with the top as white/yellow as I can get. I'm getting a good active dancing flame that doesn't seem too torchy.

As the ash builds up in the pot the flame gets more and more lazy. I am burning my pellets completely, though.

I am vented direct horizontally with a 3' run facing the east. We have a strong wind from the west. Both the fresh air intake and the vent are clean and clear of obstruction.

I'm suspect of the Pro Pellets as I notice more ash in my furnace when I mix them with corn versus the Somersets I use when colder.

After a good cleaning, I'm running a different brand through for comparison with all settings the same.
 
About the only way a stove would seem to create more ash is if it wasn't fully burning up all the fuel. But most generally, Its all whats in the fuel itself. Give it a bit more air if the glass is very dark or black.
 
The glass gets sooty later in the burn as the pot fills with ash...I guess restricting air flow. I started this burn with a little more air to see if I could prevent it from happening, but I'm very suspect of the fuel.
 
If the ash is building in the pot.... Then it could use a little more air to help "eject" it.

You have come a long way with that stove. Im sure you know it in and out. But it still sounds like a little more air will help...
 
Ohhh still learning Dex!!!! I've only got a year total under my belt burning corn and/or pellets. Everytime I think I have something figured out, it changes....usually for the better though!!

The Baby is running this load of Pennywise with a little more air and right now it seems to be better. I'm getting slightly lower heat output, but nothing significant. Come morning we'll know for sure if there will be a difference. If better, I'll run another bag of Pro Pellets through.

It's 17deg right now with a windchill of 3deg. Overnight low forcasted to be 11deg. with 20mph winds. Got the furnace cranking tonight!!
 
Pro Pellets are a pretty good fuel around here. A lot less ash than most and good heat. I dont buy them (anymore) because of Pricing. I can get Somersets for Much cheaper.

I would be patient and experiment as you have been. That is one of the best ways of doing things. Learn by Trial and Error (or your mistakes / sounds better the other way ;-P )
 
These Pro Pellets were purchased almost a year ago when I first started with my furnace so they've been put away for awhile. I bought them at different times through last January to March. I don't recall them having this much ash, so maybe it's just a batch condition.

The Pennywise are still yielding just a little bit less heat this morning. Ash is not building up inside my firepot this morning and I still have the same looking flame so I think the little bit extra air made a difference. I still have a bunch piling up on the top lip of the firepot, but I assume this is to be expected.

I'll be interested now to go back and test the Pro Pellets as well as Somersets, Lig Green Labels, SIH, and my newly found locally made softwood pellet!!!
 
I have an assortment of Somersets (22 tons) I can pick from
and so far one pallet has made more ash than the others
same heat just more ash
I easily verified this by taking some bags off another ton
and burning them, no ash
so they do vary amongst different batches
 
Storage might be the issue. ProPellets are awesome unless they were stored incorrectly. Double check that you do not have a leaky gasket or a blocked exhaust. I have found that if you CUT BACK the air they burn better. ProPellets have an awesome density unless there is a moisture issue.

Eric
 
I posted this question on the AES forum website to see what their technical department said about this:

"I purchased the cast iron pellet pot for my Baby due to the poor quality of pellets available in our area. I am burning some pellets now that are producing so much ash that during the burn I have to continue to increase my fresh air intake....to the point that it doesn't make much difference. Should I be stirring the firepot once in a while or do I have something set wrong to start? I am burning pellets complete.

As the ash build, my ability to get good heat is reduced considerably.

I am vented direct horizontally with a 3' length....wind is not a factor....fresh air intake is clear and unobstructed....vent is clear and unobstructed and only had about 5 bags of pellets burnt through it...and maybe 2bu of corn."


Their response: "The cast iron firepot works a little different than the stainless steel firepot. You will want to start the fire on the #1 or 2 setting, let the heat build up for about and hour and then run on the #2 or 3 setting. The fuel will need to be stirred and excess ash taken out at least every 12 hours. If the fuel is really bad, then maybe sooner. if it continues to be a problem you might want to put our new 2-speed high output exhaust blower on the unit, Part number CF3542 and that will help considerably with wood pellets."

Man, this seems pretty crappy to me. I'm going to try my old stainless pot with the top few rows of holes blocked to see if it does the same thing. Cast iron pot has bigger holes so it seems logical it would get more air.
 
Actually it is the force of the air coming through the burn pot that really makes the difference.

You should read this as fewer large holes and the holes should all be below or at least almost under the top of the pellets in the pot. You also do not want any space around the burn pot that allows combustion air to avoid the burn pot.

If the holes are too large ash falls below the burn pot and if the area below is blocked off from the ash pan the ash will slowly cut off the air supply then you get a bad burn going followed by pileup.

Some burn pots are their own worse enemy when it comes to ejecting ash.
 
Smokey - My coal bed stays pretty low in the pot until the ash starts to build...but I start it that way also. Should burn on a higher level for a short period of time to raise the coal bed to start?

I had been burning in my modded stainless corn pot until a little bit ago....after reading Eric's post, I cut back the air with the damper and my temperature started rising and a good looking flame was maintained......so I dumped my coal bed into my cast iron pot and changed them out.
 
jrsdws said:
Smokey - My coal bed stays pretty low in the pot until the ash starts to build...but I start it that way also. Should burn on a higher level for a short period of time to raise the coal bed to start?

I had been burning in my modded stainless corn pot until a little bit ago....after reading Eric's post, I cut back the air with the damper and my temperature started rising and a good looking flame was maintained......so I dumped my coal bed into my cast iron pot and changed them out.

I don't know how your stove does its startup, but there should be grate showing at all feed rates if things are all balanced out (fuel feed, combustion air, damper if any) the pellets should be moving in the burn pot so that the ash is blown out of the pot and can't fall below the pot. This is the dance that used to be talked about on here a lot. A number of stoves do not have the ash pan below the burn pot. These stoves usually have a receptacle the pot/liner sits in, the ash only starts building in the burn pot when the ash that drops below the pot starts interfering with the air flow.

Of course this description does not apply to pusher stoves (those that have bottom feeds and physically push the pellets into the burn area and at the same time push the spent ash away from the burn area). It takes a long while for ash to build up if you can get everything dialed in).

If you tip a puffer stove top drop feed stove into a burn that allows ash to not be ejected the temperature frequently goes up and the burn will look good only for a short while. Then the buildup can actually reach the point of damaging the burn pot, a stainless steel one will get damaged well before a cast one would.

It is all a balancing act. One can run it anyway they want provided they are prepared to deal with more cleanings, etc....
 
The Baby has a 10-15 minute starting cycle that runs fuel feed on #2 of 5....I think the combustion air is just wide open willy all the time....and the damper is manually adusted. The pot sits in a liner and the ash has been dropping through the pot and building in there. It is a drop feed stove.

I'm starting to wonder if I've generally been running with the damper too open....so I've got it shut down considerably now....getting better heat with same Pennywise pellet....it'll take some time to see what the ash does. I never had this problem with the modded stainless pot....it all started with the cast iron. I had noticed more ash with the Pro Pellets in my furnace, but they weren't this bad in the Baby until the CI pot. Maybe it all has to do with temperatures in that pot and how the air is directed.

We'll see come morning...again....how it looks.
 
Much less ash build up laying around the top lip of the burn pot this morning, and virtually none in the firepot. Could it be I had simply been running too much draft air?

I can't say for sure there is less ash total at this point as maybe it is making it down to the ash pan....but definately not causing a problem with my burn now.

I have a little sooty stuff on the glass, but I have the airwash slot partially blocked...so not a fair assessment. This afternoon I'll remove the foil tape from air wash slot and start a new bag of fuel.
 
Update: After a couple of tips from forum member barnyard840x, it looks like we're back on track. I added 5/8" flat gasket to the hopper to ensure proper seal and double checked everything else using the dollar bill test...for the billionth time..*L*

While I was at it I decided to do the leaf blower trick on the vent so I clean and vacuumed inside and opened all of the clean out plugs for cleaning then hooked up the leaf blower. It was worse than I had expected so I probably had some ash hiding and restricting my air flow.

She's burning great now and burning pellets complete with less air from outside....I even see the "pellet dance" in the burn pot.

I'm still learning the best damper position for the fresh air but off to a good start....again!!!
 
That dance is a very good indication that more of the ash will be ejected instead of falling under the pot.

Have fun with your playing.
 
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