ALL PELLET STOVE OWNERS/GOTTA QUESTION FOR YOU!

[DarbyDog]

My question is about VENT-PIPE ASH! How often do you clean it out during the winter and what method do you use to do so? I have a very old Whitfield Quest pellet stove (first pellet stove ever mass marketed) that came with the home we purchased almost twenty years ago, It's in the basement, but I only started using it full-time this winter because i moved my office there. Refurbished it last year and it's working fantastically well now and it's a blessing against the sub-zero temps we get here in the Colorado Rockies. However, after the first 45 days or so of using it, I inspected the vent-pipe tip for any kind of buildup and, low and behold--lots of dry ash. I'm estimating possibly twenty percent closure of the lumen. So of course, I disassembled the exterior vent pipes and brushed them all out real good. It was all DRY ash, no gooey stuff, so that was reassuring. And I'm using what I think are high-quality pellets, so I'm not at the moment worried too much about creosote buidup. I also used a Shop Vac to pull ash out of the exhaust path. BUT...now I'm kind of focused on keeping the vent pipes from clogging up from ash. And I'm now wondering what the consequences of a semi-complete closure of the vent pipe would be. Surprisingly, I haven't run across very much discussion of this subject online anywhere; maybe I'm just not digging deep enough. But anyway, I'd like some opinions from other pellet stove owners on this.

 

[jackman]

Welcome to the forum. I clean out my vent pipe once/year or after 2 tons of pellets burned. The vent has a screen with large openings (1") where it exhausts and does require me to remove for cleaning but the buildup is usually not significant. The screen is necessary to keep the critters out of the pipe in the off season. Perhaps the screen on the end of your vent pipe is too small.

I've never had an issue with ash clogging up in the pipe. Most of the ash ends up in the trap at the bottom of the pipe where it meets the stove. If I detect signs of lazy flame or incomplete combustion I know it's time for a deep cleaning including the vent pipe. A good properly sized stove brush does the job.

 

[johneh]

I clean mine twice a year . Once in the spring, when heating season is over
and again in September to check for nests, critters or wasp/bee nests
My chimney is 10 ft. of class A 6 in insulated chimney and 5 ft. 3-inch double-wall
pellet pipe . Top down with a 6-inch poly brush and 3-inch done with a 3 inch poly brush
The ash is vacuumed out at the clean-out tee back of the stove

 

[ARC]

I clean mine twice a year sometime in January (19th) this year my horizontal run was about 1/2 full and fire was starting to act lazy.
Shut down do usual cleaning then I used leaf blower to suck out ash from vent pipe. You need a leaf blower that has the vacuum funtion and suck ash out not blow in. Search pellet stove leaf blower trick on this forum or on utube.

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/mid-season-internal-cleaning.209201/

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[Washed-Up]

Same as above although when I know a cold snap is coming I’ll do a thorough cleaning then leaf blower trick and use an air compressor with fine nozzle in the fire box.

 

[Dataman]

Clean mine about once a year in Spring. Use Brush and then Leaf Blower. This year not going to clean it. Got Low Temp Heat Pump. Burned 1.5 bags of pellets. So no need to do it. (Midea G3 Evox Unit - 3 Tons). I replaced Wood Stove spring of 2018 with Harmon XXV. So I have 8" Pipe for Chimney. Some ash collects in pipe going out the wall. Brush and Leaf Blower solve that quite nicely. Learning this new Heat Pump (Replace 2001 Unit that was OLD and did not work well past 30f). Elec Use this Month is actually down from last year. Very Warm Winter. Almost 10% less electricity used. "Jan 2025, 5623kw used vs Jan 2026 4753kw. Saving the costs for 3 Tons of Pellets so far. I have used it when I wanted quicker temp rise in Living Room. Few hours then turn off.

Your bill is 9.49% lower than last year.

 

[Jeremy6500]

I use a leaf blower to clean the vent. Does a great job. Both my stove vents are easy to get at, so I use the leaf blower on them about once a month. Probably overkill, but the cleaner the stoves are the better they function.

 

[Washed-Up]

I use a leaf blower to clean the vent. Does a great job. Both my stove vents are easy to get at, so I use the leaf blower on them about once a month. Probably overkill, but the cleaner the stoves are the better they function.

The cleaner the stove…the hotter the heat

 

[tbear853]

I use my big yard vac / blower once each year unless it shows need for more.

 

[bogieb]

I clean mine 2-3 times a year, not counting end of season. In fact, I need to do the P61a since it has been on continuous burn for the last 2+ weeks (I usually run it off of thermostat so it cycles on/off). I tend to burn middling pellets that produce a lot of ash and I evaluate the exhaust every time I empty the ash can and clean the inside of the stove.

 

[Ricks]

Depending on the quality of the pellets I will take a leaf blower to the exhaust twice a winter. I burn about two tons burning 24/7.

Keep in mind that while the Whitfield Quest is a great stove it does have a design flaw. Two of the exhaust paths cannot be accessed or cleaned directly.

I contacted the manufacturer who purchased the company when Whitfield sold and their solution was to drill two holes in the back of the firebox. I wasn’t too keen on drilling holes in my stove.

The easiest and fastest way to clean these passages is with a leaf blower. I know that sounds messy and scary but you are using the suction side of the leaf blower to pull air through the stove and out the exhaust.

Search for the leaf blower trick on this site there are several videos showing how it is done.

 

[tbear853]

Depending on the quality of the pellets I will take a leaf blower to the exhaust twice a winter. I burn about two tons burning 24/7.

.... etc ...

The easiest and fastest way to clean these passages is with a leaf blower. I know that sounds messy and scary but you are using the suction side of the leaf blower to pull air through the stove and out the exhaust.

Search for the leaf blower trick on this site there are several videos showing how it is done.

Yes, I see that I didn't specify.
Stove is off and cool ... I like to hook the round suction pipe on the vacuum end, no bag on the tapered blow end, open the stove door, put the suction pipe opening up over my cleanout (it fits up over it) with clean out cap off, and point the blow out across the yard, as holding it upside down and let her rip.
I can then shut the stove door in the house, stick the longish tapered blow pipe up the cleanout as far as it goes (couple feet up past the branch from the stove), and it'll blow a big puff out of the flue horizontal exit some 7 feet above my head. Wear the old work duds.
When working on the stove, if it is off, cold, and if I've disconnected it and moved it out a little, & if I can get a good clear line up on the flue leading out, I'll stick the blow pipe in, wrap a rag to seal it, and let it blow a little bit.

 

[mellow]

I usually do once a year full cleaning at the end of the season but this year I have already had to do a cleaning since the pellets I thought I was getting a deal on really suck and have high ash output. Cleaning isn't a huge deal as I use the leaf blower and hook it up to a cold tee and stove and let it do its job. I also clean out the exhaust passage while I am at it. I would say it takes about 45 minutes. I will usually bring in the air line from my compressor in the garage and blow out the ports for good measure.

I will gauge how much ash is in my cleanout tee if a full cleaning needs to be done ASAP.

 

[Andy2016]

I guess I am odd man out here. I use Hamers Hot Ones and clean out the exhaust after every ton with a pipe brush, leaf blower, and vacuum. A decent amount always comes out. The full cleaning takes maybe 30 minutes max.

 

[DarbyDog]

Thanks all--Appreciate it! Leaf blower seems to rule, so that'll probably be my preferred and easiest way of doing this from now on.

Depending on the quality of the pellets I will take a leaf blower to the exhaust twice a winter. I burn about two tons burning 24/7.

Keep in mind that while the Whitfield Quest is a great stove it does have a design flaw. Two of the exhaust paths cannot be accessed or cleaned directly.

I contacted the manufacturer who purchased the company when Whitfield sold and their solution was to drill two holes in the back of the firebox. I wasn’t too keen on drilling holes in my stove.

The easiest and fastest way to clean these passages is with a leaf blower. I know that sounds messy and scary but you are using the suction side of the leaf blower to pull air through the stove and out the exhaust.

Search for the leaf blower trick on this site there are several videos showing how it is done.

Thanks, man! You may recall that you helped me at this forum with this Whitfield Quest a year or so ago with getting the auger motor back in and with the install of an outside-air intake system (which is working really well, BTW). Very helpful, so thanks again.

 

[bogieb]

Did full cleaning of both stoves Monday, including an LBT on the exhausts. The P61a needed it (although, probably 1/16" or less of ash in the exhaust - which is not constrictive on a 4" pipe. The P43 didn't really need it, even with just a 3" pipe. But since I had the leaf blower out and warmed up anyway . . .

I guess I am odd man out here. I use Hamers Hot Ones and clean out the exhaust after every ton with a pipe brush, leaf blower, and vacuum. A decent amount always comes out. The full cleaning takes maybe 30 minutes max.

My exhaust cleaning probably come out to about once every ton or so. But since I have two stoves, it's hard to say exactly where I am at on each. Sometimes the basement stove runs more, and other times the main floor stove runs more. Plus, I would bet there are times I haven't gone thru a ton in either stove and just had really cr*ppy pellets (or bad weather was coming to stay), so did it while I could. I have to empty ash pans every 3 weeks, so it is easy enough to look and see what is going on at that time.

 

[DarbyDog]

Welcome to the forum. I clean out my vent pipe once/year or after 2 tons of pellets burned. The vent has a screen with large openings (1") where it exhausts and does require me to remove for cleaning but the buildup is usually not significant. The screen is necessary to keep the critters out of the pipe in the off season. Perhaps the screen on the end of your vent pipe is too small.

I've never had an issue with ash clogging up in the pipe. Most of the ash ends up in the trap at the bottom of the pipe where it meets the stove. If I detect signs of lazy flame or incomplete combustion I know it's time for a deep cleaning including the vent pipe. A good properly sized stove brush does the job.

Thanks. No, actually my vent screen does have 1" openings as well. Looks like the pellets I use (Big-R brand/Colorado), which are the lowest-ash ones I've found so far where I live, are going to require a couple of pipe-cleanings a season. Oh well, easier than dealing with a wood stove, I think, so I'm okay with that.