No ash in the ash pan

[Gomli]

Hello Gents,

I'm new with Pellet Stoves and also new on your forums, which have helped me a lot in getting started with my Pellet Stove.

I have 2 questions if I may :

1) Is it safe to run my pellet stove when I'm not home, (IE. at work)

2) After 2 days of burning, approx. 2 bags. I have to vacuum the whole interior of my stove since its full of ash everywhere, yet very little ash are in the ash pan. I've tried to open up the air vents in the stove a little but if they are open to much pellet just accumulate and overflow the burn pot. So is this ash accumulation normal ?

Thanks !!
Jo

 

[Bioburner]

Most of us run our stove 24/7. Mine can go for up to 4 days without touching. Some have vid cams on em to watch from wherever
Need to add stove to your signature so we know what stove your talking about.
Welcome

 

[Gomli]

That's good to hear that most people run it 24/7 WebCam is a great idea, never really though of that !

Added Stove info as requested.

Cheers

 

[boo boo]

welcome to the forum
Safe --yes
Vacuum after 2 bags?

 

[Gomli]

welcome to the forum
Safe --yes
Vacuum after 2 bags?

Thanks
And yes I know it does seem kind of odd. I mean maybe I can open the air vents a bit more so that less air goes to the burn pot, but then I'm worried about accumulation again.

For example I cleaned it completely and started her up on Friday at 4PM, by Sunday 4PM it's was full of ash, I opened the door and a bunch fell to the floor, that seems not normal to me, but I may be wrong hehe.

Cheers,

 

[Bioburner]

Some stoves are more needy. I have one that needs about the same amount of attention. Your using a bag a day and the blower is pretty good at around 250cfm. As others will point out you get what you paid for. Less $$$ usually means more elbow grease.

 

[johneh]

We run 24/7 always. Fill it start it clean it once a week or more often if needed
Ash depends on make of pellet some have a lot more ash than others

 

[Johnny_Fiv3]

Constant running is fine. As I have been told here: you have a fire going in a device designed to have a fire going. No worries.

 

[Gomli]

BioBurner : I guess your right you get what you pay for, just wanted to make sure it wasn't something completely off.

Johneh and Johnny_Fiv3 : thanks, appreciate the confirmation.

Thanks all for your replies, very helpful people here :-D

 

[Bioburner]

Sometimes the pellets can be the problem too.

 

[Gomli]

Sometimes the pellets can be the problem too.

I'm using premium pellets :

http://lacretesawmills.com/products/pellets/

Is it better to use Softwood or Hardwood ? I though Hardwood but now I'm seeing good arguments for both on the web...

 

[Bioburner]

Premium seems to be put on every bag. My horse puts out premium too Lacretes I just read someone was having some missgivings about. Do a search on them here

 

[Ranger72]

Is the ash very light in color and fluffy? Some pellets have that fluffy type ash that blows up easily and ends up everywhere. If your not getting a buildup in the pot, have a bright active flame and getting good heat output I wouldn't be too concerned to be honest. Try a bag or two of a different brand pellet and see if it is the same. Just remember, every brand pellet, and many times different batch of the same brand, might require you to fine tune your air/ feed.

 

[Gomli]

Good idea, I'll get a few bags from another brand next time see if it makes a difference. And yes it does appear to be light and fluffy, took some pics yesterday, this is after 24 hour burn on low. Sorry pics aren't great.

 

[Ranger72]

I wouldn't be super concerned. When I have been burning at lower setting for a while, I like to burn at a higher setting for a half hour or so. Try a different brand and report back.

 

[bags]

Hello Gents,

Welcome Gomli! FYI There are many dudes floating about here but there are some ladies also with some serious pellet stove experience. Just a heads up. Snowy Rivers, Lake Girl, Bogieb, to mention a few.

Lake Girl will be more than happy to straighten you out on the softwood pellets too. I thought the same as you at first. Then Lake Girl got me thinking a bit. I burn hardwoods but that is what I have available here. Some swear by the softwoods though.

 

[Gomli]

Welcome Gomli! FYI There are many dudes floating about here but there are some ladies also with some serious pellet stove experience. Just a heads up. Snowy Rivers, Lake Girl, Bogieb, to mention a few.

Lake Girl will be more than happy to straighten you out on the softwood pellets too. I thought the same as you at first. Then Lake Girl got me thinking a bit. I burn hardwoods but that is what I have available here. Some swear by the softwoods though.

Thanks, didn't mean to exclude the ladies I have no doubt their are some here with serious experience, when it comes to wood cutting/cording/burning in my family we go to my aunt for advice/info

 

[unbidden]

Hello Gents,

I'm new with Pellet Stoves and also new on your forums, which have helped me a lot in getting started with my Pellet Stove.

I have 2 questions if I may :

1) Is it safe to run my pellet stove when I'm not home, (IE. at work)

2) After 2 days of burning, approx. 2 bags. I have to vacuum the whole interior of my stove since its full of ash everywhere, yet very little ash are in the ash pan. I've tried to open up the air vents in the stove a little but if they are open to much pellet just accumulate and overflow the burn pot. So is this ash accumulation normal ?

Thanks !!
Jo

After only 2 bags youre not going to have much ash in the pan. Ash flying around the fire box is normal and of course some will stick to various sides of the stove.

 

[bags]

I run my stove 24/7 home or not asleep or awake. Perfectly fine and safe.

 

[bogieb]

I don't have any experience with your stove, but looking at your manual (which is not really detailed or in good English) I see they include a brush as a needed tool. Not ever having seen a brush as a standard tool included with a stove, I would take that to mean that ash needs help to get into the pan. Can you brush the ash into the pan, then empty the pan as needed? At least that would keep you from having to vacuum all the time.

 

[bogieb]

Oh yeah, and I run both stoves 24/7. Although right now they are thermostat controlled so turn off sometimes, I have run each of them on manual for several days in a row. In fact, I just took the Harman off manual this morning, it has been running for 10-12 days straight, but with milder temps I am letting it rest if the thermostat thinks it should.

 

[bogieb]

You might want to read this Addendum to the manual for your stove. It states :

A damper PUSHED IN all the way, maximizes concentrated

air flow to the burn pot. This will maintain a robust fire. The Auger timing is designed to be run, in most conditions, with the dampers closed.

And goes on to say that opening the air will allow pellets to build up. I'm also guessing that the more air to the pot will blow the ashes out of the pot better, but that is just my un-educated guess.

 

[Wilbur Feral]

Know nothing about your stove, but my old Whitfield Quest puts most of the ash in the firebox and almost none in the ash pan, requiring vacuum every 1-3 days depending on pellet I'm burning. I might get a bit longer with an extremely low ash pellet, but some stoves are designed so that most of the ash never has a chance to drop down into the ash pan because the air flow doesn't allow it. Normal for those stoves.

 

[Gomli]

You might want to read this Addendum to the manual for your stove. It states :

A damper PUSHED IN all the way, maximizes concentrated

air flow to the burn pot. This will maintain a robust fire. The Auger timing is designed to be run, in most conditions, with the dampers closed.

And goes on to say that opening the air will allow pellets to build up. I'm also guessing that the more air to the pot will blow the ashes out of the pot better, but that is just my un-educated guess.

Yup, I found that online after I first started having issues with overflowing burn pot. I open the damper when I first start it or else pellets go flying everywhere. Once the fire is properly started I leave them open only about 1/8th of an inch, that seems to keep my burn pot fairly low, but ashes fly everywhere. You can see those dampers on the floor of the stove each side of the burn pot in the picture I posted.

I don't mind the vacuum every 2-3 days, its pretty quick and painless with a Ash Vac

P.S Got some new pellets from Lowes yesterday so I'll try them tonight and see.

 

[Gomli]

Know nothing about your stove, but my old Whitfield Quest puts most of the ash in the firebox and almost none in the ash pan, requiring vacuum every 1-3 days depending on pellet I'm burning. I might get a bit longer with an extremely low ash pellet, but some stoves are designed so that most of the ash never has a chance to drop down into the ash pan because the air flow doesn't allow it. Normal for those stoves.

I think you might be right, just a design thing, nothing can be done. Which is fine, as long as it's safe, that was my main concern hehe.

Like someone posted earlier... you get what you pay for