Video - Leaf Blower\Vacuum Stack Cleaning

[kbjelka]

Finally found the time to clean my 4" stainless liner this weekend using my new Toro 51599 Ultra Leaf Blower\Vacuum. Burned about 4.5 tons prior to the cleaning.

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Steps were as follows:

1) Unplug stove and let it cool for a while

2) Removed the rear baffles on the stove and opened the door

3) Removed the chimney rain cap and brushed liner with a 4" pellet stove brush

5) Slipped the blower vacuum inlet over the liner pipe and secured with duct tape

6) Turned on blower and let run till exhaust air stream was clean then shut down

7) Vacuumed entire interior of stove and replaced baffles leaving door open

8) Ran blower again with baffles in until exhaust air stream was clear

7) Replaced rain cap and tested stove

Higher Res Link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SNnlXewOCQ

 

[imacman]

Lookin good Groundhog! That stove should purr like a kitten now.

One suggestion you might want to try next time, is to have someone inside open & close the door to the stove a few times while the blower is running to force the vacuum to really pull at all the small crevices. If you just leave the door open, it mostly pulls air from the room through that, and not through the stove as much......just my 2 cents.

 

[kbjelka]

Lookin good Groundhog! That stove should purr like a kitten now.

One suggestion you might want to try next time, is to have someone inside open & close the door to the stove a few times while the blower is running to force the vacuum to really pull at all the small crevices. If you just leave the door open, it mostly pulls air from the room through that, and not through the stove as much......just my 2 cents.

Thanks Macman, to tell you the truth I really do not notice much of a difference. My Quadra-Fire Castile has always run well, despite my neglect of the vent pipe.

I read here on the board that you should not close the door because doing so might damage the vacuum switch. Sounds plausible enough to make me think twice, better safe than sorry. I can reach most areas with a vacuum and use a paint brush to get those hard to reach spots so I am pretty confident she is pretty clean. Maybe some of the experts can chime in on the vacuum switch question.

 

[imacman]

....I read here on the board that you should not close the door because doing so might damage the vacuum switch.....

I guess it's possible. So to eliminate that as a problem, just pull the hose off the combustion blower housing or off the switch itself.

 

[jtp10181]

Yeah I would pull the hose off the barb on the back of the auger chute, its easier than pulling it off the switch.

Those switches can be sensitive and I don't know what kind of pressure you could generate from the leaf blower. To be safe I would disconnect it. If anyone has done it on a Quad stove and left it connected with the door shut let us know if the stove still works afterwards.

 

[CanadaClinker]

.......I've done er several times to my cb1200 and do it first with the door open then closed..... still runnin ok...... i think it cleans right to the air intake with the door closed ...... gets those dust balls etc out of the air intake .... I tap on the pipes while doing it to free up any extra stuff........ works great........ cc

 

[Excell]

I think I will check which way the wind is from before I do mine ,and then blow the same direction .For me it is going to have to be from the south and at night so the neighbors don't see it .

 

[smoke show]

Yeah I would pull the hose off the barb on the back of the auger chute, its easier than pulling it off the switch.

Those switches can be sensitive and I don't know what kind of pressure you could generate from the leaf blower. To be safe I would disconnect it. If anyone has done it on a Quad stove and left it connected with the door shut let us know if the stove still works afterwards.

I open and close the door on my AE and it hasn't damaged anything. YMMV

 

[Fish On]

Looks great, but i'm wondering how we are really getting into this so much. 4.5 tons and that's all that came out?

Don't get me wrong i'm very anal when it comes to things clean, but that did not look bad at all.

If I were to bet that the better pellet we burn and the hotter the stove the less junk in the flue.
Ground hog I have the same set up, have you always used the same pellets?

 

[kbjelka]

Looks great, but i'm wondering how we are really getting into this so much. 4.5 tons and that's all that came out?

Don't get me wrong i'm very anal when it comes to things clean, but that did not look bad at all.

If I were to bet that the better pellet we burn and the hotter the stove the less junk in the flue.
Ground hog I have the same set up, have you always used the same pellets?

Thanks Fish On,
I think the video does not really capture the plume all that well. The first 15 - 20 seconds was a pretty solid stream of ash. I am really good about daily, weekly, and monthly maintenace, not sure if that helped. On the monthly cleanings I always get the vacuum nozzel as far back into the exhaust fan as I can reach.
To answer your last question, I have only burned Lignetics and Barefoot pellets which I think most would agree are both among the best of the best.

 

[krooser]

There's no doubt that good cleaning practices and good pellets (along with higher operating temps) keeps the stove cleaner... and most stoves will only "give up" a lot of ash the first time they are cleaned out with the LBT... but regular cleaning will keep your stove very happy.

Nice job...