Keeping the ashes down, What do you guys do?

[carpniels]

HI guys,

As you know, I have a Quadrafire Isle Royale. In upstate NY, I burn from November to April 24/7. I distribute the hot air with 2 fans; one above the stove and one at the start of the hallway to the bedrooms. All works well.

However, The fans get a lot of buildup of dust/ash. And everytime I add wood, a little bit of ash comes out/falls out which is blown in the house. And when I empty the ash tray, a lot of ash blows up in the air and goes somewhere in the house. Behind the stove, there is a layer of ash.

I also have 3 small boys. My wife said that we need to do something about the dust. I have been opening the doors of the stove slowly, to avoid any ash coming into the room. I also turn off all fans, before I empty the ashtray to avoid any blowing ashes. But this makes little difference.

Shouldn't there be more that I can do? Do you have any tips?

Thanks

Carpniels (trying to keep the wife happy and my kids healthy).

 

[ControlFreak]

My stove doesn't have an ash tray, so I separate the ash from the coals using a shovel with holes drilled in it. Almost all of the airborne dust stays in the stove and gets sucked up the chimney. When I shovel out the ash (with a different shovel), I tilt the bucket into the stove opening and carefully let the ash slide off the shovel into the bucket. Most of the airborne dust created stays in the stove and goes up the chimney.

I get most of my airborne dust from a small amount of ash that inevitably gets out onto the hearth. When I sweep that up with a broom, it stirs up some of it into the air. If that really bothered me, I'd grab the hose to the central vacuum and suck it up rather than use the broom. Of course I would only do that after the ash has had time for any hot embers to extinguish. The central vac normally vents to the outside, except in the winter when I switch it to vent into the basement, along with the clothes dryer.

Dan

 

[begreen]

Hmm. Is this a new complaint since the arrival of the IR, or a perennial complaint? Let the stove go out for a few days with the thermostat set to 65 and the complaints about ash and dust will stop. :coolgrin:

 

[northwinds]

I've noticed, as you indicate, that it helps to open the doors slowly. If I do that, and give it full air, the ash sucks back
in. I also keep a shovel nearby to push in the ash that hangs on the lip and wants to fall on the hearthpad. I'm also
finding it easier to collect ash less frequently. When I do the ash job, I'll empty out the very full ash tray and then shovel
the rest out from the stove. Once per day, I'll shop vac up any cold ashes that escape to the hearthpad.

 

[Jags]

Hey Carp,
If you burn 24/7, I assume that you still have heat in the stove when playing with ashes. I have a little method that reduces flying ash, but it can bite you if you are not paying attention. I wait until I have the burn down to the coal stage and then open full air, and even crack the door a bit to get them rocket hot. I then open both doors on the IR and then open the ash door and empty the ash pan. Keep your ash pan and bucket as close to the open doors as possible. This creates suction from the heat going up the stack, without major flame up and most fly ash will get sucked up. Replace ash pan, and knock the burn box ash into the ash pan again. And repeat until you have removed all the ash needed.

As far as ash during a reload time, again, open air full open for a couple of min before reload. The increase in air volume going up the stack will create a vacuum in the firebox, sucking most flying ash with it when you open the door.

Note: I usually only open the right hand door for reloads. I keep the andiron on the left side upright and the one on the right side folded down, this will also increase the vacuum, because you will have half of the "open" area vs. opening both doors. I don't typically use the top load feature.

Give that a try, but make darn sure you always keep in mind that you are playing around real hot metal. Trust me, I have tested "paying attention" and "not paying attention". "Not paying attention" hurts alot more.

BG - you crack me up (cuz I've done that)

 

[swestall]

When you burn wood, you make ash, when you make ash it gets in the house during wood season; if you don't burn wood there won't be enough money for food and entertainment, etc.

If we don't burn wood we'll be using 250 gallons or more of oil a month, that will translate to between $700-$900 during the heating season.

This little swiffer costs $7.00 and refills are really cheap; they really pick up the ash quickly and make an easy job of getting that little bit of ash that gets on things.



This is a crash course that I used with my wife when she complained to me about the wood and ash. She has said very little about it since.

 

[milner351]

I've got to get a swiffer.

now I just keep the shop vac close, and always open up the damper before opening the door.

 

[RedRanger]

My wife doesn`t complain about the ash. I empty the insert twice a week with a small shovel and immediatley vaccum the dust from the entire area. Now I will admit that I don`t vaccum because I`m a nice guy,but rather because my pride and joy sits only 7ft away from the insert. Amazing what a man will do just to make sure that "big screen" doesn`t get clogged with dust.

 

[gpcollen1]

That sounds like too much ash everywhere??

I do not have your model stove but it is very important to open the air up and get the air moving through the stove prior to opening it. Then I rake the coals around to get them more air and glowing prior to removing ash. The more heat getting moving up the flu the better.

 

[billb3]

I belittle them unmercifullly.


no wind in room
chimney wide open

 

[savageactor7]

Having some ash dust with a wood fire is just the nature of the beast. I don't think it'll ever be clean like when you heat with natural gas.

As far as that shovel with the diamond shaped holes go...that's part of your ash problem too. I gave up shifting coals with that shovel after two times.

Now in the morning before reloading I take out 4 shovels full from the front of the box throw 'em in the bucket hot coals and all and just put the top on it. So now the bucket radiates some heat too...it's sitting on the hearthstone deck.

In the meantime help the miss with the dusting & remind her she saving 3k a year in heat bills. Of course if the children have any breathing problems your gonna have to lock that ash problem down.

 

[drizler]

Try burning a Countryside cornstove using corn sometime. I had to put a switch on the blower which is automatic just for that reason. I would say shut off the fans before opening the door. Also crack that door like you were opening a shook can of soda. Crack it barely give it a second or two and open very slowly. If you have one of those airflow window systems like all the pellet stoves do it tends to dump a nice thick pile of fine ash all over in front right against the base of the door. That gets dislodged when you open the door and a lot of it flys with the vacum when you pull the door open. Beyond that KEEP THE DAMNED DOOR CLOSED. That is a little lesson I learned looking up at my ceiling over the last few years. Believe me corn fallout is far worse than wood because its greasy and light and likes to go up into the upper corners of your ceiling across the room from the stove. And yes opening the door to see the diffference between the glass temp and the coals with that cool red laser qualifies. Just got one of those myself last week and it is hard to put down..

 

[eernest4]

I don't know about you guys!
I just use a dust pan & a hand brush & forget about it! Takes all of 1 minute to sweep up.

But when I shovel out the beast,I open the draft damper on the 8 in stove pipe all the way,
& set the stove door so it forms a wall to keep the fly ash sucking into the stove & set my ash bucket in the coner created by the open door.

Sometimes if the stove is dead cold, i lit a newspaper in the stove by the flue collar, to accellerate the draft , just before I start shovelling.

I have my ash shovel wedged onto the end of a 5 ft broom handle, so I don't have to get close enough to inhale any of the fly ash drifting in the air. It don't all get sucked into the stove & sometimes I have to walk away & come back in 10 minutes, to let the ash settle of get sucked into the stove.

Twice a month, I need to vac the floor, but floor lucky to see vac once every 2 months,if that.

2 much else 2 do , 2 waste time chasing dust. When dust gets obnocious, then I nail it.

 

[downeast]

no wind in room
chimney wide open

Ditto. Ditto. NO fans.
Warm flue = good draft= no ashes in room. All part of the wood heat learning curve.
We do it once/day as the morning routine ( usually out-of-it @ zero dark hundred ). Just be sure to toss ashes WITH the wind.
Bring in the wood for the by-the-stoves racks. Sweep the wood detritus before the boss awakes. Load stoves with a hard open-door burn. Make coffee. Then sit to read the WSJ for our investments and who said what in the latest debates or virtual scandal. Ahhhhhh......another morning not being fired at.

 

[Girl]

Shouldn't there be more that I can do? Do you have any tips?

Yup have her do it

Air cleaners can be a good investment.
But the electricity used & then you have to maintain those too & then when she sees the filters, she could flip, they get nasty regardless if you burn or not.
It's the nature of the beast, clean up after your done doing your thing.
Rather battle dust & have food on the table.
I just use a broom, a small dust pan & brush & an occasionally a hand held swifer duster thingy.
Make sure the damper is wide open when removing ash.
If the kids are predisposed to respiratory problems then speaking as a mom then I would be concerned.
The kids will be fine, think most of us grew up chewing on lead paint, riding bikes with no helmets, etc... Amazingly we survived huh?
Spring cleaning is just around the corner anyway!

 

[Jimbob]

Any fine ash that drifts out of the stove while I dump the ash (very little because I use the ash dump trap door), gets sucked up in this filter anyway, so it doesn't end up upstairs.

 

[carpniels]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for all the replies. It seems like there are three things I can improve:

1. I should open the air fully a few minutes before I load wood or clean the stove. Seems logic now, but I never thought of it myself.

2. One point I forgot to mention is that I have a large gate in front of the stove to prevent the kids from touching (or falling against) the stove. I cannot get in front, below, next to or behind the stove until I remove the gate. I will have to do that when they are all in bed. And the swiffer seems like a good idea, although I will start with a wet mob first. There is just too much dust around the stove.

3. another problem I have is lots of wood debris hanging off the wood carrier, that gets on the floor once I set it down and it accumulates. Lots of bark pieces that aggravate my wife. Someone brought that us and others said to work generally clean. I guess I need to clean up my wood pile area to avoid bringing that in.

Thanks for all the tips. I will clean everything this weekend and keep you informed on my wifes attitude.

Thanks

carpniels

 

[Eric Johnson]

Hi Niels.

What I would suggest is to turn on a shop vac while you're cleaning the ashes and use it to suck up the errant (airborne) dust. Better yet, have your wife or one of your kids hold the nozzle over the area you're cleaning. You need to get a special filter for your vac, but they don't cost much and slip right over the regular filter. The effect is to suck up the stray ashes from the air as they rise.

I suggested this awhile back and got flamed because people (for some reason) thought I was suggesting that you clean the ashes with the vac. No, all you're doing is pulling the dust out of the air. Obviously, you don't want the vac nozzle anywhere near hot coals, which it won't be if you pay attention to what you're doing. Comes in handy when cleaning the chimney, too.

In my old house I rigged up a regular vac piping system around my chimney cleanout and ash cleanout for the boiler (in the basement). I had little hoods hooked up to 2" pvc pipe permanently positioned over the chimney cleanout and the ash cleanout. I would just plug the vac into the piping, creating a central-vac setup for cleaning around the boiler. Doing it handheld would work just as well with a woodstove.

 

[Robbie]

carpniels, lots of good advice, here is mine.

Do not mop and then vac, if you mop it will cause ash to adhere to the floor more and your vac will not remove it as well,

The ash will only get wet and a residue is left to dry.......vac first, then mop if you want.

Get a different carrier, I have have used one of these for three years and nothing ever falls from it, bark or even the smallest stuff.

(broken link removed to http://www.northlineexpress.com/itemdesc.asp?ic=5UW-1168&source=nextag&kw=5UW-1168)

I also have a small cordless vac and use it occasionally around and under my stove.

The tote bag will cure 99% of your bark problem.

The ash problem can be easily cured by being careful when you load wood etc. and also using a hand held rechargeable vac.

Do not run fans around stove if you can't figure out how to keep the ash down because it will only circulate ash all over your home.........over time you will have a big mess.

I run a blower on my stove all the time but never have an ash problem because I make sure it's clean every time I load etc.

Robbie

 

[Greg Ray]

Someone a while back posted about using a ash pan with a door on it. Keeps all the ash inside without the mess!! I bought a cheaper one on EBay and it works great!! No ash problem now. I will try to find the link for the ash pan... Maybe someone will post it before me. (broken link removed) This helps in my house,,to keep the ash down..

 

[carpniels]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the replies.

Robbie, I have a wood carrier like that. The problem is the wood that sticks to the bottom of the carrier. I set it down near the woodpile, load all my splits and the weight of the splits make bark and snow stick to the bottom of the carrier. And in the house, the snow melts and I have wood chips everywhere.

I solved this by cleaning around the wood pile so I can set the carrier down on the bare floor.

Greg,

Thanks for that tip. Looks interesting, but will not work. I have an ashtray behind a separate door below the doors that I load the wood through. That door is only 3 inches high so nothing will fit. Plus the ashtray is literally a steel box of 10 x 12 inches. What I have been doing is putting a moist towel over the top, taking it in the garage and emptying it out there. No more dust in the house so I will continue that.

Thanks

Carpniels