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[Corngrinder]

This is my first season using my 5036.  I don't really have a feel for the amount of ash I should expect.  I've been burning just under 2 months so far.

After the first 30 days (+/-), I completely cleaned out all the ash per the manufacturer guideline. 

It's been about 3 weeks since the full cleaning and I've got quite a build-up of ash again.  Here for the last week, I've been regularly taking a few shovels full (enough to fill a small 3 gal metal pail every other day) out and that seems to be dwindling the pile down. I'd say a good portion of this ash is dust too - I rake the chunks of coals around and let them burn down.

Does this sound like a normal amount of ash?  I'm burning decently seasoned wood; mostly maple, black cherry, locust, and a little white oak.

Also, is this a good practice?  I have a decent coal bed and ashes under that still.  I have noticed that the ash dust that I pull out retains a good amount of heat too.  The metal pail I dispense into stays warm for a couple hours after I fill it; should I instead leave the ashes in the furnace?

[woodywoodchucker]

I leave the ash in and make sure you fake it down really good.

[aries9245]

I think about that myself but I find when I do shovel the ash out there is an incredible amount of heat in the ashes also so I would have agree with woody I will only remove them if they build up to much but I think the ash helps retain heat.

[ST98]

That's seem like a lot of ash.

[Big Wood]

I have run 5648 and 6048s and about once a month i give it a good cleaning when a warm day comes rack it real good and leave some good size coals for refire

[woodywoodchucker]

That's seem like a lot of ash.

Do you have a stove??

[MTJAG]

I've had a 5036 going on four years and my ash is dependent on how cold it is outside and how well my unit is drafting.  I've never cleaned my chimney out until this year and it got to where it would not hold temp or burn effectively.  I have an extra joint in my stack (3 four foot joints instead of the 2 it came with) and to my surprise, it was over 1/2 blocked at the top.  I broke it up and brushed it down, now it burns like it was new.  Now, I take out about three shovels of the dust each morning and that usually works.

[loneryder]

Everytime I load it, I rake the coals and ashes around.  It seems to allow more coals to burn down to ash. You will find that your ash level goes down by doing this.  I've only cleaned out mine twice this season. Had a couple of warmer days about a month apart so I let it burn down, move some coals aside and empty it into a metal wheelbarrow. I keep it in the wheelbarrow for at least a week, stirring the ashes every day. You would be surprised how long that ash stays warm. There's always some small coals in the bottom that need to be brought to the surface so they can burn. The level in the wheel b will go down over the week.

[aries9245]

I use a 10 gallon metal trash can works great I used to use the wheel barrow but when rains and snows it would freeze over then I could not remove the ash so this little can has a top and usually get 2 cleanings before I need to dump it .