Hmmm . . . I'm either doing something very wrong or something very right since I only dump my ash pan once a week and even then it is rarely full to the brim.
Of course, I think it goes without saying that all often you need to dump the ash pan depends on how much wood you are burning and the species . . . for me I've mostly been burning some moderate-BTU wood (ash, red maple, elm, etc.) with kindling used for start ups.
I love the Oslo ash pan . . . and only had one issue . . . operator error . . . I did not do my weekly dumping and as a result the ash had filled to the brim and over-flowed leading to ash dropping to the sides and behind the pan . . . which I did not see until I tried to shut the ash pan door and it wouldn't close since the ash was preventing the pan from fitting in nice and neat.
So, in the interest of helping others out (or just plain bragging
) here's what I do during my weekly dumping. First off, I typically do this on Saturday or Sunday morning . . . it's part of my regimen. At this point the fire has died out or is down to coals. Besides reloading the woodbox and the week's worth of wood on the porch I fill up the humidifying pot (and add in some nice potpourri). To do the ash pan I start off by sifting through the ash in the firebox . . . I like to leave 1-2 inches of ash/coals in the firebox and I keep the air holes under the dog house free and clear.
I then open the ash pan and do the shake-rattle-and-roll method as mentioned earlier . . . a few quick shakes to let the ash settle into the pan. As mentioned earlier, I dump regularly so I don't get much over-flow . . . except when I'm lazy and skip a week. I really think the key to preventing a lot of ash spill over is to learn how often you need to clean out the ash pan (depending on your burning) and then dump the ash before you reach that point.
Now sometimes there is some spill-over, but as mentioned I now get in the habit of taking out the ash pan and setting it on the hearth in front of the ash pan door and then using a flat hearth shovel to scoop out what little ash may have spilled . . . generally there is very little . . . unless as mentioned I have been lazy and let it build up.
At this point I trade in my normal welder's leathers for some super-duper high-winder fancy red gloves that Jim from Evergreen Home Solutions gave me at last year's Open House . . . these gloves feel a bit more bulky compared to my normal welder's gloves since they have insulation inside . . . so I tend to only use these when I'm moving the sometimes very hot ash pan outside. I then walk calmly outside and dump the ash and occasional coal into my ash can . . . where the ash will sit for several weeks until it is full and then that ash goes into my garden, into the back woods or on my ice-covered driveway.
A few things I learned from last year's burning:
a) always leave 1-2 inches of ash in the firebox . . . don't remove all of the ash. The insulating property of the ash helps preserve the coals for easier relights on cold mornings.
b) don't get too zealous when stirring the ash . . . and don't get rid of the coals (these coals are just untapped BTUs)
c) dump the ash pan regularly . . . there's less of a chance you'll end up with spilled ash in the ash pan box
I finish up the "project" by giving the glass a quick cleaning with the wet newspaper (and ash as needed) and then sweep up the hearth and then I'm ready to go for the next week.
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And to address another question . . . at least I think it was a question . . . .
Last year I could usually only shut down the air to the quarter "mark" . . . attempting to shut it down "completely" all the way to the left would result in the fire being snuffed out. I figured this was normal and expected . . . this year I have been pleased to see that while last year's wood wasn't bad, it certainly wasn't the most seasoned wood . . . this year once I have a fire established I can reload the firebox, get the stove/flue temps up to their appropriate levels and then slowly begin shutting the air . . . and this year . . . oftentimes thanks to some well seasoned wood I can "close" the air control completely and get some fantastic secondary fires . . . it's a wonder what truly seasoned wood can do.