Loving our Heritage but at this point we are shoveling out a lot of ashes every single morning or at least every other morning. We don't use the ash pan just shovel it out. Is this normal?
Heritage too much ash?
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Highbeam
Minister of Fire
Interval totally depends on type of wood and amount burned.
You should have several inches of ash capacity before ash begins to spill out of the side door. I clean ashes weekly now that I am burning hard and using cottonwood. When I do clean out the ashes I can nearly fill a 12 quart bucket. It is OK to let the ashes build up but don't block the doghouse hole.
You should have several inches of ash capacity before ash begins to spill out of the side door. I clean ashes weekly now that I am burning hard and using cottonwood. When I do clean out the ashes I can nearly fill a 12 quart bucket. It is OK to let the ashes build up but don't block the doghouse hole.
Backwoods Savage
Minister of Fire
Also, are you cleaning out just ashes or are you also cleaning out the red coals? You just should not have to empty ashes every day. We do it about every 4th or 5th day and sometimes less. We also leave about 1-2" of ash in the bottom. The only time we clean it completely is in June, after the burning season.
swestall
Minister of Fire
Agree completely on how much ash is produced, it just depends on how much wood you burn. So, the thing there is to just burn what keeps your house warm and not worry about it.
Sometimes I get lazy and let the ashes build up, I clean a trough down the middle so air can flow out the damper input front to back. But, I notice a big difference when I do clean all the ash out. I recently read that one user just took the closing ash grate out and sifts the ash through the other grate. He also bought a second ash pan to make it easier.
I used to do exactly that with the VC stoves: they never had a closing grate and it never occurred to me to do anything else. So, at some point I think I am going to try to use the clean out that way. The entire trouble I have with it is that I can't close the grate after cleaning because small coals get stuck in the grate. If the ash clean out door gasket seals well enough, then there is no reason to need the closing grate at all.
Sometimes I get lazy and let the ashes build up, I clean a trough down the middle so air can flow out the damper input front to back. But, I notice a big difference when I do clean all the ash out. I recently read that one user just took the closing ash grate out and sifts the ash through the other grate. He also bought a second ash pan to make it easier.
I used to do exactly that with the VC stoves: they never had a closing grate and it never occurred to me to do anything else. So, at some point I think I am going to try to use the clean out that way. The entire trouble I have with it is that I can't close the grate after cleaning because small coals get stuck in the grate. If the ash clean out door gasket seals well enough, then there is no reason to need the closing grate at all.
savageactor7
Minister of Fire
We shovel out 3-4 shovels full of ash every morning ... no big deal. But we've been burning steady since Thanksgiving or even before... I dunno. Yes geka I'd say it's a normal thing to do.
LLigetfa
Minister of Fire
Every morning I sort the ash from the coals and shovel out some of the ashes into a coal hod. After 3 days, I empty the hod but there is still room for one or two more days if I really wanted to fill it. So, I'd say 5 days of heavy burning would fill the hod to the brim. I burn Black Ash.
edthedawg
Minister of Fire
I burn my craptastic marginally seasoned, soaking wet oak and get very little ash buildup so long as I'm consistent with my reloading. I haven't emptied ash in a week or so, and probably can go a few more days if I want.
I've reloaded once or twice this weekend on a blistering coal bed that was up over the doghouse level - flush with the side door threshold - and i packed it full from that, even. That's not ash - that's coals. Let that burn down thoroughly, and the resultant ash bed was below the doghouse.
How frequently are you reloading? try reloading an hour later than you think you need to. see if that cuts down your ash buildup without going too cold.
I've reloaded once or twice this weekend on a blistering coal bed that was up over the doghouse level - flush with the side door threshold - and i packed it full from that, even. That's not ash - that's coals. Let that burn down thoroughly, and the resultant ash bed was below the doghouse.
How frequently are you reloading? try reloading an hour later than you think you need to. see if that cuts down your ash buildup without going too cold.
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