Cool down time before cleaning

[xbillyx]

How long do/should you wait after the unit shuts off before cleaning it?

I bought a ShopVac last year that I use exclusively for the pellet stove. I don't bother to use the ash box.

So, how long should I wait before cleaning out the pellet stove? I shut the unit off at 7:45am today and it actually shut off at 8:00am, so it's been 1.5 hrs now.

Thanks in advance.

 

[mrbean1025]

I stir the ashes a little and then feel for heat. If I can't feel heat, then I clean with shop vac and hepa filter.

 

[[email protected]]

I usually give it about 3-4 hours just to be safe.

 

[amick780]

Usually 1.5 hrs is a good time, but it is good to stir the ashes to check for heat (embers that could catch your shopvac on fire!!). Never had a problem with this wait time.

 

[Kenny1]

I usually have the stove shut down for 3-5 hours before cleaning it. When done, I leave the shop vac out in the garage overnight - make sure it has no issues before returning it to its home in the basement.

Cheers

Kenny

 

[jtakeman]

About 2 hrs for me. I too take the shop vac out to the shed.

Just in case!

jay

 

[tinkabranc]

I prefer to clean my stove once a week, so I shut down the stove and leave it
off until the next morning.

 

[ShaneR34]

I'll usually give my EF3 2 hours.

What I do is, after the fire is out and the stove shuts down, I run it through it's start up routine a couple of times, but without pellets being fed. With the air wide open, this burns up the remaining embers quickly. I also have the blower going which cools it quite quickly. I've gotten away with 30-60 mins doing this before, but I still give it 2 hours 99% of the time.

 

[xbillyx]

I prefer to clean my stove once a week, so I shut down the stove and leave it
off until the next morning.

Wow, once a week only? Can I get away with doing that as well? Is every other day overkill if I run it 24/7?

 

[chrisasst]

I was waiting about 10 minutes. I used an ove glove type thing and pliers. I dumped the ashes into a metal pan, let them cool.

 

[UncleAnthony]

I prefer to clean my stove once a week, so I shut down the stove and leave it
off until the next morning.

Wow, once a week only? Can I get away with doing that as well?
Is every other day overkill if I run it 24/7?

once a week should be fine. I ran 24/7 and with good pellets actually went two weeks between cleaning.
But please remember to check the burnpot and ash bucket daily.

 

[MainePellethead]

I always use my ash pan...cuts down on wait time. By using ash pan....I dump from ash pan into metal bucket....then vacuum out fines in the firebox area after waiting maybe half hour.
One time I was rushing and accidently sucked out of the burn pot....it had been an hour.... there was hot embers...it smoldered lol....started to burn my shop vac. I saved it tho lol

So....be careful!

 

[imacman]

Usually 1.5 hrs is a good time, but it is good to stir the ashes to check for heat (embers that could catch your shopvac on fire!!). Never had a problem with this wait time.

I agree w/ amick....about 1.5 hrs should be enough, but check for embers too.

 

[tinkabranc]

I prefer to clean my stove once a week, so I shut down the stove and leave it
off until the next morning.

Wow, once a week only? Can I get away with doing that as well?
Is every other day overkill if I run it 24/7?

once a week should be fine. I ran 24/7 and with good pellets actually went two weeks between cleaning.
But please remember to check the burnpot and ash bucket daily.

The ash pan on the XXV is pretty big so it could go for a few weeks running 24/7 and still not be full,
but I am slightly picky and like to clean the stove more often to keep it running at peak performance.
How fast the pan fills is dependant on the quality of the pellets being burned.

I do give the burnpot a quick scrape daily and clean the glass every few days tho.