How much ash do you leave in the stove?

[amateur hour]

I have a drolet fireplace insert woodstove. My question is how much ash should I leave in the woodstove all the time?

I like to leave a good layer of ash/coals in the insert and usually empty it out once every 1.5-2 weeks but my father empties it every morning. He hates to have ash in the bottom of the stove. From what I have seen, I think having a nice layer of ash makes the fire burn better and it you take all of the ash out, it takes awhile before the fire gets going again.

I believe that although ash doesn't burn anymore that it is impossible to remove all of the coals from the ash so we should just leave it builds up and is in the way. I have tried a little rake to rake the coals to one side then take the ash but that is a pain when the ash is nice and hot.

So does anybody have any science or facts that show that leaving the ash in the stove is beneficial to the fire?

 

[olyman]

in woodstoves,,that have grates, its best to leave at least two inches of ashes. why?? you don't want hot coals on the grates...it will bend them,,and eventually wear them to the point of collapsing,,,dont ask...

 

[amateur hour]

The fireplace insert does not have grates on the bottom. The bottom of the stove is covered in firebricks. I did replace all of the firebricks in the stove last year as they were cracked and crumbling.

 

[Whitespider]

None... I leave none.

My furnace has a grate, and I rake the coals/ash once or twice daily so the ash falls through. Ash blocks, or reduces, air flow through the grate... which keeps the coal bed from burning screamin' hot, which reduces performance. I've never had problems with a cast grate bending... but I have seen them warp after many years use.

My stove in the shop has a fire brick floor, any ash I leave in there ends up mixed with the coals when I "stir" the fire... which smothers them, which reduces performance. I clean it all out before starting a fire. (Have I mentioned I hate that stove?)
*

 

[philoshop]

No grate in mine, so I rake the coals into the middle and shovel the ash from the edges every morning, and then spread the coals around. It's a smallish stove and I need the room for the wood.

 

[Marshy]

My stove has a round cast iron grate in the firebox. Unfortunately it cracked and melted the center out of it so it has a hole the size of a baseball in it. I plan on buying a new grate shortly. The reason I believe it cracked was I heated it up too fast. Basically had a cold stove with a lot of ash and unburnt charcoals. I shook all the ash out leaving just the coals on the grate and relit them with a hand torch, left the door cracked and before I knew it I had a very hot pile of coals that looked like a blast furnace. I think the grate cracked from the thermal shock and eventually fell out. I guess none of that is applicable to your situation because you don't have a grate, but anyways I digress...

None the less, my strategy is to keep the ash to a minimum. Every time I add wood I rake the coals over the grate. Any thing the size of a large acorn will stay in the firebox and ash falls through to the pan. If I don't keep the ash out the coals will smother and eventually overwhelm the firebox. Once in a while I will have to rake all the ash out and let the coals burn down so they don't pile over the firebrick box. I rake all the coals to the front of the firebox and reload the stove. Air enters my stove through the door and keeps those coals hot and make it easy for the new wood to light. It also ensures the those coals burn up. Then the new wood burns from front to back through the burn cycle and I'm left with all the hot coals in the back of the box and all ash in the front half.

 

[Smulax]

Mine has a grate with a pan below it. When I start the stove I push ash through the grate with the newspaper then empty the pan when it gets full about ever two days. But in only burn when I am at home.

 

[Whitespider]

...burns from front to back through the burn cycle...

Yeah, mine too... combustion air comes in the front, under the grate. But the grate don't extend all the way to the back, there's about a 6 or so inch "filler" plate in the rear. That works pretty good because, even after 24 hours, there's always a few burning coal/embers laying on it to start the next fire.
*

 

[Marshy]

Mine has a grate with a pan below it. When I start the stove I push ash through the grate with the newspaper then empty the pan when it gets full about ever two days. But in only burn when I am at home.

Nice dog!

 

[muddstopper]

My stove has a brick floor and partially brick sides. Air come in from the front thru a couple of bells you just screw in or out to adjust for air. In the morning, before rebuilding the fire, I just scoop out what ashes are easy to get to in the front of the stove. Coals are always in the back part of stove. After a few scoops of ashes, I rake the coals to the front and then pile on the wood. about the only time I ever completely remove all ashes is when the last fire of the winter has died out and then I clean out everything.

 

[Marshy]

Yeah, mine too... combustion air comes in the front, under the grate. But the grate don't extend all the way to the back, there's about a 6 or so inch "filler" plate in the rear. That works pretty good because, even after 24 hours, there's always a few burning coal/embers laying on it to start the next fire.
*

Yep, mines a 10" round grate centered in the bottom. The floor in the firebox is 24"x14". I have a good pile of coals after 8 hours in the back. Mine wouldnt last 24 hours but I think its good for 1970's technology.

 

[Fred Wright]

We remove all the ashes every few days of round the clock burning. The stove manual recommends not letting an ash bed accumulate. With the widow wash air intake, ash near the door slows the burn considerably. An ash bed also seem to smother a fire when starting since intake air isn't getting under the wood. Then we've got smoke and smoldering.

The SheWolf recently got an ash bucket and shovel set. She'll scoop out the ash near the door when it gets too deep.

 

[*ryan]

with my insert
i used to do it every other week, but i really noticed a big difference in the amount of wood i could put in after i cleaned it

i load mine befor i go to bed, and then befor i leave for work
when i get home i scoop some of the ash out and leave whatever reds i can leave in the stove
then get it going again
and do some hot small burns to get the house going fast for the evening slow burn

 

[laynes69]

I remove daily, I'm one who doesn't like ash in the firebox. Our old furnace had a grate, and if ash was allowed to accumulate up to the grates, they would burn out.

 

[Smulax]

Nice dog!

You too. She loves to process firewood and hunt, and sleep

 

[Marshy]

You too. She loves to process firewood and hunt, and sleep

Thanks, she's 4 yrs old and full of energy. I love their temperment and want to get a male some day. Mine is named Lola, whats yours?

 

[bassjam]

I remove the ash about every 2-3 days, which is how long it takes to fill up the ash pan. I've left it in longer and it didn't seem to make a difference in burning, it just made me take several trips to dump the ashes outside.

 

[kingOFgEEEks]

I have a charmaster which has a top draft instead of bottom, and the manual for it actually says to only remove ashes when they accumulate so much that you can't get enough wood in your firebox. Typically after about 1-1/2 to 2 weeks.

I think there is a fundamental difference, depending on whether you have a grate that the ashes drop through, or if you have a brick lined firebox.

Mine is brick lined, and the progression is that you load wood on top of the coals, and the coals burn down to ash, and the ash insulates and reflects heat back into the wood on top of the fire. There seems to be a sweet spot after a few days of ashes build up, where there is a good insulating bed on the bottom, that makes a great foundation for coaling. Stirring the coals actually breaks this cycle. I have found that it works best if I just shove wood in on top of the coals. This pushes some of the coals to the back, and the wood burns down. The next time I go to load, the wood shoves some more coals to the back, rinse and repeat. I can actually end up with nice coals a foot deep this way, and the house stays toasty warm.

Now, if I had a grate, the ashes would be falling through, and the draft would be coming through the coal bed. This is completely different, and you have to burn it differently as well.

 

[tla100]

Wow, I guess I am a slacker, I go about once a week to 10 days....

 

[zogger]

Weird..all the ash I put in the stove burns up!

ta dump dump, ting! I'll be here all week, be sure to tip your waitrons...try the salmon....