The fireplace is made of wood pellets and is economical and environmentally friendly. Our family used wood pellets for three years ago and I wish we had bought one much sooner than we did. It reduced heating costs by at least 50 percent and kept it warm and snug all winter long. Unlike traditional wood stoves it only needs to be cleaned once a week and has enough pellets to burn for 4 or more. 5 days, most will need to be filled about 1 or 2 times per day. We chose a model with a larger capacity funnel and we are very happy with it.
Cleaning takes about 15 or 20 minutes, depending on the circumstances. Cleaning and maintaining a pellet stove is very simple and easy to understand. This is a routine I have found to work well. You can add your own ideas to suit your needs. Always turn the stove off and allow it to cool before starting any cleaning or maintenance. It will get hot and burn if you are not careful.
Once the stove I fill the stove with pellets and collect the tools I use to clean the stove. The tools consist of an old log pot to pour the ash into, a plastic container to absorb the ash, a vacuum cleaner a>, a towel I need paper and glass. The reason I fill the hopper with balls first is simply to give it time to cool, and it helps shake off any ash by giving it a chance to settle before opening the door . The fireplace usually takes 20 – 30 minutes to cool enough to clean it.
After the oven has cooled, I open the door to reveal the hot pot. I begin by carefully placing a pot of old stock under the door, and placing the ash that has accumulated in the door in the ash pot. Cleaning the door first will help put the ash all over the floor.
Then I take my index finger (preferably a spade or an old brush) and sweep the ashes from around the burning pot, so that the pot is removed without leaving all the ashes around the sides in the cavity cavity. . Remove the burning pot and carefully place the pot on the old log for a while. I need to take the work and remove it from the inside and build up the burning clay that has just been removed.
Once clean, put it aside for a while. Using a plastic cup or some flexible tool, remove the ash from the stove. It is important to remove as much as possible without using a vacuum because it seems that the ash is rather challenging to pick up; small things seem acceptable to our vacuum cleaner. After all the ashes have been removed, take the vacuum hose, and introduce the clean cavity into the burning pot. This should be kept clear, because this is where the air to fire the pellets must be forced, and the igniter is also placed here if the stove has one.
After all the ashes have been removed, replace the burning pot, and clean the glass in the door with paper. linen and glasses washed. Paper towels work with water, as well as cleaning the glass in the door. I will clean the outside through the pipe and clean the pipe once a month or so. You can use a brush, or I even cleaned the underside of the old block and the sides of the drain with a rotary handle to remove the ash from the pipe.
Every case before starting the stove for a while, I remove the board from the back of the stove and clean the dust from the electric motors and circuit boards and such . It is also a good idea to pre-clean electric motors and other moving parts every so often to increase their life. Check the manual for proper usage instructions. I just use WD40 or something similar and have had no problems.
The only part I had to replace in three years was the ignition switch which cost about 40 dollars. The cost of wood pellets is about 700 dollars all winter. 2000 sedatum keeps our house, which is not well insulated between 75 and 80 degrees F. all the time. In fact, if it’s not twenty degrees outside, we have to keep the window open or move inside. This is with our wood pellet on the bottom of the stove. These are by far the best investments we have made in our home. Now if I could find an invisible handmaiden, I’d be in great shape.
For more in-depth photos of the wood pellet stove and cleaning procedures please check out my slide show at http://www.associatedcontent.com/slideshow/1562/the_ashley_5500_xl_wood_pellet_stove.html.
