Rate Your Stove...Amount of Dust

My biggest complaint using s hand fired stove;
Amount of ash/dust which accumulates in your basement & living area and can become a health issue.

Please rate your stove being as objective as possible using my guideline. List the name and model of your unit too.
I want to see if one brand is better than others in this area.

I didn't vote because I believe, barring a huge hole in the side or top of your stove .......The way you operate your stove makes all the difference, not the stove itself.
I've owned 3 stoves & would say they were all about the same if operated carefully.

I agree with Devil, but I did vote. If I'm in a hurry, I make a mess.
If I just take my time, I can shake and ash with very little dust.

TSB

Devil505 wrote:I didn't vote because I believe, barring a huge hole in the side or top of your stove .......The way you operate your stove makes all the difference, not the stove itself.
I've owned 3 stoves & would say they were all about the same if operated carefully.

It's quite obvious the amount of ash and your methods contribute or prevent ash. It's clear in the poll.
I need you to vote, NOW.
You are of age, aren't you???

Is this for both girlie-men and cavemen? I voted, but it seemed like a poll for hand-feeders.

stockingfull wrote:Is this for both girlie-men and cavemen? I voted, but it seemed like a poll for hand-feeders.

Caveman

Devil and tsb have summed it up well. Still, some coal stoves have better inherent designs in the diaper department, stoker or hand fed;) You gotta vote -come on Devil, don't go all Ron Paul on us now!

My biggest complaint using s hand fired stove

Maybe you need to go girly and get a stoker!

Truth be told I make more of a mess with the stoker then the hand fed, probably because I mash the ashes down in the ashpan so it will hold more.

If you fear health issues from the dust... I can give you a good deal on one of these!

All of my ash and dust problems are self made.(Only me to blame ) I am always in a hurry when I dump the ash pan and I keep saying I am going to cut a hole just a tad larger than my ash pan in the cover of an ash can but I never do.
But coal is the best thing I ever heated this old house with and even my wife never wants to burn wood or oil again if we can help it.
The coal is even better heat than the oilforced air for nice steady even temps.
I am a natural born slob so a little dust doesnt bother me at all Call me warm n dusty.

OK...OK!! You guys shamed me into voting!! (I voted for option # 1 but I think most hand fired stoves would fit that option if carefully operated)

My Gold Marc Monticello is up and running, and my learning curve now has to do with efficient feeding and ash removal. I bring in two spackle buckets at a time and use an old stamped steel little shovel to add coal. I have to tip the bucket and get a scoop balanced on the shovel, and make sure I don't bump the stove on the way in or I get coal spread out all over the kitchen floor.
I have a rectangular ash pan that fits into a spackle bucket. I take it out of the stove and gingerly place it in the bucket lying on its side. I take the whole bucket and pan out without disturbing it. Shop vac up any spilled ash and that keeps the dust generation down.
There's dust all over here from when I dumped the ash into the bucket inside and got a big cloud. That can be cleaned up, it's worth it in many ways. My ex girlfriend stopped by and she was stuffed up (her nose) pretty quickly, I'm not sensitive or allergic to anything so I can tolerate the environment in here. Might have been low humidity in here that day too.

Maybe I'm wrong, and I hope I am. But, for some reason I don't think people are comfortable with this post. I have very little dust, due to my tending proceedures. Like others have said; if in a big hurry, and sloppy = more dust. Personally, I have one door open to a time on the stove. Air is being drawn in the open door. No fly ash comes out of the stove. Because my stove is a top feed, I dump a 5 gallon pail of coal in the top. The coal dust follows the coal, due to also being drawn in. I made an ash tote(box), with a piano hinged lid. I empty the ash pan into the ash box, and quickly close the lid. All the while, the shop vac is running in close proximity to the ash. Very little, if any fly ash escapes. One more tip; I shake down my ashes, and let them cool till next tending time. The ash pan is much cooler to handle, as well as no hot air currents carrying the fly ash around. If my stove was in the living quarters, I'd have a cover for the ash pan. Or maybe a shop vac with metal canister, piped up to the stove.

VigIIPeaBurner wrote: Still, some coal stoves have better inherent designs in the diaper department, stoker or hand fed;) :

The SF250 I use has a very inefficient ash collecting ash pan. I have to shovel out 3 or 4 scoops of hot ash from the area below the grates after I remove the pan for dumping. A lot of ash collects here. But careful collection of the overflow ash is always important. But I have to believe some stoves manufacturers are better than others in this area of design.

I wonder how Hitzers compare to Harmans? Or Alaska & Keystoker? And some of the other caveman fired stoves.

One of the factors that make my current stove easier to keep clean is the HUGE ash pan of the TLC2000. (Requires less frequent dumping)

Cap wrote:

stockingfull wrote:Is this for both girlie-men and cavemen? I voted, but it seemed like a poll for hand-feeders.

Caveman

My vote can be deducted from #2.

But I bagged a 46# bin of ash today (two days' worth) and it's a pain in the ash for stokers too. I'm just thankful that my stoker's not in a living area.