ASH CLEAN OUT ON OWB

[midwest_170]

I'm in the market for an owb and I'm wanting to hear feedback about cleaning ash out of the stove. Currently I have a stove without an ash clean out in the house and cleaning ash out is a pain. I will be putting an owb in this summer and would like to have a ash clean out option on the owb because I feel having ash mixing with my coals smothers out hot burning coals. Thoughts and suggestions on manufactures that have a good ash clean out system.

 

[jrider]

I have the Portage and Main Optimizer 250 - a gasser. I have filled a metal 30 gallon trash can up with ashes 1.5 times so far this winter and been burning since early October. Ashes are really not a big deal with this thing at all.

 

[midwest_170]

Is it mostly fine ash or are coals mixed in with that? If so what size are the coals?

 

[Cheesecutter]

I have a P&M non gasser. Clean out is as easy as opening the ash pan door, slide out the pan, dump it, slide it back in and close the door. Close to 95% ashes with some marble size or smaller coals. I dump my ash pan about 7-10 days in a 30 gallon metal trash can also. I've filled it 3 times since October. 1/2 of the forced air draft enters under the grates which also are the reentry point of the return water.

 

[midwest_170]

Great input guys, thanks for replying. I like the idea of half of the inlet air coming in under the grates. Do you ever have any problems with the grates plugging up? Guessing the inlet air coming in under the grate helps eliminate that.

 

[Cheesecutter]

No issues with grates plugging with ashes or coals. I do have a flat blade ice scraper about 5 inches wide I use if a "clinker" does get caught.

 

[bowtechmadman]

I have a Woodmaster 5500 and just push coals out of the way and shovel ash into my tractor bucket for the compost pile. I of course let it burn down to just coals prior to cleaning out. I've shoveled out ash twice since October.

 

[Poston5]

I have a hardy and it has grates that separate the ash from the fire, very simple to clean out. It has an ash door and I clean it out about once per week or week and a half. The longer you leave the ashes in the the boiler the finer they get.

 

[jrider]

There are some nickel to quarter sized chunks but most is fine ash

 

[CUCV]

I have an Empyre and its super easy to clean out the ash. The ash is in the secondary burn chamber and its all about timing (common sense) to avoid cleaning out embers with the ash. Clean it out just before reloading when the fire is almost out in the primary burn chamber and there won't be many embers in the secondary. I had 30 gallons of ash for the whole season last year.

 

[kennyl70]

I have a heatmor and ash cleanout is simple. it uses an auger you stick in the back of the stove and simply crank til all the ash is out.... and the ash comes out as powder all fuel burnt