Too many coals in an insert after 18 hours of cooling down

[KeepWarmInWinter]

RHLA,
You are not “out of place hereâ€. The Hearth.com needs a poster like you who will put-down inexperience burners to stop their worries and exaggerations.
You right the best is to keep the coals burning up. But still from time to time there is need to remove ashes without coals. A challenge is to do it quickly and without of dust and big mess. The ideal tool would be a shovel with wire mesh for sifting the ashes. I have searched Internet for a fine perforated shovel but could not fine anything like that. A spiral skimmer (not exactly my idea) is just a test tool. This is way how all handy tools were invented and improved.

 

[DBoon]

I have an Answer stove. I like this stove a lot, but it seems that it doesn't get as much air to the back of the stove as maybe some other stoves. Sometimes, I find that the bottom back log will not get burned down nearly as much as the front logs or the top back log.

Here is what I do to keep the coaling under control:
1. I make a bunch of small 1/2" square and ~6" long pieces of wood from my short cutoffs. Before loading the bottom, back log, I put one of these in the back standing upright. It keeps an airspace between the log and the firebrick and helps it burn better. If it's not too cold, the bottom, back log will be a softer piece of hardwood (not sugar maple or hickory).
2. When I load, I put the larger logs in the front and the smaller ones in the back - backwards to what most people on the site will tell you, but it reduces the coals in the back during overnight burns. With the big log in front and the smaller ones in back, the burn overall seems to be more even.
3. In the mornings, I use an old garden rake head to rake the coals forward, then I give it full primary air. If it's a weekend (or the end of an evening burn), I'll put a pine 2x4 or some other small pine splits on top to keep it hot and to burn the coals down.
4. With the coals raked forward, I'll repeat with step one above.

I have a pair of long welder's gloves that reach to my elbows, so I use these when I am loading, to rake the coals forward, and to put the small piece of wood in the back. Without these, I don't think you could do what I do.

Even with all that, I find coals can build up, but never excessively (tops 1-2" on the bottom). If it's convenient, I'll spent a few hours burning them down with pine splits on top, full primary air, or maybe even open the door a little bit to get even more air in there.

Maybe the wood you are burning has just a little too much moisture content. My first year of burning, I had more coaling problem than I do now. The fact that your stove top is 400 degrees tells me that you are burning a little cool. Mine will be 600 degrees with sugar maple, 650 degrees with hickory (full loads) when full secondary combustion.

Good luck. PM me if you wish.