Ash vacuum

Anthodavis

Anthodavis

Got Wood.
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Anyone use an ash vacuum??
If so what brand and is it worth the trouble?
 
What are you trying to vacuum ashes out of? I use a Shop Vac with a dust bag and it works just fine, but it's very important all the ashes are out with no hidden embers inside (which can be there a lot longer than youd think) otherwise the suction from the vacuum supercharges them back to life and you wind up melting your vacuum. Ask me how I know.

I only use the vacuum for detailed cleanup work the following day. I have a metal ash bin that I use to scoop out as much of the hot coal bed as I can once I'm finished cooking. That really cuts down on the amount of ash I have to vacuum and helps the cooker to cool down much quicker.
 
I have a L BGE and if it has an achilles heel its the ash bin. If that ash bin starts collecting all the flotsam and jetsam of several cooks, it tends not to draw very well and won't hit the temps like I like it.


Hence, the shop vac for the ash bin. I have a small cheap shop vac and that is what I use it for. It cleans out the ash bin in just a few moments and its easy as pie. Voila. The egg draws a deep breath with no sweat and everything is right with the world again.
 
If you are vacuuming COLD ash then any old shop vac will do; if you plan to vac anything with lurking embers etc then safety wise worth jumping to loveless ash vac (lynx) or dustless pit hawg- much more $$$$ but totally safe to suck up some coals without ruining the system (I do it all the time cleaning up offset when coals still have a little life to them). Dustless and loveless are actually same maker just rebranded.


https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01H...f_7?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=CXFDSD7QC3KM730EZRWR

https://www.amazon.com/Love-less-As...ash+vacuum&dpPl=1&dpID=41G7kdw4+SL&ref=plSrch
 
I was just going to ask this same question. Thanks for the suggestions guys.
 
I have a small shop vac I tried but obviously I didn’t have a very good filter. Blew ash dust everywhere. Maybe I will look for some micro filter for the one I have.
Got an Ironside cabinet smoker and cleaning the ash tray out after a long overnight charcoal cook is a major pain
 
Silly question -If you have an "ash tray"- why not just pull it and dump it? If your ashes just fall from the basket to the floor of the firebox, that just sounds like a bad design decision.
 
I have the PowerSmith. Works very well. I have ash pans in my cookers so there's not a lot of ash to vacuum.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk
 
Nuco59 said:
Silly question -If you have an "ash tray"- why not just pull it and dump it? If your ashes just fall from the basket to the floor of the firebox, that just sounds like a bad design decision.
Click to expand...


Ash pans can't catch every ember that goes astray.
 
"Ash pans can't catch every ember that goes astray."

/shrug. Then that only leaves minimal clean up. Sounds like time for a whisk broom and dust pan- if that. Whipping out a special bought vac to clean that little last bit seems sort of excessive- but play on. We all about excess these days. :grin:
 
Nuco59 said:
"Ash pans can't catch every ember that goes astray."

/shrug. Then that only leaves minimal clean up. Sounds like time for a whisk broom and dust pan- if that. Whipping out a special bought vac to clean that little last bit seems sort of excessive- but play on. We all about excess these days. :grin:
Click to expand...


Ha.. have you ever seen those Swiffer commercials? Broom and dust pan still leaves ash. My firebox door has a lip that prevents me from getting everything out. I am currently sweeping and then using a wet rag to mop everything up. Quick but dirty and I waste a lot of shop towelettes.
 
I have the PowerSmith. I use it with my wood burner in the house and with the cookers (pellet, and charcoal). It does the job. I buy a new filter every year.
 
Czarbecue said:
Ha.. have you ever seen those Swiffer commercials? Broom and dust pan still leaves ash. My firebox door has a lip that prevents me from getting everything out. I am currently sweeping and then using a wet rag to mop everything up. Quick but dirty and I waste a lot of shop towelettes.
Click to expand...

Wow, that's some obsessive cleaning :)

I dump my ash pan after (almost) every cook. If I happen to have the shop vac on my porch and the cooker is cold I'll vacuum out the firebox to get all the ash out. That probably happens two or three times a year.
 
I have a Shop-Vac 4041300 Ash Vacuum. Got it through reward points from my job which means it basically didn't cost me anything. Personally I think it is a great tool for detailed cleaning on a kamado style ceramic cooker like my Kamado Joes. For my other cookers, I see no great advantage. My understanding is that some shop vacuums don't work well because of their filter system. That is only based on what I read. To me it is a nice to have tool but I could live without it.
 
I don't suck, I blow.

Point the smoker/ash/firebox, whatever, downwind, and take my hair dryer I use for super charging a chimney or turbo boosting the vertical after 8 hours and let her rip.

Just make sure your blowing chit downwind.

Leafblower would work on a bigger job.

Your neighbors won't mind if they don't know it was you
 
Nuco59 said:
"Ash pans can't catch every ember that goes astray."

/shrug. Then that only leaves minimal clean up. Sounds like time for a whisk broom and dust pan- if that. Whipping out a special bought vac to clean that little last bit seems sort of excessive- but play on. We all about excess these days. :grin:
Click to expand...

I agree about the excess. Not only do I use my small Shop Vac to clean out the ash left over after the removing my ash pan (there is always a little), I follow up by spraying and rubbing the interior of the firebox with canola spray. Overkill for an insulated firebox? It is sure is, but what else am I going to do in my spare time in the near 100 degree heat here in the Houston area? :razz:
 
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