Emptying the Ash Pan...Tricks/Tips?

av8r · Post by **av8r** » Mon. Dec. 17, 2007 1:43 pm

Ya, I know it's stupid easy, but I'm already sick of having fly ash up my nose. I've been dumping the ash in a steel garbage can, but the dust cloud is terrible and I can't get the lid on fast enough most of the time to keep it contained. What do you guys do with the ashes? I'm trying to not have to walk 200' out to the woods or the ditch.

e.alleg · Post by **e.alleg** » Mon. Dec. 17, 2007 2:31 pm

you could wet it down first but that makes a mess too, I just stand upwind and heave the ash onto my driveway, the wind blows all the dust away in 2 seconds.

Post by **Richard S.** » Mon. Dec. 17, 2007 2:33 pm

We haul ours out the curb and the borough worker deals with it.

Not much you can do their because it's bushel tubs.

This may actually be something to suggest to Jerry as an accessory and I think it may have been suggested before or someone is doing it. If you had a custom lid made for the ash pan with a funnel, you could then pour them into a can with corresponding hole. Which will give the dust a chance to settle.

av8r · Post by **av8r** » Mon. Dec. 17, 2007 3:42 pm

Richard S. wrote:We haul ours out the curb and the borough worker deals with it. Not much you can do their because it's bushel tubs.

This may actually be something to suggest to Jerry as an accessory and I think it may have been suggested before or someone is doing it. If you had a custom lid made for the ash pan with a funnel, you could then pour them into a can with corresponding hole. Which will give the dust a chance to settle.

Do you put it in bags?

I have the ashpan cover/door opening cover that he offers and it works fine. I'm always whining about something, so this is the flaver of the day I guess...heehehe...That flyash is so stinking light it just goes everywhere. Maybe I just need to move my garbage can. My neighbor has asked to have me dump it on his driveway (which is dirt/gravel) for the winter. I widened and leveled it this fall so the school bus could use it as a turn around and when I read that the ash gets like concrete I offered it to him to help firm up his driveway. I just don't know how much of a mess it's going to make come spring.

Matthaus · Post by **Matthaus** » Mon. Dec. 17, 2007 4:26 pm

I have a gravel drive that is convenient to the stoves, so for right now I just check he wind direction and let it fly, pun intended.

I just purchased an industrial dust collector with a cyclonic separator and 6" inlet on ebay. Am currently making a dump tray that will suck up the dust while dumping. I plan to collect the ash in barrels and spread it on the driveway when it gets icy. This unit will also be connected to the basement for boiler ash collection. If all goes well no more dumping ash and getting a dust cloud.

bill4117 · Post by **bill4117** » Mon. Dec. 17, 2007 6:56 pm

you could always open the ash door, drag in the compressor hose, and use the airgun to blow the fine ash off the top before taking the ashpan out.

cheapheat · Post by **cheapheat** » Mon. Dec. 17, 2007 7:03 pm

I personally just dump it in the lawn outside the front door and in the spring my neighbors fight over it for filling low spots in their lawns. jim

europachris · Post by **europachris** » Mon. Dec. 17, 2007 7:07 pm

Matthaus wrote:I have a gravel drive that is convenient to the stoves, so for right now I just check he wind direction and let it fly, pun intended.

I just purchased an industrial dust collector with a cyclonic separator and 6" inlet on ebay. Am currently making a dump tray that will suck up the dust while dumping. I plan to collect the ash in barrels and spread it on the driveway when it gets icy. This unit will also be connected to the basement for boiler ash collection. If all goes well no more dumping ash and getting a dust cloud.

Matt, does that collector have an after-filter? If so, what is the micron rating?

Reason I ask is that I found the fly ash is SO fine that it went through a regular single ply industrial vacuum "trap-sack" filter bag. Fortunately, my super duper industrial vac has a secondary multi-layer cloth filter to catch it before it all flew into the room. I had to go and purchase some drywall dust style collection bags to be able to handle the fly ash. So far, so good. If you don't have any sort of super-fine filtering on that cyclone, make sure you blow it outside, as that is where most of the fine stuff is going to end up.

av8r · Post by **av8r** » Mon. Dec. 17, 2007 7:10 pm

cheapheat wrote:I personally just dump it in the lawn outside the front door and in the spring my neighbors fight over it for filling low spots in their lawns. jim

I thought it would kill whatever plant material it was dumped on/near due to acidity?

Post by **Richard S.** » Mon. Dec. 17, 2007 7:46 pm

av8r wrote:
Do you put it in bags?

No we have about 10 bushel tubs that fit right into the furnace.

av8r · Post by **av8r** » Mon. Dec. 17, 2007 7:52 pm

Ahhhh..so you just place them at the curb on trash pickup day? Do you need to cover them?

Thanks for the pic...

Post by **Richard S.** » Mon. Dec. 17, 2007 8:08 pm

No we don't cover them, never thought about it but I'd imagine those guys don't mind a little water in the top tub if its raining.

coalkirk · Post by **coalkirk** » Tue. Dec. 18, 2007 7:28 am

I wear a dust mask and stand up wind when I dump it into a metal trash can. When the can is full, I use a hand cart to wheel it back to the woods behind my home and dump it in the path as a paving material, again standing up wind. I know what you mean about "can't get the lid on fast enough".

pbmax · Post by **pbmax** » Tue. Dec. 18, 2007 7:39 am

I've been shutting down power to the stove and blowers and using the small fireplace shovel to scoop out the ash pan into a metal flower pot (It was the only metal bucket I had laying around). Let that cool until I'm ready to empty again, then I dump the whole pot into a trash bag. Since the bag will fit over the pot, the only ash I get is the little from scooping and what I get when I miss the bag.
Then I switch the power back on. Important step.
pb

Matthaus · Post by **Matthaus** » Tue. Dec. 18, 2007 2:27 pm

europachris wrote:Matt, does that collector have an after-filter? If so, what is the micron rating?

I bought a unit with a standard filter size for the purpose of being able to fit different elements, the current filter is used and should to be replaced. I will replace it with a HEPA filter element that will be good for filtering down to < 2micron. The current filter was used in a stainless steel tubing manufacturing plant and is rated at 10 micron. I might try that out first, just to see what it does. The other good thing about the unit is it has a filter agitator to knock off the dust.

It is an Aget Model 1151 with clamp in panel after filter:**Broken Link(s) Removed**