Ash Pan Fire

These stoves can push a bit of unburnt pellets in the ash pan on fresh(right after a cleaning) start up. The first pellet fill for ignition. And can take some time to ignite them during the run once they are in the pan.

Best bet is to keep the pellets from getting into the pan. Once the stove burns for a while it will naturally build up an ash bridge to keep pellets in the liner on start ups. Only the fresh clean start up where there isn't anything to keep them in the liner and going over the edge on the first(heavy) feed. I try to keep the stove from letting them get into the ash pan. Right after I clean I take some ash out of the pan or bucket and place some on both sides of the liner(About a cups worth each side) to keep the pellets in the ash pan.

Once I add the ash to the sides I don't get many if any pellets in the pan at all.

 

Sure could if the pellets didn't burn all the way they get knocked over the edge and finish burning in the pan. They can add up and get a good fire rolling in there.

Nothing new has changed like pellet brand or opening up the chute cover gate(inside hopper)?

 

I have had two ashpan fires. Different stove, no agitator. I was sent a new ignitor and a new wing nut for the ignitor house and told not to run my stove on the 2 highest settings.........

On the higher settings the pellet would not stop feeding.

Dex told me a certain place in the burn pot that was hard to scrape. I misunderstood and took it as the speed bumb was the metal pot and not burn residue. I was wrong. Since then I have learned to use my pot scraper sideways and upside down and not had another ashpan fire...............That said I have not used the 2 highest settings either to find out.

 

Thats why I stated to try an keep them in the burnpot and not in the pan. This has been one of the Achilles heels to this style of burnpot. Adding ash after cleaning helps keep them in and some have added fingers(don't know a better word) to the burn grate that helps keep strays in the burnpot. I added plates that have fingers that extend into the burnpot. I tried welding them to the grate, But they deteriorated and desolved. I started getting them in the ash pan so I made stainless plates that bolt to the side of the grate and surround the agitator. Extend lower into the burnpot and the strays hit them and stay in. You can block all the way or the ash won't clear itself out of the burnpot. A bit tricky, But can help keep the loose strays to a minimum.

Lemme try to dig up some pic's and I'll post them here, Bare with me! I think I even have a PDF(print) of the plates I fabed up??

 

The first pic is what tipped me off to adding ash on start up before I made the mods. Notice the ash fills the void where pellets can sneak over the edge on start up.

 

This pic of the ash pan is my first fire after cleaning and adding ash to the sides. I used to get a good bit of loose pellets in the pan. Once I added the ash I saw little to none!! I should have taken a before to show them, But this is after and I only saw 1 loose one in there!!

 

Here's a couple a pic's of the fingers I added to the burn grate. This worked very well until the degraded.