P35i Complete clean and my observation of Okanagan Douglas Firs

[fmsm]

I did not want to push it more than a ton and a half for a deep cleaning on my P35i. I have been doing partial cleanings since the season began, scrape the burnpot every day or two, wipe the glass with a towel every week or two, and what was my bi weekly cleaning schedule of a complete vac, remove all inside plates, and vac all exhaust passages turned into monthly as there was NOTHING to clean.

I was shocked today at how little buildup there is inside the stove, even the esp was clean in comparison to prior years after a ton. I would guess that there was not even half a coffee can's of ash from the venting. So little in fact that I ran the brushes up twice more to the top just to make sure! While I still got a trickle the second and third time there was really nothing to speak of. The other observation I made was that the fly ash was very light, almost a powder with no grit. I have never had such a fine fly ash.

While I am not recommending that anyone else follow this schedule, I thought it real interesting how clean the stove still was. To ME, the extra money for the Okanagan Douglas Firs was totally worth it!

 

[jackman]

What you describe is nearly the same as my experience. The only pellets sold in the Pacific northwest is Doug Fir. What a joy!

 

[Jman87]

I burnt a bag of these and I can honestly say that the Douglas Fir and the Platinums rocked my socks. If I can ever afford to I would buy a ton of either without even blinking.

 

[John Fortier]

I must be doing something wrong. Glass is dirty in 1 day. Scrape the pot 2 times because I am getting 1" or so cotton balls in front of burn pot ledge to left and right side. Burning Barefoot premiums. One thing installers did not do was a draft test.

 

[Jman87]

Speaking from experience. There is no perfect pellet just like there's no perfect piece of wood to throw in a woodstove. There will always be the need to clean the glass or scrape the burnpot. Yes, some pellets are better than others, but even with the more expensive pellet each bag will vary, or each ton.

Maintnance is where it's at, sometimes it's daily sometimes it's weekly. Just like a woodstove needs to be emptied and a vehicle needs oil, a pellet stove will ALWAYS deserve attention.

Check your gaskets and if your concerned about air flow, call them to come back out. After all - you paid them, and if it solves anything or will put your mind to rest, it would be 100% worth the call.

Best regards.

 

[chken]

I did not want to push it more than a ton and a half for a deep cleaning on my P35i. I have been doing partial cleanings since the season began, scrape the burnpot every day or two, wipe the glass with a towel every week or two, and what was my bi weekly cleaning schedule of a complete vac, remove all inside plates, and vac all exhaust passages turned into monthly as there was NOTHING to clean.

I was shocked today at how little buildup there is inside the stove, even the esp was clean in comparison to prior years after a ton. I would guess that there was not even half a coffee can's of ash from the venting. So little in fact that I ran the brushes up twice more to the top just to make sure! While I still got a trickle the second and third time there was really nothing to speak of. The other observation I made was that the fly ash was very light, almost a powder with no grit. I have never had such a fine fly ash.

While I am not recommending that anyone else follow this schedule, I thought it real interesting how clean the stove still was. To ME, the extra money for the Okanagan Douglas Firs was totally worth it!

Yeah, a bit shocking when you compare the ash from a DF pellet and non-DF pellets. The heat's not markedly different, but the lack of ash is a real eye-opener, not to mention it tends towards the light fluffy white kind.

 

[fmsm]

I must be doing something wrong. Glass is dirty in 1 day. Scrape the pot 2 times because I am getting 1" or so cotton balls in front of burn pot ledge to left and right side. Burning Barefoot premiums. One thing installers did not do was a draft test.

Put it to stove temp auto and leave it. You may have to scrape the pot every day or two (10 second push and pull) but you may find your glass cleaner. Although in my case it was the pellets that put the clean glass over the top....