ash the byproduct

I have not found a thread or video that tells or shows how to remove ash from a RMH. I know the heaters are efficient but don't they produce ash? And even if they don't produce much it must build up so how do you get it out and where does it tend to deposit/pool/collect? I have watched a lot of videos and read a lot of posts without finding this. Thanks

Typically they are designed with an ashpit and cleanout after the manifold leaving the barrel. Some fine ash will collect there overtime. Most of the ash will be in the bottom of the feed tube and in the burn tunnel. People come up with all sorts of devices for scooping that out, suited for the dimensions of their stoves.

Wyatt Barnes : Besides the ubiquitous clean-out located in the Manifold area directly below the drum, there are several easy to manage barrel adaptations
that let you remove just the Top of the Barrel, or the whole barrel see the Link Below :


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4usXIAoy9us

For the good of the crafts ! Big AL

Hello Wyatt,

I did a video on the amount of ash twigs produce.

I did a follow up video on the amount of ash wood produces.

My burn chamber is a shorter than most and I can reach my hand to the back if I need to. My feed tube can have removable bricks in case I want to increase the feed tube height, or remove them for reaching for the ash.

Am I overthinking this because if most of the ash is in the J tube then I would think that a cleanout would be in order at that location. The highest heat is in the riser and the horizontal of the J tube, if I have comprehended the videos and tutorials, so I don't see why a cleanout wouldn't get built at the back end of the J. Maybe a T tube configuration.

Morning Wyatt,

It takes some study and questions to understand rocket mass heaters.

There are two types of ash formed:
combustion ash (lots)
fly ash (very little)

The combustion ash is what I showed in the last videos I posted for you and you need to clean daily. The fly ash is the very light ash that gets sucked into the duct-work and deposits. This you need to clean once per season after the manifold.

Here is a fly ash in ducting video. Sorry for the clicking in the videos it is a recycled digi-cam.

Thanks for the videos Brett, I had watched them and I have seen the fly ash cleanouts but I have yet to see someone remove body ash from their burner which is why I have been wondering about a clean out in that end.

A cleanout extending back from the base of the feed tube would complicate airflow in that area (unless there was a plug that made the normal configuration flush with the back wall of the feed tube) and might not be good for efficiency of the burn. But it might be okay - Matt Walker's original J-tube had a feature like that which he used as an oven.
At any rate, a well-functioning RMH with decent wood will produce so little ash that a cleanout is not required, it can be scooped up with a flattened tin can or something like that. A simple J-tube will have better insulation and eliminate the possibility of extra air leaking in a cleanout.

Mine doesn't have an ash pit...I just put on a glove and stick my arm into the core and scoop it out. I have three pellet stoves, and thus lots of empty bags...I just keep one handy and put it in there. I don't keep it running constantly though, so it's not hot in there when I clean it usually. My barrel lid is also removable for service...a shop vac will clean out anything in there really easy with the lid off.

The clean out for the J-tube is the feed tube Really no need to complicate it.