Pellet Stove Cleaning Advice

[Dataman]

I bet it's like this. (broken link removed to https://www.walmart.com/ip/Universal-Dryer-Vent-Vacuum-Cleaner-Attachment-Dust-Cleaner-Pipe-Vacuum-Lint-Hoses/610619071?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=16214&&adid=22222222227320565143&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=398335849898&wl4=pla-841558615433&wl5=9033761&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=120798572&wl11=online&wl12=610619071&veh=sem&gclid=Cj0KCQiAmfmABhCHARIsACwPRAApW4o-0wPnOiziJcvaJpRw9N3k8YnXmIHVAlSKxgiO6B8M0-SCYCkaAhfmEALw_wcB)

 

[bogieb]

The only vacuum tool I use for my P43 and P61a is a metal crevice tool that came with my Shop Vac ash vac. It can suck up everything off the "shelves", beside the firebrick, out of the bottom (after I have shoveled out any overflow from the bucket). After cleaning as much of the crud from the igniter area as I can with my fingers, the crevice tool can clean up the rest (it doesn't go into the area, just covers the opening) It can also get at the fines box opening, and thru the exhaust path within the stove itself (being careful not to hit the ESP). And lastly, it does a fine job of clearing the distribution vents, as well as cleaning the distribution fan behind the stove.

Now, if I still had the St. Croix Hastings - I had to make a bunch of specialty suction tools for that one.

And, it may also depend on the suction power of the vacuum as I was never pleased with the performance of the Power Smith ash vac I started with. Probably the best thing to happen was it burning out its motor after I had had it for 13-14 months.

 

[lefty Ef3]

@lefty Ef3, can you elaborate on this "dryer cleaning attachment" and also how you use it?

here is one from walmart you can find them on amazon also

 

[SidecarFlip]

I've always been puzzled why people buy and expensive 'ash' vacuum, when an ordinary shop vacuum with a drywall (yellow) bag and motor filter works just as well for a lot less expense.

Don't need an ash vacuum which is designed to vacuum up potentially hot ashes without going up in smoke. No hot ashes in a biomass stove shut down for cleaning or at least none I've ever seen in 20+ years. I've never had the drywall bag catch on fire from embers.

Seems to me to be an expensive item looking for a use instead of something necessary.

 

[kilogulf59]

I've always been puzzled why people buy and expensive 'ash' vacuum, when an ordinary shop vacuum with a drywall (yellow) bag and motor filter works just as well for a lot less expense.

Don't need an ash vacuum which is designed to vacuum up potentially hot ashes without going up in smoke. No hot ashes in a biomass stove shut down for cleaning or at least none I've ever seen in 20+ years. I've never had the drywall bag catch on fire from embers.

Seems to me to be an expensive item looking for a use instead of something necessary.

I cleaned mine (finally) a few days ago. I used the vacuum listed in the thread starter and said filter bag. These bag stayed on and no problems cleaning. IMO, by the time the stove has cooled down for a few hours, there's no embers anyway.

Thanks for all the tips folks, they helped a lot. She's running like a champ now and throwing plenty of heat. I've been using Country Boy pellets and am guessing that cleaning it every few weeks would be a good idea.

 

[SidecarFlip]

cleaning it every few weeks would be a good idea.

In reality, every week is better, at least an interior clean as fly ash from combustion is a good insulator and retards heat transfer. Develop yourself a cleaning regimen and stick to it. It takes me about 15 minutes to clean the inside and vacuum it out. In my case, because I burn corn with no clinker pot (which isn't something you need to be concerned with anyway, I clean the inside of mine, every 4 days.

Really don't matter if you are running it hard or just a light burn, the fly ash still adheres to the firebox surfaces and insulates it from efficient heat transfer.

 

[redbill]

I use a Shop Vac with a HEPA filter in it and a type H bag. I have a regular brush attachment for it.

These instructions are for a P68, but my understanding is the P43 is just a smaller version of the same stove.

This is what I do almost every week, it takes me about 15 minutes or so:

Do you have yearly or other interval cleaning steps? As I just posted about, I just found the air-blower cage in the back that wasn't in Harman's maintenance guide, and it made a HUGE difference after cleaning. So curious about other non-weekly cleaning spots. thanks

 

[kilogulf59]

In reality, every week is better, at least an interior clean as fly ash from combustion is a good insulator and retards heat transfer. Develop yourself a cleaning regimen and stick to it. It takes me about 15 minutes to clean the inside and vacuum it out. In my case, because I burn corn with no clinker pot (which isn't something you need to be concerned with anyway, I clean the inside of mine, every 4 days.

Really don't matter if you are running it hard or just a light burn, the fly ash still adheres to the firebox surfaces and insulates it from efficient heat transfer.

Sound advice, I will do that.

Do you have yearly or other interval cleaning steps? As I just posted about, I just found the air-blower cage in the back that wasn't in Harman's maintenance guide, and it made a HUGE difference after cleaning. So curious about other non-weekly cleaning spots. thanks

"air-blower cage in the back" Interesting, how do you clean this?

 

[redbill]

"air-blower cage in the back" Interesting, how do you clean this?

on P68, I took off the back left panel. and behind the motor there this spinning cage for moving air (I assume -- not sure if it moves air inside or outside or both?) but the inside of it was caked with dust. I scraped out each section with a screwdriver, and then picked out the dust by hand and with vacuum. I can't overstate what a huge improvement it made in my stove performance after that cleaning. I'm really annoyed that it wasn't included in the Harman Maintenance guide.

 

[kilogulf59]

@redbill, thank you. I never heard of doing this. I will check it out. Much obliged sir.

 

[jackhammer]

The ash that builds up insulates your stove, so you're losing efficiency by not cleaning it more often. Also the dirtier the stove is, the harder it is to clean....

As far as scraping the heat exchanger... It is awkward. I just scrape it and try to get a bunch of the stuff off. It's better than not doing it... I tried that once too.

I use the provided scraper and then the same cheap paint brush I use for the rest of the stove.

 

[jackhammer]

Bogeib mentioned the fines box. Don’t forget the fines box. I clean that one every ton burned. It’s located outside the stove, on my P-61, on the right side rear. Take off the cover (2 5/16” bolts) and remove the wing nut holding the cover. Vacuum out, carefully replace fines box cover ensuring a proper seal, replace shroud cover and that’s it. 15 minutes or so.

 

[anon_ymous]

I use a Shop Vac with a HEPA filter in it and a type H bag. I have a regular brush attachment for it.

These instructions are for a P68, but my understanding is the P43 is just a smaller version of the same stove.

This is what I do almost every week, it takes me about 15 minutes or so:

Step 1: Shut down the stove and wait for the combustion fan go off, so you're working with a cold stove.

Step 2: Open the glass door, then turn the feed rate dial down to "test." This turns the distribution fan on (it goes on and off) and the combustion fan (which stays on). If your door is open, the pellets will not feed in test mode. The combustion fan will blow the dust you create out the pipe, instead of it floating out into your room.

Step 2a: Put a magnetic LED light somewhere inside the stove so you can see what you're doing. I have one that looks like a pen that you can turn to shine at different angles.

Step 3: Take a soft bristled brush (I bought a cheap 2 inch brush at Harbor Freight) and wipe off all sides of the fire brick and take it out and put it in a small cardboard box.

Step 4: Brush off the ceramic burnpot cover (whatever it's called) and place it on top of the fire brick in the box.

Step 5: Brush and then scrape the heat exchanger fins with the scraper that came with the stove. There is also a lip above the door that catches a lot of ash, so I take my brush and clean that off too.

Step 6: Brush down the remainder of the inside of the stove starting at the top and work downward (otherwise you'll throw dust on what you've already cleaned).

Step 7: Scrape/Brush the burn pot, then use a nail or allen wrench (or custom make something) to poke each hole in the burn pot (careful not to damage your ingiter underneath!).

*Use your vacuum between any of these steps to suck up what has fallen out on the floor.*

Step 8: Put fire brick and burn pot cover back in stove (this is VERY important!!).

Step 9: Open ash door, put brush on vacuum and swipe off the inside of the ash door and clean up ash that spilled on the floor.

Step 10: Carefully remove ash pan and swipe ash off the pan with the vacuum brush, then place ash pan to the side. I only empty mine once a month or less (depends on how much ash you generate).

Step 11: Put magnet light inside bottom of stove. I always hang it from the door opening shining down/inward. Use vacuum brush to clean out all the ash from floor and sides and bottom of burn pot.

Step 12: Turn feed rate dial back to your favorite setting and close both doors until combustion fan turns off (otherwise you'll get a face full of ash, trust me).

Step 13: Open ash door back up and twist the wing nuts to open the igniter cover on the bottom of the burn pot. You don't have to unscrew them all the way, just enough to slide the cover up and off. Stick the nozzle of your vacuum into the opening and suck out all the ash. You can stick your fingers in there to feel when you get it cleaned out.

Step 14: Since the combustion fan is now off, open the combustion fan cover and clean it off with the vac and gently swipe the fins on the fan with your paint brush while you suck the ash with your vac. Be careful with this fan, it's a very important piece of your stove.

Step 14a: About once a month I will also add cleaning the pipe to the routine. You can buy a brush and rods from Lowe's, or wherever. With your combustion fan cover off gently push and pull the pipe brush through the back of the stove while using the vacuum to catch what falls out. The temperature sensor is inside this square channel, so be careful to not damage it! My 3 inch pipe brush gently swipes by it with no problem. With your flashlight you can see how clean you're getting things.

Step 15: Put everything back together and ash pan inside and close the ash door.

Step 15b: If you're cleaning your pipe this time: I have a cleanout T at the back, so I take the cleanout off and brush the pipe up to the 90, then go outside and brush in. I keep the vac running on the floor behind the stove to catch what comes out. Do whatever you need based on the configuration of your pipe.

Step 16: Clean your glass door. I use Rutland Conditioning Glass Cleaner. You need two paper towels, a damp one and a dry one. Put conditioner on the damp cloth and wipe down the glass on the inside of the door. Then I polish with the dry cloth. The more times you use the stuff, the easier it is to clean, because it leaves kind of a waxy coating.

I hope that helps!

Could you please describe the additions you make to your protocol when you do your deep clean after burning a ton of pellets? At the end of season?

 

[mtnbiker727]

Could you please describe the additions you make to your protocol when you do your deep clean after burning a ton of pellets? At the end of season?

Since I wrote that, I learned that you should take the ESP out of the back of the stove when brushing the stove pipe. You can see the wire sticking out of the back of the stove pipe. Gently take the probe out of the stove and wipe it clean, then clean your pipe from the inside of the stove, then put your ESP back in.

I also learned to use a stainless steel pot scrubber (cost about $1.00 at your grocery store) to scrape the heat exchanger inside the top of your stove. That gets the fins way cleaner than the provided scraper.

The only other thing I do is clean the fines trap, which is kind of beside the control panel on the back of the stove. This little trap collects some of the sawdust and broken pellets, usually there's about a handful of stuff there. On my stove there's a wingnut on the bottom of the lid, and the top just kind of hooks on to the stove. I pop the lid off and suck it out with the shopvac. It's kind of a pain to get the lid hooked back on completely, but if that's not tight you'll have an air leak and potentially sawdust on the floor.

I haven't done any greasing or anything to fans, but I'm wondering if I should be doing that at some point. Others on here have a lot more experience at that.

 

[Pete Zahria]

I don't think you need to remove the esp.. (IMO).
I have a piece of wood 1/2 X1/2 X28" with a tooth brush glued to the end.
You can reach the esp very easily from the front when you are cleaning the stove.
It works fine.
If you are removing the vent pipe from the rear,
you can reach the esp easily and just wipe it with a cloth.
It's only dust.. if you have something else, just use some mild cleaner.
I have never removed mine.
As for general cleaning, including the fins, I find an automotive parts
cleaning brush works great for the whole job.
That scraper thing is too noisy
They are round and quite stiff... much more than a paint brush..
You can get them at any auto parts store..

Dan