I just purchased and installed my new pellet stove. I am new to the pellet stove world, so I'm looking for good operating tips from those of you who have experience. I live in a small town in Alaska, and bought my stove over the phone and had it barged to me, therefore I wasn't able to really talk to a dealer or visit a showroom. A couple questions: Depending on pellets, it says to clean ash every 5 bags. But how much ash is too much in the bottom? Can it build up a bit to like the top of burn pot? Also wondering about flame height. Directions say 8" tall. I haven't noticed much difference between -1, 0, and +1. Flame will briefly go about 2/3 of the way up the baffle and will then die down, sometimes barely to the top of the burn pot, then build back up. I guess this is normal? Also does anyone run in Auto mode? I haven't found that I like this mode because unless the temperature really falls, it never comes off of low, and then runs forever. I've found manual/medium to work better to hold temps. I guess I wish this mode worked a little better or was programmed differently. Other than that, the stove works awesomely and so far I'm liking the pellet experience over cord wood. Thanks for any info or tips.