Ashes in pan

[JamesGuido]

during my burning season, I leave the ashes build up inside the pan, I never empty it.
that is, until I clean out the stove for the summer.

well, I never cleaned out the stove and now I'm gonna get it ready to burn for this season.

Do You Think It's Alright To Leave Last Seasons Ashes In The Pan?
or should I clean them out and start anew...?

 

[begreen]

I did the same after running the F400 for a couple of months. The stove ran better that way so I continued to leave the ashpan full. As long as the old ash remains totally dry I'd think it is ok to leave it in there.

 

[bigealta]

during my burning season, I leave the ashes build up inside the pan, I never empty it.
that is, until I clean out the stove for the summer.

well, I never cleaned out the stove and now I'm gonna get it ready to burn for this season.

Do You Think It's Alright To Leave Last Seasons Ashes In The Pan?
or should I clean them out and start anew...?

I'd dump it after the last burn in spring. If any water gets in there or it's very humid for a long time the wet ash could get corrosive.
It's easy to empty and it will fill up fast enough after the burn season starts again.
It's hard and expensive to fix corroded metal.
Risk Reward situation.

Edit: Oh you left it in this time over summer. I'd still dump it.

 

[begreen]

Yes, that was my concern too. If the stove is connected via a 90º elbow to a thimble then the chances are less. For us, the speed of collecting another pan full of ash depends on what is burned. It could take a couple of months if burning doug fir or a couple of week when burning soft maple.

 

[JamesGuido]

I'd dump it after the last burn in spring. If any water gets in there or it's very humid for a long time the wet ash could get corrosive.
It's easy to empty and it will fill up fast enough after the burn season starts again.
It's hard and expensive to fix corroded metal.
Risk Reward situation.

I did open the pan, ready to remove the ashes, then thought I'd leave it. Come here and gather opinions...
I did not notice any ashes that looked wet or damp, certainly no signs of water anywhere...
that is the reason I thought I'd leave them in there.

I figure it'll take another 10 to 15 good burns to fill'er up again.
and as Mr. @begreen stated, the stove runs better full of ash.

 

[bigealta]

Yes, that was my concern too. If the stove is connected via a 90º elbow to a thimble then the chances are less. For us, the speed of collecting another pan full of ash depends on what is burned. It could take a couple of months if burning doug fir or a couple of week when burning soft maple.

Wow. That's a Long time. I empty mine probably twice a week. So maybe 5 days or so to totally fill mine in the F400.

 

[begreen]

I suppose one could fill it with clean dry play sand, perlite, or vermiculite.

 

[stoveliker]

I do take ashes out (of the stove) in summer; even with a thimble, humid outside air from the chimney can result in condensation in a stove in an air-conditioned (cool) home.

I have a pot of damprid in my stove in summer. But I'm like that....

But if it is still in there now, I'd leave it in. Burning will happen soon enough and taking it out won't make a difference anymore regarding moisture, but will be a bit inconvenient until it fills up again.

 

[JamesGuido]

well now, I never gave dry sand any thought...
I could go that route.

weird is, my old VC that this Jøtel replaced never needed ashes to remain while operating peak for many years.
I only dumped cat litter in the pan during the summer months to help with dryness inside.

 

[bigealta]

James Do you still have those 2 unregulated air holes blocked?
It sounds like you still need the ashpan full even with them blocked?

 

[JamesGuido]

James Do you still have those 2 unregulated air holes blocked?
It sounds like you still need the ashpan full even with them blocked?

Good memory.
I do.

And I don’t like to remove ashes unless I have to. So that’s another reason I leave the pan full.
Perhaps it’s in my mind that the stove runs better with the pan full, because I read it here, it must be true.
I also still use the warped grate that cause such an uproar last winter…

 

[bigealta]

So how would you rate the f500 v3 stove now after a couple years of burning?

 

[JamesGuido]

So how would you rate the f500 v3 stove now after a couple years of burning?

well, for some reason or another the Jøtel seems to burn my wood longer than the only other stove I can compare it to, my old VC defiant encore.
It seems I go thru more wood with the f500 but that's my lifestyle now. I'm home more, I like doors or windows opened, and I hate when the furnace kicks in.
The stove seems to settle itself into a comfortable temp, rarely do I feel the need to adjust it.
Liked the looks of our old Vermont Casting better, but then, it was porcelain enamel.

Overall, I like this stove better.

 

[Todd]

Since you don’t use the ash pan maybe remove the grate and fill it with fire brick? I did this with my sauna stove then let the ash build up and filled in the gaps. Gave me a better burn and held coals longer.

 

[JamesGuido]

Since you don’t use the ash pan maybe remove the grate and fill it with fire brick? I did this with my sauna stove then let the ash build up and filled in the gaps. Gave me a better burn and held coals longer.

never thought of that... i like your idea.
after measuring, the grate is 8½ x 14... and fire brick is 9"? 🤔

 

[Todd]

never thought of that... i like your idea.
after measuring, the grate is 8½ x 14... and fire brick is 9"? 🤔

Can you fit the bricks down inside the ash pan maybe 2 or 3 stacked up to where the grate was? Or just cut them to fit.

 

[JamesGuido]

Can you fit the bricks down inside the ash pan maybe 2 or 3 stacked up to where the grate was? Or just cut them to fit.

that's my plan, thanks for the idea.

 

[JamesGuido]

I cleaned out the ashes… did a little inspection…

then I started with fitting the fire brick inside the ashpan

topped it off with my famous warped grate.

we'll give it a burn in a few days, warmer temp returning in southeastern Badgerland.
Thank you @Todd for the idea. Hope this works as well as yours.