Dust and Mess

 
Dann757
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Post by Dann757 » Tue. Jan. 10, 2012 10:21 am

I don't understand why the neighbors have to gather every time I clean out the ash.

Anyway, the layer of ash all over my furnishings seems to protect the finish; and it absorbs the pizza oil that drips off the slices onto my Lazyboy recliner when I'm watching The Rifleman reruns.. It eventually hardens and I can conveniently chip it off.

Seriously, I just slide the ash pan out and put the ash in a spackle bucket. If the stove is hot, the draft will pull some of the cloud up into the stack through the open upper door. If it's cold, I turn my head and cough until the dust permeates the dwelling.

It's a good thing, otherwise everybody and their brother would want to heat with coal.

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titleist1
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Post by titleist1 » Tue. Jan. 10, 2012 10:37 am

SteveZee wrote:
MURDOC1 wrote: Never transfer ash in the house... End of story, problem solved...
That's nice but, errr, the stove is in the house. ;)
I bought a second, custom ash pan from Freddy a good while back and have been loving it. I just set the "hot" pan next to the stove to cool for a few hours and swap in the empty one. After it cools I take it outside and dump at the ash pile. Minimal fly ash in the house when I used the hand fed and now even less with the stoker.

With the hand fed, prior to shaking down, I would open the ash door for a few minutes to liven up the fire. Then I would close the ash door to shake down, let the dust settle for a few minutes before opening the ash door to swap pans. If I left the ash door open during shake down I would get fly ash swirling around the basement.

It also helps immensely if you avoid stepping on a sleeping cat while carrying the ash pan through the basement. :shock: This is the same whether you have a hand fed or stoker!

 
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Dennis
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Post by Dennis » Tue. Jan. 10, 2012 10:47 am

I have a draft inducer and turn it on when shaking and loading.Its like a vaccum, even all the way down in the ash tray it will suck the dust thru the fire and out the pipes.When I load, I have fines and dust in the coal hod and watch them being sucked back into the stove.

At the coal bin I have set up some 2" PVC pipes hooked up to the shop vac. and can watch the dust being sucked into the pipes.I need to clean the shop vac. now, I can hear it slowing down do to the fine coal dust.

 
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nortcan
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Post by nortcan » Tue. Jan. 10, 2012 10:49 am

If you empty the ash pan before shaking (so shaked the day before), it's not supposed to have dust when you open the ash door and having the draft controls open. A lid on the ash pan is very usefull.
I empty the ash pan in the same place I store the anthracite bags.
I lift the dust can cover just enough to get the ash pan in, lower the ash pan as low as possible then turn it over and lift it up while in the reversed position. The dust can cover still as low as possible, then take the ash pan out of the dust can and put the dust can cover on. Then turn the ash pan and put the lid on as soon as possible. Not much dust as you can see on the video: A different Vigll coal stove.
This year we modernized the kitchen and changed the stove's fan. I kept the fan and I put an old furnace filter in front of the fan and the metallic old grill in front of the pleated filter. Anyways I had these parts...
Just before working the ash dumping, I put the fan on then make the job as described. Works great even if there was not so much dust before. I have 2 dust cans and don't let them go more than 1/2 full, keeping the ash in the lower portion of the dust can helps. Making slow moves also helps.

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MURDOC1
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Post by MURDOC1 » Tue. Jan. 10, 2012 11:18 am

SteveZee wrote:
MURDOC1 wrote: Never transfer ash in the house... End of story, problem solved...
That's nice but, errr, the stove is in the house. ;)
Well sure it is, what I'm saying is don't dump the ashes out of a perfectly good pan into a different container INSIDE THE HOUSE!!! :shock: Don't care what kind of shop van or filtration setup you may have it is not going to solve the problem, having a second ash pan will by no longer needing to transfer ash from the pan right away just because it is the only one he has and wants to put it right back into the stove...

Remove the pan very slowly, set it down gently next to the stove, replace with empty 2nd pan that is sitting there and ready for use, close up the stove, leave full pan to cool as long as you wish, once cool pick up full pan and walk lightly through house not slinging it around as you go, dump outside at ash pile or whatever you may have and then proceed with the rest of your day enjoying the warmth without the need to wear a dust mask or respirator in your own home!!! :idea:

 
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Wy Coal Miner
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Post by Wy Coal Miner » Tue. Jan. 10, 2012 3:06 pm

MURDOC1 wrote:
SteveZee wrote: That's nice but, errr, the stove is in the house. ;)
Well sure it is, what I'm saying is don't dump the ashes out of a perfectly good pan into a different container INSIDE THE HOUSE!!! :shock: Don't care what kind of shop van or filtration setup you may have it is not going to solve the problem, having a second ash pan will by no longer needing to transfer ash from the pan right away just because it is the only one he has and wants to put it right back into the stove...

Remove the pan very slowly, set it down gently next to the stove, replace with empty 2nd pan that is sitting there and ready for use, close up the stove, leave full pan to cool as long as you wish, once cool pick up full pan and walk lightly through house not slinging it around as you go, dump outside at ash pile or whatever you may have and then proceed with the rest of your day enjoying the warmth without the need to wear a dust mask or respirator in your own home!!! :idea:
That's all fine and dandy but I'm lazy and my ash pan isn't to conducive of carrying it though the house even when it's cold.

Has anyone tried one of these and used it to just suck out the ash right out of the pan? http://www.allegrovacuums.com/attachments/dirt/as ... as200.html

 
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MURDOC1
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Post by MURDOC1 » Tue. Jan. 10, 2012 3:31 pm

Wy Coal Miner wrote:That's all fine and dandy but I'm lazy and my ash pan isn't to conducive of carrying it though the house even when it's cold.
Good god man!!! You must be kidding??? Right??? I could certainly understand this if you have a handicap of sorts and the vacuum would make things 'work' better for you, but just plain lazy!!! That's a whole other story and a weak excuse at best...

Explain why it is not conducive to carry the ash pan through your home? Has no handle? Only has 3 sides? Is falling apart and leaks more than it catches? Just why exactly do you say this? Forum member Freddy has custom built some very nice pans for others and not to volunteer his services or craftsmanship, but perhaps with a further look into your situation a custom pan could be built to make this dust issue go away for good... Maybe one with a handle and a lid? Maybe one that holds more ash than what you have, or less if that is what works? I see plenty of good suggestions posted here in this thread along with plenty of other threads that can be found using the search button... Using a vacuum with a separator attachment may very well work? I personally would not use one to suck out an entire pan worth of ash, but hey, to each their own I suppose...


 
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Rob R.
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Post by Rob R. » Tue. Jan. 10, 2012 3:51 pm

Wy Coal Miner wrote:That's all fine and dandy but I'm lazy and my ash pan isn't to conducive of carrying it though the house even when it's cold.

Has anyone tried one of these and used it to just suck out the ash right out of the pan?
What am I missing here? How hard is it to fabricate a pan that can be carried?

If laziness is the problem, how did you end up burning coal in the first place?

 
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freetown fred
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Post by freetown fred » Tue. Jan. 10, 2012 3:55 pm

Apparently, conducive is the key word here. Oil furnaces don't give off any dust. That should work better for you. :roll:

 
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Post by Rob R. » Tue. Jan. 10, 2012 4:00 pm

Careful Fred, you might have to change the nozzle and filter once per year on the oil unit.

 
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freetown fred
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Post by freetown fred » Tue. Jan. 10, 2012 4:25 pm

Damn it, everybody's a critic. :P

 
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Dennis
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Post by Dennis » Tue. Jan. 10, 2012 4:29 pm

Wy Coal Miner wrote:That's all fine and dandy but I'm lazy and my ash pan isn't to conducive of carrying it though the house even when it's cold.
Just shovel it out the window,shouldn't make that much mess. :wtf:

 
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DennisH
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Post by DennisH » Tue. Jan. 10, 2012 5:17 pm

You're going to get more dust in the house burning with coal and/or wood. My furnace is in the basement, and when I empty the ash pan (I have two), I set the "used" one down to let it cool, then dump it into a large aluminum trash can when cool. When I actually dump it into the trash can, I angle the ash pan from the furnace gently into the trash can, dump quickly and slap the top on. Ash pan controlled by right hand, trash can lid by left hand. Cuts down on a lot of the airborne ash from dumping.

 
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Wy Coal Miner
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Post by Wy Coal Miner » Tue. Jan. 10, 2012 5:36 pm

MURDOC1 wrote:
Wy Coal Miner wrote:That's all fine and dandy but I'm lazy and my ash pan isn't to conducive of carrying it though the house even when it's cold.
Good god man!!! You must be kidding??? Right??? I could certainly understand this if you have a handicap of sorts and the vacuum would make things 'work' better for you, but just plain lazy!!! That's a whole other story and a weak excuse at best...

Explain why it is not conducive to carry the ash pan through your home? Has no handle? Only has 3 sides? Is falling apart and leaks more than it catches? Just why exactly do you say this? Forum member Freddy has custom built some very nice pans for others and not to volunteer his services or craftsmanship, but perhaps with a further look into your situation a custom pan could be built to make this dust issue go away for good... Maybe one with a handle and a lid? Maybe one that holds more ash than what you have, or less if that is what works? I see plenty of good suggestions posted here in this thread along with plenty of other threads that can be found using the search button... Using a vacuum with a separator attachment may very well work? I personally would not use one to suck out an entire pan worth of ash, but hey, to each their own I suppose...
:lol: I thought laziness was a handicap. :) seriously though lazy and efficient can be interchanged. My pan does have a hole in it and it's just to unwieldy.
Use the search button? Why would I want to read some old conversation when a new one could be started up?
I just want to find the most efficient way to eliminate the ash without the dust.
I guess I'm on my own to pioneer a way as usual.

 
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Wy Coal Miner
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Post by Wy Coal Miner » Tue. Jan. 10, 2012 5:40 pm

DennisH wrote:You're going to get more dust in the house burning with coal and/or wood. My furnace is in the basement, and when I empty the ash pan (I have two), I set the "used" one down to let it cool, then dump it into a large aluminum trash can when cool. When I actually dump it into the trash can, I angle the ash pan from the furnace gently into the trash can, dump quickly and slap the top on. Ash pan controlled by right hand, trash can lid by left hand. Cuts down on a lot of the airborne ash from dumping.
This is basically what I do now except I only have 1 pan so I dump right away. I have thought about using a hood on the shop vac next to it while I'm dumping.


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