Enviro Omega- a case of total neglect! :-(

Let me start out by saying I had no intention of even trying to break Pete's 59 bag record.

I last cleaned my beast the first weekend of February and finally felt well enough to attack it today. Between getting a cold, Then the flu which turned into bronchitis. I wasn't able to do my 2 to 3 week normal deal. Pretty sure I had 12 bags of PTL's and had just added the 55 bags of AWF to the stash plus 12 bags of shoulders left over from the fall. I only have 10 bags of the AWF and the 11 of the 12 shoulders left. So I burned 12 bags of PTL's-45 bags of AWF and 1 bag(MWP) of the shoulder stash since my last clean. It still was burning just fine, Started normal and I could still see fire, But the ash pan was darn near to the top(highest I have seen it since the install) this morning! I just didn't want to push it anymore. My count is 58 on the dot! So its now not a matter of" I think I can", its more a "I know I can"!

If I had counted them before the clean I might have just held out for just one or 2 more! To late NOW!

Pic's of the dirty girl!

 

She's clean enough for now, Still need to pull the room blower and brush the vent...... I ran out of gas..........

Shh, Don't tell the boss. But I had to sneak a brew downstairs. Just didn't feel right if ya know what I mean!

 

Nice Jay. Great thread... Goes to show that not all stoves are created equal. some are far superior.


Last I cleaned mine was at Christmas (tried to do a one ton burn then) I have yet to count the bags. But i was close before and my ash is almost to the pot level (15" deep?). I am off tomorrow and plan to clean it well, I took pics of the last time (dirty exchanger) and I am almost 100% positive it's gonna be twice as bad.

It's much deeper than this now..

 

Hey sub, As long as I keep the heat exchanger tubes clean with the scraper rods. I don't see but a few degree's of temp drop. If I don't keep the heat exchanger clean I do see more drop. Ash acts like an insulator when it builds up on them.

 

Well, technically if you go by the manual your supposed to shutdown. I haven't had an issue while the stove is on low fire maintenance burn/fan on lowest speed. I have not tried it while the stove is burning in the higher heat settings. That might be a problem!

The rods are in the convection path and if any ash/dust/particles build up on the rods. They may get dislodged and the convection blower will blow them all over. If I couldn't do it under low fire, I was going to install a switch to turn the fan off briefly while I worked the rods. I was just worried I would forget to turn the switch back on.

 

My Quad had a cleaning rod, and my Fahrenheit does as well. But my new Enerzone, does not have a cleaning rod and I have just let the ash build up.

It's a little lower temp, but not much. The heat exchange "squares" (mine are not Tubes) are some of the longest I have seen. Jay's are pretty long to. These tall Euro styling stoves are built with a a tall firebox and the tubes/exchanger goes all the all the way across the top, and then down the back.

Here is a pic of today . The ash pans are also very deep on our style of stove. Pix of ash pan door to show depth of ash

 

Most stoves come with a cleaning rod that can be pulled. It's something that gets pulled around the outside of the tube to clean them. Most stoves tell you to pull the cleaning rod once a day.

A Harman does not have the option, as does my Eurostar. These are some of the few stoves that have a great heat exchange system, but no way to clean it while it's running.


(There are lots of stoves out there without a cleaning system, but they don't have a standard heat exchange system).

 

Because it's a pellet stove.. Not a wood stove. I don't open the door everyday. I'm lucky to open the door every week.

 

More beer = better! No?

In the first pic I posted you can see the scraper rod in the fire box. I'll repost with it circled. The rod gets ash build up just like the rest of the fire box/heat exchangers. When you pull the rod up, The dirty part is in front of the convection tube outlets. The air blowing from them will send the junk flying.

I'll have to post a pic of the area where the convection tubes end. Tough to explain without a visual.

 

I'm getting there. The warmer it gets is the better I have been feeling.

Once I can chug a lug a few brewski's, I'll feel just fine!