Ash disposal warning

[btuser]

It amazes me how long they will stay hot. Sometimes 3 days, and then all they need is air. I've got a nice black ring on my deck where I placed a "cold" bucket of ash one night.

 

[firefighterjake]

So, what does one do with their ashes. I've only had my insert a few weeks. I have some in a metal can (with a lid) sitting out on the concrete patio and I vacuumed some out with an ash vacuum I recently purchased. Not supposed to put the vacuum outside, so it's sitting on the metal hearth in front of my fireplace. Eventually, metal cans will get full. What do you do with the ashes then? (safely)

1) I sometimes spread some ash on my garden or lawn.
2) If the driveway has much snow or ice on it I'll spread quite a bit of the ash there since it helps melt the snow/ice faster (yes, even when cool) and gives traction.
3) If all else fails I simply dump the ash in a large hole out back . . . after there is enough snow to prevent anything combustible from catching on fire.