Burn until... (what's your holding pattern)?

[mpcm]

My current pattern/cycle with my Empress FS seems to be to burn through a few bags over a couple days of varying use (manual heat settings, not thermostat). Then cool down, empty burn pot and clean up the chamber and empty ashes if needed.

My primary indicator that is time to do this had been the burn pot being reasonably full of ash, to the point where it seems like the dampener needs adjusting to keep a non-lazy flame. As I am running it more and more, I'm wondering if this is the cycle I will always be in with this unit, given the size of the burn pot.

Does this sound right give the burn pot size on these units (only burning NEWP at this point, okies are the next after this ton)?

There is surprisingly few video / sites that seem to talk about this aspect of owning the stove...

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

You should be able to go longer than that.

I'm on day 11, imacman has put 52 bags through his stove, I started the season out with a 23 bag burn, just couldn't stand the looks of the ash pile around the fire pot.

 

[kofkorn]

I usually scrape about once a day, and do a full clean every two weeks. I'm averaging about a bag a day right now on the thermostat.

My indicator to clean is when the pile of fly ash on the side is too high and it starts running back into the pot The Englanders are relatively happy in most situations, and seem to run well with minimal additional maintenance.

I just wish they had the full auto feature (shutdown and startup on thermostat)

 

[Snowy Rivers]

I burn nut shells in my stoves and my cleaning schedule is once a week on the Advantage and every 3-4 days on the prodigy.

The fire pots get scraped twice a day and a complete vacuum and vent pipe suck out once a month..

Once a season all the ash traps come out of the Advantage and it gets the royal scrubbing.

Windows get cleaned with an sos pad every time I clean the stove.


Snowy

 

[Snowy Rivers]

I burn nut shells in my stoves and my cleaning schedule is once a week on the Advantage and every 3-4 days on the prodigy.

The fire pots get scraped twice a day and a complete vacuum and vent pipe suck out once a month..

Once a season all the ash traps come out of the Advantage and it gets the royal scrubbing.

Windows get cleaned with an sos pad every time I clean the stove.


Snowy

 

[trogers]

I empty the ash pan and clean the stove once a week because I seem to notice a small heat loss if I let it go too long. Maybe it's just in my head, but I think that the thin ash film that accumulates on the heat exchange baffles reduces the heat output. I have no scientific eveidence to prove the theory though.

 

[trogers]

I empty the ash pan and clean the stove once a week because I seem to notice a small heat loss if I let it go too long. Maybe it's just in my head, but I think that the thin ash film that accumulates on the heat exchange baffles reduces the heat output. I have no scientific eveidence to prove the theory though.

 

[ChandlerR]

I give the stove a quick cleaning once a week. Once a month, I do a teardown of fans and blowers and nooks and crannies. If you remember, last year I followed the same proceedure but forgot one thing. I forgot that there was considerable condensation at the discharge of my pipe and when my wife cranked the stove first thing in the morning, there was enough heat to ignite the creosote that formed at the very end. So...now I keep a close eye for any buildup.

Chan

 

[gyingling]

My current pattern/cycle with my Empress FS seems to be to burn through a few bags over a couple days of varying use (manual heat settings, not thermostat). Then cool down, empty burn pot and clean up the chamber and empty ashes if needed.

My primary indicator that is time to do this had been the burn pot being reasonably full of ash, to the point where it seems like the dampener needs adjusting to keep a non-lazy flame. As I am running it more and more, I'm wondering if this is the cycle I will always be in with this unit, given the size of the burn pot.

Does this sound right give the burn pot size on these units (only burning NEWP at this point, okies are the next after this ton)?

There is surprisingly few video / sites that seem to talk about this aspect of owning the stove...

I have an Enviro Windsor that I bought used. I understand that the Windsor is the predecessor to the Empress and they look the same to boot.

This is my first stove and I have to do basically the same as you, every few days shut it down and vac it out so it burns better.

 

[Tyranid]

I have an Empress FPI, but I imagine they are similar.

Yes, at my current burn rate, I've been having to clean mine about twice a week to keep the ash build-up from affecting the airflow.

Of course I just started buring Hamer's last week and they seem to be producing less ash. I should be able to stretch that cycle by a few days.

The Empress ash pot does appear to be fairly shallow compared to others.

 

[teetah222]

I like to see my fire, so every 2 or 3 days I shut it down so I can vac out the ash and wash off the windows. Today my burn pot was full of ash/clinkers... I hadn't cleaned the stove for about 4 days, maybe more. Was totally amazed the air could get to the pellets at all, to make them burn.

 

[Lorilooo]

NH Pellet Head...we do the same with our HAI. Especially now that it's burning 24/7, after about 4 days it's pretty dirty. It certainly will affect the air flow and make for a lazy flame. I believe, like with anything that runs by motor, if you don't keep it clean, the poor thing has to work that much harder. Not good news for the motor or other components of the stove. I also like to see my fire (like Haubera), so clean glass is a must!

 

[Turbo-Quad]

I burn about 2.5 bags per day on manual 24/7. I clean daily after work. There isn't much ash build up in the pot but it clings to the sides of the pot and piles up vertically. It's very odd but has always done this. More so with less quality pellets. Sometimes the ash will vertically cling to the baffles too. I've never tried to see how long I could go without a cleaning. Don't want to risk it in the middle of a cold snap. Maybe this spring I'll get lazy and let it go to see what I can and can't get away with. Boggles my mind that some stoves can go days, weeks or longher without cleaning. I must really have an old dinosour for a stove. Looking forward to snagging a P61 someday.

 

[Xena]

My stove requires a burn pot scrape daily, a pull of
the heat exchange tube scraper daily both of which
I do with the stove running. Shut it down for a
full cleaning and empty the ash pan once a month.
Heat exchange tubes never have more than a thin powdery layer
on them since I run the stove on high for a half hour daily.

 

[Ro3bert]

My stove is a Quest Plus that has to be cleaned daily and the ash can emptied about once a month.

My stove only runs about 15 hours a day (we shut it off at night) so our burn rate is about <1 bag to slightly over one bag. I prefer Lignetics pellets but have trouble finding them in the Danbury, CT area. Right now we are using American Biomass Cleanfire pellets. The two tons stored are another brand clean the front end (burn pot, ash residue and the glass [wife insists on being able to see the fire]) then fire it up.

We have something of an ash problem since we have no choice but to store the bags outside. I have set up concrete blocks, leveled them and use the pallets that come with the pellets. We have just over two tons right now. This has been the case for the 10 years we’ve had the stove.

I’ve never thought of tearing the stove down, removing the blowers and auger so guess I’ll have to start doing it next spring. The blowers and auger have never been taken out yet the air flow is still strong, in fact I have to keep an eye on the combustion air or it tends to blow all the embers out if I turn it too high.

Also, where do I find that high temp. stuff used to seal the exhaust pipe connections? RTV is it?

Robert L. Wichmann

 

[m159267]

I use my basement placed (future family room) P38 to supplement my Geo-thermal heating. Great combination. Been cold in the mid-west. Highs in the 20's lows in the low teens to single digits (I'm rural). Been burning 24/7 for 5 days. I shut down and cleaned burn pot and surroundings after 3 days. Some clinkers and ash but not bad at all (burning Greenways-pretty good pellet). Bought a ton for the season. Don't burn at all during 'warm spells'.

 

[Flammam]

I have a Austroflamm that has esentially no ash pan. I just shut down to clean last weekend after burning 23 bags. The ash was up above the top of the burn pot and about 3 inches deep. This is burning Okies other quality pellets work about the same. Shutdown, cooloff, vac ash, scrape burn pot, wash glass, relight. Takes about 10 minutes. Every ton I pull the front plate and vac out the heat exchanger and vent pipe.

 

[magsf11]

My stove requires a burn pot scrape daily, a pull of
the heat exchange tube scraper daily both of which
I do with the stove running. Shut it down for a
full cleaning and empty the ash pan once a month.
Heat exchange tubes never have more than a thin powdery layer
on them since I run the stove on high for a half hour daily.

I do the same but also brush the ash into the pan and once a week shut her down and do a good cleaning.