Ash Shovel to Coal Sifter

I wasn't sure what forum to place this in; admins feel free to move it to a better location if not here.

I stopped by Lowe's Home Improvement Sunday and they had fireplace accessories on offer. I picked up a much better poker than the one I currently use; much heavier. They had a lot of things on offer including wood racks; if the racks get cheaper I may replace the ones I got at TSC and use the TSC racks outside on the porch. I also picked up an ash shovel that I thought could be converted to a coal sifter. I found the following coal sifter on Amazon for ~$17.00 USD.



My thought is to print out a grid for the holes, use a punch to locate the holes on the shovel, and then drill away. My question to the FHC members here that have coal sifters is what size holes should I drill and what spacing for best use. Below is the shovel I picked up at Lowe's Sunday that I will be converting.

 

Good idea

Another option to cutting many holes, would be to just cut several straight lines with a grinder like a cat litter scoop.

 

So what's the plan? This scoop will lift the coals up and the ash should sift through. Do you lift the coals and then with a second scoop remove the ash from below?

 

Thin sheet metal does not do well with a standard drill bit . You really need to use a punch but having a punch with a throat that deep is not something everyone has access to.
If you need to drill it a step drill is probably your best bet.

 

One I made has apx 3/4" holes in it

 

I normally rake everything to one side and try to pick out the coals with the poker but that doesn't work well and have been thinking of some sort of coal sifter as I have seen some of the guys on here use.

 

I put a kitchen pan in the stove and sift the ash directly into that. As long as the stove is warm, there is enough updraft to keep most the the dust in the stove. Then I just put the lid on and take it out to the ash can.

 

Yes, it works; I just find it a bit harder though than being able to sift the coals from the ashes and piling them in one spot. Then if I need to open the ash pit plug I can rake in the ashes and not get as many coals.

 

Made my own.





Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

Yep I have a home made one too. Used stainless welding rod.