Ash vacuum.

[Sandhill Crane]

We clean out each stove once or twice a week when burning full time. With our stove, waiting too long and over flowing the ash pan can be messy. Actually, it is always messy to a point. Ash gets on the floor, and in the ash pan pocket below and behind the ash pan (photo #4). The stove in the house, similar to this one, also has a heat shield below the stove, and there is about a one inch air gap which is all but impossible to sweep out.
This is a shop-vac brand ash vacuum. This one is two years, maybe three years old. On-line reviews at that time were very high and the price was lower than many name brand. Don't remember the exact numbers.
We have used it a lot and love how simple and quick it is. Previously, sweeping up, gave poor and dusty results at best. It has a metal nozzle that I remove when cleaning up the outside of the stove so as not to scratch the finish. The only short comings is the length of power cord could be a few feet longer for convenience. The filter is non removable, but easily blown or tapped out, providing the wind direction is right to blow the cloud of ash away from the home and vehicles. I would certainly buy this again. It is also great for year end cleaning the inside of the stove. (This is a top load stove although the pictures don't show that.) Not recommended for hot ash.

 

[sb47]

I've been using a shop vac to clean out ash's for years. Not an ash vac so I have to wait for it to go out. Most of the time I just use a shovel and get the bulk and leave the rest.
Watch out for extreme static though. Something about sucking ash's through a plastic hose creates a lot of static. It will zap the crap out of you.

 

[Trapper_Pete]

I have been thinking about an ash vac

my mother recently decided burning wood causes dust in the house , I would argue cleaning the stove out causes dust in the house simply burning is a one way thing air up the chimney.
however I concede that some of the dust in the house is ash from emptying the stove each morning.

I have a customer who used a shop vac all the time to clean her stove she thought the fire was plenty out had been a day since the fire , cleaned , put the shop-vac on the porch jumped in the shower and got out of the shower to the house on fire . the fire department got it out and saved the house but it needed a hole new porch and front and smoke damage inside.

 

[Haywire Haywood]

I had an ash vac, I think it was a cheetah. The filter clogged fairly quickly and lost suction. I gave up using it to actually empty the ash pan and just used it to clean up after I shoveled the ash into the bucket.

 

[NCPT]

I had looked into getting that same vac but my method works fine. I have a regular Shop-vac and always use a bag....something that keeps the filter from clogging but also makes the dedicated ash vac pointless.

I scoop the ashes out with the shovel and dump them in my metal bucket...the whole time using my vac to capture any dust, it does a great job and you can see the dust getting sucked up.

 

[stumpy75]

I had looked into getting that same vac but my method works fine. I have a regular Shop-vac and always use a bag....something that keeps the filter from clogging but also makes the dedicated ash vac pointless.

I scoop the ashes out with the shovel and dump them in my metal bucket...the whole time using my vac to capture any dust, it does a great job and you can see the dust getting sucked up.

I do exactly the same thing. Works good for me too.

 

[Sandhill Crane]

The filter clogged fairly quickly and lost suction. I gave up using it to actually empty the ash pan and just used it to clean up after I shoveled the ash into the bucket.

Yeah, I dump the ash pan, and use the vac to clean up afterwards. Emptying the vac and cleaning the filter can be messy. Sucking the ash pan would mean emptying/cleaning much more often. I'm happy to do a followup vacuum. Although the suction hose appears to be plastic I think it has a metal liner. As a precaution, the vacuum is stored on a concrete floor, several feet from anything combustable.

 

[panolo]

I have the same one and like it. 2 part filter cleans easy. I blow it out with my shop compressor and it takes 2 minutes.

 

[Flatbed Firewood]

I had an ash vac, I think it was a cheetah. The filter clogged fairly quickly and lost suction. I gave up using it to actually empty the ash pan and just used it to clean up after I shoveled the ash into the bucket.

I ran one too with the same results and gave up.

 

[CaseyForrest]

I have a 3-4 gallon rigid show vac that gets used around the stove. Never for hot coals, just cleanup and during ash dumping to help keep the airborne fines down. I have a bag in it as well as the filter. It does a good job... I usually only have the blow the filter out every 4th bag change

 

[alleyyooper]

I use my shop vac to clean up after I pull the ash pan out.
I might be crazy but I have seen hot coals in the ash pan so I always put about 3 inches of water in thre bottom before I start.

Yes I do have to wash it out when finished but not dust when I dump it either.

Al

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

I just use a little shovel and metal pail.

Empty the stove maybe 3 or 4 times a winter, holds about 5 gallons worth before it starts getting hard to get a good load of wood in.

In the shop, just use a regular shovel and metal wheelbarrow. Last time I cleaned it I shoveled out 3 wheelbarrow loads.