Stove Recommendations with the Best Ash Removal???

[Boundaryh20]

Great site....been reviewing much of the info here...

Currently, I have a QuadraFire 3100 without the ash removal. Love the stove but ash removal is an issue. We try to use the stove to heat the house, but it is also abit 'underpowered'. The house is about 2200 sqft.

A friend has a QuadraFire 4300 with the ash removal system, again he loves the stove for heating but does not use the ash removal system because you must let the fire burn down to remove the ashes.

I am researching which stove to buy to replace/upgrade my current stove. Any recommendations/experiences for a great heater with a usable ash removal system would be appreciated!

Thanks,
Bryan

 

[tradergordo]

You might want to just visit some stove shops and see what designs you like the best (take a good hard look at the ash pan door, check its latch, open it and check out how its gasketed, etc. It should be just as high quality as every other door! Once you find some stoves you like, then read the reviews of those stoves on hearth.com (I think the reviews from real customers are invaluable). There are lots of good stoves to choose from. I must admit when it comes to the ash pan department, the quadrafires are lacking.

I am really impressed with the ash pan on my VC Dutchwest (2479) - first off, its real big, second, it has a properly gasketed door with adjustable latch to adjust compression (same as all the other doors on the stove). The other thing is the firebox grate on the Dutchwest just seems to be the perfect size - gaps are not too big and not to small. All this might sound like a "duh" but I've been surprised at the number of stoves that skimp on the ash pan door (and ash pan in general). Quadrafire is one manufacturer in particular that skimps!

There are two problems when it comes to emptying the ash pan while the stove is burning:
1) Rush of air under the fire causes "mad burning" but as long as you don't leave the door open that long, it isn't a big deal.
2) After you remove the pan, new ash might fall down into that compartment while you are emptying it - again not that big of a deal, not much should fall down in a short time and you can clean it out later (or ignore it). You could also stick a little tray or piece of sheet metal in there to catch anything. Probably a good idea to make a metal lid for the ash pan too if it doesn't come with one, this keeps dust from flying out as you transport the ash.

 

[elkimmeg]

Best ash disposal system Encore hands down. Swing out door slide on the lid with handle walk it outside remove cover dump. Replace the cover bring it back to the stove drop it into the support frame slide cover off and close the door. I empty it burning 24/7 about every 3 days. Dust, ash, free removal system ,the best designed one I have seen in any stove

 

[Roospike]

Oh no there ELKer .....The BEST Ash Removal system is the Pacific Energy stove. %-P
One of the best ash systems i have seen.
The ash hole is at the front left and it has a spring hinge / latch door under the hole and the ash pan can be pulled out with the stove is running. The ash pan is not air tight with the stove so you dont have to wait.
Pull the "ash hole" latch and pull you ash into the hole and it falls into the ash pan and then you close the "ash hole" and fill it with ash.

YES i said "ash hole" twice .........

Once you let the ashes drop into the ash pan you can let them sit for 5 minutes or 2 days until your ready to take them outside to the ash bucket.

I'll see if i can come up with some pictures of the clean out.

 

[Roospike]

Film loop of the Pacific Energys Summit ash clean out system .
a peek at the EBT , Air inlet & secondary air inlet.

(broken link removed)

 

[Willhound]

Way cool Roospike.
Man, do I ever wish I could have got the ash pan feature on my insert.

 

[Roospike]

Way cool Roospike.
Man, do I ever wish I could have got the ash pan feature on my insert.

Well ........ I am proud of my "ash hole" :lol:

It was one of the big options on my list when looking for a stove.

 

[Sandor]

Way cool Roospike.
Man, do I ever wish I could have got the ash pan feature on my insert.

Well ........ I am proud of my "ash hole" :lol:

It was one of the big options on my list when looking for a stove.

My god no! I had the same pain in the ass system in my Regency.

The best ash cleanout system is on my Woodstock Keystone.

You open a latch in the morning, slide out the pan, dump the pan, reinsert, and go! The whole process takes seconds. The ashpan is airtight to the firebox.

The slots in the grate above the pan let the ash fall to the pan, and the embers stay in the firebox. No sorting out glowing embers and piles of ash.

This ashpan system was maybe 50 percent of the reason why I bought the stove. I wanted the Fireview, buy that model did not have this ashpan system.

Dealing with ash, is a pain. This setup is the most painless, cleanest, quickest, period.

 

[Roospike]

Way cool Roospike.
Man, do I ever wish I could have got the ash pan feature on my insert.

Well ........ I am proud of my "ash hole" :lol:

It was one of the big options on my list when looking for a stove.

My god no! I had the same pain in the ass system in my Regency.

The best ash cleanout system is on my Woodstock Keystone.

You open a latch in the morning, slide out the pan, dump the pan, reinsert, and go! The whole process takes seconds. The ashpan is airtight to the firebox.

The slots in the grate above the pan let the ash fall to the pan, and the embers stay in the firebox. No sorting out glowing embers and piles of ash.

This ashpan system was maybe 50 percent of the reason why I bought the stove. I wanted the Fireview, buy that model did not have this ashpan system.

Dealing with ash, is a pain. This setup is the most painless, cleanest, quickest, period.

Not to disagree with you but i have seen many people complain about a sealed ash pan system and the down fall of them.
How is it on your stove that when the fire box floor is full how do you clean it with out moving ash and coal around ?
BTW The Summit / Pacific Energy ash pan system is not a PITA and is quite easy.

 

[Sandor]

Way cool Roospike.
Man, do I ever wish I could have got the ash pan feature on my insert.

Well ........ I am proud of my "ash hole" :lol:

It was one of the big options on my list when looking for a stove.

My god no! I had the same pain in the ass system in my Regency.

The best ash cleanout system is on my Woodstock Keystone.

You open a latch in the morning, slide out the pan, dump the pan, reinsert, and go! The whole process takes seconds. The ashpan is airtight to the firebox.

The slots in the grate above the pan let the ash fall to the pan, and the embers stay in the firebox. No sorting out glowing embers and piles of ash.

This ashpan system was maybe 50 percent of the reason why I bought the stove. I wanted the Fireview, buy that model did not have this ashpan system.

Dealing with ash, is a pain. This setup is the most painless, cleanest, quickest, period.

Not to disagree with you but i have seen many people complain about a sealed ash pan system and the down fall of them.
How is it on your stove that when the fire box floor is full how do you clean it with out moving ash and coal around ?
BTW The Summit / Pacific Energy ash pan system is not a PITA and is quite easy.

I don't understand your question. The ritual is the same every morning. Open door, slide out pan, dump, reinsert. done. Burning for one, two, or even three days does not produce enough ash to load the pan. When you shovel ashes around into the tiny hole in the floor of your stove, you are making dust. I make no dust removing a simple drawer.

No raking, no sorting, no removing a plug, no nuthin!

 

[Roospike]

Way cool Roospike.
Man, do I ever wish I could have got the ash pan feature on my insert.

Well ........ I am proud of my "ash hole" :lol:

It was one of the big options on my list when looking for a stove.

My god no! I had the same pain in the ass system in my Regency.

The best ash cleanout system is on my Woodstock Keystone.

You open a latch in the morning, slide out the pan, dump the pan, reinsert, and go! The whole process takes seconds. The ashpan is airtight to the firebox.

The slots in the grate above the pan let the ash fall to the pan, and the embers stay in the firebox. No sorting out glowing embers and piles of ash.

This ashpan system was maybe 50 percent of the reason why I bought the stove. I wanted the Fireview, buy that model did not have this ashpan system.

Dealing with ash, is a pain. This setup is the most painless, cleanest, quickest, period.

Not to disagree with you but i have seen many people complain about a sealed ash pan system and the down fall of them.
How is it on your stove that when the fire box floor is full how do you clean it with out moving ash and coal around ?
BTW The Summit / Pacific Energy ash pan system is not a PITA and is quite easy.

I don't understand your question. The ritual is the same every morning. Open door, slide out pan, dump, reinsert. done. Burning for one, two, or even three days does not produce enough ash to load the pan. When you shovel ashes around into the tiny hole in the floor of your stove, you are making dust. I make no dust removing a simple drawer.

No raking, no sorting, no removing a plug, no nuthin!

Is the total bottom of your stove a ash grate ? I've seen one like yours with a small grate in the middle but not the total bottom .
How do you get the ashes off the sides and the back and front around the grate with out moving ash/coal around?

We dont get any dust in the house from the wood stove so its not dirty as you proclaim.

 

[Roospike]

What is meant by an "air-tight" ashpan??

The ash pan is part of the stove and the grate is open to the ash pan and all air tight per two different doors. The ash pan holder is a bottom belly of the stove and the ash pan door has its own seal.

My stoves ash pan is just the pan under the stove with a clean out hole the a trap door that seals off from the stove.

For stoves with a air tight ash pan it is not recommended to open when you have a fire going as it lets air into the stove and most stoves it voids the warranty to burn the stove with the air tight ash pan door open. You cant ( shouldn't ) empty the ash pan with a fire going. So sometimes it ends up being a problem when your burning 24/7 and you always have a fire going.

The QuadraFire has the same "sealed ash pan system" Boundaryh20 is talking about his friend dont like as does the Woodstock.

A friend has a QuadraFire 4300 with the ash removal system, again he loves the stove for heating but does not use the ash removal system because you must let the fire burn down to remove the ashes.

Thanks,
Bryan

 

[Roospike]

What is meant by an "air-tight" ashpan??

The ash pan is part of the stove and the grate is open to the ash pan and all air tight per two different doors. The ash pan holder is a bottom belly of the stove and the ash pan door has its own seal.

My stoves ash pan is just the pan under the stove with a clean out hole the a trap door that seals off from the stove.

For stoves with a air tight ash pan it is not recommended to open when you have a fire going as it lets air into the stove and most stoves it voids the warranty to burn the stove with the air tight ash pan door open. You cant ( shouldn't ) empty the ash pan with a fire going. So sometimes it ends up being a problem when your burning 24/7 and you always have a fire going.

Confusing explanation. Are you contrasting YOUR stove with a sealed 'trap door' (TO the ash-pan) with other stoves that simply have a non-sealing grate between the firebox and the ash-pan??

I may have to check that out next time I'm in a stove shop....which might be another ten years from now.

Hehehe ..........Yes , thats what i am saying.

You will have a seal somewhere when it comes to ash pans. If it be at the ash door/hole/grate of the fire box or the whole ash pan belly is sealed with the stove.

Sorry about the explanation being hard to understand, I'm sure it would be a lot easier to understand after seeing the different styles.

I posted my style of ash pan but cant find the sealed belly pan style in detail anywhere , maybe someone will be good enough to share pictures of the sealed belly ash pan system .

 

[Sandor]

What is meant by an "air-tight" ashpan??

The ash pan is part of the stove and the grate is open to the ash pan and all air tight per two different doors. The ash pan holder is a bottom belly of the stove and the ash pan door has its own seal.

My stoves ash pan is just the pan under the stove with a clean out hole the a trap door that seals off from the stove.

For stoves with a air tight ash pan it is not recommended to open when you have a fire going as it lets air into the stove and most stoves it voids the warranty to burn the stove with the air tight ash pan door open. You cant ( shouldn't ) empty the ash pan with a fire going. So sometimes it ends up being a problem when your burning 24/7 and you always have a fire going.

Thats a good explanation.

Its also why I say I empty it first thing in the morning. When adding wood first thing in the morning, opening the ash pan door gets things going in a hurry. Sometimes I leave it open for a minute or two. Your point is well taken.... this is not something you want to do with a hot fire!

Btw, the long grates run the length of the firebox.

And Dylan, the ashpan in my setup is not isolated from the firebox, hence airtight.

 

[DavidV]

My old Appalachian has a small grate on the right front of the firebox floor. maybe 4x4 inches. when I come downstairs in the morning, every 2-3 days, I will take the shovel and rake the coals over the grate back and forth. This sifts the ash down into the pan, and leaves the charcoal, and coals in the firebox. It also tends to liven up the coals to make it ready for more wood. If I want to empty it I just pull the ashpan out and go outside to the metal trashcan I have set up out there (that's an upgrade from the 50 gallon drum burn barrell I had last year.) No fuss, no muss. quick and easy. works like a charm.

 

[BikeMedic2709]

RSpike,
The more I see of this stove, the more I want it! I am almost certain that my next stove will be a Pacific Energy. (Unless I get the Blaze King with the 47 hour burn time. Although I still don't think it will beat the 4 splits per year that the summit gets! ;-)

 

[adrpga498]

My routine and ash pan is exactly like Mr.DavidV. He saved me alot of explaining.

 

[Roospike]

;-) I like to offer information and feedback on the Pacific Energy stove because

#1 I believe in it as i run mine ( oops ours , wife just looked over my shoulder ) 24/7 and use it for 100% heat.
#2 All the research i did on stoves and come up with this model and it "has" fulfilled the claims of the brand and design.
#3 Its the stove i know "most about" tho i looked at many models.

If there is something i dont like i would say it. Research is KEY when looking for a stove for ones home.

The only downfall about Pacific Energy i have is i still have not got my first commishion check yet for all the glory yap i have to say . :lol:

RSpike,
The more I see of this stove, the more I want it! I am almost certain that my next stove will be a Pacific Energy. (Unless I get the Blaze King with the 47 hour burn time. Although I still don't think it will beat the 4 splits per year that the summit gets! ;-)

 

[Roospike]

What is meant by an "air-tight" ashpan??

The ash pan is part of the stove and the grate is open to the ash pan and all air tight per two different doors. The ash pan holder is a bottom belly of the stove and the ash pan door has its own seal.

My stoves ash pan is just the pan under the stove with a clean out hole the a trap door that seals off from the stove.

For stoves with a air tight ash pan it is not recommended to open when you have a fire going as it lets air into the stove and most stoves it voids the warranty to burn the stove with the air tight ash pan door open. You cant ( shouldn't ) empty the ash pan with a fire going. So sometimes it ends up being a problem when your burning 24/7 and you always have a fire going.

Thats a good explanation.

Its also why I say I empty it first thing in the morning. When adding wood first thing in the morning, opening the ash pan door gets things going in a hurry. Sometimes I leave it open for a minute or two. Your point is well taken.... this is not something you want to do with a hot fire!

Btw, the long grates run the length of the firebox.

And Dylan, the ashpan in my setup is not isolated from the firebox, hence airtight.

Why "Thanks" Sandor ;-)

 

[junksta]

Our Napoleon 1400 has an ash hole that works great. Of course you only have to empty it once per season, because of the the burn efficiency.(Well then twice a season!)

 

[Roospike]

Our Napoleon 1400 has an ash hole that works great. Of course you only have to empty it once per season, because of the the burn efficiency.(Well then twice a season!)

Well , thats good deal .....You sure wouldnt want to over work your ash hole .

BTW , Your starting to sounds like a Summit owner.

 

[G-rott]

Boundahry20,

I don't think my stove is in the same output range that your looking at but the Morso 2110 system is simple and works well. The ash pan is accessed through the main door. Therefore it is sealed in the fire box but there are no additional moving parts or gaskets.

If you have a Morso dealer around you might want to check on the larger models.

Garett

 

[wg_bent]

Gasp..Hey Spike...somthin wrong with the Summit! Naa...must have been bad light in the photo...

I noticed a little black in the lower corners of the glass

Just out of curiosity...How often do you have to clean the glass on er?

 

[Roospike]

Gasp..Hey Spike...somthin wrong with the Summit! Naa...must have been bad light in the photo...

I noticed a little black in the lower corners of the glass

Just out of curiosity...How often do you have to clean the glass on er?

You must be looking at the Summit photo in my Signature ........
Yeah thats what she looks like in the early Spring and late Fall (55°-40°) and thats about 5-8 days worth of burning at lower heat. Just the nature of the beast i guess.
In the colder months i only get a small corner on the bottom left that looks foggy and not so dark after about a week of burning.
Normally i clean the glass every 3 days just because i like really clean glass not because of bad build up but could go weeks if i wanted to.

 

[cbrodsky]

Gasp..Hey Spike...somthin wrong with the Summit! Naa...must have been bad light in the photo...

I noticed a little black in the lower corners of the glass

Just out of curiosity...How often do you have to clean the glass on er?

Yea, I noticed that too once... something you'll never see on a Woodstock. One of the best airwash/insulated glass systems on the market.

This happened all the time on a home depot special in a house we rented while ours was being built - only took a day or two on there and was hell to clean so we just lived with it.

-Colin