Ash buildup Jotul F45-v2

[Alleykat]

After about 4 burns I have to clear my ashes. Is that normal? I am burning oak, pine and assorted soft and hard woods. How often do you remove ashes?

 

[SpaceBus]

Can you post some photos? Most stoves burn best with 1-2" of ashes on the bottom.

 

[begreen]

4 burns sounds short. I would expect at least a full week. How full is the ash?

 

[Alleykat]

Can you post some photos? Most stoves burn best with 1-2" of ashes on the bottom.

I just cleaned the stove. I am burning now and will post a picture tomorrow.

 

[Alleykat]

4 burns sounds short. I would expect at least a full week. How full is the ash?

I will post a picture after 4 burns.

 

[Alleykat]

Can you post some photos? Most stoves burn best with 1-2" of ashes on the bottom.

First burn from 1 pm to 11 pm. See ash picture

 

[moresnow]

Holy cow! Is it all fluffy ash or are there big chunks? If you have pine on hand I would be adding a single split towards the end of the burn and let it burn vigorously with plenty of air until gone. Amazing how this will melt away ash buildup in my setup. Possibly mixing more pine in each load would be beneficial also. Worth a try by the looks of things.

 

[SpaceBus]

What kind of firewood are you burning and how long ago was it cut and split?

 

[Alleykat]

Holy cow! Is it all fluffy ash or are there big chunks? If you have pine on hand I would be adding a single split towards the end of the burn and let it burn vigorously with plenty of air until gone. Amazing how this will melt away ash buildup in my setup. Possibly mixing more pine in each load would be beneficial also. Worth a try by the looks of things.

It is both chunks of hot coals and fluff. I will try the pine recommendation. Thanks

 

[begreen]

It is both chunks of hot coals and fluff. I will try the pine recommendation. Thanks

Put a couple of 2" pine splits on top of the hot coals and open the air up 50% to burn down those coals.

 

[Starbrightsteve]

I am having a similar problem. I’m burning a Lopi hybrid fireplace insert. It’s used to heat the house, not just for occasional fires. All the ash I understand but I’m also making large amounts of charcoal. During the day I only add 3-5 pieces of wood and burn it with all the combustion air the stove can give. At night I fill the fire box but still give it 75% combustion air. There are always lots of coals in the morning. The house is one story,4/12 pitch roof and I added a 4’ section of class A to the top of the insulated liner that goes down the fireplace flue. My wood is all spit even 3” rounds and has been under cover 2.5 to 1.5 years. It is about 60% ash and the remainder mixed hardwoods including red oak.
At our previous home we heated with a Quadrafire 3100 and I could go 3 weeks or longer before I had to clean the ashes and a bit of charcoal. This new stove makes lots and lots of charcoal. What can I do to fix this problem or is it the nature of this stove?

 

[Alleykat]

What kind of firewood are you burning and how long ago was it cut and split?

My wood ranges anywhere from Bay, pine, oak, redwood and Alder. The age varies from 1 year to 3. Some was split a year ago from a dead oak.

 

[Alleykat]

Put a couple of 2" pine splits on top of the hot coals and open the air up 50% to burn down those coals.

I did this and it did help a little. I will continue to do this and see if I have to empty the ashes after 4 days.

 

[SpaceBus]

I bet some pieces of the dense hardwoods aren't as dry as you need them to be and that will contribute to more coals and ash.

 

[WoodBurnerInWI]

Cherry is a well known producer of ash and yes wood that is maybe not yet dry enough will leave behind a ton of coals/ash.

 

[Alleykat]

I bet some pieces of the dense hardwoods aren't as dry as you need them to be and that will contribute to more coals and ash.

You may be right. Some may still contain some moisture.

 

[Todd]

Could be a draft problem as well. Warmer weather, short chimney? Other than the ash problem how do you like your stove?

 

[Alleykat]

I do have one slight bend in the pipe but the installers said I should have plenty of draft and it seems that way. My F45 replaced a old Fisher Baby Bear. I like the stove a lot. It puts out good heat and I enjoy the window. It starts very easy especially if there are coals from the night before. I do wish it had a bigger box height. Overall I am happy with the stove.

 

[Todd]

What kind of stove top temps are you seeing? Does it give any radiant heat or just mostly convection? What kind of burn times are you seeing? Thanks

 

[Alleykat]

What kind of stove top temps are you seeing? Does it give any radiant heat or just mostly convection? What kind of burn times are you seeing? Thanks

I go from 200 to 500 max but avg around 400. It gives off radiant heat. I start my burn in the morning around 9:00 am and end around 11:00 pm. I am burning assorted woods both soft and hard. I put in about 15 splits, give or take, for the total burn time.

 

[Todd]

I should see my F45 in 2-3 weeks. Had a chance to look at one the other day and I really liked the looks. Nice sized fire box, knife edge door with stout handle and the castings are the usual Jotul high quality. Looks like a simple stove to operate with little maintenance and I also like the idea of a steel fire box with a cast iron jacket to even out the heat. It may be a bit oversized for my cabin and I'll probably be burning 1/2-3/4 loads most of the time but I can still load it up if I need to for those -30 nights or if I need a longer burn when I'm away hunting or fishing.