What Pellet Pellet Stove Ash Vacuum do you have and what do you like about it?

[stellep]

Stellep, if it's possible for you to take a measure of the outer diameter of the sealing rim on the tank, I would be very grateful.

Here you go Stovensen.

This includes the lip on the left side. The lip varies from 0.17 to 0.25 inch.


Here is the filter bottoms-up on the canister. You can see the seal that mates with the lip.

Here is the filter in place.

When I took the photos, I emptied the canister and shook the filter. It had about 3/8 inch of ash in the can after maybe 30 bags.

I think I could go all season without emptying it as long as it didn't lose suction.

 

[Stovensen]

Here you go Stovensen.

Thanks a lot, stellep! Wow, this is the first time ever that I see an inch/FT tape measure with all the fractions included on the scale
A bit confusing for a metric brain from Europe at first glance, but when we are focusing on an exact measure, it's not confusing at all.

So the outer diameter of the ash tank on the PowerSmith is 11 inch + seven eighths. In decimal notation that is 11.87".

To be absolutely sure, I took another measure of the outer diameter on my Quigg and it does read as previously stated: 11.65".

This gives a difference of 11.87-11.65= 0.22". Converted to cm: 0.56cm.

I'm afraid this may not work, but based on your observations here, there could still be hope:

This includes the lip on the left side. The lip varies from 0.17 to 0.25 inch.
Here is the filter bottoms-up on the canister. You can see the seal that mates with the lip.

Stellep, do you think that there is enough clearance, so it could fit the smaller diameter on my Quigg?

 

[stellep]

I would plan that the ID of my particular PS canister is about 11 9/16 (29.36 cm).
But this measurement is probably variable like the width of the lip on the canister. Not an exact science.

So, short answer is I don't know.
The seal sits on the lip and it is rubber so it might compress that little bit.

Perhaps someone who is experienced in making things work could make a slight modification if necessary.

Hey, I think I know someone like that From DK!

 

[Pete Zahria]

I just use a regular shop vac.
Blow out the filter every now and then.

Dan

 

[Stovensen]

So, short answer is I don't know.
The seal sits on the lip and it is rubber so it might compress that little bit.

Thanks for your answer. This is bit of a head scratcher, when we are unable to test things directly.

Considerations on the circumferences:
To calculate the circumference we just have to multiply the diameter by pi:

PowerSmith ash vac: 11.87" x pi = 37.29"

Quigg ash vac: 11.65" x pi = 36.60"

This gives a difference of 0.69" circumferencewise. It won't work.
We'll end up in a situation like this:



Forum member Ssyko suggested this:

If you have the room in you vac your local lowes, HD, Ace, hardware carry a vac bag made for dry wall. The ones i get are yellow and you get 2 bags for around $15

I have an old vacuum cleaner that uses vac bags very similar to what Ssyko describes. This could work.
With a cable tie the vac bag can be safely fixed to the flange on my Quigg.
This mod can be made in 10 minutes. I'll let you know, if it works ( enough suction )

 

[Ssyko]

I have an old vacuum cleaner that uses vac bags very similar to what Ssyko describes. This could work.
With a cable tie the vac bag can be safely fixed to the flange on my Quigg.
This mod can be made in 10 minutes. I'll let you know, if it works ( enough suction )

The bags come with a heavy cardboard intake port with a rubber seal around it brotha. Should fit right around the tube on the vac you posted

 

[stellep]

First test outside please

 

[Ssyko]

First test outside please

No worries.

 

[Stovensen]

The bags come with a heavy cardboard intake port with a rubber seal around it brotha.

The cardboard is normally inserted into a frame on the vac-housing. This is to prevent the bag from getting pulled off the flange by the thrust of the rather powerful airsteam.
Besides the Quigg ash vac we have two "normal" vacuum cleaners in the house: An Electrolux and a Nilfisk.
The Electrolux uses the bag to the left and the Nilfisk the one to the right:


I settled on using the Nilfisk bag for several reasons:
1: The flange on the Quigg ash vac is very close to the top of the ash tank ( about one inch ), so there's not enough space for the cardboard.
2. The Nilfisk bag is long enough to rest on the bottom of the tank. As it gets full of ash, this is an important relief weightwise. The electrolux bag will just hang inside the with the risk of getting torn by the weight and air thrust.

I put a piece of rubber around the flange to secure the bag even further against the air thrust:


But before the test I had to clean the Hepa filter with the Electrolux. The Hepa filter was totally clogged with extremely fine dust. The Electrolux has no fine particle filter, so this was placed outside, while I was inside ( the hose through an almost closed door ).

Test result:
I started cleaning the old wood stove in a room next to the pellet stove. The suction was enormous. Just like when it was new! So I continued cleaning the entire stove. This holds several pounds of ash, so if the bag inside can hold this weight, everything should be fine.
Unfortunately I noticed that the suction slowly started to decrease.
My fears were confirmed when I opened to the tank:


The bag is torn in the side where the load of the ash is heaviest And the metal mesh and Hepa filter totally clogged again.
A piece of tape to reinforce the area getting torn, and off to another test. I really think this will work.

Conclusion:
At first I had my doubts about inserting the vac bag in the air stream: Would it restrict the flow too much? I can confirm that this is NOT the case. As long as it doesn't get torn, suction is optimal. Having the ash collected in the bag is also convenient ( as long as it stays there )

I have plenty of zip ties, vac bags and tape

 

[Ssyko]

Im sure you can find a drywall bag over there across the pond. They are manufactured different from normal vac bags. They have fibers and feel more like cloth, but they aren’t. And i go half a season on 2. 5gal bags. Only time i have them tear is when i remove them from the canister.

 

[Stovensen]

Im sure you can find a drywall bag over there across the pond. They are manufactured different from normal vac bags. They have fibers and feel more like cloth, but they aren’t

Thanks for your suggestion. I just found an alternative to the paper bags in a webshop. It appears to be made of some sort of micro fleece. As you can see on the screen shot, the micro fleece bag has a port made of blue plastic. They come in packages of 5 pcs. I'll let you know how it works:

 

[LobsterParty]

I have a power smith vac not much suction. I've been using my Kirby vacuum,works alot better when the disposable bag is full take it off &a throw it away! No mess...

Thank you, I find Kirby Vacuums with Full accessories in the Trash all the time. I have 3 now lol, I will start using this. The home depot ash Vacuum have no suction. It's just cheap Chinese garbage. Kirby is like 60 pound Vacuum and amazing power. It can lift a bowling ball. I can't wait to play around with all the Kirby attachments I have for cleaning the pellet stove. So many possibilities!

 

[Havilcek stole the ball]

I just use a regular shop vac.
Blow out the filter every now and then.

View attachment 221214

Dan

I use the same but with a HEPA filter. It seems to work well. I likewise clean the filter when it starts looking caked up.

 

[LobsterParty]

Kirby Vacuum with all attachments I have found 3 of these in the trash.
It's the most incredible vacuum for cleaning pellet stoves . I use the hose and the brush attachments.
This vacuum can lift a bowling ball 10 feet up in the air!

The ash vacuum from home depot is terrible. Dust goes everywhere, no power.

Kirby, there is no dust for a 18 inch radius

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

I have a 5-gallon airtight can that has a cyclonic baffle installed. It has two ports, an intake near the edge of the can and an exhaust in the center. I hook my shop vac to the center port and the hose to the intake. When I fire up the shop vac, it creates a swirling air pattern in the can; ash drawn in through the hose settles out before entering the shop vac, which is equipped with a drywall bag. It doesn't catch everything but it greatly reduces the amount of ash that goes into the drywall bag. And, it's fireproof.