# clumping ash



## forya (May 13, 2010)

I have a Harman Accentra Insert, and bought 5 tons of Hamer pellets for next year.  I've burned Lignetics (hardwood only), and press-to logs (mix hard and soft), with no problems.  With the Hamers I noticed I have to scrape the burnpot or the flame will get lazy, and the ash is clumpy, not nice and soft.  Is this due to the pellets, or do I need to change the settings on the insert?


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## Delta-T (May 13, 2010)

could be the pellets but, more likely you just need to clean the stove. Lazy flame is usually attributed to poor airflow through the combustion chamber. Make sure to remove the iron baffles, clean through the exhaust ports (all the way from left to right), clean combustion fan impeller and the vent pipe. Blockage in any or all of these locations will give you lazy flames.


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## SmokeyTheBear (May 13, 2010)

X2 and make sure the air intake is also free of crud, sometimes the damnedest things find a way in there.


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## kinsmanstoves (May 13, 2010)

When the ash tends to stick together it is usually from the dust containing to much Silica (a.k.a. dirt or material in the dust).

Eric


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## SmokeyTheBear (May 13, 2010)

kinsman stoves said:
			
		

> When the ash tends to stick together it is usually from the dust containing to much Silica (a.k.a. dirt or material in the dust).
> 
> Eric



Yup which is why it was said it could be the pellets, but if there isn't enough airflow through the pot it will also tend to clump together because it isn't being blown out.  Moisture, impurities in the pellet, temperature, and time all play a part in what happens to any ash when it doesn't get blown "sucked" out of the pot.

That's looks like a nice relatively soft hunk of sintered ash there Eric, where did that come from?


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## Trickyrick (May 13, 2010)

I have the same insert and had the same time with Hammers and winter warmth made by hammer.  Tossed in Oakies and lignetics and just about any other pellet and the caking went away.  I clean the stove every week and do a tear down every other week.

For me this was absolutlely the pellets.


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## cncpro (May 13, 2010)

forya said:
			
		

> I have a Harman Accentra Insert, and bought 5 tons of Hamer pellets for next year.  I've burned Lignetics (hardwood only), and press-to logs (mix hard and soft), with no problems.  With the Hamers I noticed I have to scrape the burnpot or the flame will get lazy, and the ash is clumpy, not nice and soft.  Is this due to the pellets, or do I need to change the settings on the insert?



I had a similar experience with Hamer's Hot Ones.  It wasn't a deal breaker for me so I'd use the pellets again but there was definitely more sticking clumpy material bonding with the burn pot while using Hamer's.  My stove is a top feeder unlike yours and my combustion air was not affected so they burned great.  The bottom of my burn pot has a trap door to clean the pot and the lever would become un-workable from the Hamer's...  I'd get a big screwdriver and scrape at it for a few minutes to get the trap door working freely again.  Not a big deal.  Just a 5 minute cursing session a couple days per week...  The same stove burned 5 tons of LG Granules this year with much much less tendency to build up in the pot.


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## kinsmanstoves (May 14, 2010)

SmokeyTheBear said:
			
		

> kinsman stoves said:
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That clump of ash was from a batch of pellets that would burn like that in numerous stoves including Harman, Quadra-Fire, and Breakwell stoves.  The pellets seemed to burn "hotter" than normal but there was very little fly ash and the burn pot had to emptied of these clumps to keep the air into the burn pot and the unburnt pellets from spilling over.  It was not a stove issue but something in the pellets.

Eric


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## SmokeyTheBear (May 14, 2010)

kinsman stoves said:
			
		

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Sounds like they used an artificial binder.   

There can be some interesting burn results in those cases such as putting the burn temperature smack in the center of the ash fusion range and actually providing the required impurities to start the bonding.

BTW, isn't it Breckwell ;-) ?


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## kinsmanstoves (May 14, 2010)

SmokeyTheBear said:
			
		

> kinsman stoves said:
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I am sorry on the spelling, my bad.

Eric


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## Delta-T (May 14, 2010)

can't fool me Eric, that there is kitty litter, and used kitty litter at that.  ;-P


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## jtakeman (May 14, 2010)

kinsman stoves said:
			
		

> That clump of ash was from a batch of pellets that would burn like that in numerous stoves including Harman, Quadra-Fire, and Breakwell  stoves.
> 
> Eric



Breakwell  But you sell them? Wouldn't Breckwell be upset by one of there dealers ranking on there stoves???

Shame shame!



			
				SmokeyTheBear said:
			
		

> Sounds like they used an artificial binder.
> 
> There can be some interesting burn results in those cases such as putting the burn temperature smack in the center of the ash fusion range and actually providing the required impurities to start the bonding.
> 
> BTW, isn't it Breckwell ;-) ?



SmokeyTheBear,

Oak has a very coarse gritty ash, Might be some of the cause of the clumps along with the binder they might be adding. But the Hamers sure do burn hot! 

I think silica would be a much harder mass and not easily broken up. Sand(aka silica) turns to glass in heat. There was a few brands I burned in my test's that produced silica clumps. And the grass pellets Schoondog, Pete and myself burned were the killer produces of silica rocks in the ash.

I picked up a ton for next season. But as a Multifuel stove owner, Shouldn't be an issue. No picky stove for me!


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## forya (May 15, 2010)

They do burn hot, and if all I have to do is scrape the burnpot a little everyday, then I will live with them.  There is a lot less ash, also with these. I have burned half a ton, and my ash pan is less than half full.


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## kinsmanstoves (May 15, 2010)

jtakeman said:
			
		

> kinsman stoves said:
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Again I am sorry, I did not mean it.

Eric


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## forya (May 19, 2010)

Hamers are made from the scrapes and dust from a hardwood flooring company, right? Don't they coat that flooring with some nasty stuff to burn?


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## jtakeman (May 19, 2010)

forya said:
			
		

> Hamers are made from the scrapes and dust from a hardwood flooring company, right? Don't they coat that flooring with some nasty stuff to burn?



The flooring is coated after the machining process. The wood is machined in raw form and No coating is in the dust or scrapes AFAIK.


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