GM 60 Catalyst Consistency

[MrCampbellAHS]

We're in our second season burning pur Green Mountain 60 and obviously still getting a good feel for it. Among other things (like actually getting a full 8-10 hour overnight burn) I find myself wondering how important it is to keep the catalyst gauge at a consistent level or if it doesn't really matter as long as it's in the active range? If it is important to keep it consistent, any advice on doing this? Apologies if this has been discussed before.

 

[begreen]

As long as it's in the active range it should be ok.

 

[MrCampbellAHS]

I'll add an additional question here rather than starting a new thread. We've been burning the stove now for about a week since I last cleaned it, and I mean cleaned it good. Bought a good shop vac, worked up the courage to open the back up and swept out creosote, swept cats, the whole 9 yards. And it has burned BEAUTIFULLY ever since, which has been great, except now we've got some ash buildup that needs to be addressed. Any tips on doing this? In the past we've just picked a spot to let the fire die out, cleaned the firebox completely, and restarted. Now though temps are to stay so low that I don't really want to do that. We occasionally will "bank" the fire and that allows me to clear some on the edges, but I'd thought I'd throw it out there for more "experienced" folks than myself.

 

[elevensies]

This is my second season with this stove, too. I have system for cleaning ash that works well for me. Once it's down to coals, I use an ash hoe to push everything from the front of the stove to the back, going low enough that I'm pushing along the bottom of the stove. In the process, the ash tends to stay at the bottom and the coals tend to tumble forward to the front of the stove, where I need them. Once the coals are all pulled to the front, I'll push the coals on the left side over to the right, and scoop out all the ash into a metal ash bucket. Repeat for the other side. I always leave an inch of ash on the bottom, and I leave it packed into the corners as this seems to keep the floor from getting too hot.

 

[stoveliker]

To clean out ashes from a hot stove I use a metal cat poo scooper. Glowing coals stay in there, ashes fall out.
Using my ash hoe I create an empty spot where I shake the ashes in and another one for the coals. I scoop the ashes out into a bucket. Careful letting them slide into a tilted bucket will result in very little flying ashes that turn get sucked into the stove.

I do both piles in the back so that the coals create a draft into my flue (my stove has a bypass in the back that I can open, straight shot to the pipe). The draft keeps the fly ash inside rather than letting it go into my stove room.

One does need sufficient space in the stove to do this efficiently.(Mine is 18*18" or so)