Ash Drawer - Does Anyone Use These?

[Chris-PA]

My US Stoves Magnolia has one, but I've never used it. I cannot imagine reaching in there and pulling up the plug just so I can try to push ashes down the hole and into the pan, and then cleaning out the pan, would be anywhere near as easy as just shoveling the ashes into an ash bucket. Especially with a hot stove with lots of glowing coals.

Can anyone explain what I'm missing here about the advantages of an ash pan?

 

[newyorker]

if i were to guess i would say so the ash dust stays in the stove but i do not use mine

 

[brenndatomu]

I don't use mine. Seems like more work to chase ash around the hole than to scoop it up and be done with it. Plus if you use the ash pan then you hafta get the daggum plug to sit back in its spot and seal properly.
Now in my Yukon furnace, different story. It has grates and a huge ash drawer. Scrape the grates a bit, good to go! Empty out the drawer once every week or two...

 

[steve md]

i took out my ash plug and replaced it with firebrick to make it easier to scoop out the ashes

 

[msvold]

Yeah, i thought it was a necessity when i bought my stove, then thought it was stupid to use. Must be a selling point.

 

[Marshy]

My US Stoves Magnolia has one, but I've never used it. I cannot imagine reaching in there and pulling up the plug just so I can try to push ashes down the hole and into the pan, and then cleaning out the pan, would be anywhere near as easy as just shoveling the ashes into an ash bucket. Especially with a hot stove with lots of glowing coals.

Can anyone explain what I'm missing here about the advantages of an ash pan?

I'll tell ya what your missing. A coal grate! I honestly can't imagine having a stove without a grate and ash pan. That's part of why I haven't bought into those new stoves, none are made with a grate and ash pan! Like brenndatomu said, rake the grate on every reload and then just dump the pan one a week, no shoveling no mess. I've thought about buying a thermo control 500 and cutting the bottom out and adding a grate in the bottom to an ash pan. I'd add it's own door.

 

[steve md]

I'll tell ya what your missing. A coal grate! I honestly can't imagine having a stove without a grate and ash pan. That's part of why I haven't bought into those new stoves, none are made with a grate and ash pan! Like brenndatomu said, rake the grate on every reload and then just dump the pan one a week, no shoveling no mess.

when I went from a stove with grates to one without I thought I would have a lot of problems , .but it burns really well and is easy to clean and operate

 

[Whitespider]

I'll tell ya what your missing. A coal grate! I honestly can't imagine having a stove without a grate and ash pan. That's part of why I haven't bought into those [elitist] stoves...

See?? We do agree‼
*

 

[Whitespider]

Even without an ash pan the coal grate is a blessing, as long as the grate is elevated. I used to scoop out ashes from under the grate with the ancient smoke dragon all the time... which left the coals to burn. Now I just rake out the coal bed , wait a half hour or so, and pull the ash pan to dump.

Have I mentioned I hate my elitist stove??
*

 

[Chris-PA]

Well, a grate would lift the wood to allow more air flow though from below, which defeats the way a secondary combustion stove is supposed to work. Plus then the grate would be in the way when I went to shovel out the firebox!

 

[Marshy]

See?? We do agree‼
*

Yes lol.

My grate is elevated, the only thing that would make mine better is if I could access the pan from its own door. Unfortunately I have to open my firebox door to access my pan. Most Shenandoah's are that way but there are 2 models that I know of that ha a separate ash pan door, CH-77 and R-84. The R-84 is a monster, I still kick myself 3 year later for not buying it...

 

[Marshy]

when I went from a stove with grates to one without I thought I would have a lot of problems , .but it burns really well and is easy to clean and operate

Did your stove with grates allow the ash to fall through directly into the pan? If not then you probably don't "see the light" like Spidy and I do.

 

[Chris-PA]

Did your stove with grates allow the ash to fall through directly into the pan? If not then you probably don't "see the light" like Spidy and I do.

Is the pan accessible with the stove door closed? I could not tolerate any air gaps that would result from such an arrangement, as my stove when closed and the inlet stopped down leaves only a very small air hole. My flue has enough draft that I could not always keep the stove under control if it had other air inlets.

 

[fireman33]

My stove did not have the ash pan/trap door but I bought it separately after a couple years. I was getting sick and tired of shovelling hot ashes/coals into a pail and carefully brigning it outside and had to dump it somewhere safe because They were still red hot. Every shovel I dumped in the bucket even when I was very carefull always had a cloud of ash dust...I love my ash pan, pull the lever the trap door open, push the red coals on one side, scoop the ashes down the trap door, release the lever and fill the top of the trap door with ashes gives me a good seal around it...couple days later I can discard of my cold ashes safely everyone's happy no dust in the house never had to stop burning.

 

[Marshy]

Is the pan accessible with the stove door closed? I could not tolerate any air gaps that would result from such an arrangement, as my stove when closed and the inlet stopped down leaves only a very small air hole. My flue has enough draft that I could not always keep the stove under control if it had other air inlets.

The ash pan is "inside" the airtight boundary of the stove door and firebox. You have to open the firebox door to take the pan out. The small box on the bottom of the door is my thermostatic air control into the bottom of the firebox. Air comes up through the grate when it's not blocked with ash or up through a slim gap between the door and the firebox.

 

[Chris-PA]

The ash pan is "inside" the airtight boundary of the stove door and firebox. You have to open the firebox door to take the pan out. The small box on the bottom of the door is my thermostatic air control into the bottom of the firebox. Air comes up through the grate when it's not blocked with ash or up through a slim gap between the door and the firebox.

Ahh, I get it, thanks. I'll stick with a bucket and shovel though.

 

[Marshy]

Each to their own. I just emptied my pan, took me all of about 3 mins to pull it out, walk out to my spot and dump it, then put it back in.

 

[Chris-PA]

Pshaw - I can shovel out the whole stove in less than that! Maybe we need to post videos?

 

[steve md]

Did your stove with grates allow the ash to fall through directly into the pan? If not then you probably don't "see the light" like Spidy and I do.

yes I had a us stove wonderwood I had to empty the ashes about every two days.i now have a Englander nc 30 that I take some ashes out about once a week and I decreased my wood usage by about 30 percent

 

[Marshy]

Pshaw - I can shovel out the whole stove in less than that! Maybe we need to post videos?

Yeah but can you do it with a 4" bed of coals the entire length of you firebox?