When to dump Quad Burn Pot

[peirhead]

This is one decision I mull over often....How full should I let the burnpot get before dumping it? I am thinking of efficiency here...how to get the most heat from the stove for a given amount of pellets (rate) ? It appears to me that the stove is giving off more heat when the burnpot is say 1/2 full than it does after it has been emptied......I would have assumed that the most thorough combustion takes place when there is a very small bed of coals in the burnpot, and the air vents are able to provide maximum combustion air......once the ash/coals build up over all the bottom holes there is much less air going over the coals...or since the holes are bigger maybe the combustion air is sufficient (or maybe better).....???

I tend to dump the pot 2 - 3 times a day, giving it a good scrape while the coals are still glowing...this keeps the mechanism nice and smooth...BUT should I do it less often and let more build up?? Your thoughts Quad owners??

 

[tjnamtiw]

Your burn pot gets half full 3 times a day?????? What are you burning???? Rabbit pellets? I dump my pot about once every 3 or 4 days at the most and it only has about 1/2" in the bottom at most. Are you keeping the 8 little holes in the bottom clear? You should be blowing all of that ash out of the pot and have almost nothing left in there. It should be a very lively flame swirling around like a blow torch.

 

[briansol]

Sounds like you may need more air.... I only do it if my flame gets lazy. That's usually 5+ days out....

 

[St_Earl]

close the feed gate down.
i actually found i had a pellet fragment stuck in the lower set screw slot. (quad pot on the PS50)
i thought i had the gate closed all the way down since i had adjusted it down with only the upper set screw exposed.
i was wondering why the pot was getting half full when running on high.
since i ran the pellets out and removed the fragment and shut the gate, it's staying like it should be, not covering the holes up
level w/ the lower holes with the lower set of holes blowing the coals away. full air coming through all the holes. (this when running on high)
flame height not going past the top of the outside edge of chute housing.
low and medium flame run at the lower edge of the chute opening and just at the rim of the burn pot respectively.
the peaks on all three settings slightly higher.

i did notice the same thing you did though. when the pot filled up halfway with hot coals when running on high, it was effing cranking out the heat.
it was getting enough air that the pot didn't continue filling past half way.

i suppose if it ever gets down more towards -30 here i could always open the gate up and replicate that situation.
but it necessitates manually stirring the pot several times a night.

 

[reallyte]

I think you are dumping too often, maybe 2-3 days on high and I dump it. Havn't noticed change in performance at 1/2 full but will keep a lookout.

 

[Vinelife]

Wow.. that's a lot .. I only scrape and dump once a day usually..

 

[peirhead]

I have the feeder closed all the way. Performance has been pretty much the same with any pellets I've tried although there is usually more buildup in the burnpot with hardwood pellets...and no it doesn't fill up that fast...I do the cleanout more often as it keeps the burnpot operating smoothly.....Quad recommends once a day which I could maintain easily....the issue I am asking about is what is the best in terms of getting the most heat out of the stove.

This discussion is really only relevant to Quad users who have the bottom slide dump pot.

 

[St_Earl]

This discussion is really only relevant to Quad users who have the bottom slide dump pot.

the PS50 has the quad bottom slide dump pot.
just sayin'.
SRV7034-072
http://www.stove-parts-unlimited.com/Mt-Vernon-AE-And-Edge-60-Firepot-Assembly-p/srv7034-072b.htm
SRV7034-153
http://www.stove-parts-unlimited.com/Mt-Vernon-AE-And-Edge-60-Firepot-Bottom-p/7034-153.htm

 

[peirhead]

Sorry my mistake!! ..I meant that relevant to that style of burn pot!

I remember reading some time ago on this site someone with a Quad pulled the burnpot dump practically every time he went by....I believe the thread was about sticking issues and this was his solution.....I picked up on the trick, but maybe overdoing it myself!

 

[tjnamtiw]

Sorry my mistake!! ..I meant that relevant to that style of burn pot!

I remember reading some time ago on this site someone with a Quad pulled the burnpot dump practically every time he went by....I believe the thread was about sticking issues and this was his solution.....I picked up on the trick, but maybe overdoing it myself!

I wouldn't pull that lever unless the stove is shut down and cold. You don't want to dump burning pellets into the pan!

 

[SwineFlue]

Quad recommends once a day which I could maintain easily....the issue I am asking about is what is the best in terms of getting the most heat out of the stove.

Just my opinion...any burning pellets or glowing embers that are dumped into the ashpan will not burn completely due to insufficient airflow. In that respect, it's not providing the most heat. Just let it run, it's not "losing" heat/efficiency unless the burnpot gets to the point where those tiny bottom holes become blocked.

 

[Jack Morrissey]

we dump and scrape once a day, or every 2 days..

 

[moey]

Something is wrong pellets or airflow your burnpot is not much different then mine it should not be that bad in that amount of time. I get a little bit of buildup on the bottom that will need scraping but nothing that is close to blocking the air holes. That takes several days though and is highly dependent on pellet type.

 

[peirhead]

If I leave the burnpot alone for 12 hrs of steady burning on medium, I have about an inch of coals in the pot....I'd be interested to see how it performs with these super pellets you guys get in the States....not much to choose from here on little old PEI.