Leaf Blower Method/Clean??

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tractorboy924

Member
Jul 7, 2008
77
Western NY
I have been looking to my issue of burn pot fill up and unburnt and learned I have not cleaned something properly so plan to do so again tonight....flame strong but pellets not burning 100% and pot fills up.

while lurking and reading about cleaning and maint someone said something about a leafblower technique..didnt explain it just said to try it...what is this?? blow the leafblower through the chimney to make sure no blockages?? can someone explain for me a little. Just curios Im not sure I want to blow a leave blower around the stove to clean out ash...wife will have me sleeping in the barn for sure!!!!!
 
I have been looking to my issue of burn pot fill up and unburnt and learned I have not cleaned something properly so plan to do so again tonight....flame strong but pellets not burning 100% and pot fills up.

while lurking and reading about cleaning and maint someone said something about a leafblower technique..didnt explain it just said to try it...what is this?? blow the leafblower through the chimney to make sure no blockages?? can someone explain for me a little. Just curios Im not sure I want to blow a leave blower around the stove to clean out ash...wife will have me sleeping in the barn for sure!!!!!
looks like I found some more explanation and tip to review more....

For future cleaning I would suggest getting a leaf blower to clean the exhaust track. If you Google pellet stove leaf blower there are a lot of videos that show what I am referring to.
 
Just be sure you do it outside and connect the " intake" of the blower to the pipe, otherwise you may be sleeping in the barn for sure
 
Hmm. Maybe i'll stick a blower up my wood stove pipe, before a sweep?
 
Here is mine. I have easy access to my outdoor vents so I remove the cap and the PVC reducers fits inside the 3" pipe. If I have a helper at the time I have them open and close the pellet stove door in 3 second intervals. I know some have said that closing the door at all while doing this can harm your vac switch, but I haven't had any issues with it. My leaf blower isn't an overly powerful one, it is just an extra one I had in the garage.

If you can't get to your outside vent I have seen people blow it out by contacting the leaf blower outlet to the T cleanout. They cut some thick Styrofoam to cover the door to their pellet stove. Then cut a hole in the styrofoam just big enough for their shop vac hose. They would turn on the shop vac while they were blowing out the T with the leaf blower.

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I'm always amazed at the amount of soot that forms a cloud from the leaf blower, even after a good stove cleaning. I use a gas powered blower vac on mine. For years it was an old cheap McCulloch that finally died last year and I now have an Echo blower/vac. I made an adaptor for mine that is a 4" to 3" rubber adapter that connects to the cleanout T outside. It then goes to a 4" PVC elbow and a length of PVC pipe which slips right in the vacuum attachment for the leaf blower.
 
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