RE: Ash Vac

[firefighterjake]

Well it's probably well past due, but I wanted to just mention that after having run the AshVac that I won in a contest I am pretty darned pleased with how well it worked.

It was a bit noisy and is pricey to purchase, but worked really well in helping my weekly to bi-weekly clean up of the hearth and stove . . . clean up time was greatly reduced and having the added safety of an actual ash vac was certainly nice.

An added bonus I noticed was that typically ash gets into the air control doghouse of the Oslo and jams up the air control lever. In the past I would disassemble the doghouse two, maybe three times, each year and lubricate the lever with powdered graphite which worked very well. However, with regular cleaning of the ash vac I never ran into the problem of the air control jamming up.

In any case . . . I guess I would sum up by saying that if this ash vac died there is a pretty good chance I would pony up the extra money for another one.

 

[Ashful]

Cool! I picked up a small shop vac (so I don't need to drag the big, dirty one in from the shop) for vacuuming around the stove(s), and odd jobs like Christmas tree needles. Never knew there was a vac made specifically for ash!

 

[MasterMech]

.... Never knew there was a vac made specifically for ash!

Only 'cause you haven't spent the winter here with us on Hearth.com yet. Just wait, the Ash Vac threads are coming....

 

[DexterDay]

Cool! I picked up a small shop vac (so I don't need to drag the big, dirty one in from the shop) for vacuuming around the stove(s), and odd jobs like Christmas tree needles. Never knew there was a vac made specifically for ash!

I use a Shop Vac on Ash (have a Ash vac too) for my pellet stoves....

There are 2 things you must do if your using a Shop Vac for ash.....
1.) You MUST be sure that the ashes are "Cold" and no embers exist within.
2.) Filtration - If your using just the stock filter, then be prepared to wipe your whole house down. Ash will be everywhere! ! Make sure you buy a HEPA filter and a Fine filtration bag (drywall dust bag for inside the vac). Your Wife will thank you.


Some ash vacs are made better than others. Some cost over $300.... I bought a Cleva from Menards for $50. The hose is to short (IMO / 4 ft) and the suction is about 1/3rd of what my Mid-size Whop vac has. I use a 6 gallon with 3.5 HP, HEPA filter, and Drywall bag.

For the pellet stoves it works great. For the Wood stove, I dont vac the ash. I shovel and have a Vac hose sitting at the top of the bucket (to suck all the light fly ash). I still get the Dog house, but just wait till it goes cold

Lots of options..... Just be careful if using a Shop Vac. Ash vacs are not designed gor sucking coals either. They use the words "warm ash" in there description. So if you do buy a $300 ash vac, dont just pop open the door and start sucking coals! !! Its designed to withstand an ember here and there. But even there matal protected flame proof filters, will smoke you out pf a house..

Jake, Glad you like yours. Im sure I would enjoy mine if it was a slightly better model. I'm a firm believer in you get what you pay for.

 

[weatherguy]

I had one since I used to have a pellet stove, I only use it a few times a year to clean up the ash that spills out from cleaning the stove and at the end of the year when I make my stove look shiny and new.