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Last night was the first burn... I have a St Croix York Insert and burned all night on the #2 setting.. Had about a 3/4 cup of ash. Using Lg Granules (softwood) The middle ash pan was half full. ( not very big) Is this normal.
Hard to say.....I've never burned them before, but that amount of ash doesn't sound excessive. Only way to tell would be if you had a different brand to compare to at the same heat setting. Plus every stove is a little different. I think your OK
Last night was the first burn... I have a St Croix York Insert and burned all night on the #2 setting.. Had about a 3/4 cup of ash. Using Lg Granules (softwood) The middle ash pan was half full. ( not very big) Is this normal.
Premium grade pellets can be up to 1% ash content. That means 17 cu inches of ash/40 lb bag. 17 cu inches is a box about 2 1/2 inches on a side. Add a little air, fluff it a bit and you're probably well within normal.
meanwhile back at the origional question. a 40 lb bag of premium pellets will leave about a half a coffee can of ash. now, where this ash ends up is dependant on the wood medium used and the type of unit its burned in. if you have a stove that leaves very little ash in the front or burn area the ash has likely carried into the ash bin or been carried into the heat exchange areas or the exhaust flue. with experience its easy to determine what you have as far as ash distribution. new pellet stove owners should be urged to check after several bags the following areas knowing that there would be a certain amount of ash created , the ash bin (if equipped) the ash collection areas( if no ash bin is provided) , the heat exchanger areas (up above smoke shelves and coating tubes , etc... lastly , check the ash dump in the flue tee. you should not find much but it not only shows the new owner that ash does indeed get back there but familiarizes them with the procedure for clearing the tee without a lot of ash present.
these checks give the customer an idea of how quickly ash builds in various areas and encourages regular ash maintenance which we would all agree is key to a long happy life for the stove and less aggrivation down the road for owners.
a clean stove is a happy stove. a dirty stove will generally let you down when its needed most.