How anal is too anal?

[kilarney]

I have a Harman Accentra insert that was installed in early spring. I've heard varying reports as to how often to clean the stove. Some people go so far as to suggest that you should scrape the burnpot everyday.

So what is a realistic schedule for cleaning? I've been cleaning mine a lot, but it's been easy since by the time it was installed we did not have to run it too much. I'd rather not take the stove out of service for a daily cleaning if it's 5 degrees out.

So how many bags should I burn before cleaning out the stove and/or scraping the burn pot? I want to err on the side of caution, but don't want to do it if it isn't necessary.

Thanks!

 

[rayttt]

I have a harman p38 and I cleaned it once a week.

When I burned crappy pellets ..I did have to scrap the burn pot daily to get rid of some of the ashs clogging it...but did a quick scrapping while it was running.

 

[j00fek]

depending on the pellets you burn it will vary.

i clean my fathers during the start of the winter and at the end of the winter

i scraped out the burnpot every time i had to light just because i was in there already, only took 8-10 scrapes

 

[Highbeam]

Well according to my wife.......

 

[drizler]

Well according to my wife.......

To quote the old Drill Seargant, " KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID..."
With pellets I figure its up to you and once a week is more than enough. Being used to nasty dirty but once dirt cheap corn I clean mine with pellets about every couple weeks and thats when and if I get around to it. The big thing to remember is that its first and foremost at the first sign it isn't running right. By that I mean dirty yellow and lazy flame. Thats when the big cleaning is spot on, especially those ugly little places in back of the burn pot where each model stove may or may not have its special place to build up ash. One thing I like to clean and especially blow out with the air compresssor is the motor and bower areas. It gets nasty in there too and the fans draw the fallout in constantly. I try to make more of a thing to do rather than a set task which helps the mood of it all.