Do you vacuum the inside of your wood stove?

[MagdalenaP]

Does a wood stove (ones with fire bricks inside) need to be vacuumed at all during winter?

Obviously providing it's cooled down all the way. My father in law vacuums his about once a week, I've only ever cleaned out the ashes, is there a need, when trying to burn 24/7?

Edit: Meaning, he cleans out the ashes with a shovel, then also uses a vacuum to get rid of the extra ashes.

 

[MAD MARK]

There is no need. It's actually not good idea. Just when you think the ashes are cold enough a vacuum fire happens.

Plus you have to rebuild ashes back up which takes more time.

It's best to leave about an inch of ashes on the bottom.

 

[begreen]

No, never. The only time I might vacuum it out would be to replace the firebricks. That hasn't happened yet in 10yrs of service.

 

[prezes13]

No leave about 1”-2” for a better insulation. At the end of burning season I will clean it and vacuume it out.

 

[jetsam]

I use a vacuum to get the crud off of a ledge inside the stove after chimney sweeping if the stove is cold enough to allow, and I run it across the face of the cat at the same time.

No need to vacuum out your firebox. I imagine shopvac fires in the living room are not a lot of fun, so there's a reason not to do it.

 

[weatherguy]

I dont even vacuum when I do my end of year cleaning, I always leave an inch or so.

 

[Woodsplitter67]

I believe in good hygiene. I clean my stove every 10 to 14 days. That would be an ash cleanout, removal of the cat and vacuum it, vacume out the cat area and inspect stove. That being said i never vacuum out the firebox untill the end of year or when the chimney is swept in like mid January. All i do when cleaning the box is a little sweeping of the ashes with a little brush.

 

[bholler]

I believe in good hygiene. I clean my stove every 10 to 14 days. That would be an ash cleanout, removal of the cat and vacuum it, vacume out the cat area and inspect stove. That being said i never vacuum out the firebox untill the end of year or when the chimney is swept in like mid January. All i do when cleaning the box is a little sweeping of the ashes with a little brush.

You really pull your cat every 2 weeks or so?

 

[Easy Livin’ 3000]

Does a wood stove (ones with fire bricks inside) need to be vacuumed at all during winter?

Obviously providing it's cooled down all the way. My father in law vacuums his about once a week, I've only ever cleaned out the ashes, is there a need, when trying to burn 24/7?

Edit: Meaning, he cleans out the ashes with a shovel, then also uses a vacuum to get rid of the extra ashes.

No, no, no.

I was vacuuming out about once a month several years ago. I was mistaken. Leave some ash in the bottom, just remove enough throughout the winter to keep you in business.

Vacuum only for inspection and firebrick removal. Or perhaps if you do a midseason sweep of the chimney pipe.

 

[Bad LP]

End of season only. Last year after it was all cleaned out it got cold again so a relight was needed. That ash stayed in the stove all summer.

 

[firefighterjake]

No . . . I cleaned my fire box out this past Fall before firing it up . . . did so to check for any issues with the stove.

 

[Dataman]

You should leave some ashes so the bricks don't take as much abuse. They last longer. I know my BK recommended that.

 

[Woodsplitter67]

You really pull your cat every 2 weeks or so?

Yes i i do.. it takes all of about 30 seconds to do so..
If it was time consuming and difficult probably not as much

 

[Ashful]

I vacuum my stove once per year, mid-summer, after bottom-up sweeping the chimney.

Mid-season cleaning in January? No way in hell I’m shutting these stoves down in January, that’s when I’m in the mode of constant hot reloads. I’ve never gotten enough out of the chimney in the summer to make me think it would be worth doing a mid-season clean, but I have (mostly) good burning habits, and (mostly) dry wood.

 

[xman23]

I've always cleaned all the ash out, on Sunday. Not that's it's needed but it's nice to have a clean stove next friday. There's always a pile of charcoal chunks that I try to save. All this said reburning ash will always reduce it. As well as get a hotter fire box quicker. So I know a bit less cleaning is better, but I can't bring myself to leave the stove full of ash.

 

[Easy Livin’ 3000]

I've always cleaned all the ash out, on Sunday. Not that's it's needed but it's nice to have a clean stove next friday. There's always a pile of charcoal chunks that I try to save. All this said reburning ash will always reduce it. As well as get a hotter fire box quicker. So I know a bit less cleaning is better, but I can't bring myself to leave the stove full of ash.

I understand. Sounds like what I was doing. I felt a compulsion to do it. I don't know why.

For the first time this year, the compulsion left me. I'll vacuum her out, come June 2019.

 

[jebatty]

28 years of burning and only vacuumed the stove once -- when I removed and replaced the firebrick, about 5 years ago. Had to vacuum at that time both to aid in removal of the worn firebrick and then to insert and seat the new firebrick against the stove steel. The stove is a prominent fixture in our living room and is the primary house heat, with 24-7 burns most of December through March and as needed the rest of each year.

 

[ratsrepus]

Yes i i do.. it takes all of about 30 seconds to do so..
If it was time consuming and difficult probably not as much

You must have a whole big giant roll of gasket material on hand

 

[vwmike]

Like most I only vacuum once a year, usually in sept when the chimney gets cleaned and the stoves been cold for months. One thing no one else has mentioned I have the expensive hepa filter in it to limit spreading any more dust than necessary in the house!!

 

[Easy Livin’ 3000]

Like most I only vacuum once a year, usually in sept when the chimney gets cleaned and the stoves been cold for months. One thing no one else has mentioned I have the expensive hepa filter in it to limit spreading any more dust than necessary in the house!!

Good idea. I just point the exhaust out the open door and save myself the hepa'$.

 

[vwmike]

Good idea. I just point the exhaust out the open door and save myself the hepa'$.

I have to vacumn my pellet stove once a week in winter so it was worth the investment....

 

[Easy Livin’ 3000]

I have to vacumn my pellet stove once a week in winter so it was worth the investment....

Indeed! I just bought two blue ones for the big ridged shop vac. Not hepa, but advertised as ash-worthy. They want a lot of clams for the ridged brand version, but now HD sells the copycat version online, same ones as on ebay, delivered to the store for big savings. Good to see they are catching on.

 

[Woodsplitter67]

You must have a whole big giant roll of gasket material on hand

My cat is easy to take out.. no gasket material is required...

 

[Dataman]

Really no gasket material? Must not be BK

 

[ratsrepus]

Really no gasket material? Must not be BK

kinda what i thought