Cleaning cycle

[IceNine]

Hey all,
Brand spanking noobie just entering the pellet stove market. By the way GREAT site. I've been eating it up all day today. So the most important thing i'm getting out of here is CLEAN YOUR STOVE! Duly noted. What i was wondering is (don't hate on me, i don't have the information on what type of stove we just purchased, all that is at home and I will edit the post once i get there, but anyway enough rambling) how often does a stove need cleaning. Easy answer, depends on usage, duuuh. We are using it as supplemental heat to our OIL monster for the addition to our house (family room) and the dining room which is next to it (converted garage). Both these rooms are on slabs and we have noticed that they are considerably cooler. The rest of the house has a basement underneath so it doesn't get as cold as the other 2 rooms. Our unit does up to 2000sqft. The house itself is 14-1500sqft not including the basement. personally i don't know how pellet stove heat travels and how that will affect our house but honestly not too worried about the rest of the house. Anyway, back to usage, i'm thinking it will be used Mon - Thurs around 3-4 hours at night when the wife and i get home from work, Friday probably a little longer cause it's the weekend and one should drink to celebrate it, Sat-Sun if we are home, let's say it will be used all day. So with those stats in mind how often would i need to be cleaning this bad boy thoroughly?

Also, another question, when we purchased the stove, the sales rep swore up and down that we should ONLY use hardwood pellets. Everything i read here says it really doesn't matter but then again i guess that might vary from brand to brand.

Thanks in advance for all the info.

Ice

 

[mainegeek]

The pellets you use depends on the stove. Hardwood vs softwood is an ongoing debate. Softwood tends to produce a higher BTU/hr; if you can find them readily available.
http://www.pelletking.com/wood-pellet-information.aspx

How often to clean? I'm thinking your being conservative.... give us worst case figures. Once you have that stove you'll be running it as much as you can. The heat doesn't "travel" as well as say a wood stove. The pellet stove won't radiate heat so the room underneath won't get any of that heat--sorry to say. Cleaning depends on stove features as well. If yours auto cleans then the most you have to do is empty the ash pan every 3-7 days and clean the stove about once a week. Every ton of pellets (~once a month) you need to do a very thorough cleaning. My stove suggests that you pull the fans at the end of the year and clean the exhaust piping but I make that part of my "big cleaning". Keep it clean and you shouldn't (knock on wood) have any problems.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Welcome to the forums IceNine.

You'll meet plenty of strange critters on here.

BTU is correct if slightly loud in his assessment of the sales person you are dealing with.

You should try several different pellets before buying a large quantity.

That way all of us Pellet Pigs get dibbs on the large lots :lol: .

 

[jtakeman]

Also, another question, when we purchased the stove, the sales rep swore up and down that we should ONLY use hardwood pellets. Everything i read here says it really doesn't matter but then again i guess that might vary from brand to brand.

Thanks in advance for all the info.

Ice

Welcome Ice,

Glad you joined us here!

I have been using both and I have found that the softwoods have an edge in both overall heat and cleaner overall burn. There are some pellet makers that are adding softwood fiber to there hardwood fiber to increase the overall BTU's. Softwoods also seem to not have any fiber issues that the hardwoods have from batch to batch. Don't get me wrong there are also some very good hardwoods out there too. Personally I burn the best quality pellets I can get for the most reasonable price.

What you need to look for is Quality made pellets. But ultimately your stove will decide the brands and type it wants to burn.

Have fun pellet hunting
jay

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Welcome to the forums IceNine.

You'll meet plenty of strange critters on here.

BTU is correct if slightly loud in his assessment of the sales person you are dealing with.

You should try several different pellets before buying a large quantity.

That way all of us Pellet Pigs get dibbs on the large lots :lol: .

ME...LOUD....come on....... ;-)

Yes you are loud BTU.

IceNine,

I know you are looking for some kind of cleaning schedule. It is hard to say since we have no real way to know how many bags of pellets or what kind you are going to be burning.

Cleaning depends upon the amount of ash the pellets produce and how many you burn. A lot of us burn 24/7 and go by the seat of our britches as to when we do what. Your stove will have instructions that should help you. I can easily go over a week without doing anything except feed the stove some pellets, I am hoping that with the next batch of pellets it will be even longer. What I try to do is wait for a good day so I can give the stove a good cleaning without lowering the house temperature.

Last Thursday it was warm, so I shut the stove down, removed all of the access plates gave it a good brushing and vacuuming, then put it back together went outside took the end cap off the vent, attached an electric leaf blower and proceeded to blacken a large section of my side lawn. Then I put the cap back on, went inside and cleaned up. I fired it up about 1:00 Friday morning and it has been on since except for a couple of hours today while I replaced the convection blower. I didn't even take time to vacuum the fire pot out today as it didn't need it.

 

[krooser]

Welcome.... I'm one of the aforementioned "strange critters"...

I burn softwoods... my primary pellet is a pine/spruce mix produced in Canada. Softwoods seem to produce less ash... I like the better pellets (fir and such) for their higher heat.

The big deal is keep your stove clean.

 

[IceNine]

ok, first of all thank you all for your replies. BTU i KNEW you were going to boast softwood, but hell man, that's your bread and butter. I have been doing some reading on the forums, can't you tell.

Stove

Napoleon NPS40 model
from the brochure
BTU - 8k - 40k
Hopper - 55#
Area - 2k sqft
Brn Rate - 1-5 lbs/hr
Burn Time - Low - 55hrs
Flue Diameter 3"
115volts, 60hz
Blower Kit Included

anyone own one of these bad boys? now going back to one of the other comments about heat distribution. The room that the stove is going in is an addition to the house and is on a slab. nothing but concrete and soil underneath. So is the dining room (converted garage) so primary concern is getting supplemental heat to these 2 rooms. The stove will be going literally in the middle between to the 2 rooms. I would say that the sq ft area is about 6-800. so ideally i would like to just run the stove at medium heat/blower.

 

[imacman]

Another "strange critter" checking in.....and I tend to agree w/ BTU.

I have a question......does the shop where this "salesman" works sell pellets? if so, are they HARDWOOD pellets??? Not saying this is the case, but if it is, I think you can read between the lines. If not, then he is just an uninformed guy who wants to sound like he knows what he's talking about.

In my somewhat short pellet career (wood burner before that), I have to say that I have burned some great hardwood pellets, but also some great softwoods (and really looking forward to burning some Rocky's!).

As has been mentioned above, it really is a "stove" preference. Buy 2-3 bags of as many different brands as you can, and burn them.....THEN make your own determination based on your own setup.

 

[schoondog]

Welcome IceNine
I clean my stove on Sunday while I watch football. I prefer to get it done during the first game so I can relax and enjoy the rest of the day. If it gets warm during the week and the stove gets shut off I will do a quick clean. If its real cold, and I don't want to shut the stove off, I will on occasion let it go 2 weeks. Get yourself a good vacuum and a hepa filter too. You will have to get some pellets. Get several different brands, softwood and hardwood. Get a pad of paper and write down some notes about what pellets are warmer and how much ash is in the stove . Mostly the heat output. And beer, don't forget beer. Football, pellets and beer. These are good. Clinkers,wet pellets, lack of heat from stove.... these are bad. Spend some time going through the forum and it won't take long, you will be a pellet pig and spend way to much time at the computer, obsessed with getting the best deals on pellets, finding new ways to get more heat out of the stove, checking sine waves on your UPS, and well having fun. And not burning as much oil in the oil monster. Oh and we will need some pics, cause as we all know, no pics and it never happened !

Schoondog

 

[schoondog]

Welcome IceNine
I clean my stove on Sunday while I watch football. I prefer to get it done during the first game so I can relax and enjoy the rest of the day. If it gets warm during the week and the stove gets shut off I will do a quick clean. If its real cold, and I don't want to shut the stove off, I will on occasion let it go 2 weeks. Get yourself a good vacuum and a hepa filter too. You will have to get some pellets. Get several different brands, softwood and hardwood. Get a pad of paper and write down some notes about what pellets are warmer and how much ash is in the stove . Mostly the heat output. And beer, don't forget beer. Football, pellets and beer. These are good. Clinkers,wet pellets, lack of heat from stove.... these are bad. Spend some time going through the forum and it won't take long, you will be a pellet pig and spend way to much time at the computer, obsessed with getting the best deals on pellets, finding new ways to get more heat out of the stove, checking sine waves on your UPS, and well having fun. And not burning as much oil in the oil monster. Oh and we will need some pics, cause as we all know, no pics and it never happened !

Schoondog

 

[imacman]

.....And beer, don't forget beer. Football, pellets and beer. These are good.

Oh and we will need some pics, cause as we all know, no pics and it never happened !

Schoondog

Agree 100% schoon, especially the beer part..... :cheese:

 

[eandbnorton]

IceNine, the short answer for my cleaning schedule is this: clean firepot daily, clean (vaccuum) firebox, wash window and clean heat exchangers after every 3rd bag pellets burned, and basic cleaning of venting system done monthly. Hope this helps.

 

[HEMI]

Welcome IceNine
I clean my stove on Sunday while I watch football. I prefer to get it done during the first game so I can relax and enjoy the rest of the day. If it gets warm during the week and the stove gets shut off I will do a quick clean. If its real cold, and I don't want to shut the stove off, I will on occasion let it go 2 weeks. Get yourself a good vacuum and a hepa filter too. You will have to get some pellets. Get several different brands, softwood and hardwood. Get a pad of paper and write down some notes about what pellets are warmer and how much ash is in the stove . Mostly the heat output. And beer, don't forget beer. Football, pellets and beer. These are good. Clinkers,wet pellets, lack of heat from stove.... these are bad. Spend some time going through the forum and it won't take long, you will be a pellet pig and spend way to much time at the computer, obsessed with getting the best deals on pellets, finding new ways to get more heat out of the stove, checking sine waves on your UPS, and well having fun. And not burning as much oil in the oil monster. Oh and we will need some pics, cause as we all know, no pics and it never happened !

Schoondog

well put !

 

[CanadaClinker]

..........well I'm not as strange as those other guys .....(or am I ???)........oh well..... anyway welcome IceNine...... I'm with eandbnorton on this one..... we classic bay owners have to stick togedder eh norton...... cc :cheese:

 

[IceNine]

Another "strange critter" checking in.....and I tend to agree w/ BTU.

I have a question......does the shop where this "salesman" works sell pellets? if so, are they HARDWOOD pellets??? Not saying this is the case, but if it is, I think you can read between the lines. If not, then he is just an uninformed guy who wants to sound like he knows what he's talking about.

matter of fact no. they don't sell pellets. just a straight up appliance distributor. thanks for all the help everyone.

 

[rickwa]

Icenine add your stove make and model to your signature so when (not if! ) you are back on here with other questions and findings we know what you are burning

 

[IceNine]

^^
done and done.

Not getting the stove installed till the 23rd of the month so one of these weekends i'll pop out and get some different pellets and give it a shot. BTW, anyone have a ballpark price on cleanings? Sometimes when i take things apart i end up with extra screws. They put extra in there right? generally i like to tinker but just in case. hehehe

 

[jtakeman]

^^
done and done.

Not getting the stove installed till the 23rd of the month so one of these weekends i'll pop out and get some different pellets and give it a shot.

IceNine,

Where in CT are you located?

I did a little brand comparison in my stove. May give you some insite on how to compare and what to look for. Lengthy thread but I also list some places where to get pellets too!

https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/42511/

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Ballpark price on cleanings, huh?

You mean you'd pay someone to make a nice mess playing in the ash inside your house?

Nope, no way, you need to do that job yourself, nothing like a few burns because you tried doing it when the stove was still hot (got to learn patience somehow) or getting covered with ash because the filter in your vacuum gave out or came loose or was the wrong kind.

Most of us folks got the stove to save a bit of money and shoveling a couple hundred dollars out every ton or so just doesn't result in saving money. We Pellet Pigs must maintain our image as tough do it yourself types, otherwise we wont have the funds to pellet up with ;-) .

 

[IceNine]

^^
done and done.

Not getting the stove installed till the 23rd of the month so one of these weekends i'll pop out and get some different pellets and give it a shot.

IceNine,

Where in CT are you located?

I did a little brand comparison in my stove. My give you some insite on how to compare and what to look for. Lengthy thread but I also list some places where to get pellets too!

https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/42511/

West Haven

 

[IceNine]

Ballpark price on cleanings, huh?

You mean you'd pay someone to make a nice mess playing in the ash inside your house?

Nope, no way, you need to do that job yourself, nothing like a few burns because you tried doing it when the stove was still hot (got to learn patience somehow) or getting covered with ash because the filter in your vacuum gave out or came loose or was the wrong kind.

Most of us folks got the stove to save a bit of money and shoveling a couple hundred dollars out every ton or so just doesn't result in saving money. We Pellet Pigs must maintain our image as tough do it yourself types, otherwise we wont have the funds to pellet up with ;-) .

ouch,

duly noted.

 

[IceNine]

i spent some time reading the OM today and realized that it is not such an undertaking to do the "BIG" cleaning. the manual recommends cleaning after 2 tons. is that something to stick by or should i do the 1 ton as you guys have recommended?

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

i spent some time reading the OM today and realized that it is not such an undertaking to do the "BIG" cleaning. the manual recommends cleaning after 2 tons. is that something to stick by or should i do the 1 ton as you guys have recommended?

You'll quickly discover that cleaning frequency in real life isn't always according to the book. It is all ash driven therefore depends upon the pellets and how well you get the stove adjusted.

Then there's the matter of how much manual dexterity you have. I swear the people who design these things never ever had to do any service work on them. Once the stove is in place it can be very difficult to even access some of the places that need to be worked on.

As you get to be older than dirt like me you'll understand better.

Now where did I put that arthritis medicine, ahh yes three fingers is a good start, and by all means turn up the heat, it feels good on these old joints.