Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Woodstove Ash Vacuum

What brand, make or model are you using for ash clean-up in and around the wood stove?

I have a shop-vac brand, it is pretty OK, but the filter doesn't let a lot of the finner stuff through.

I have a Ryobi cordless vac, it is handy, quiet, and powerful, but would rather not clog it up.

I see the ash-specific ones have "spark arrestor" metal mesh around the filter. Not that I would be vacuuming up cherry-red coals, on purpose anyway.

Real-life experiences are appreciated.

I used a whisk broom, metal dustpan and a small galvanized bucket.

Yep, keep it simple

I have those, not what I was asking for.

I need a vac to clean the ash out of, around and through the wood stove.

No you don't. You just think you do....

I bought a hand held Milwaukee battery operated two years ago. We use it all over the house, on the rear deck, and around the wood stove. It has proven to be a very valuable tool.

https://www.amazon.com/Milwaukee-0882-20-Attachments-Accessories-Batteries/dp/B01M1ORKN0/ref=sr_1_12?crid=1UL8Q439GUAU4&keywords=milwaukee+vacuum&qid=1664802744&qu=eyJxc2MiOiI0LjkwIiwicXNhIjoiNC4yNSIsInFzcCI6IjMuOTQifQ%3D%3D&sprefix=milwaukee+va%2Caps%2C242&sr=8-12

Get a better filter. Lots of choices.

Ok then I WANT one. Happy now that I've cleared up the semantics?

A lot of Ash Vacuums on the market, just search for them. They have a pretty wide range of prices and some can handle warm ash.

I dont know squat about the subject matter.
Cold dead fine ash cleaning of a wood stove.
My experience is limited to a dust pan and small sweeping brush or hand trowel .
Or a trimmed fir tree shoved up and down stove pipes at deer camp long ago in Maine to clean out creosote build up.

Why not try modifying the filter?
Punch some stiff wire thru it or small thin nails and open it up somewhat in places?

Might work and a simple solution??
Only be out a filter if it is a flop and go get another.

Sometimes a Rube Goldberg mod works, sometimes it dont.

That is exactly the problem, the market seems saturated with options. I was just looking for some that a guy has tried and succeeded with.

Reny, for the $60 most these vacs cost, I can't see the point in dorking around and trying to make something work. My view may be convoluted, though. Most of the ash-specific vacs have metal lining in the hose and metal spouts as well, this is where I see the biggest advantage over the run-of-the-mill ShopVac. But I appreciate the on-topic response nonetheless.

I just use a regular shop vac, but.....I leave it outside because it gets dusty, and I use a series of hoses I rigged up, about 30 ft long, works good.
I also leave the vac outside where it wont burn anything down if there are any hot ones in there, and there can be.

I like that idea...keep the mess outside. As to the point of there could be hot ones in there, yeah...I burned down a ShopVac filter once on a pellet grill, 2 days after using it. Hard to believe there was still a tiny cherry in there.

I am liking the looks of this contraption. The metal crevice tools are cool too. The spark arrestor system seems well thought out.

All the above is speculation on my part.

ShopVac Ash Vacuum

THIS, ABSOLUTELY. Most wood stove caused house fires in UP are started by improper or careless handling of ashes.

I have a Loveless Cheetah ash vacuum. It was expensive, about $250. Now you guys might think I'm crazy for spending that kind of money, but here's why. I used to use a regular old shop vac to vacuum out my pellet stove. It worked fine for a while because I would let the ashes cool beforehand. One day I did not wait long enough apparently. The shop vac filter caught on fire and the vac started smoking in my living room. I quickly picked it up and ran with it toward the door. As I was running through the kitchen, my wife came home to have me yelling, "Get out of the way! Get out of the way!". I put the vac in the snow and quickly opened it up and took care of it.

After vacuuming the pellet stove, I now set the Cheetah vac in the middle of the garage floor, well away from anything combustible. The next day, I dump the ashes in a galvanized steel trash can. I know $250 is a lot of money for an ash vac, but mine has been working perfectly for nearly 15 years. And I haven't burned the house down.

I bought a specialty ash vacuum at Tractor Supply. It was awful. Tossed it, and went back to a steel shopvac, with bag and filter.

This guy knows of what he speaks. ^^^

OK, it's your money.

I've got better things to spend mine on.

Ash scoop came with the fireplace tools I picked up. More than good enough. Stove manufacturer literature says the stove actually works better with some ash on the bottom. I burn until I get a good inch + in there, scoop it out into a galvanized bucket with lid. Hearth tiles get swept with a bench brush or small broom, into a metal dustpan.

You want an expensive vacuum.....................go for it I say.

Hopefully you can find an American made one and think of it as Pahntr's stimulus program.

Never used these

But they are built locally in Price Utah



https://www.lovelessash.com/ourhistory.php