Minor draft problems with ashes

[fields_mj]

I've got an old ('80) wood furnace that is very similar to most of the add on furnaces offered by US Stove today. It's got fire bricks that are sloped to the bottom. The grate at the bottom is only about 7" wide, and I have noticed that it gets plugged with ashes in about 2 hours which prevents fresh air from being able to rise up through the coals. The fire still burns, but I build up a pile of coals in the bottom. Generally the furnace gets fired about 4 times a day with two or three 6" to 10" pieces of 24" hard wood (ash up to black locust/hickory). The fire is normally in pretty sad shape in the morning, and when I get home from work. Either that, or the wife filled her to the top and now I have 10" of unburnt embers in the bottom of the fire box. If I could keep the grate from clogging, I think the coals would burn a lot better and give me a more consistant temp in the firebox. Currently I take an old poker (about 1/4" diameter) that has a bend about 6" from the end. I remove the ash pan and get down on my knees then drag the dip of the poker along the slots in the grate from the bottom side. It works for a few hours, but I hate having to pull the ash pan out and get down on my knees every time.


Any suggestions?

Thanks,
Mark

 

[John R]

I remove the ash pan and get down on my knees then drag the dip of the poker along the slots in the grate from the bottom side. It works for a few hours, but I hate having to pull the ash pan out and get down on my knees every time.


Any suggestions?
Thanks,
Mark

Have your wife do it. :rotfl::rotfl:

 

[woodchop]

I have a US Stove. Mine has an air inlet on the ash door and one above it for the fire. The bottom one is only used when you burn coal.
Do you have two air inlets? If so use the top one.

 

[vwboomer]

I have a US Stove. Mine has an air inlet on the ash door and one above it for the fire. The bottom one is only used when you burn coal.
Do you have two air inlets? If so use the top one.

I've tried using the feed door damper, and it doesn't work. Sure, it draws through a lot of air, but it's pulling it over the fire and right out the chimney. It doesn't allow the fire to get hot enough to kick on the blowers.
I use the ash door damper and deal with all the leftovers by dumping em with the rest of the ash.

 

[Haywire Haywood]

Weld a deflector inside that will direct the intake air to where you want it so that you can use the correct intake to your satisfaction.

Ian

 

[loadthestove]

I'm at a loss on this one,my US stove does exactly as he mentioned but it heats good.the only thing I do different is everytime I load mine I take a poker and stir the coals around then load the stove.I dont even use the air control on the door just the one on the ash door.

 

[fields_mj]

I think my biggest problem is getting too many coals. The wife likes to add a little more than she really needs to. Then when I get to it after work, there are so many coals in the bottom that I can't get all the ash to drop down like it should.

I for one prefer to feed the air up from under the fire. It's the natural direction that the air wants to flow and I believe that it causes the wood to burn better (cleaner, hotter, and more efficiently). I let the fire go out the other day while it was up in the 30s so that I could clean the chimney. I've been keeping fewer coals in the furnace, and it has been doing a lot better.