New (to us) Whitfield Traditions - question about fly ash

[Devo]

We recently bought a Whitfield traditions pellet stove in great shape and I finished the install last Sunday, except for the outside air supply, which I'll install this weekend. The stove puts out plenty of heat. Although it's a few years old, the former owner took great care of it. Other than wear to the fake brick lining from over-aggressive vacuuming (he admitted vacuuming it possibly too much), it appears as if it was barely used because he kept it so clean.

I've searched the forums and have also looked thru the first 17 pages of threads hoping to find an answer to my question. I've been lurking for weeks and have read many of the threads but finally registered this morning.

My question isn't regarding the small amount of ash that is deposited below the burn pot. Rather, it's regarding the fly ash (I think that's what you call it) which appears to be the remains of the sparks that fly up out of the burn pot when pellets are deposited into it.

A small amount of them build up along the bottom of the glass door, and on the door's crevices, so when you open the door, a bunch of the fly ash falls onto the floor. It doesn't matter if you born only 40 lbs of pellets or 120 lbs because a certain amount builds up until these areas can't hold any more.

Is this normal? If so, no big deal. We'll just have to vacuum up the stuff whenever we open the door.

BTW, we've been burning Golden Fire Pellets (only 5 bags so far) and the very bag was one from Ace Hardware. The vent pipe is this: stove, adapter, 45, tee with cleanout, and then vertical 9 ft to the cap. The stove is located in an area with a low roof without an attic. On a side note, I didn't have the vent cap installed for the first 2 days (wasn't in stock). The draft developed without a cap is almost strong enough to overcome almost any adjustment to the damper. There was a huge difference in the draft with cap installed and damper adjustments are noticeable.

Feel free to ask questions.

 

[imacman]

....My question isn't regarding the small amount of ash that is deposited below the burn pot. Rather, it's regarding the fly ash (I think that's what you call it) which appears to be the remains of the sparks that fly up out of the burn pot when pellets are deposited into it.

A small amount of them build up along the bottom of the glass door, and on the door's crevices, so when you open the door, a bunch of the fly ash falls onto the floor. It doesn't matter if you born only 40 lbs of pellets or 120 lbs because a certain amount builds up until these areas can't hold any more. Is this normal?

Firstly, welcome to the forum, Second, yes, the build-up along the edges of the glass is normal. I have the same thing happen, and have the ash drop onto the floor when I open the door to clean....kinda just comes with the territory with these stoves.

 

[Devo]

Firstly, welcome to the forum, Second, yes, the build-up along the edges of the glass is normal. I have the same thing happen, and have the ash drop onto the floor when I open the door to clean....kinda just comes with the territory with these stoves.

Thanks and...

That's what I suspected but I thought I'd check because there isn't a mention of it anywhere. No big deal - the pellet stove replaced a wood burning stove and it's much easier to keep the inside of the house clean.

 

[Lobstah]

I find that if I open the door VERY slowly...I can clean up the ash that falls on the floor with the same damp paper towel I use to clean the glass...

Just don't sneeze.

Jim

 

[Devo]

I find that if I open the door VERY slowly...I can clean up the ash that falls on the floor with the same damp paper towel I use to clean the glass...

Just don't sneeze.

Jim

I wish it was as simple as that. The 2nd time I opened the door, I opened it VERY VERY slowly. I still ended up with 1/2 tall ridge about 16" long, which is about the length of the glass. And if it didn't fall, it definitely would have when I cleaned the glass with the damp paper towel. Plus, there's the rest of the fly ash stuck in the crevices around the glass.

The third time I opened the door, I just opened it and let the stuff fall. Then I vacuumed the door and what didn't get sucked up, fell to the floor. Then, I wiped the glass clean and what didn't get knocked off by the vacuum was knocked off during the wipe down. THEN, I vacuumed up the stuff.

Although off topic, why does the ash slide plate have an open slot in it, under and slightly behind the burn pot, which can't be closed off? I'm aware that if the ash pan is closed, there would only be negligible air flow into the burn pot. Yet, it has to be there for a reason. Just wondering...

Other than the slight cleanup, this thing works great! It keeps our home at a steady 70 degrees when on low/low and we don't have to run it all day. And, when I'm done fabricating the remote ash vacuum system, cleanup and maintenance will be quiet, dust free and easy.

 

[Jims]

Although off topic, why does the ash slide plate have an open slot in it, under and slightly behind the burn pot, which can't be closed off? I'm aware that if the ash pan is closed, there would only be negligible air flow into the burn pot. Yet, it has to be there for a reason. Just wondering...

I am not familiar with the Tradition, but on my Whitfield Profile 30, the ash tray/pans and burn pot all of a slot in them. The slim side of the scraper tool is inserted in the slot to remove and dump the tray/pan or burn pot when they are too hot to touch. Could the slot in the ash slide serve a similar purpose?

 

[imacman]

.....Although off topic, why does the ash slide plate have an open slot in it, under and slightly behind the burn pot, which can't be closed off? I'm aware that if the ash pan is closed, there would only be negligible air flow into the burn pot. Yet, it has to be there for a reason. Just wondering...

You answered your own question...if it was completely closed off, how would air get to the burn pot? My Astoria is set up the same way.

 

[Devo]

If you open the ash slide plate on the traditions, two on each side of the burn pot open up. But, they don't dump much other than a small amount of pellets that missed the burn pot. I've fixed that though with a slight modification (it's not permanent yet because I'm still working on the modification). The slot that I mentioned above, which is exposed, just slides forward so it passes underneath the burn pot. When you "close" the slide plate, the center slot stays open and only moves behind the burn pot. In other words, if you're looking at the base of the stove with the burn pot removed and the slide plate closed, the open slot is dead center and behind where the burn pot would dump ashes.