In loving memory of Kenis D. Keathley 6/4/81 - 3/27/22 Loving father, husband, brother, friend and firewood hoarder Rest in peace, Dexterday

Stove cleaning

Discussion in 'Modern EPA Stoves and Fireplaces' started by Keweenaw, Dec 16, 2015.

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  1. Keweenaw

    Keweenaw

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    Does anyone know of a good video tutorial on cleaning a stove, I looked on YouTube but could not find anything worth while. What kind of tools are used, solvents etc.
     
    Keweenaw, Dec 16, 2015
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  2. bobdog2o02

    bobdog2o02

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    NO SOLVENTS.

    I use a shop vac with the special ash filter, for my rigid vac it's the blue filter. A good vac and some keyboard duster or low pressure air compressor should do it. If your glass is nasty they make special stove glass cleaner and many other methods can be found with a bit of aearching. My preference for glass is steel wool but others may argue that....
     
    bobdog2o02, Dec 16, 2015
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  3. Keweenaw

    Keweenaw

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    What about soot and creosote build up behind the fire bricks and on top of the baffle boards?
     
    Keweenaw, Dec 16, 2015
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  4. bobdog2o02

    bobdog2o02

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    Its not that big of a deal,knock and scrape what you can and vac it up.....
     
    bobdog2o02, Dec 16, 2015
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  5. bobdog2o02

    bobdog2o02

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    I find it far more important to keep the flue clean than the inside of the stove.
     
    bobdog2o02, Dec 16, 2015
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  6. Keweenaw

    Keweenaw

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    Sweet, I will probably just vacuum the ash out and leave it be until spring, right now the stove never goes cold for long enough to pull it all apart anyways :coldfire: thanks for the help bobdog2o02
     
    Keweenaw, Dec 16, 2015
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  7. bobdog2o02

    bobdog2o02

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    No prob bud. I do a good cleaning around Christmas and when I shut the stove down for spring.... helps to make the job a little smaller when it gets done. Adds piece of mind that the flue and cap are clear too.
     
    bobdog2o02, Dec 16, 2015
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  8. Backwoods Savage

    Backwoods Savage Moderator

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    I'm not sure why you would vacuum the ash out at this time of the year?!!! Leave it in! Only once per year do we completely clean the stove and that is the annual summer cleaning. Other than that we always leave at least 2" of ash in the stove.
     
    Backwoods Savage, Dec 17, 2015
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  9. Keweenaw

    Keweenaw

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    I didn't really clean my stove at the start of the season because I didn't know any better, I'm scooping ash out weekly right now because if I don't it will almost overflow. What does keeping a bed of ash in the stove do for it?
     
    Keweenaw, Dec 17, 2015
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  10. bobdog2o02

    bobdog2o02

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    When i sweep i have to get the vac out to clean off around the back of the cat and the bypass plate. While the vac is out........ Doesnt take long to build up some ash for the floor insulating, i have actually shoveled some back in a few times after the sweeping.
     
    bobdog2o02, Dec 17, 2015
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  11. Backwoods Savage

    Backwoods Savage Moderator

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    First, it helps to insulate the bottom of the firebox which will make the stove last longer. Second is that it helps the fire. Keep some ashes in and the coal bed will build up better and last longer which in turn gives you more heat. Cleaning the stove completely also means you are staring a fire with a cold stove. This could cause chimney problems if you do it enough (because you are starting with a cold flue) and also means you will burn a lot more wood. The reason you will burn more wood is that it takes a lot of heat to get that flue up to temperature and also all the stove up to temperature. Keep that stove and flue warm and you'll burn less wood and have fewer chimney problems. Hope this helps.
     
    Backwoods Savage, Dec 18, 2015
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  12. yooperdave

    yooperdave

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    The soot and creosote buildup on your firebricks just may be indicative of wood that is not ready to be burnt. (too high of a moisture content)
     
    yooperdave, Dec 20, 2015
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  13. Keweenaw

    Keweenaw

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    Most of it was there when I started burning, haven't picked up a moisture Meter yet but I've been burning dead standing spruce that lights up like cardboard soaked with gasoline. Nice and light, gets hot quickly too. Just the past couple days I started mixing in some ash that was also dead standing that I Css back in June. I'm pretty confident that I've been burning as good of wood as I could given the time that I've had to do it in. But maybe I don't know my azzhole from my elbow and it isn't dry and I'm making a mess.
    Just doing the best I can with what I've got:)
     
    Keweenaw, Dec 20, 2015
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  14. bobdog2o02

    bobdog2o02

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    As long as your trying and caring you'll get it.
     
    bobdog2o02, Dec 20, 2015
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  15. Backwoods Savage

    Backwoods Savage Moderator

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    Methinks you'll do just fine.
     
    Backwoods Savage, Dec 20, 2015
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  16. bert the turtle

    bert the turtle

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    I find a nice hot fire cleans just about everything from the stove that I want cleaned. I remove ash as needed. I see no need to detail clean since ash will be back with the next burn anyway. The glass stays pretty clean; if I get a black spot where a log ended up directly on the glass a hot fire takes care of that. A quick wipe with a wet and/or soapy paper towel every so often takes care of the slight haze that forms on the glass after a while.
     
    bert the turtle, Dec 20, 2015
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  17. bobdog2o02

    bobdog2o02

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    Burn a BK once, the creosote is everywhere the cat doesnt radiate at. I hav e been known to scrape the innards.... The price we pay for efficiency.
     
    bobdog2o02, Dec 20, 2015
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  18. bert the turtle

    bert the turtle

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    Efficient enough for me.
     

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    bert the turtle, Dec 20, 2015
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  19. bobdog2o02

    bobdog2o02

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    rephrase, Efficiency and burn time.

    The PE products are awesome though. Id have one if it suited my needs.
     
    bobdog2o02, Dec 20, 2015
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  20. bert the turtle

    bert the turtle

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    I can't even come close on burn time.

    This stove has been about perfect for my needs. I must have unusual needs, however, because as far as I can tell, they no longer make it.
     
    bert the turtle, Dec 20, 2015
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