Scraping burn pot...smoke smell

[Jambruins]

I burned 2 tons of Boreal pellets and never had a problem. However, I have sinced burned Country Pride and CleanFire pellets and both caused ash buildup (clinkers?) in the burn pot which causes the chute to backup with pellets. If I don't see this in time and don't get to scape the burnpot the stove will go out. I have adjusted the damper and my flame looks good but after 2 or 3 days the burn pot will have a mass of ash in it. The ash breaks apart very easy but it is annoying to have to scrape the burn pot every few days. I know it only takes a few seconds but I never had to touch the stove with the Boreal pellets except when I cleaned it on the weekends.

Two questions:

Do you think the burn pot build up is from the pellets or is it my stove? I tried the leafblower trick with my shop vac about 3 weeks ago. I didn't have a great seal but I did get a large black cloud and the vent pipe looked pretty clean. I also clean the stove every weekend.

When I do scrape the burn pot I end up with a smoky smell in the house. What is the best way to scrape the burnpot without getting the smoky smell? It only takes about 10 seconds to scrape the burn pot so I have been doing it with the stove on. I assume if I turn the stove off and wait for the flame to go out it would help but does anyone scrape the burn pot with the stove on and not get the smoky smell?

Thanks.

 

[jtakeman]

I burned 2 tons of Boreal pellets and never had a problem. However, I have sinced burned Country Pride and CleanFire pellets and both caused ash buildup (clinkers?) in the burn pot which causes the chute to backup with pellets. If I don't see this in time and don't get to scape the burnpot the stove will go out. I have adjusted the damper and my flame looks good but after 2 or 3 days the burn pot will have a mass of ash in it. The ash breaks apart very easy but it is annoying to have to scrape the burn pot every few days. I know it only takes a few seconds but I never had to touch the stove with the Boreal pellets except when I cleaned it on the weekends.

Two questions:

Do you think the burn pot build up is from the pellets or is it my stove? I tried the leafblower trick with my shop vac about 3 weeks ago. I didn't have a great seal but I did get a large black cloud and the vent pipe looked pretty clean. I also clean the stove every weekend.

When I do scrape the burn pot I end up with a smoky smell in the house. What is the best way to scrape the burnpot without getting the smoky smell? It only takes about 10 seconds to scrape the burn pot so I have been doing it with the stove on. I assume if I turn the stove off and wait for the flame to go out it would help but does anyone scrape the burn pot with the stove on and not get the smoky smell?

Thanks.

Its just ashy pellets, I have a similar issue. Just scrap your burn pot more often. I scrap daily. I am also blending these pellets with a better pellet to reduce my ash buildup. Helps alot.

The only other way is to turn the stove on low for 10 min. before you scrap. But the only sure way is a full stove shut down. Thats what I do and no complaints from the wify or kid!

Have fun
jay

 

[Xena]

Different results will be had with different pellets so
unless you go back to the other brand I don't think
you have a choice as to whether or not you gotta
scrape. The smoky smell is inevitable I think, but
for me it doesn't linger very long so no biggy.

 

[crausch]

I agree with zeta's post. I also get a small oder when scraping the pot with the stove on. Does not last very long. To reduce the smoke or oder to a minimum, make sure that no house exhaust fans are on or dryer when you open the stove door. These will aid in pulling the air out of the stove when the door is opened. Also, if your stove is in a room where you can close the doors, then closing the doors to seal the room will also help with the backdraft. I used to have to do this with my wood stove.

 

[j00fek]

its the pellets, i had fun with some bad ones and clickers after 12 hrs of burning, now i mix the bad with the good and get about 5-7days w/out cleaning burn pot out