Playing the devil's advocate here::-/
I find the ash dump system on the Summit to work well (sorry BG).

It took a bit of getting used to, but first thing I do after being away all day is open the trap-door and push all the ash from the VERY front edge of the firebox into the hole. Then I snap the door shut and rake the coals forward, then load the stove.
The big ash drawer is a convenient place to let the ash and embers cool. Any CO or odours made by the ashes and embers is drawn into the stove, then out the chimney.
The Alderlea's system might be a bit different.