5660 owners

[Gavin641774]

I have had my stove for over a year now and I know that taking the back panels off behind the fire brick to clean the passages for better air but tonite when I shut it down to clean it I stuck my fingers up by the heat exchanger tubes in the front of the stove where the scraper is and felt a bunch of ash,so as you pull the knob to clean the tubes you are just pulling ash and compacting it to the front of the tubes,if you feel towards the front of the stove you will feel all of the ash that is compacted, I cleaned it all out with a small paintbrush which I cut half of the handle off of to get it up in there and now the stove runs alot hotter,just something to check I guess also if you take rope gasket and plug the air wash channel you won't get as much ash on the exchanger tubes which will help this problem,stove is hot now with more air moving around the tubes.

 

[Lake Girl]

My stove also gets ash build up at front, back, and sides of heat exchanger rake. I usually take a 1" putty knife and pull ash towards center opening.

 

[CladMaster]

You will also find ash behind the center heat shield and behind the fiberglass padding, you need to remove the center fire brick to get to both. Be very careful with the fire brick and the fiberglass padding, very fragile.

 

[LordmetalZ28]

I use a shop vac with a dry wall filter it has enough suction power to get the ash by the tubes. I also brush the exchanger tubes with a boiler brush daily

 

[Gavin641774]

I also use a shop vac with a drywall filter, it is a stinger brand bought at home depot,shut the stove down wait 10 or 15 minutes then vaccum then set outside has not caught on fire yet and twice as good as a regular ash vac about 25 dollars and does a good job

 

[LordmetalZ28]

I also use a shop vac with a drywall filter, it is a stinger brand bought at home depot,shut the stove down wait 10 or 15 minutes then vaccum then set outside has not caught on fire yet and twice as good as a regular ash vac about 25 dollars and does a good job

I guess I better run my fingers up there and check that. ThAnks for bringing this to light

 

[LordmetalZ28]

I dont remember seeing fiber glass padding behind the brick panels. Just two metal plates. The center plate appears to be permanently fixed.

 

[CladMaster]

If you take out the side plates the center plate will come out.

 

[Gavin641774]

I wasn't able to remove my center plate either

 

[Gavin641774]

Yes if you just stick your fingers up by where the heat exchangers are coming out th from the front of the stove from the inside you will be amazed how much ash there is I got about three cups so from now on I'm not even going to use my exchanger cleaner I'm just using a paint brush to clean my tubes then hopefully the ash won't be so compacted in there if they didn't have that inch or so lip there it wouldn't compact like that.

 

[Lake Girl]

Yes if you just stick your fingers up by where the heat exchangers are coming out th from the front of the stove from the inside you will be amazed how much ash there is I got about three cups so from now on I'm not even going to use my exchanger cleaner I'm just using a paint brush to clean my tubes then hopefully the ash won't be so compacted in there if they didn't have that inch or so lip there it wouldn't compact like that.

Would still use the exchanger rake - ash will build up on the top of the tubes and become hardened. It only takes a small amount of ash to reduce efficiency... Just one more thing to add to the cleaning routine periodically - usually once a week here.

 

[CladMaster]

I use a small tube attached to my vac to suck all the ash out from that lip at the front before I use the exchanger rake, and then I vac it again just to make sure, I do it at every cleanout.

I also use the two side cleanout ports on the side to dislodge ash, I use the exhaust out of my vac as a blower in one of the side ports (or both) with the stove all closed up so that ash and dust does not fill the room up, it stays in the stove.

The other thing you got to watch is the air wash vent that keeps the glass clean, ash falls into the vent slot, again, it gets blown out with the vac with short burst of air, it does make a little mess, so be careful when you do this.

 

[LordmetalZ28]

So I checked that front lip this morning during my daily cleaning and wow is all I can say. Totally plugged with ash and ive only had the stove 2 months. What a dumb design. Anyway I used a small boiler brush I had laying around from my hvac days and it was still a fight but I believe I got most of it. Kinda makes me wonder whats flying around the right and left side of the exchanger tubes where theres no access at all to clean back there. Now this airwash thing is new tom me can somebody post a picture of this airwash thing and plugging it with gasket. I see nothing of the sort on my 5660

 

[CladMaster]

So I checked that front lip this morning during my daily cleaning and wow is all I can say. Totally plugged with ash and ive only had the stove 2 months. What a dumb design. Anyway I used a small boiler brush I had laying around from my hvac days and it was still a fight but I believe I got most of it. Kinda makes me wonder whats flying around the right and left side of the exchanger tubes where theres no access at all to clean back there. Now this airwash thing is new tom me can somebody post a picture of this airwash thing and plugging it with gasket. I see nothing of the sort on my 5660

Airwash vent lower edge of the door when the stove door is closed.

 

[CladMaster]

So I checked that front lip this morning during my daily cleaning and wow is all I can say. Totally plugged with ash and ive only had the stove 2 months. What a dumb design. Anyway I used a small boiler brush I had laying around from my hvac days and it was still a fight but I believe I got most of it. Kinda makes me wonder whats flying around the right and left side of the exchanger tubes where theres no access at all to clean back there. Now this airwash thing is new tom me can somebody post a picture of this airwash thing and plugging it with gasket. I see nothing of the sort on my 5660

Left and right brick panels - remove them.

Now you will see two metal plates with one screw in each -- remove these and the plates.

Now you can get to the top left and right where them tubes are and the two ash trap shelves.

 

[LordmetalZ28]

Left and right brick panels - remove them.

Now you will see two metal plates with one screw in each -- remove these and the plates.

Now you can get to the top left and right where them tubes are and the two ash trap shelves.

Good to know. Ill keep this I mind next time I pull the rear walls for cleaning. And thanks for the photo. Ill play around with that airwash.

 

[LordmetalZ28]

I decided to fabricate something quick to get in there and suck up all that ash instead of fighting it with a little paint brush or boiler brush. I scratched up the fake brick panels some so i needed some other way to approach this. A little bit of 3/8 fuel oil line bent to get back there and reach the pockets. Works like a charm

 

[LordmetalZ28]

attaches to my shop vac