Ashes and plastic buckets.

[beerman6]

I cleaned out the OWB today.
Shovel into wheel barrow dump in fire pit.In the spring I'll shovel that out and dump them in the woods somewhere.

 

[unclemoustache]

Dissolves the cup. I found out when trying to use one to syphon a little bit of fuel once. By the time I got 10 feet away my hand was empty but wet with gas.

Diesel is even better! Goes through styrafoam instantly!



My dad got the fire department called. I have a metal ash bucket and metal trash can, but he emptied the ashes into the regular trash can which, fortunately, was out by the curb already. 10 minutes later it was an inferno, and half melted the trash can next to it. I arrived back home just as the fire department arrived. It was no big deal, and we put it out with the garden hose which was right there. I wouldn't even have bothered calling the FD, but everyone else was sure spooked! :msp_biggrin:

 

[Gologit]

A guy down the road from us had a two wheeled trash trailer, 6x8 with plywood sides. He'd fill it up with pine needles, leaves, and yard trash as he cleaned his property and when it was full he'd take it to the green waste drop off.

His kid, trying to be helpful, dumped the stove ashes in the trailer. They were in a metal bucket that had sat outside for three days. Anybody want to guess what happened next?

Late that night, after the fire department got through dousing it there was a metal frame, two wheels, and an axle left. The guy was pretty cool about the whole thing...he said it needed new tires anyway. :msp_biggrin:

 

[zogger]

Right now I am just heaping the ashes on top of the fire pit area. Come spring I will spread them out in the garden area.

shovel into metal bucket, right outside on to mt ash...there are no middle steps.

Its cool to watch, the old ash mt is saturated wet from rain, new dry and still hot ash/coals goes on top. You can watch the wetness wick into to it, takes maybe an hour or two tops to be soaked.

 

[Fireaxman]

WHY do people store ashes inside?.

I keep about 3 gallons of ash in a metal bucket on the hearth of the fireplace to bank my fire with every morning when I leave the house. I heat my house with an open fire place, no central air. By covering my fire with ashes before I leave the house ("Banking the Fire") I am assured of a nice warm bed of coals when I return home, and the hearth stays warm all day. Just dig the old ashes off the top of the coals, put on a stick or two of wood, and the fire is up and running again.

Yeah, it ain't worm proof. You have to be aware of and take precautions against the hazards. But it is the lifestyle I enjoy, I am aware of the risks and I choose to accept them, and my electric bill is $60 a month for a 1700 sq ft home.

 

[Larry Ashcraft]

I have a 30 gallon metal garbage can outside by the porch. I dump the ashes in there unless there's snow on the driveway, in which case I spread them out on the snow. Our driveway gets very little sun, so even one inch of snow will stay there for weeks without the ashes.

Our soil is already too alkyline, so I only use ashes on the tomatoes and asparagus, and then only a little. The rest gets dumped out back in a low spot. I just read about putting an old swimming pool full of ashes in the chicken pen for them to dust bathe in. Keeps the chickens cleaner and mite free. I'm going to try that.

We have a spot in the field where we burn brush piles annually. In the summer when the wild turkeys come through the yard, they can't resist taking a bath in the ashes. The momma turkeys will stand guard while the babies fling ashes all over the place. Fun to watch.

 

[PJF1313]

Time for a first page bump...

We use 120#/35 gallon grease drums at work. Usually, we go through 4 or 5 a year. The grease is in a clear, plastic bad inside the drum, so the drum doesn't hold moisture and rust. So, basically, I get a clean, "unused" drum, with a knock-down top. That sits outside on a piece of slate, about 2'x2'x1" thick, and raised up on 3 bricks standing on end, so the bottom don't rot out.

It's usually full by the end of the season - just 1 stove, but used to heat an uninsulated out-building I use as a shop. The ash from the previous year is used this year for snow melt/traction aid this winter, and tilled into the garden this spring.

Just to be clear - the ash is over a year old before it get used.

No hot embers yet :tongue2:

 

[Iron Head]

And don't put that metal ash bucket on the carpet or wood floor.:msp_rolleyes:

 

[Soonercutter]

Metal pail to the grill, spread them out, and usually 24 hrs later they can be dumped.

 

[danthe]

My next door neighbor is a cabinet maker so I have an endless supply of 5 gallon metal bucket with lids. I remove ash and some hot ambers on a daily basis and just put the lid on. No oxygen no combustion. I keep it next to the stove until full and then in the woodshed until I just dispose in the back acreage. Mind you the first time I use them they do smell a bit from the dried out varathane/paint but again the lid does the job. They usually last 4-5 season but eventually the sides gets eaten by the hot ashes. I throw them out when only the outside labels are structurally keeping the bucket together.

 

[mybowtie]

I use a 30gal galv trash can/lid for my OWB's ashes. Empty some ashes out every Saturday. Takes about 3 weeks to fill it. Never had a hot coal after waiting a week, but I do feel better if there snow on the ground when I empty it, and shovel some on top just to make sure.

Buddy of mine was ice fishing one day when he got a call from his son. Seems the house was full of smoke, and he wanted to know what to do.

His father was like...UMM..what to do???? Helloooooo call 911. Firemen were still there when he got home. Seems b4 his wife went shopping,
she used the central vac system to clean up some of the ashes in their fireplace insert that was out for 2 days.

 

[Iron Head]

Another serious fire hazard is the vacuum cleaner.
Don't ever use a vacuum cleaner to suck up debris and ash around your wood stove.
A microsopic hot coal can catch your vacuum cleaner bag on fire and eventually your entire house.
Once the tiny bugger gets in the bag with all that combustable dusts and debris and the extra air flow, it will start a fire very quick.
Yes, it happened to me.
One morning I just opened the stove door to load up some more wood.
The night before as always, I packed my stove for the night.
But I was lazy and didn't scope out the thick bed of ash.
I usually keep about an inche thick bed of ash.
So anyway because of the extra thick bed of ash with the additional load of night time burning, that morning the ash bed got a little higher than the bottom lip of the door.
When I opened the door, some very small bits of hot coal got stuck on the door insulation and off on the floor.
It was so small just like a small piece of dirt.
But I was lucky as I continued to work the entire living room after my vacuum swallowed this sucker.
That was when my vacuum began to pump out burning smoke. I had to haul it outside and open up the vacuum to discover the bag was burning from the inside and burning very quick.
So what out for the vacuum cleaner too.

 

[Philbert]

Another serious fire hazard is the vacuum cleaner.

Philbert