Fireplace Wood Insert - Ash Pan or No Ash Pan?

[Bash]

I'm new to this and I have never run a woodstove in my life. I am planning on having a wood insert installed and I am trying to pick the model. I really like what I have read about the "Pacific" insert from Pacific Energy, but it doesn't have an ash pan. I have spoken to friends of mine that have stoves and they feel it is a huge mistake to buy a stove without an ash pan becuase of the difficulty of getting the ashes out of a hot stove.

I plan to use the insert to offset oil costs. It will be upstairs in the living room/kitchen area (cathedral ceilings with ceiling fan) of a raised ranch. I have oil heat and plan to use the wood stove during the awake hours; oil at night if needed. I expect the stove will probably not burn through the night so I will be restarting the fire in the mornings. If the ashes will be cool in the mornings is it that big a deal to not have an ash pan?

Any advice on the need for ash pans or the Pacific model I am considering would be much apreciated.

 

[whphel]

I think a stove has to be free standing in order to have an ash pan. With an insert there is no where for the ashes to fall.

 

[sgcsalsero]

I've run my Hampton insert two years better part of two years now, no ash pan. Recently I've been pulling up a 'shelf' of coals along the front for the over night burn. Stuffing the firebox becomes a little more tricky but what I have found in the morning is a 'two bricks' worth of fine ash right in the front. Using a small ash shovel (I need a shorter handle so as to not bang the door, well it's on the list) and the ashes are scooped out in 60-90 secs tops every morning.

I haven't had the pleasure of an ash pan, but I guess one learns to deal with the cards you get . .

Good luck with your purchase and post some pics when you get liftoff

 

[derwood]

I thought an ash pan would be handy. But I've found it's no big deal not having one.

 

[stoncold]

I think you'd end up losing firebox volume if you got an insert with an ash pan....not an expert by any means, but they have to make em fit, you know?

 

[Country Lady]

We have an ash pan on our wood fireplace insert and never use it. It's just easier to shovel them out into a bucket and take them out. If we had known what we know now, we wouldn't have paid for that extra feature.

 

[ozarkjeep]

My insert has an ashpan and I am very thankful.

I can rake the coals to one side, and rake the ash into the pan, and then slide the pan out and go and dump it and still not have to build a fire from scratch.

ive tried shoveling the ashes out, and its DUSTY and messy as hell.

the ashpan eliminates much of that mess for me.

even a day after the fire goes out, the ashes are so dry and fine, that its IMPOSSIBLE to shovel them straight out of the stove and not make a mess.

ashpan = better

 

[savageactor7]

After 20 years having stoves with the convenience of ashpans and shaker grates we upgrated to a Quadra-fire 4300. I love the stoves heat output and ambiance but hate dealing with the ashes.

Every time you load the stove you have to move the coals around to put wood in it ...
what a pain in the a--from what we were use to. Of course we heat 24/7 for the occasional wood stove user it's no problem.

Do yourself a favor and get a stove with an ashpan.