Stove cleaning

[nhyrum]

I have a breckwell/warnock Hersey p24fs that is in a house we recently moved into and I have questions about cleaning it.

Every morning before lighting it I vacuum the burn pot and the bottom, as it usually has an inch of ash in the corners(we burn almost a bag a day), but they're dirty pellets, but they were bought for us by my father, so I can't complain there, and I have a vacuum made for small particulate/copier toner dedicated to the stove, so who cares.

How is the best way to go about cleaning the heat exchanger/upper part of the stove? There's so much ash bowing around I bet there's a ton up there. I usually knock the vacuum hose around up there and blow it out with canned air, but still bet there's a bunch of crap up there. Will a good long, stiff nylon bristle brush be a good investment? Also, I'm worried about build up in the flue. How's the best way to scrub that out? Scrubbing from the outside(there's about 3-4 feet from the vent to the back of the stove) would push all the crud into the stove, and I don't want that... Do I? And I don't see any sort of easy disconnect close to the stove so I can push everything to the outside.

Any help would be appreciated!

Thanks!

 

[fmsm]

I have a breckwell/warnock Hersey p24fs that is in a house we recently moved into and I have questions about cleaning it.

Every morning before lighting it I vacuum the burn pot and the bottom, as it usually has an inch of ash in the corners(we burn almost a bag a day), but they're dirty pellets, but they were bought for us by my father, so I can't complain there, and I have a vacuum made for small particulate/copier toner dedicated to the stove, so who cares.

How is the best way to go about cleaning the heat exchanger/upper part of the stove? There's so much ash bowing around I bet there's a ton up there. I usually knock the vacuum hose around up there and blow it out with canned air, but still bet there's a bunch of crap up there. Will a good long, stiff nylon bristle brush be a good investment? Also, I'm worried about build up in the flue. How's the best way to scrub that out? Scrubbing from the outside(there's about 3-4 feet from the vent to the back of the stove) would push all the crud into the stove, and I don't want that... Do I? And I don't see any sort of easy disconnect close to the stove so I can push everything to the outside.

Any help would be appreciated!

Thanks!

Go on YouTube and look up leaf blower trick

 

[bags]

I am not familiar with your stove but in general cleaning everything is the best for optimal performance. There are others here with your stove or also Google: "Cleaning a Breckwell pellet stove."

Many here use various scrapers, brushes, etc; and many keep options for specific "tools" for cleaning which will cover what you want. For example I use a long prybar for a burn pot scraper on my Harmans. Works great and much better than the Harman scraper and can be had on the cheap at HF Harbor Frieght.

I have also made up attachments for the shop vac with clear tubing to get back into the nooks and crannies. I would suggest using the net to research and the search bar here plugging in your questions. Many ideas and solutions out there. That said it can also get your brain heading in the right direction and onto a path that may be similar but something that works better and / or cheaper for you.

As far as the exhaust vent I use a dryer vent brush had cheap at any Lowe's or hardware store. But the nylon bristles require a cool vent etc; otherwise you would melt them. They make many different 3 inch or 4 inch pellet vent cleaning brushes too. I just picked on up at Tractor Supply for around $15 bucks. Try the leaf blower trick if you have one as suggested. That is not needed for my stoves but many models it does the trick.

You really just need to keep your vent clear of obstructions and some get jammed up. Mine could go for years and still remain clear enough. But I do hit it with the cleaning brush a couple of times a year whether it needs it or not. Much once loosened will simply blow out running the stove once loose or knocked off from caking up.

Research and read and you will easily figure something out. Cleaning and pushing the ash into your stove from the vent would not be a problem as long as you can vac it out. It gets gone one way or the other. Maybe replace a 90* elbow with a clean out T?? but that would mean reworking your vent stack a bit but would offer easier access and cleaning.

 

[nhyrum]

I am not familiar with your stove but in general cleaning everything is the best for optimal performance. There are others here with your stove or also Google: "Cleaning a Breckwell pellet stove."

Many here use various scrapers, brushes, etc; and many keep options for specific "tools" for cleaning which will cover what you want. For example I use a long prybar for a burn pot scraper on my Harmans. Works great and much better than the Harman scraper and can be had on the cheap at HF Harbor Frieght.

I have also made up attachments for the shop vac with clear tubing to get back into the nooks and crannies. I would suggest using the net to research and the search bar here plugging in your questions. Many ideas and solutions out there. That said it can also get your brain heading in the right direction and onto a path that may be similar but something that works better and / or cheaper for you.

As far as the exhaust vent I use a dryer vent brush had cheap at any Lowe's or hardware store. But the nylon bristles require a cool vent etc; otherwise you would melt them. They make many different 3 inch or 4 inch pellet vent cleaning brushes too. I just picked on up at Tractor Supply for around $15 bucks. Try the leaf blower trick if you have one as suggested. That is not needed for my stoves but many models it does the trick.

You really just need to keep your vent clear of obstructions and some get jammed up. Mine could go for years and still remain clear enough. But I do hit it with the cleaning brush a couple of times a year whether it needs it or not. Much once loosened will simply blow out running the stove once loose or knocked off from caking up.

Research and read and you will easily figure something out. Cleaning and pushing the ash into your stove from the vent would not be a problem as long as you can vac it out. It gets gone one way or the other. Maybe replace a 90* elbow with a clean out T?? but that would mean reworking your vent stack a bit but would offer easier access and cleaning.

Thanks.

I have used google and really haven't found anything specific on my stove model, but I'll admit I didn't use the search on the forum (I know I know.... Tisk tisk...)but I did scroll through a few pages of posts looking for anything that may help, and I looked through the stickies.

I just want to keep everything as clean as possible, especially with these ashy pellets, Just to help ease my mind with leaving the stove running while we're gone, especially since we rent, and we have a good friend that had a fire from leaving the stove on at night.

I'll try the leaf blower trick, I'll borrow my grandparents gas one, it needs a good tune up anyway, and they've been bugging me for a while to do that.


Also, a t wouldn't help much, as the vent is about waist high, and the "cap" twists off easy enough

 

[bags]

Many cleaning ideas do not have to be stove specific so you may find ideas just checking out stove cleaning reads. There are stove specific tricks though depending on models many have figured out. Never hurts to get creative.....

 

[Edward Hughes]

Welcome to the crew, Nhyrum. You can go to the You Tube web and type in the search bar,
Clean Breckwell P24FS Pellet stove, and there your stove is being cleaned.

.

 

[tlc1976]

Not familiar with the leaf blower trick. But I put an override switch on my exhaust fan. I keep it on when cleaning, all the dust I stir up goes up and out instead of in the house. Also when cleaning the flue, I turn it on when cleaning the horizontal part. As the brush knocks it loose, it blows it out instead of laying in the pipe.

 

[jackhammer]

I replaced my P24FS last year after 17 years of faithful service. I'll give you one tip on this particular stove (or at least I'll try!). Behind the ash pan there is a piece of metal that you can slide up and off. Remove that door to access the hardest part of the stove to clean. Push a narrow brush up the left side until you see the brush head inside the main part of the stove, top left corner by the bricks on the back wall. It is a narrow passage right behind that door, push the brush all the way left then up. All the way up. You will have to stick your hand in there to feel your way around. Run the brush in and out a few times making sure your vacuum nozzle is where you stick the brush in to catch all the ash you pull out. Do the same for the right side. You need to really push that brush, wiggle it around. Grab a flashlight and look for the top of the brush in the stove. You can stick your finger into the hole where the brush come out, make sure it feels clean. I would recommend once per ton. I had my stove cleaned one time professionally and it was the first time it was cleaned. Caused a very lazy flame. I hope I explained it right. I can't show you pictures as I don't have that stove anymore. This is the brush I used. I also used this to clean the heat exchanger tubes. What a project, and mess! One of the big reasons I bought my Harman!

 

[Mt Bob]

A p24 should have built in scraper system you use the end of your scraper tool to operate.Picture is in manual.Also,all that crap falls down,that is why the cleanout plates have to be pulled,and vacuumed out,also in manual.However,the leaf blower trick,while using a cheap dryer lint brush inside the cleanout ports,works really well.This is usually done after every ton,or sooner if stove is starting to act up. http://www.pelletking.com/pellet-stove-manuals/Breckwell-P24-Pellet-Stove-Manual.pdf https://www.manualslib.com/manual/708545/Breckwell-P24fs.html?page=3#manual https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00972B60K/?tag=hearthamazon-20

 

[DneprDave]

I haven't taken my stove apart since I discovered the leaf blower trick, it gets the stove clean as a whistle.

Do a search on Youtube for pellet stove leaf blower trick, it's entertaining.

 

[nhyrum]

I replaced my P24FS last year after 17 years of faithful service. I'll give you one tip on this particular stove (or at least I'll try!). Behind the ash pan there is a piece of metal that you can slide up and off. Remove that door to access the hardest part of the stove to clean. Push a narrow brush up the left side until you see the brush head inside the main part of the stove, top left corner by the bricks on the back wall. It is a narrow passage right behind that door, push the brush all the way left then up. All the way up. You will have to stick your hand in there to feel your way around. Run the brush in and out a few times making sure your vacuum nozzle is where you stick the brush in to catch all the ash you pull out. Do the same for the right side. You need to really push that brush, wiggle it around. Grab a flashlight and look for the top of the brush in the stove. You can stick your finger into the hole where the brush come out, make sure it feels clean. I would recommend once per ton. I had my stove cleaned one time professionally and it was the first time it was cleaned. Caused a very lazy flame. I hope I explained it right. I can't show you pictures as I don't have that stove anymore. This is the brush I used. I also used this to clean the heat exchanger tubes. What a project, and mess! One of the big reasons I bought my Harman!

I seem to have a slightly different model. There is no ash pan/drawer under the stove. The stand is one piece of sheet metal that goes all the way around.

I did encounter that integrated heat exchanger cleaner. Though I don't have the tool to operate it, I had to stick my arm in there, and I see why there's a tool for that. Got my arm covered in ash. Also got my blower sorted out (for now, until I can buy a new one)

Thanks for all the help guys. I'll for sure do the leaf blower trick soon too

 

[jackhammer]

I seem to have a slightly different model. There is no ash pan/drawer under the stove. The stand is one piece of sheet metal that goes all the way around.

I did encounter that integrated heat exchanger cleaner. Though I don't have the tool to operate it, I had to stick my arm in there, and I see why there's a tool for that. Got my arm covered in ash. Also got my blower sorted out (for now, until I can buy a new one)

Thanks for all the help guys. I'll for sure do the leaf blower trick soon too

Yeah, you must have a newer model. Mine was purchased New in 1997.

 

[Mt Bob]

Sounds like an really old model,no ash pan,but still should have cleanout doors. http://nevelsstoves.com/MyImages/breckwell/owner_manuals/P24_1989_Manual.pdf

 

[jackhammer]

Sounds like an really old model,no ash pan,but still should have cleanout doors. http://nevelsstoves.com/MyImages/breckwell/owner_manuals/P24_1989_Manual.pdf

Mine didn't have the clean out doors like the link you posted. They must all be a little different. I'm sure the op has some good direction now!