CaptainMauw
ArboristSite Member
I was doing routine maintenance this year on the old VC Dutchwest 2462 stove when I notice two small hairline cracks in the inner top near where the catalyst sits. Its a replaceable panel/plate, but to do so requires me to remove the beast from the house and fully dismantle the entire thing. The job of dismantling a stove from 1997 that has been the primary heat source for the farm since will only lead to a laundry list of additional parts and more downtime. She's old, and like most all cast iron stoves, every year I add more stove cement to plug air leaks at seams. Tallying up overall cost of a total rebuild and I am well into the ballpark of new cat stoves that are more efficient and easier to control (this VC is a finicky little thing).
So im weighing the option of buying new, but have a peculiar question. My experience with stoves is with cast iron units with integrated ash pans. The ash drops from the firebox down into the pan where I can easily empty it while the stove stays at full power. My VC never powers down in the winter typically, I just rake the ashes thru the grate, add fresh wood, and then pull and empty the pan as it keeps burning at active cat temps. In looking at the Blaze Kings and other similar top of the line stoves, they all require the stove to burn down to nearly out before scooping the ashes out and building a new fire. Factor in that I burn a lot of hackberry that ashes a LOT, and I am worried about possible downtime where the stove wont be heating the house.
So, what does everyone do as far as emptying ash per stove model? Its a trivial question that rarely seems discussed anywhere on the internet. I am curious to what others are doing and hoping it can point me in a direction as far as replacement stoves to look at. I am particularly interested to hear from those with deep, fire brick lined wood stoves like the blaze king and similar. Thanks.
So im weighing the option of buying new, but have a peculiar question. My experience with stoves is with cast iron units with integrated ash pans. The ash drops from the firebox down into the pan where I can easily empty it while the stove stays at full power. My VC never powers down in the winter typically, I just rake the ashes thru the grate, add fresh wood, and then pull and empty the pan as it keeps burning at active cat temps. In looking at the Blaze Kings and other similar top of the line stoves, they all require the stove to burn down to nearly out before scooping the ashes out and building a new fire. Factor in that I burn a lot of hackberry that ashes a LOT, and I am worried about possible downtime where the stove wont be heating the house.
So, what does everyone do as far as emptying ash per stove model? Its a trivial question that rarely seems discussed anywhere on the internet. I am curious to what others are doing and hoping it can point me in a direction as far as replacement stoves to look at. I am particularly interested to hear from those with deep, fire brick lined wood stoves like the blaze king and similar. Thanks.