Ash/carbon buildup inside stove

[ABMax24]

How many others get a buildup inside their woodstove? Particularly under the top plate of the stove?

Mine looks mostly like ash with some carbon in it, that has loosely fused to the underside of the top plate from the heat of the fire. I'm certain it's not creosote, the stove is operated hot enough to burn that out, especially this time of year. But it seems to accumulate regardless of how the stove is operated or the moisture content of the wood. It's not a whole lot, maybe 1/16" thick and is easily scraped off with a drywall putty knife, but it's not loose enough for the airflow to blow it off. It's not a big deal, I scrape it off a couple times per season, it's just not something I ever remember seeing done growing up with wood stoves. It does seem the flue temps run slightly lower after cleaning it though, as the top plate can transfer the heat more effectively.

 

[xman23]

It sure looks crusty above the burnplates, the inside of the top. I'm with you it would insulate the stove top. But how much? Not enough for me to clean it during the burn season. I brush it off when I do the chimney cleaning in the fall.

 

[ABMax24]

I clean mine because it doesn't take very long, in 20 minutes I can have the tubes and baffle pulled, the top scraped off and everything re-assembled.

 

[Highbeam]

Every time you start a new fire or even load fuel your emissions are very high and wet as the new fuel load starts it’s combustion cycle. Every time this happens you get a new layer of stuff deposited up there. It’s normal and the cold 600 degree stove top is not enough to burn it off. That stove top is a heat exchanger. Even the super efficient oxygen sensor equipped boilers and furnaces all need regular cleaning of these heat exchangers to maintain maximum heat transfer.

Dang it, you might have convinced me to do the very dirty job of cleaning my stove. Usually at end of season but it’s free and I’m bored.