best way to remove ash. (no ash drawer)

[par0thead151]

im wondering what you veteran burners use to remove ash?
i have removed ash once so far in my enviro venice 1700. and i managed to get it to puff ash into the air whenever i dumped the ash into my bucket.
what would you guys recommend for someone who has a stove that does not have an ash drawer, and would like to keep ash dust down when emptying the stove.
i was thinking a high side wall shovel. maybe about 6-8" wide and maybe a little longer for depth, with a good 3-4" side wall to allow heaping scoops of ash. what are your preferred ash removal methods?
thanks

 

[nelraq]

The key is not to "dump" the ash into the bucket! Scoop up a good shovel full and gently put the shovel into the bucket and tip it enough so that the ash 'slides' off of the shovel. You still get a little puff now and again - but it's still alot easier and quicker than taking out the ash drawer. Plus, with no ash drawer, you have one less opening which can leak excess air into your stove.
My shovel is about 4 inches wide with 1.5 inch side walls.

 

[budman]

The key is not to "dump" the ash into the bucket! Scoop up a good shovel full and gently put the shovel into the bucket and tip it enough so that the ash 'slides' off of the shovel. You still get a little puff now and again - but it's still alot easier and quicker than taking out the ash drawer. Plus, with no ash drawer, you have one less opening which can leak excess air into your stove.
My shovel is about 4 inches wide with 1.5 inch side walls.

+1

 

[SolarAndWood]

I use a coal shovel and dump it in the bucket outside. Put half as much on the shovel so that you don't spill any on the way out.

 

[Gunks]

I use a bucket with a lid and cover up the bucket with each shovel of ash.

 

[Gazdik]

I use the bucket and lid also...It was from lowes..it is for coal but its black and came with a nice shovel..It holds alot of ash and looks good next to the stove

 

[savageactor7]

I just did ours...in the morning when the stove is the coolest. Take a 3 or 4 shovels from the front of the stove and carefully slide them along the side of a covered ash bucket, DONE! Do that with all your fans secured and there will be no ash cloud or trace of one. After removing ashes pull hot coals forward and reload stove.

 

[madison]

1. Do not completely empty ash bucket, always leave some in the bottom (see step 6).
2. Turn off stove/insert blower.
3. Open primary air to max, a good draft helps minimize ash loss into the room.
4. A cooler, but not cold stove is ideal
5a. Do not overfill shovel
5b. Repeat. Do not overfill shovel
6. As stated earlier, move ash bucket up against front of stove, slightly tilted if possible, slowly slide the shovel with the ash down into the ash that remains in the bottom of bucket, then slowly slide shovel out of the ash and bucket.
7. Gently cover bucket, or when ever moving the bucket without a lid, imagine that it is full of explosives and avoid sudden movements.
8. If done coorrectly, you will still have to vaccuum up loose ash, just not as much.
9. And after the burning season, you will find very fine ash particles in the remote areas of you house.

 

[PapaDave]

The key is not to "dump" the ash into the bucket! Scoop up a good shovel full and gently put the shovel into the bucket and tip it enough so that the ash 'slides' off of the shovel. You still get a little puff now and again - but it's still alot easier and quicker than taking out the ash drawer. Plus, with no ash drawer, you have one less opening which can leak excess air into your stove.
My shovel is about 4 inches wide with 1.5 inch side walls.

Wow,
I think you read my mind nelraq. Almost exactly what I was going to post.
Also helps a little if you already have or leave a little ash in the bucket, although not absolutely needed.

Dave

 

[ControlFreak]

I use the typical ash hod, which is wonderful because it's easy to tip one side of it into the open stove. Assuming the stove is still hot, when the ash slides off the shovel any airborne ash is sucked up the chimney. Zero ash into the ambient room air.

 

[pgmr]

I start with the fluffy, completely burnt stuff in front, then scrape everything to one side. Using my perforated shovel, I get a scoop of ash/coals and repeatedly tap against the other side of stove to cause ash to fall through the holes and leave coals in shovel. Coals get piled in the middle. When done, shovel out the ash pile created in the separation step.

Use the lid (upside down) from the ash bucket under your shovel as you transfer from stove to bucket. This will catch the stuff that inevitably falls off the shovel.

 

[fraxinus]

I don't use it any more since my new stove has an ash drawer, but I found the Ashtrap (now possibly named the Ashtrapper or copied as the Ashtrapper) to be very useful in reducing the mess. Having something you can actually put inside the stove, fill with ashes, then cover before taking it out of the stove is much neater and much safer then using a bucket and shovel or attempting to carry an uncovered container outside. The Ashtrap's sliding lid is very secure - even if you dropped it, spillage would be very unlikely. You do need to make sure the interior dimensions of your stove will let you use the Ashtrap as intended.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Ash holder

The key to doing ashes is to move s l o w. And as stated above, never dump the ashes. Just very gently slide the shovel from under the ashes. That way the ashes do not fall and you have no dust.

 

[sandie]

$75 for an ash holder, that will be the day. I just use a coal hod, the shovel that came with it works fine but my stove has little uprights and they get in my way but do hold wood from falling out when I open the doors. My coal hod cost about $10 and I thought that was alot!

 

[kenny chaos]

I also get a lot of ash in the air, when using my leaf blower.

 

[woodjack]

The key to remove ash without a mess is simple. DO IT IN THE STOVE. Get an ash bucket that fits in the stove (I use an old frying pan) and scoop and dump in bucket IN THE STOVE. Then I put the lid on and carry the frying pan outside and dump it into larger ash bucket.

It's one of the things I read on this forum, gave it a try, and never looked back. Just try it.