When to clean ash out.

[White ash]

So everyone, I feel this could be informative from different view points. When do you clean your stove out. Best performance times?

 

[bholler]

So everyone, I feel this could be informative from different view points. When do you clean your stove out. Best performance times?

When it starts to get in the way of loading my stove the way I want to. For me it's every 3 weeks or so

 

[White ash]

3 weeks holy cow. What size firebox and what wood are you burning?

 

[velvetfoot]

You'll be surprised how much it burns down, but you have to let it get pretty cold, stir it up, crack open the door, etc, etc.

I find that a warm (er) day isn't a bad time, and don't let it get so cold that there isn't a draft to suck the dust up the chimney.

 

[White ash]

I’ve been burning strictly ash firewood only. If anyone has done this, you know there is always a bit more ash leftover at the end than an oak or other hardwood burn.

 

[begreen]

I usually wait ill I can't stand it no more or it's spilling ash out onto the ash lip. With doug fir, I can get away with 6 weeks +, now burning madrona and it's every 3 weeks.

 

[bholler]

I’ve been burning strictly ash firewood only. If anyone has done this, you know there is always a bit more ash leftover at the end than an oak or other hardwood burn.

I have burnt lots of ash. Currently mainly cherry about to switch to ash.

 

[stoveliker]

As above, when it becomes a nuisance. The stove actually burns best with an inch or so of ashes in it.

I burn intermittently (climate and minisplit+solar for the not so cold days), so after two weeks of burning I keep an eye on the weather and start thinking about taking some out. Because when it gets real cold, I do stove Tetris, and having 2+" of ashes ruins the game...

BTW I use a cat poo scooper, all metal, 2 ft long or so, to get the coals to one side (still glowing, so draft keeps the ashes in), before I scoop ashes. Then I spread the coals out if I want to burn again.

 

[firefighterjake]

When I am burning 24/7 as I am now . . . I clean out the ash weekly. Daily stirring of the ashes in the fire box which fall down into the ash pan . . . ashes go out to the covered metal pail on the weekend . . . and then the ashes (once completely cooled) go on to the driveway or the ash pile. I try to keep at least a half inch to inch or so of ash in the fire box though as it seems to help in the fire operation.

 

[tabner]

...I guess I have to make some adjustments. I am needing to clean ashes every few days, after 24/7 burning. For people getting multiple weeks before emptying ash, how many cubic feet are your fireboxes?

 

[stoveliker]

Multiple weeks before reloading.. we all wish...
But I have a 3 cu ft firebox and 3" or so (?) Below the lip of the door.

It also depends on wood, burning style (I have a cat stove), etc

 

[tabner]

Multiple weeks before reloading.. we all wish...
But I have a 3 cu ft firebox and 3" or so (?) Below the lip of the door.

It also depends on wood, burning style (I have a cat stove), etc

haha, sorry, i edited/corrected it.

 

[WoodBurnerInWI]

In regards to cleaning out ash from my stove, my stove has a great ash pan system and grates that you can just push the ash into and it'll collect in the pan. Bought a 2nd ash pan to be able to switch out when one gets full. My ash "cleanout" is about every 4-5 days. Pull the full pan out, pop the empty one in, haul full ash pan to metal ash container outside and away from the house and dump (once that container gets full cold ashes are dumped into 5 gal buckets to be used for winter de-icing and garden stuff and when 5 gal buckets are full I just dump excess ash in the yard).

As for wood types that produce the most ash, hands down for me it's cherry. Pine on the other hand produces the least for me followed by birch.