my first year with my harman XXV.think the wife loves the stove more than me now.anyhow,what do you guys do when the ash pan gets full before a cleaning is due.i tested a few pellets and found for me the CUBEX give the best heat over the other brands i tested,but after 2 days of the cold part of the season the ash pan was full.i give the stove a good shutdown cleaning once a week but if i use the CUBEX pellets i will need to empty the ash pan 2 times a week before the cleaning.i don't want to shut the stove down and let it cool for 2-3 hrs when it's -20 out,then have to replenish all the heat i lost.i guess i made a rookie mistake by using my ash vacum to vacum the hot ash out while turning the stove off for 5 minutes.can you say ashvac fire.i also tried with a good pair of fireplace gloves to take out the pan and just dump the ash into a ashcan,strike 3.good gloves or not they can't handle the hot pan.so my question is,what do you guys do?
WHAT DO YOU GUYS DO WHEN...
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Peterfield
Minister of Fire
Bioburner
Moderator
Use a good pair of insulated gloves and cover the pan with a tin baking tray to keep ash from flying out and walk it out the door?
If you turn the stove down to low for a while before before the act the stove will cool down some.
You could slide it out onto a baking sheet and the sheet edges should stay pretty cool. Yes I do a fair amount of cooking.
If you turn the stove down to low for a while before before the act the stove will cool down some.
You could slide it out onto a baking sheet and the sheet edges should stay pretty cool. Yes I do a fair amount of cooking.
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I'd weigh the pro & con. Love the heat enuff to time your cleaning of the stove. That's what I do with mine. Usually, it's the warmest part of the day , which when it's 20 out, it's mid-day . I shut it down for an hour max to minimize the heat loss. Works great for me.
TonyVideo
Feeling the Heat
I turn the stove down a bit and then use my Powersmith ash vac and suck out some of the ash in the pan. Don't scrape beforehand.
Clueless Amy
Member
With the Harman PC45 during the off season I took the ash bucket or tray to a plumbing and heating outfit. They have fabricators who make ductwork and they made a extra ash bucket for 50.00 that is identical to the original. So I simply swap buckets. But you can simply take it out and empty it then bring it back in and reinstall it. Seems Harman stoves will stop feeding when they detect a vacuum leak. The Bixbys will run for 20 minutes normally to give you time to remove, dump, and replace while running.
Why not just pull the thing every time you dump pellets in the stove and dump the stuff in a covered ash bucket and stick it back in? Just wondering.
Hi brotherbart
I have a ash can outside and tried just pulling the pan and walking it out the front door and dumping it but even with my fireplace gloves on the pan was too hot.almost felt like my fingers were gonna get burned if i held it any longer before i got it outside the door to the ash can.tried dumping it in ash can inside the house.never doing that again.huge black soot cloud and the wife had me scrubbing walls for 2hrs.lol.a xtra ashpan is not needed,i have a ash bucket just have to find a safe way to carry stove pan from livingroom to outside to ashcan to empty it
I have a ash can outside and tried just pulling the pan and walking it out the front door and dumping it but even with my fireplace gloves on the pan was too hot.almost felt like my fingers were gonna get burned if i held it any longer before i got it outside the door to the ash can.tried dumping it in ash can inside the house.never doing that again.huge black soot cloud and the wife had me scrubbing walls for 2hrs.lol.a xtra ashpan is not needed,i have a ash bucket just have to find a safe way to carry stove pan from livingroom to outside to ashcan to empty it
Hi Tony
I did have a smith powervac.lol.shut down stove for 30 min and sifted through the ash.saw nothing glowing.vacumed half the tray when i turned around and my powersmith was litterly on fire.the fire resistant filter was burning and melted the plastic top.
I did have a smith powervac.lol.shut down stove for 30 min and sifted through the ash.saw nothing glowing.vacumed half the tray when i turned around and my powersmith was litterly on fire.the fire resistant filter was burning and melted the plastic top.
I was just wondering about waiting so long to empty., Nice that it will hold a butt load of stuff but if waiting till it is full is such a pain, why not do it more often. Gotta go through the loading drill, why not empty at the same time when there isn't so much smoldering stuff in it.
TonyVideo
Feeling the Heat
You have take make sure that no scraping was done in a while and no embers. If any embers whatsoever the speed of the vac is just like a super pellet stove with all that suction and air going through it will reignite the embers. My can gets hot but no burning. I leave it on just maintenance burn for 30 minutes to cool down the stove and ash. I did lose a filter once as I did it too soon like you. I have too much light colored carpet to try pulling the pan. Even on cleaning days and it is cold I use the vac even when the pan is pulled. An empty vac will hold a full pan and all the adjoining ash on the ledges along with pot, lower level, exhaust and exchanger scraping on my p68.
TonyVideo
Feeling the Heat
By the way those embers can hibernate for a long time if you scraped the pot within 12 hours. Then boom they will reignite with the smallest of vac suction. I use an IR thermometer to make sure they are below 120 before sucking. I leave the pan on the hearth for a few while I check the temp. Maintenance burn is around 150 temp in the ash pan once I pull it. Very little ash gets dumped from above in maintenance burn and I use the vac to suck up any below before putting the pan back in. Then I scrape and done. I might every 3 days give the exchanger a quick scrape with a scraper as well since the fire is low. I use welding gloves if too hot.
I checked out the Xxv at my dealer a few weeks ago. Very pretty stove.
What about a large metal toolbox? Sit the ashpan inside, close the lid, carry outside. The ash would be pretty contained and easy to transport.
What about a large metal toolbox? Sit the ashpan inside, close the lid, carry outside. The ash would be pretty contained and easy to transport.
TonyVideo
Feeling the Heat
That's a great idea and much easier. Keep the wife happy if any ash falls from the side of the pan. Easier than my vac. Quicker. I might even have an old one. Thanks.
Tonyray
Minister of Fire
I do a full clean every 10-14 days....
not enough time to halfway fill a Harman P61A Ash pan even with Stove chow pellets..
Note:
did my homework
when checking out Pellet stoves couple yrs ago and the LARGEST ASH PAN Was the Harman Free standing stoves..So Never any Urgency to have to empty it more than once a month If I wanted.
not enough time to halfway fill a Harman P61A Ash pan even with Stove chow pellets..
Note:
did my homework
when checking out Pellet stoves couple yrs ago and the LARGEST ASH PAN Was the Harman Free standing stoves..So Never any Urgency to have to empty it more than once a month If I wanted.
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HP52NOVA
Member
with some of the pellets I burned this season I had the same issue, had to take the ash out every 48 hours or more sometimes! Here is what worked for me on the 52i:
Open up the hopper to fill up on pellets as part of the morning or evening routines. the stove will lose pressure and will slow down. Mine goes to a type of maint mode. Once done with the pellets keep the hopper door open!
Open the stove door, scrape the burn pot, close the door. Regular maint stuff.
Open up the garage door, unlock the house door and prepare for a quick but controlled exit via the shortest route. Have someone ready to open the door. You will be carrying a hot load!
Put on a good pair of grill or welding gloves and steal one of your wife's nice silicon pot holders! This will handle the direct contact with the pan while your gloves are extra protection.
Open the stove door, grab the ash trey handle with the pot holder and carefully pull it out. Make sure you have a good grip! Keep it low to avoid the distribution blower. Close the door and go out to dump the ash.
This is HOT ash, could also have partially burned pellets and embers. do not dump on ground. Get a stainless steal trash can or metal ash container and keep it away from combustibles outside.
Put the ash trey back and close the hopper. End to end, about 10 minutes. No need to touch the stove controls and it will pick right up as soon as you close that hopper. Stove is on during the entire procedure, got to love these Harman's! I only shutdown for weekly cleans to mainly clean the glass and for the large ones. 24/7 outside of that when cold.
Open up the hopper to fill up on pellets as part of the morning or evening routines. the stove will lose pressure and will slow down. Mine goes to a type of maint mode. Once done with the pellets keep the hopper door open!
Open the stove door, scrape the burn pot, close the door. Regular maint stuff.
Open up the garage door, unlock the house door and prepare for a quick but controlled exit via the shortest route. Have someone ready to open the door. You will be carrying a hot load!
Put on a good pair of grill or welding gloves and steal one of your wife's nice silicon pot holders! This will handle the direct contact with the pan while your gloves are extra protection.
Open the stove door, grab the ash trey handle with the pot holder and carefully pull it out. Make sure you have a good grip! Keep it low to avoid the distribution blower. Close the door and go out to dump the ash.
This is HOT ash, could also have partially burned pellets and embers. do not dump on ground. Get a stainless steal trash can or metal ash container and keep it away from combustibles outside.
Put the ash trey back and close the hopper. End to end, about 10 minutes. No need to touch the stove controls and it will pick right up as soon as you close that hopper. Stove is on during the entire procedure, got to love these Harman's! I only shutdown for weekly cleans to mainly clean the glass and for the large ones. 24/7 outside of that when cold.
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TonyVideo
Feeling the Heat
I do a full clean after a ton and minor cleaning every week. Cold weeks more ash with my crappy pellets so have to do it weekly. Buying good pellets next year. On a ton of better pellets now and easily 50% less ash.
Hi brotherbart
I was emptying the pan every other day with the cubex pellets.might have to sacrafice and use a different pellet.barefoots give a bit less heat but i can go 7 days without empty ash pan and just do it with weekly cleaning.just trying to avoid pulling the pan and running through the house with a hot ash pan.eventually i foresee tripping,falling,banging into something or dropping the pan eventually if i am doing this everyother day.toolbox idea is interesting
I was emptying the pan every other day with the cubex pellets.might have to sacrafice and use a different pellet.barefoots give a bit less heat but i can go 7 days without empty ash pan and just do it with weekly cleaning.just trying to avoid pulling the pan and running through the house with a hot ash pan.eventually i foresee tripping,falling,banging into something or dropping the pan eventually if i am doing this everyother day.toolbox idea is interesting
twodogs02
Burning Hunk
Wow, I burn Barefoots and have to empty once every two weeks. I burned some nasty stuff last year and went a week.
Put the stove on manual mode and turn temp way down. In 5 minutes the stove will throttle way back. Throw some gloves on pull the ash pan and place it into an empty ash pan with lid - trash can like.
Go out side, empty harman pan into small ash can. Brush heat exchanger real quick, vacuum corners with ash vacuum the reinstall, turn temp back up.
Put the stove on manual mode and turn temp way down. In 5 minutes the stove will throttle way back. Throw some gloves on pull the ash pan and place it into an empty ash pan with lid - trash can like.
Go out side, empty harman pan into small ash can. Brush heat exchanger real quick, vacuum corners with ash vacuum the reinstall, turn temp back up.
I take a cookie sheet over to the stove, put on my gloves, pull out the ash pan, set it on the cookie sheet, which also catches any ash they may tumble from the pan/door/wherever, grab the cookie sheet with the pan on it and walk it out to the big metal Oscar the Grouch style trash can I have on my back patio. I don't turn the stove down at all, just open the darn door and pull out the pan.
TimfromMA
Minister of Fire
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