More ash in burn chamber then ash pan

[SteveA]

This is my first season with the stove. I've been stuck with some pretty ashy pellets (Heat'rs & stove chow). I am very surprised that I end up with far more ash in the burn chamber then in the ash pan. I'm talking 2-3 times the volume. Is this normal?

I have a Classic Bay 1200I, I know there is a potentiometer on the control board, for some reason I think this adjusts the combustion blower speed. I wonder if this could be set wrong? Does anyone know where it is supposed to be set?

 

[DMKNLD]

I have a Castile model Quad, so unfortunately I can't help you with your particular model stove settings, but it sounds like you have a fuel / air imbalance issue. Quads in general adjust their burn efficiency by the pellet feed rate, so you may need to adjust your pellet feed to the optimum fire pot flame height, generally done on the high setting. As in all pellet stoves, if your stove and / or vent are dirty / plugged with fly ash that will also affect your airflow and burn efficiency, and in turn your ash production..

I would recommend you amend your thread title to include "Classic Bay 1200I" or "Quad Classic Bay" in the topic so it better catches the eye of the folsk who have that stove brand and model, and can often best help you with a question. There are many Quadrafire owners and knowledgeable folks to help, but threads are easy to miss with lots of daily posts now that pellet burning season is in full swing. This response will bump your post back up, as will renaming the thread.

Good luck !

 

[PutnamJct]

Must be a 1200i thing. My chamber (the side "pockets" on either side of the burnpot) fill up pretty regularly while the ash pan under the burnpot is basically empty. What little bit ends up in the tray I put there when I scrape the pot and pull the lever.

PS The Stove Chow and Heat'rs I've burned have been pretty clean compared to a lot of other stove I've burned over the years.

 

[Wilbur Feral]

This can vary from stove to stove. My Quad has an autoclean feature that dumps the burn pot every few hours, and most of the ash ends up in the ash pan, although there is always a considerable amount in the firebox as well. But with my old Whitfield there is almost no ash in the ash pan, but the firebox needs vacuuming every couple of days. It all depends on the design of the stove. If it's burning well, get a good ash vac that can hold hot embers safely (just in case) and just keep the firebox area clean.