Cleaning ashes from your stove...

[nvanhar]

...looking for your experiences with various methods of cleaning out ashes from your stove. Already discovering that the built in ash pan beneath my Equinox is going to create quite a mess once we are burning 24/7. I still need to buy a good set of hearth tools that includes a rake...but if I try to shovel ashes into an ash can inside, won't that create quite a dust plume? I've currently been taking the ash pan outside to dump but if it is at all windy it's still messy. Figuring this winter will be even worse with the winds howling outside. If I get an ash vacuum, can I just vacuum everything up straight from inside the stove?

Who has an ash vacuum and please give me the pros and cons?

Best ash vacuum? I see several on Amazon which are very reasonably priced, but not sure if they're crap??

Or, if you don't use an ash vacuum, easiest method you've found to clean your ashes?

Thank you!

Nicole

 

[BradleyW]

I have a shovel and two buckets with lids. Fill one up, let it cool for a few days before dumping it, and start filling the second one while the first one cools down. Yes, it can be a little messy. Not the most attractive feature of wood burning. But I can't imagine an ash vacuum would be much cleaner and would be even more of a pain.
Don't just take the ash right from the stove and take it outside--seems like a recipe for disaster.

 

[tinman1]

I have a shovel and two buckets with lids. Fill one up, let it cool for a few days before dumping it, and start filling the second one while the first one cools down. Yes, it can be a little messy. Not the most attractive feature of wood burning. But I can't imagine an ash vacuum would be much cleaner and would be even more of a pain.
Don't just take the ash right from the stove and take it outside--seems like a recipe for disaster.

I also have 2 cans , the one indoors I use for cleaning out the firebox , & then when done shoveling it out, I bring it to the 2 nd can which is outdoors on a concrete deck and dump it into that one.

 

[Sprinter]

I don't like using the built-in ash pan at all. Just keep it closed. For one thing, they often don''t close properly, causing air leaks. Get a small metal pail and a square bladed shovel from the hardware store. That's all you need for cleaning. Take the pail outdoors right away to keep any carbon monoxide out of the house.

You do need to transfer the ash into the pail very slowly to prevent dust, but it can be done.

 

[BobUrban]

do it with the stove still hot - like 1-200 degrees. Hold the pail at an angle and gently shovel the ash/coals in. Any dust just sucks up the flu.

Remove from the house and either dump some place safe like a firepit or leave it covered in the steel pail for a few days in a safe place. Ash is an amazing insulator and coals can last days in there. Once exposed to a little air and combustibles - whola, FIRE!! Nothing like the trash truck in flames going thru the neighborhood!! Or something worse. Many a horror story start with, "I thought it had cooled"

NO ash vac is designed to safely suck up hot ash and coals. Not a good plan at all!!

 

[Nick Mystic]

I have two stoves, one with an ash pan and the other one without one, so I have experience emptying ashes both ways. The key to using the ash pan is to empty it before it gets too full. You don't want the pan so full that when you try to pull it out of the drawer you're dropping ashes on the floor/hearth. I usually try to only have mine about 3/4 full when I take it out to empty it. If the stove is still hot with coals in it you should crack the door on the stove before you open your ash pan door so that you don't create a blast furnace effect up through your grate. Make sure you use your woodstove gloves and pay very careful attention to what you are doing when you carry the pan outside to dump it in your metal container. You don't want to trip or slip and drop the pan and spew ashes and hot coals all over the floor! Since you want to leave some ashes in the stove for better burning it's not too difficult to just remove a portion of the ashes as needed with the pan.

 

[bsruther]

With the old stove I had no choice but to shovel the ashes out of the stove into my ash bucket. No matter how careful I was, clouds of tiny ash particles would escape, covering everything in the stove room and wafting to other parts of the house.
With the new stove, I tried using a smaller ash pail and put it inside the stove while I was filling it. The ash clouds still came out of the stove, but not as bad and it was messy pulling the pail out of the stove.
Last week I decided to give the ash pan a try. When the ashes got about 2" deep, I scraped half of them into the pan and emptied them later after they cooled. As far as I could tell no ash escaped from the stove while I was putting ashes in the pan or emptying the pan.
So far I'm happy with this method. Don't know where I'll be with it mid-winter, but if it keeps ash out of the house, I'll try to keep at it.
For cleanup around the hearth, I recently bought a dust buster with a lithium battery. I don't suck up a lot of ash with it, it does a great job of cleaning up wood debris.

 

[Cory S]

Shop Vac with HEPA filter works fine for ash. Just make sure you clean the foam pre-filter after every use.

My Drolet has an ash pan underneath. I simply pull pan out, slowly shovel out ashes, and replace until almost full. This takes a solid 2 weeks before its full. The drier the wood, the less ash is created. Hotter the fires, the less ash also.

 

[Seanm]

I just wait a bit until things cool down and then I shovel it into a bucket and take it outside into the yard and let it sit. I scoop it gently so to avoid to much dust but I get a bit as well as some fumes but its quick. I can do it with coals in the stove with the air wide open, pushing the coals to the back and remove most of whats up front. I do this on a low point of coal burning and wear my ove glove (love it) Since Im a big fan of the rake the coals to the front for reloads I tend to get a build up of ash in the front. Once Im done I rake the coals to the front and fill her up!!

 

[Bigg_Redd]

Or, if you don't use an ash vacuum, easiest method you've found to clean your ashes?

Very carefully

 

[nvanhar]

Ok, so what I have gleaned thus far is that I can't just buy an ash vacuum and expect to be able to safely vacuum up any and all ashes/coals...they aren't meant to handle hot coals.

It's going to be a bit messy no matter how you do it.

I'm thinking I'll go with the two bucket system - I already have a larger metal pail outside, will get a slightly more attractive black one for near the fireplace.

Has anyone ever used one of these ash dragons:

 

[Bigg_Redd]

It's going to be a bit messy no matter how you do it.

Yes. Heating with wood is messy - it's the nature of the beast. With practice, shoveling ash is not a particularly messy process.

 

[KindredSpiritzz]

Im trying to figure out the same thing. When i scoop out my ashes, usually quite hot still, the metal bucket looks like a volcano erupting with fine ash going everywhere no matter how gently i try and drop the ashes in the bucket. Starting to drive me nuts as the room is getting coated in a nice layer of ash dust as winter progresses. I have an ash vac but thats not going to work on hot ashes/coals.
I have never seen a "rake" in a fireplace tool set but i will be making one sometime in the future as it would be handy to have.
Overall this wood burning is way messier than i had thought it would be. Between the wood and the ash my den is a mess.

 

[Fod01]

Old pot. Hold it in the stove,fill it, put the lid on while its still in the stove. Dump in the metal pail outside. Repeat as necessary.

 

[Poindexter]

I kinda do a mish mash of the above. Warm stove, wide open door, rake coals to back, shovel from front, ash plume mostly goes up the stack. Rake coals to front, shovel from back, etc.

I carry my metal bucket out right away since there are usually still some hot coals in it and I don't want the gasses in the house. I keep a 30 odd gallon metal trash can in the snow just beside the front porch during burning season, tight fitting lid with bungie cord for insurance.

Dumping the bucket into the can, yup, I get an ash plume for that one, but it is outdoors on the snow, the K in the ash doesn't hurt the underlying lawn.

Come spring time I re-use some of the ash to fertilize our tomatoes and take the rest to the dump.

If the hearth is looking rough after brooming I will occasionally wipe it with a damp cloth.

 

[Seanm]

Overall this wood burning is way messier than i had thought it would be. Between the wood and the ash my den is a mess.

Yeah lots of mess, carpets, hearths, stoves, chimneys, raking the lawn which always seems to have bark mixed in. Not sure if youve considered a wood carrying bag? If you havent Ive found this cuts down on the mess from my garage across my carpet to the stove in my rec room. I can always tell when it hasnt been used as my wife just doesnt get it!

 

[nvanhar]

Yeah lots of mess, carpets, hearths, stoves, chimneys, raking the lawn which always seems to have bark mixed in. Not sure if youve considered a wood carrying bag? If you havent Ive found this cuts down on the mess from my garage across my carpet to the stove in my rec room. I can always tell when it hasnt been used as my wife just doesnt get it!

Oh, I don't actually mind the mess from the wood - I've got an African Grey parrot who requires that I vacuum at least once a day down in the living area anyway (birds are incredibly messy!), so the vacuum lives in the corner of that room anyway. It's really the ash debris that bothers me at this point. I hate dusting!

 

[The Cank]

Yeah lots of mess, carpets, hearths, stoves, chimneys, raking the lawn which always seems to have bark mixed in. Not sure if youve considered a wood carrying bag? If you havent Ive found this cuts down on the mess from my garage across my carpet to the stove in my rec room. I can always tell when it hasnt been used as my wife just doesnt get it!

Love my wood Carrying bag

 

[Offset]

I managed to find a metal can that fits under the door of my Alderlea T5 perfectly (pure luck). I take the ash out slowly but some mess has to be expected. I always take the can outside right away and store it away from the building where it cannot be disturbed by the wind. Dump it when it cools. Alway make sure to check all around the stove for hot embers, I have had a few pop out unexpectedly.

Only safety advice I can offer is to wear gloves when handling whatever container you use. They can and do get hot very quickly. Ask me how I know!!

 

[ryanm527]

I use a pretty basic setup - shovel and metal bucket - but it works...just use a small shovel and push the larger coals to one side then shovel out the ashes (and smaller coals in the process). Then I scoot the coals over to the clean side and repeat. You are right, the messy part is dumping the shovel into the bucket - it does create an ash plume, but it's manageable and it's typically only bad when the bucket is completely empty. Sometimes I try and use the lid to damper the plume but not always. I let the can sit inside, usually until I need to empty again and then I dump it outside. If it's wet or snowy outside I'll usually dump it immediately.

The ash pan in my stove is totally useless...makes a huge mess and not very effective in general. I typically do the shovel thing every 2-3 days. Depending on how long I wait to shovel, I can usually get two cleanings before the bucket is completely full.

 

[FionaD]

I use a 'tippy' as they're called over here. Wish I could post a link to one online, but the forum won't let me, guess I'm too new. I've attached a pic instead.


I thought first of all they were a bit gimmicky, but I can actually get my whole Jotul ash pan (part of the stove set up) right into this tippy, then, with the lid shut, I can tip it the other way and empty the ashes into the can, then let the dust inside settle for s few secs and just remove the empty ash tray.

I o ly need to empty the tippy every couple of weeks, so the ash can safely cool in there.

I think you could also empty an ash shovel into this pretty easily with the lid almost closed, so ash doesn't fly everywhere.

 

[FionaD]

I found a link that's short enough to type. !

Sorry it's British site, I coulnt find a US one.

www.tippyash.co.uk

 

[firefighterjake]

I managed to find a metal can that fits under the door of my Alderlea T5 perfectly (pure luck). I take the ash out slowly but some mess has to be expected. I always take the can outside right away and store it away from the building where it cannot be disturbed by the wind. Dump it when it cools. Alway make sure to check all around the stove for hot embers, I have had a few pop out unexpectedly.

Only safety advice I can offer is to wear gloves when handling whatever container you use. They can and do get hot very quickly. Ask me how I know!!

Say Offset, how do you know that those containers can get pretty darn hot?

Seconding this advice . . . always wear gloves . . . and sometimes if I'm dumping ash with hot coals in them (doesn't happen that often since I typically empty after an overnight fire) I wear my very thick hearth gloves.

 

[firefighterjake]

Love my wood Carrying bag

Also loving my new LL Bean bag . . . even better than the original one I bought from Lowes.

I still make a mess though unloading the wood from it to the woodbox . . . or moving the wood from the woodbox to the firebox . . . or cleaning out the ashes.

Might as well face it . . . I'm PigPen.

 

[Fod01]

Yeah - those bags are great. I'm on season 3 with no appreciable wear, and I pack it heavy!