Outdoor Wood Furnace Info
All-Purpose OWF Discussions => General Outdoor Furnace Discussion => Topic started by: danicol12 on December 07, 2012, 05:46:48 AM
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What do all of you do with the ashes after cleaning out your OWBs. I have a garden right next to the boiler, however, I've heard that can raise the pH of your soil pretty significantly. Is this true? What other methods of disposal do you all use, and what are the reasons for them?
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I've been throwing mine in the garden for the last few years, a lot of it!! I think maybe I should stop for a while. I heard years ago that it was a good thing for the garden, but I never researched it. I guess I should.
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I spread mine around some apple trees...Other than that I spread them out in the woods till snow..Once snow comes I just put them in plastic grocery store bags.(when they aren't hot of course lol) Bring them to the dump, throw them in the hopper..You could always see if anyone around you that would be interested in them, esp. if they garden
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I have a Legend that has a blower on it and this may not work for the ones that don't have a blower, but I have found that if you wait until there is no wood and only a few large wood coals left before adding wood, you will have very few ashes and load it twice a day with just enough wood that you will think it will burn until next scheduled loading. I may have 3 - 4 wheel borrow loads per year
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I have a Legend that has a blower on it and this may not work for the ones that don't have a blower, but I have found that if you wait until there is no wood and only a few large wood coals left before adding wood, you will have very few ashes and load it twice a day with just enough wood that you will think it will burn until next scheduled loading. I may have 3 - 4 wheel borrow loads per year
I have a blower on mine..Im with on ya on that same thing...I fill two riding lawn mower trailers a year..I use to keep my metal trailer next to the boiler..Then once filled just take it in the woods and get rid of it....
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I think it lowers the pH, (acidic). You add lime to raise the pH.
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I put all mine on the garden. Raise ph, lower ph, that is my wife's problem, it's her garden. Keeping the house warm is my problem. I just plow it under in the spring
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I have a Legend that has a blower on it and this may not work for the ones that don't have a blower, but I have found that if you wait until there is no wood and only a few large wood coals left before adding wood, you will have very few ashes and load it twice a day with just enough wood that you will think it will burn until next scheduled loading. I may have 3 - 4 wheel borrow loads per year
I do the same thing with my indoor boiler....i clean my boiler once a week with very few ashes....I dump them in a steel 55 gallon drum with a lid. I wait till its filled (5-6 months burn time) and there cool and spread them in my pasture....
kelly