Small amounts of gray to black ash being deposited in main heating area. .??

[bostonfan49]

As of Jan 1st, I have gone through about 1 1/4 tons of Vermont softwood pellets. Stove runs great, on about 12-16 hours a day with great heat. Each weekend I do the equivalent of the monthly Enviro M55 cleaning. I also just pulled the stove out and cleaned out the exhaust clean out and all around the combustion blower. My new style convection blower seemed fine. My main heating area is a large rectangle with numerous rooms of each side. My M55 is at one end, kitchen at the other. If I take a damp paper towel and wipe any flat surface (in the first half of the room)....after 2-3 days of stove use, I get a light coating of gray dust/ soot/ash on the paper towel. ** If I take a similar towel to the top of my Mantle, above the stove ( see pic of my avatar) I get a much heavier amount. *** If I wait 7 days, the coating on the top of my mantle wipes BLACK! Both my ash tray and door seem to seal fine with no obvious leaks and a dollar bill doesn't slide out very easily. Enviro calls for a "hard" rope gasket, when I changed mine I did not order one from Enviro. I got the same size, 9/16 but its a softer gasket. Is it normal to emit a small amount of ?ash? And why is so black directly above and slightly behind the stove...on my Mantle? Thanks, and Happy New Year? Bill

 

[DexterDay]

What type of vacuum are you using? What type of filter? Filters??

Do you vacuum your fines from your pellets?

Fines x Vac with no HEPA x No Drywall filter x Not running your combustion blower while cleaning (to suck any loose ash that vac with appropriate HEPA and Bag filter) = A dusty and Ashy living area.

A HEPA and Drywall (bag filter for Shop vacs) will stop any exhausted ash, and running your combustion blower while cleaning will remove any loose ash that doesn't get caught by vac.

 

[bostonfan49]

What type of vacuum are you using? What type of filter? Filters??

Do you vacuum your fines from your pellets?

Fines x Vac with no HEPA x No Drywall filter x Not running your combustion blower while cleaning (to suck any loose ash that vac with appropriate HEPA and Bag filter) = A dusty and Ashy living area.

A HEPA and Drywall (bag filter for Shop vacs) will stop any exhausted ash, and running your combustion blower while cleaning will remove any loose ash that doesn't get caught by vac.

 

[bostonfan49]

I run a Rigid shop vac that uses a # 5 very fine particle hepa filter along with the paper bag. Never even heard of running the combustion blower..how would I do that? Bill

 

[imacman]

You need to add a drywall filter bag over the HEPA filter. Stove ash is VERY fine, and only a really good HEPA and/or a drywall bag will catch it all.

BTW, if you have interior stove pipe, might want to try sealing all the joints with furnace tape. If your pipe is black, it can be spray painted to match.

 

[bostonfan49]

You need to add a drywall filter bag over the HEPA filter. Stove ash is VERY fine, and only a really good HEPA and/or a drywall bag will catch it all.

BTW, if you have interior stove pipe, might want to try sealing all the joints with furnace tape. If your pipe is black, it can be spray painted to match.

Thanks, so what your saying is that without the drywall filter bag over the " Rigid" Hepa filter, I am cleaning the stove but dirtying the house? I just swung by HD and besides my "Rigid" shop vac and the Rigid "Hepa" filter they don't carry any drywall sleeve that fits over the Hepa filter. The guy said that between the Hepa filter and the shop vac paper filter...there is more room....? This is the only line of shop backs that's HD stocks. I would think that other forum owners would it. Bill

 

[moey]

You may be able to cut one to fit, that is what I did with mine cut the two ends off and I had two drywall bags. Dumping pellets spills a lot of dust so does just opening the door stand back on a sunny day and let someone else open the door you'll see lots of ash coming out.

 

[bostonfan49]

DexterDay, How do you vac the fines from the pellets, and how do you run the combustion blower when you do a cleaning?????????

 

[imacman]

You may be able to cut one to fit, that is what I did with mine cut the two ends off and I had two drywall bags. Dumping pellets spills a lot of dust so does just opening the door stand back on a sunny day and let someone else open the door you'll see lots of ash coming out.

I do the same. I found a Rigid drywall bag that fits my vac.....cut it to length, and I get 3 "bags" for my vac out of 1 Rigid bag.

As for the pellet dumping, I don't think that's his problem....that dust is light in color....he's having black dust problem.

BTW, the way I dump the bag into my stove is to cut the entire top off the bag w/ a utility knife, squeeze the end together, and lower the cut end into the bottom of the hopper and slowly pull the bag up by the end......the pellets flow out slowly and make almost no dust "storm".

 

[DexterDay]

I vac fines. As for the bag, I suggest a FULL Drywall filter Bag. It goes on the inlet inside the shop vac.

A HEPA and one of these, will eliminate 99% of your problems

 

[bostonfan49]

I vac fines. As for the bag, I suggest a FULL Drywall filter Bag. It goes on the inlet inside the shop vac.

A HEPA and one of these, will eliminate 99% of your problems

View attachment 87554 View attachment 87555

DexterDay That's exactly the same set up as I have.....drywall bag and Hepa filter! I will post a pic tonight with my current Hepa filter and a new one I got this evening. But I still will get small amount of gray dust in the room in front of the stove and black dust on the top of my fireplace mantle. I am bulk fed, so I carry a metal can that holds about 38 pounds of pellets which I pour into my hopper. I would love to know how you vac your fines.....and how the heck you clean your stove with the combustion fan going.......Bill

 

[imacman]

......I am bulk fed, so I carry a metal can that holds about 38 pounds of pellets which I pour into my hopper. I would love to know how you vac your fines.....and how the heck you clean your stove with the combustion fan going.......Bill

See this thread to build a cheap pellet vac:

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/i-made-my-own-pellet-vac-for-less-than-20-00-video.21107/

Some stoves have a "diagnostic" setting that allows you to turn the comb. blower on....that helps keep ash inside during cleaning.

 

[DexterDay]

I can cycle the combustion blower on my Quad. Turn up the stat, Stove goes into start up. Turn down the stat immediately, the combustion blower then runs for 18 minutes while I clean.

I forgot that your Enviro can't do that (sorry )

As for the fines, imacman posted a good link. Here is mine