Keeping your stove clean

[Cowboy Billy]

I have just started looking at stoves. I want one for a 24x34 two story cabin I am going to build in Michigan's Eastern UP. While reading the forms I see some are more prone to spilling ashes and making a mess. And I would like to know what stoves you are using what kinds of mess is associated with it and how easy it is to clean up around. And any other problems with it. I am a 43 yr old bachler and hate doing clean up!! My feeling is that its easier to clean up if I don't make a mess in the first place!

Another thing I would like to know is if it has a cook top where I heat up a pot of tea or soup.

Thanks for any advice.

I have been heating my house with a Johnson energy systems stove for 8 years on wood and coal. Wood heat is the BEST!

Billy

 

[Cearbhaill]

Welcome!!

I am of the opinion that if you are an extreme neat freak there is the possibility that wood heat isn't for you, but you say you have used it so then you know about the mess.

There is ash, there is dust, and I am forever sweeping up pieces of logs and assorted wood flotsam. Bugs hitch hike and there is the tromping in and out, too.
I clean my hearth, the floor in front of it, and under the woodracks daily and they always need it. I don't think it is specific to a model so much as depending on how careful you are.
My husband is not careful!

 

[beau5278]

One thing that I've grown fond of is my ash pan in the pedestal,I never had one before this stove but it really does keep the dust down when you need to take out the ashes.

 

[savageactor7]

If you have any friends that burn wood check with them...

...there must be something messier than burning wood but I can't think of what it could be at this minute.

 

[Cowboy Billy]

Thanks Cearbhaill

I am not a clean freak in the least. My messes keep building up to OH My stage.

I was staying at my cousins cabin three weeks ago. He has a insert there and every other time I would open the screens to put more wood on ashes and coals would come out and scatter on the floor. And I would have to clean around the screens to get them to shut again.

The cabin I am going to build is going to have a great room that the stove will be out in with wood floors. I will use ceramic tile under and infront of the stove but I do not want coals running off onto the wood floor.

Cool Burning Chunk

Thats what I wanted to know. What stove do you have? Do you have to rake the ashes around to get them to fall into the ash pan?

Hi Pyro

Everyone I know that burns are using 15+ year old stoves like my Johnson.

The cabin will be built some where around here. With a 120 wooded acres I got plenty of wood to burn!!

 

[TKeller]

I have had a 1983 wood stove insert that I burned for 15 years. One of my wife and my complaints over the years was how dusty the house got. We couldn't wait until spring to do the house cleaning. You HAVE to clean everything several times during the burning season. Well, when I got the new Lopi insert before this burning season I asked the salesman if it will create less dust than my old insert. Absolutely, he said, and went on to explain how the air sytem is so much better and the ash can't escape from the stove as much etc. etc. Anyway, I am finding out the new Lopi creates even more dust than the old unit. More dust has absolutely been part of the equation burning with wood. I have always been amazed viewing this forum over the years how that has not been more of a negative than it has been against burning with wood. Tony

 

[Valhalla]

I have just started looking at stoves. I want one for a 24x34 two story cabin I am going to build in Michigan's Eastern UP. While reading the forms I see some are more prone to spilling ashes and making a mess. And I would like to know what stoves you are using what kinds of mess is associated with it and how easy it is to clean up around. And any other problems with it. I am a 43 yr old bachler and hate doing clean up!! My feeling is that its easier to clean up if I don't make a mess in the first place!

Another thing I would like to know is if it has a cook top where I heat up a pot of tea or soup.

Thanks for any advice.

I have been heating my house with a Johnson energy systems stove for 8 years on wood and coal. Wood heat is the BEST!

Billy

Welcome Billy!

Yup, I do keep my stove and stove room clean, now actually cleaner than my truck! Life changes.

Enjoy your stove!

 

[beau5278]

I have had a 1983 wood stove insert that I burned for 15 years. One of my wife and my complaints over the years was how dusty the house got. We couldn't wait until spring to do the house cleaning. You HAVE to clean everything several times during the burning season. Well, when I got the new Lopi insert before this burning season I asked the salesman if it will create less dust than my old insert. Absolutely, he said, and went on to explain how the air sytem is so much better and the ash can't escape from the stove as much etc. etc. Anyway, I am finding out the new Lopi creates even more dust than the old unit. More dust has absolutely been part of the equation burning with wood. I have always been amazed viewing this forum over the years how that has not been more of a negative than it has been against burning with wood. Tony

Dust is one of the things that you just have to put up with if your going to burn wood,our forefathers houses were a mess because of the open fireplaces.I would think that the newer stoves would be a lot worse for dust,they are designed to get every ounce of energy out of a piece of wood,what's left is dust,anytime that you open the door to reload,your going to stir some of it up.

Getting back to cowboys question,the plate on my stove says Warnock Hersey,they were sold by a local hardware store that went out of business a few years back,the stove reminded me a lot of an old Alaskan stove that was the first stove I ever used,about 30 years ago.It has a EPA rating,it's non catalytic,it does have an air baffle that works real good.To empty the ashes,you lift out the center firebrick and the scrape the ashes into the pan underneath,that pan comes out,I usually wait until it's cool,but I've already handled it with a regular pair of gloves.

 

[Jfk4th]

I have had 5 stoves in my short 3 year career in woodburning. Three of them have ash pans, Avalon Olympic, Pacific Energy Summit, and Englander 30. All three help with ash clean up but all are not created equal. I guess my favorite is the PE Summit's ash pan which is a trap door that has a gasket so it is air tight. Just grab the lever underneath and viola the ashes go down to the big ash pan. Only problem is no cover so be careful not to slip, trip, or bump into anything or there be ash dust....

Avalon Olympic has a grate so that ash falls into the ash pan which is sealed by a huge gasket around the entire pan. This is a nice air tight seal but I wish it had the trap door style that PE has. This is pretty hard to find as many dealers do not stock the Pedestal for the Olympic stove. You can't have legs and have an ash pan (Travis Industries needs to work on having that feature, maybe a smaller pan for the legs) ;-) One thing I forgot is that this ash pan has a flip top cover that closes nicely to prevent and dust. However, you take the good with the bad as many times when you pull the ash pan out from underneath some ash will fall on the floor from the stove. This is why Avalon needs a trap door to stop any of this from happening.

Last but not least the inexpensive, best damn bang for your buck, the Englander 30. This stove has a plug that you pull out so that the ashes fall into a decent sized pan. Once again no cover, but for the overall price of the stove it is pretty damn sweet. I have seen this stove with a gold door, legs and ash pan for around 2,000 dollars. A very nice price if want the gold (rich) look with a stove. The blower is around 200 dollars, maybe a little cheaper.

So overall I like the PE Summit best but it is not perfect. The Avalon looks the best as you would never tell from the front there is even an ash pan. The cheapest of course is the Englander but for the money there is none better. I paid 499.00 last Feb for this stove (nothing gold). I paid 2200 for the PE Summit with gold door, blower and around 2,500 for the Avalon with gold door, blower.

One nice thing that I am getting for X-Mas is a 4.0 Hp, 5 gallon Craftsman Shop Vac with a HEPA filter, perfect for cleaning up inside the stove (cold ash only) and around the stove. Can't wait to get that thing...ooops.... I admit I already looked at the email to my wife from SEARS :lol:

 

[InTheRockies]

I find it easy to keep the stove clean. If I spill ashes while loading (I burn 24/7 so ashes do build up) I find it easy to sweep them up with fireplace tools--I keep the ash bucket by the stove so I just put them in it. I wipe the stove down with a damp cloth (no cleaner, just plain old water) once a week when I'm cleaning--I wear my leather gloves when I do it so I don't get burned. All-in-all, I don't find it much of a nuisance. Good luck, enjoy shopping for your new stove.

 

[Cowboy Billy]

Thanks Tony

Being single I don't have to worry about the white glove thing. I know some stoves are more likely to make a mess than others and I was wondering which were less likely and most likely to make a mess.

Thanks Valhalla

I am sure I am set in my ways. But I sure respect those that keep it clean. All my stuff is kept very mechanically sound but will not win any beauty contests!

Thanks again Burning Chunk

I was thinking of making my own stove that would be glass on three sides. So we could get the most light out of it. But I doubt I could make a air curten that would keep all that glass clean or set up the secondary burn tubs. We are running on a diesel generator Up there. And will soon be using a battery bank and power inverter with two 750 watt wind generators. The closest power line is 3/4 mile away and we do not plan on ever having power run up to there.

Thanks JFK

I have been leaning towards the P E and Napoleon brands. I have found a Napoleon 1400 online with shipping for $1366 the rest of the sites I looked just listed retail prices. Since I do not have continuous power anything with blowers are out for me.

Thanks InTheRockies

Ya all are a great help

Billy

 

[savageactor7]

Yeah you pretty much have to pull the coals closer to door when you reload. You'll get the hang of it...just get a bigger stove than what you sq footage requires. It gets bitter cold where you are and a bigger stove will serve you well.

 

[Cowboy Billy]

Thanks again Savageactor7

Since I have my horse in my back yard 350 miles south of the farm. I am going to need a big stove just to get it warm in a reasonable time when I do go UP.

Billy

 

[kenny chaos]

A little dust around the stove is usual but doing without a blower will save you the dust that gets blown everywhere else. Cowboy up and git building.

 

[fossil]

...the plate on my stove says Warnock Hersey,they were sold by a local hardware store that went out of business a few years back...

That's not the stove manufacturer, it's the name of the lab that conducted the testing that led to certification of the model. Rick

 

[Dix]

Since I have my horse in my back yard 350 miles south of the farm. I am going to need a big stove just to get it warm in a reasonable time when I do go UP.

Am I reading that right? 350 miles??? That's one helluva trip to clean a stall ;-)

 

[Cowboy Billy]

Cowboy up and git building.

Thanks Kenny

I have been chompin on the bit to to get a cabin built. I had to build a road 1/4 mile through solid woods across my Uncles property to even get to ours. We have a 2007 coachman 26' travel trailer up there now. But it does not work well in the winter without wood heat. That pile of lumber in the picture in my earlier post. Is for a 12'x20' deck that will have a 12'x16' entry way into the trailer. That I have a 1870's parlor stove in and warm up in between logging runs. I cut the logs off of the property a month ago. And my friend Gary brought up his wood mizer saw mill and cut it up for me. And I want to log all the lumber for the cabin off of the property too. I think it would be so cool having a cabin being built from the woods around it

Howdy Eileen

I live on 7 acres 22 miles north of the Ohio border. The farm is 40 miles past the Mackinaw Bridge. I don't have a barn yet but Dancer has a three sided shed to go in when he wants. I can get 3-4 days of hay in his feeder. My neighbor will grain him but cannot handle throwing bales in the feeder. So unless I want to board him Thats about as long as I can leave him in the winter.

Billy

 

[EddyKilowatt]

I think the stove design and chimney have a lot to do with how much dust -- fly ash -- gets into the room. Tall fireboxes, short baffles, and high-draft chimneys all seem to help with pulling the fly ash up the stack rather than letting it billow out into the room. So in shopping for your stove and planning your installation, consider that there are things you can look for, and do, to minimize smoke and ash coming out of the stove.

There's plenty of other dirt, too, but it mostly falls off the wood or out of the stove, and a dustbuster makes short work of it. The fly ash is what I get the most complaints about, since it settles on everything in the room and makes a lot of extra work to get rid of.

Eddy

 

[firefighterjake]

In terms of mess . . . the Jotul Oslo has a great ash pan design . . . but opening up the front door to the firebox typically results in 1/2-1 full cup of ash spilling out on the ash lip (a very minor complaint to a stove that I really love.)