Ash vacuum or not?

[cielomelo]

Hi again, after owning a Quad pellet stove insert, we have to do our first weekly cleaning. Is it really necessary to purchase a special ash vacuum or can we use the wet/dry vacuum?

Another question is my Mt.Vernon Quadra pellet insert, it says the hopper has the capacity to hold 52 lbs of pellets, but I can't even put a 40lb bag of pellets in the hopper. Has anybody else had this problem?


Thanks for all the wisdom.

 

[stoveguy2esw]

i have a loveless ash vac, after using a wet/dry , with a drywall bag for a while, i wouldnt go back to the wet dry, although the wetdry did ok, i was always worried about sucking up a little ember and catching the vac on fire, so i let the stove set for a while before cleaning it out, with an ash vac you dont have that worry, althouigh its not made for cleaning out a running stove, an occasional ember will not damage it or catch it on fire.

 

[sgcsalsero]

There are a number of posts on cleaning ash out, I have a $12 pail (maybe 5 gal?) with locking lid from Lowes . . takes me 5 mins each week, I vacuumed out maybe 4 times in last year . .embers took out one of my garbage cans so I am pretty cautious, eventually going to get a large metal garbage can and just let it sit until my wife wants to use in garden

I think maybe ?MountainStoveGuy has a homemade vac set up