'Nother stove & placement thread, sorry :P

[R9R]

That's what I'm thinking. Working full time with an hour (one way) commute, last thing I want to do is cool & vacuum daily. But if it's scoot ash into hole to ash pan, dump pan every few days or so I'm good with that

 

[R9R]

Also hence wanting a decent hopper size lol

 

[alternativeheat]

If your stove is going to be running 10-11 or 12 hours unattended you will be wanting decent pellets. Or else someone loyal who can look in on the stove and give it a quick once over with the scraper. Right now I'm burning FSU, they are fairly ashy. I filled the stove last night around 5:30, it went unattended till 6am this morning and there was a good pile of ash in front of the fire, the fire was kind of peaking out from behind the ash. It was just a matter of scraping that ash off ( it's just dark fluff) into the bin and the full flame revealed itself but some stoves wouldn't cope with that so well. A midnight scraping would have been nice, my wife obviously missed that but she is usually pretty good about checking it around then before she comes up to bed ( she has always been the night owl around here,not me). She is no stranger to stoves, for 40+ years we have been burning one sort of a stove or another and she always has been able to tend them, including firing up a hand stoked coal stove .

TSC pellets made by Maine Wood produce maybe half that ash but in 24 hours my stove uses a few more of them and lately they have been very dusty in the bag, so I switched over to FSU for a while. It's all a trade off. Also, not all stoves cope well with lots of fines mixed in with the pellets ( dust and broken down pellet particles). These FSU are clean in that respect and shiny looking. But the cleanest burning pellets will Douglas fur and certain pure white pines, next to no ash actually..

 

[rich2500]

That's what I'm thinking. Working full time with an hour (one way) commute, last thing I want to do is cool & vacuum daily. But if it's scoot ash into hole to ash pan, dump pan every few days or so I'm good with that

Just because a stove don't have an ash pan don't mean it has to be shut down and vacuumed daily, most stoves with out an ash pan will have an ash catch area that is big enough to go atleast a few days before needing to be vacuumed out it's just at the point the ash needs cleaning the stove must be shutdown vs some stoves with an ash pan you can empty the ash pan with the stove still going.If going the route of a stove with out an ash pan I would definately have an ash vac or you will blow through filter bags with a shop vac.

 

[R9R]

Wife will be home most days anyhoo, I'm just fairly certain most of the tending/maintenance will fall to me, which I'm not really complaining about. She could brush it out at lunch or so if/as needed I'm sure

I figure the ash pan/no ash pan will be a good part of going to see these things at a dealer anyhoo, help visualize and bounce some ideas around them as well. Just need spare time to do that...

 

[tbear853]

Just because a stove don't have an ash pan don't mean it has to be shut down and vacuumed daily, most stoves with out an ash pan will have an ash catch area that is big enough to go atleast a few days before needing to be vacuumed out it's just at the point the ash needs cleaning the stove must be shutdown ... etc ...

Thanks ..... I know that cleared up some misconception I had about them. I'm used to an ash pan below the burn pot so when the ash is pushed up and over, it falls into the pan below which will hold like 10+ bags worth of ashes and can be emptied while it's running. Was trying to imagine how these others did it.

 

[alternativeheat]

You also can blow a hole in your ash vac filter by sucking up hot embers if they are mixed in the ash you are sucking up, fwiw. Depends on the filter design, I believe some have metal mesh filters, mine has a paper element with metal surround but a small ember could probably still get at it.. To use a paper bag liner in an ash vac, well lets just say it would be a wise choice to store the vac outdoors asap. The best place for ash is in a separate container outside anyway or dumped on a non flammable surface. I have a lidded container that lives about 30 ft from the house with other trash bins, it's where trash pickup happens on Tues mornings. I've dumped ash in my wife's raised garden bed too, or down the icy driveway for a little traction now and then. My ash barrel is only about 1/3 full of ash from this winter and last.

 

[R9R]

Yup, got a galv trash can with lid on the to-get list. Assuming I'd get an ash vac anyhoo for thorough clean outs if nothing else (?). Just trying to let all the info simmer for a bit, kinda going nuts

 

[alternativeheat]

For me the ash vac was a no brainer, it came free with the stove purchase. Since I own two shop vacs, I'm quite sure I'd have figured out a way to use one of those otherwise, it seems unlikely I'd have gone out and bought yet another vac. But now owning the ash vac, I like that, it's all metal and not large , can store it behind a corner placed living room chair. If my ash vac dies I probably would buy another one.

Don't go nuts, it's just a stove not a life changing event. Everything will fall in place as time moves on.

 

[R9R]

I hear ya lol. Just a lot of info around and I'm sure I'm over thinking it lol.

 

[R9R]

So unless something drastic changes, we'll probably end up with the USSC King. Wife likes the looks, price is right, BTU's are fairly good. Worst case I can put a Serenity in the opposite corner next year Just wanted to throw out a quick thank you to everyone who contributed their $.02, it is much appreciated. "Pics or it didn't happen" - coming as soon as available

 

[alternativeheat]

So unless something drastic changes, we'll probably end up with the USSC King. Wife likes the looks, price is right, BTU's are fairly good. Worst case I can put a Serenity in the opposite corner next year Just wanted to throw out a quick thank you to everyone who contributed their $.02, it is much appreciated. "Pics or it didn't happen" - coming as soon as available

I suggest you reach out to the USSC guys and last I knew Lake Girl was working on a USSC page. But they can really help you tweak the King, I'm sure. Most of the lower cost stoves and even some high cost stoves take some tweaking to get the best from them. Once you get past that learning curve, well most of those guys stuck with the USSC stoves probably because they got to know them well.

 

[R9R]

Sounds like a plan! Figure I've got a bit to search and read up. And get started on the hearth lol

 

[alternativeheat]

So unless something drastic changes, we'll probably end up with the USSC King. Wife likes the looks, price is right, BTU's are fairly good. Worst case I can put a Serenity in the opposite corner next year Just wanted to throw out a quick thank you to everyone who contributed their $.02, it is much appreciated. "Pics or it didn't happen" - coming as soon as available

Hey a used P61 might come along too.

 

[R9R]

Funny you should say that. There's a used 61 or 68, I forget which, in ebay that's not far from me. But the $2K starting bid or $3K buy it now is a little rich for my blood lol. For what it is it's great just too much for this ol hillbilly

 

[Lake Girl]

Troubleshooting thread: https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/ussc-troubleshooting.158667/

Second post has the technical manuals for the US stoves by model number. 5500 is the King.

Pay particular attention to the cleaning thread that FirepotPete has posted ... there are some areas behind the back wall of the firebox that require removing the knock-out plugs.

 

[alternativeheat]

I'm pretty sure that if I owned a King ( and that could happen for my basement) I might remove the knock out plugs once or twice but then would fabricate a set of swing away style plates to take their place. Or at least screw mount. It's a spot you want to get to and clean regularly.

 

[R9R]

Yep I've seen that sticky just didn't get through it much yet. Hopefully I'll accumulate something useful to add eventually

 

[R9R]

Well, as of last week we are the proud new owners of a King. Sale at TSC for $825. Now comes the fun part lol Thanks again to everyone for their help!

 

[alternativeheat]

Well, as of last week we are the proud new owners of a King. Sale at TSC for $825. Now comes the fun part lol Thanks again to everyone for their help!

Congrats! A year from now you will be a King expert. In your shoes I'd be keeping an eye on what forum member Firepot Pete says.

 

[R9R]

Pad in!

 

[R9R]

Safety first!

 

[R9R]

 

[alternativeheat]

Keep em coming !

 

[R9R]

Plumbed in and ready to go!! OAK and all