Shovel the Ashes ! ! ! OR Not ? ? ?

[bimmerFAITH]

So, this EPA stove is much different from the old beast I burned with for the last two years. I used to have to empty the ashes every two or three days.

I have been burning for about 6 weeks now and have not needed shovel the ashes yet. Do ashes burn? Where do they go? It seems as if after only a week or so of burning, that the ashes just quit accumulating.

Anyone else experience this phenomenon?

 

[golfandwoodnut]

You might be burning less wood, but the ashes keep coming. It is good to keep a layer of ashes to insulate the coals, but sooner or later you will have to clean them out.

 

[shawneyboy]

Less wood burned = Less ashes made. Also are you burning same species of wood ?

 

[Rockey]

Sometimes the ashes get compressed a bit into a more dense layer. Almost like a brick or MILF (Mother In Laws Foot) was smashing it down. I find it happens more during the shoulder season when I'm not burning as much.

 

[maverick06]

The ashes also are more completely burned than a lot of fireplaces (and maybe stoves) burn them. Could also just have more room for the ashes in the stove, or you are burning a different type of wood. Some wood produces a lot of ash, others nearly nothing.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

So, this EPA stove is much different from the old beast I burned with for the last two years. I used to have to empty the ashes every two or three days.

I have been burning for about 6 weeks now and have not needed shovel the ashes yet. Do ashes burn? Where do they go? It seems as if after only a week or so of burning, that the ashes just quit accumulating.

Anyone else experience this phenomenon?

Yes. But the reason is this new EPA stove burns a whole lot less wood. We burn only half the amount of wood we used to so, have half the amount of ash. For your area, I certainly can believe 6 weeks burning before emptying the ashes. We haven't even had cold weather yet! But hold on, it will come.