Fire box ash cleaning question and debate with wife.

Landry's Egg · December 2016

When cleaning out the ash and fire box for next cook, do you also clean out the ash that gets trapped between fire box and the egg. For some reason either out of laziness or that in my weak and feeble mind I think it adds a extra layer of insulation if it gets hot. I asked my wife who is a engineer and plant manager for a coffee plant, all she says it that if ignited it can cause a big fire, so clean it out. Always cautious, she is. Of course I tell her we've had the egg for probably 6 or 7 years and this has never happened.

So, any reason I should or shouldn't clean out excess ash. Will it eventually burn away?

What say ye?

SirSquatch · December 2016

Won't ash buildup between the firebox and the Egg cause airflow issues at some point? I'd be more concerned for that.

whldch · December 2016

I would definitely clean it out to help air flow for the next cooks, but the ash is what is left over from the burns so it's unlikely to ignite. The small
particles could be a fire hazard if vents are open.

YukonRon · December 2016

Air flow in the egg is much more important than added insulation. If the excess caught caught fire, which is unlikely, the lack of air flow would smother it, due to the readily available lump using most, if not all of the oxygen. I do a total clean and inspection about every 10 cooks with all my eggs. I clean ash out of the fire box after every other cook.

Botch · December 2016

I do similar to Ron, and as whidch stated, the ash that falls in through the six holes is already burnt; small pieces of unburnt lump can obviously fall through, and will burn if they get hot enough (just like small pieces that fall through a fire grate, they'll just burn, no harm done).
A tip: a flexible vacuum hose works great for cleaning around the outside of the firebowl; a leaf blower works too but is NOT a good idea. Don't ask me how I know this.

Carolina Q · December 2016

I've had my egg for over 7 years. Pretty sure I took all the parts out and cleaned behind them... twice. If I can't reach it with my ash tool, it doesn't get reached. And I never bother cleaning out the holes in the firebox.

Skiddymarker · December 2016

Carolina Q said:

I've had my egg for over 7 years. Pretty sure I took all the parts out and cleaned behind them... twice. If I can't reach it with my ash tool, it doesn't get reached. And I never bother cleaning out the holes in the firebox.

There is no need to take out the fire box to clean ash. As @Carolina Q says the ash tool can be used to pull ash from the area between the base and the firebox. The air holes are always above any residual ash level. Just like my airtight stove, I always leave a small ash layer on the floor of the egg. Cleanliness can be next to Godliness, but when it comes to egging, it might be considered a tad OCD.

pgprescott · December 2016

Once a year or two for me. The kab helps keep some of the small pieces of coal blocking the side airholes, but sooner or later you will restrict airflow as the ash builds up outside the firebox.

DaveRichardson · December 2016

The ash shouldn't burn. Its already been burned. @Stlcharcoal would be a great resource to answer this one.

As far as cleaning, if I've done a couple of low and slows in a row, I will bust out the mini shop vac that can get around the firebox and base inner wall. If I've exhausted all the lump inside, I will pull the fire plate and vac it out, making sure to hit all the holes in the firebox to make sure they are clean - that happens maybe 2x a year.

gerhardk · December 2016

As long as you have to restrict air flow to keep the temperature from going nuclear you don't have an air flow problem.

Landry's Egg · December 2016

Thanks for the help.

So this is what I'm dealing with, a woman plus combined with engineer= never wrong.

Looks like we established burnt ash is hard to burn again. Which, where the extra ash is located is kind of hard to get too.

Will a extra layer of ash add extra insulation outside of firebox given airflow isn't compromised during the cook?

I need something more plausible for discussion purposes. She was very adamant about ash possibly igniting and causing a wild fire. I disagreed with her of course.

JohnInCarolina · December 2016

I'm not sure how to put this delicately, but: the wife is wrong.

marysvilleegger · December 2016

Tell your wife you'd agree with her but then you'd BOTH be wrong!

hoosier_egger · December 2016

A smart man would say "yes, dear" and then go do it his way.

northGAcock · December 2016

I only opened this thread to see what the debate with wife is. You got this.

Tspud1 · December 2016

How do ashes catch on fire ?

Landry's Egg · December 2016

She's a manager at a coffee plant and her analogy is that they have to clean the roasters ash because of a fire hazard etc. Not a good comparison in my opinion. She doesn't cook and I haven't shown her the configuration of the egg. She knows how to run a coffee plant but her abilities in the kitchen are suspect at best.

This is will get interesting later tonight since we can't talk about the saints and Brees throwing picks.

Botch · December 2016

Landry's Egg said:

She was very adamant about ash possibly igniting and causing a wild fire.

What kind of engineer is she? When I was forced into IT (with my Mechanical/Industrial Engineering degrees) I made some flat-out wrong decisions too.
Whups, someone's at the door, gotta run Good Luck!

JohnInCarolina · December 2016

Botch said:

Landry's Egg said:

She was very adamant about ash possibly igniting and causing a wild fire.

What kind of engineer is she?

I'm guessing she steers a steam-powered train.

Theophan · December 2016

In several years of egging, a couple of times I wasn't getting good airflow and it turned out that enough ash had built up between the Egg and the firebox that it was choking the airflow some. Took out the fire ring and firebox, cleaned it all out, put them back, great air flow. Hasn't happened often, less than once a year, but it's happened to me.

BilZol · December 2016

Your gonna trade your ash problem for another problem. Clean it and keep the peace. You've already went through more trouble and time then it would have taken to clean it.

DoubleEgger · December 2016

Put her in charge of cleaning the egg since she's a self proclaimed expert.

JohnInCarolina · December 2016

We are all such d!cks.

Skiddymarker · December 2016

Theophan said:

In several years of egging, a couple of times I wasn't getting good airflow and it turned out that enough ash had built up between the Egg and the firebox that it was choking the airflow some. Took out the fire ring and firebox, cleaned it all out, put them back, great air flow. Hasn't happened often, less than once a year, but it's happened to me.

Did you rake the ash from between the firebox and the base? The rake will go to about the 11:00 and 1:00 o'clock position meaning airflow is not affected. There is a choice, simply rake it out (10 seconds) or remove the whole firebox...... your choice.

RRP · December 2016

Here's what an ash build up through the air holes looks like. In time mine have completely clogged and restricted the air flow meaning a clean out was necessary.

Image: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v232/Ronald44/IMG_1675.jpg

DMW · December 2016

Ash burns? Well, that pisses me off, I've been tossing it in the corn field behind my house.

4Runner · December 2016

I don't worry about it. Just make sure all the air holes are clear and you are good to go. I worry about it even less since I typically use a Stoker.

Botch · December 2016

RRP said:

Here's what an ash build up through the air holes looks like. In time mine have completely clogged and restricted the air flow meaning a clean out was necessary.

Okay, that I've never seen before!

JRWhitee · December 2016

I pull the guts out and clean the ash behind the firebox about every two months or so.

xfire_ATX · December 2016

I pull it apart twice a year or so... Whenever I let it burn through all the lump it's time for a full clean out.

Legume · December 2016

The only ash that burns comes from center cut lump, so you should be ok.

Even if ash did burn, it's in the egg (where the fire is), you're still restricting airflow, so what.

Fire box ash cleaning question and debate with wife.

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