Make sure wood ashes go in a solid metal can

[A-z farmer]

I know everyone on the forum knows to put wood ashes in a metal can with a lid .The other day our local VFD got a call of a fire in the basement of a house .It was a young couple a they had not had the house for very long .He had emptied the ashes from the wood stove into a wire mesh trash can and put it in his closet with clothes around it .Well they were lucky and 500 gallons of water and only the closet was burned with the clothes .I grew up with wood as heat and sometimes I think the younger generation does not have the experience yet .
Merry Christmas everyone 

[gspren]

Through the years I've seen on the news where someone put ashes in a cardboard box or paper bag and set out on their porch setting the house on fire.

[Hiker9]

An older couple lived just down the road from my house. Several years ago, while I was out of town, the husband cleaned out his stove and put the ashes in a bag on his deck. The house burned down and his wife died. I did not know them but can only imagine the burden of guilt that poor guy must have carried.

One thing to add is that after putting the ashes in the metal can be sure it is not sitting on or near anything flammable.

Have a safe and HAPPY HOLIDAYS everyone!!!

[Roger2561]

That's great advice everyone.  I grew up around wood burning appliances and my dad was scared of fire.  Whenever we cleaned a chimney or wood stove we always put the ashes in a metal container with a lid on it.  It sat in the middle of the lawn for 2 weeks before dad was comfortable enough to spread them on the garden.  With an OWB I still hold to the practices taught me by my dad.  Merry Christmas everyone!  Roger

[cutterboy]

After putting ashes in the pail get it out of the house. Not in the garage, not on the deck, not on the porch, put it out on the lawn or on the driveway. Leave it out there until the live coals burn themselves out. Remember, as the coals burn they give off carbon monoxide. You don't want that in the house.
      A wire mesh trash can?!  In the clothes closet?!  Yikes!!

[SwampDonkey]

Yes, seen that happen twice, one a cousin down the road and one a neighbor of my grandfather's and both should have more brains. Mine go into a steel pale and outside promptly then dumped on the snow in the ditch. I'll spread some on the gravel driveway at times, but not close to the house. For one, I don't want to track black charcoal all over the floors or floor mats. Second reason goes without saying.  ;)

[Corley5]

I dump the OWB ash pan into a wheel barrow and it may sit through several cleanings.  Wifey burned a bag of trash in the wheel barrow one day.  No harm done.  She no longer puts bags of garbage in the wheel barrow ;) ;D ;D  

[loghorse]

while working full time as a firefighter went on a call of chimmney fire.get it under control.while waiting to cool down stood in garage and noticed paper grocery sacks sitting there.played dumb and asked the lady of the house what was in the paper bags.the ashes from the wood stove put tere that morning she said.noticed their block,oak, woodthat was as green as cut today and had the fresh smeel., to finish the husband was the head heatlng inspector for the city.i guess some people don't know. everybody quit shaking your heads.

[chet]

As a firefighter of over 30 years now I've seen most of those cases now, many resulting in complete loss of the structure. Lots of cardboard boxes and paper bags left on carpets, wood floors, porches, decks and in with the trash. But da best (or worst) was a cardboard box of hot ashes on the tailgate of a new pickup loaded with firewood.  :  We had one gentleman bank all around his house with sawdust to keep the cold out, then later dump ashes from his fireplace out a window. He thought he'd be safe with the sawdust covered by a little snow. WRONG

[E Yoder]

I've seen similar, putting in a wheel barrow makes me jumpy. I've seen handles burn right off.
I never understood why guys love to put a wood boiler tight in a shed along with wood, kindling, gas cans, tractor, 4-wheeeler, fishing gear, (!!!) Guys have you seen a wood shed fire?
I had one that had wood piled so close you couldn't get the firebox door all the way open. Living on the edge. :-\

[chet]

I actually seen where kindling was placed on a wood stove to dry out for the morning fire start. Needless to say the kindling didn't wait 'till morning!  :-\

In defense of our wood burning locals, many of theses fires I've referred to were vacationers. Skiers, and snowmobilers here from da city for a weekend of fun.

[Corley5]

In my defense of putting ashes in the wheel barrow ;) ;D  I still do it.  I just emptied the pan yesterday.  My Heatmaster has rocker grates.  I empty the pan before I give them a shake so there aren't many hots.  Surely not enough to burn the handles off my wheel barrow ;D  but enough to set a bag of trash on fire :D  If I were shoveling out an OWB without grates I wouldn't let them sit

[E Yoder]

 
As long as it works for you.
I'm going out to give an estimate this morning on replacing a furnace that had it's front side burnt up by a woodshed fire.  Be careful y'all.

[ButchC]

People with little to no common sense should not burn wood for their own well being!
A  small amount of planning helps with safe disposal of ashes. My OWB ash is shoveled in a wheel barrow and imediately transferred to a small hole I dug in the back yard and covered with a layer of dirt.  Nice thing about an OWB is there is a large capacity for ash so I always wait for damp weather to do it. Once the ashes have cooled we coat the gardens and  areas it around the yard.  We also burn part time inside with a Jotel stove and those ashes go in a metal can to end up in same hole.  The ash ends up in the garden or yard when cooled off.

[doc henderson]

we use a metal can with a lid from tractor supply.  one for the shop, and one for the house.

[trapper]

I leave mine in the metal can a week.  putting them in a plastic bag for disposal had them melt the bag after sitting 3 days.

[rjwoelk]

We empty our stove  when it has gone cold as a rule. But regardless metal ash pail, goes out side to the steel 45 gal drum, gets empty when it gets full not often once a year . 

[Corley5]

  I dumped the ash pan over 24 hours ago.  The ashes weren't hot enough to melt the snow in the wheel barrow.  I've been using it for several years and haven't burnt the paint off.  To burn handles off they'd have to be really hot.  
  Once upon a time in mid spring when we still had a stove in the house we were coming off a warm spell and the stove was mostly out.  I shoveled it out into the steel bucket I had for just that purpose and dumped it over the bank by the wood shed where I still dump ashes.  A bit later I was standing in the living room and noticed flames reflecting on the window and thought what TV show was on that had flames :D :D  Then I realized that the TV wouldn't reflect in that window : :  I went out, grabbed the garden hose and soaked up the old elm stump the ashes had set on fire.  Whoops ;) ;)

[doc henderson]

it is funny the stuff that you could not light to save your life, but an ember, and a breeze in just the right area and presto, a fire.

[SwampDonkey]

Wow for sure. I have learned over the years, if wood is dry enough, the smallest ember and a nice light breeze will ignite it. There are times that the stove will have a few embers no bigger than a dime in amongst the ash. Set some dry firewood, split side down on them, close up the door, and with a good draft I have a full blaze inferno in there within 60 seconds. I'm not talking about laying wood on a bed of hot coals either, just little bits in grey ash. Be careful where them ashes land. :D



Fan will kick in toward the end of the video.


https://youtu.be/YiV7XpYNkps

[bitternut]

Putting wood stove ashes in a metal bucket with a secure lid is a great idea. An even better idea is using a metal bucket that also has a double bottom. My wife came home one day with one that she picked up in a yard sale.  That bucket has resided on my wooden porch deck every winter for at least the last 20 years. The bottom won't even melt snow. The top will though if it has fresh ashes in it.

I used to use a small garbage bucket that sat on the ground. It would melt the frozen ground and once it cooled off it would quickly freeze tight to the ground. It was safe but sure was inconvenient a lot of times.

I dump the cold ashes around the base of the trees in my dwarf fruit orchard, the garden, and hardwood tree plantings on my lots across the street from our home.
Once in a while, they come in handy if the driveway gets icy. As others have mentioned that can be a tracking problem so I only do that on rare occasions. I could actually use more ashes but that would mean I would have to burn more wood and that would require me to cut, split, and stack all that more wood. At my age I am trying to find ways to do less.

[DHansen]

Great thread to read!  Thanks for all the input and comments.  Been heating with wood since 1985 in the same home, and a good refresh on safety is appreciated. Thank you.

[KEC]

These days I remove ashes in the morning and scoop out what's just inside the door, very few embers in it.  Better yet if the fire has gone out. Removing hot ashes causes ash to become airborne and an  air quality issue. I wait a day or two to spread them outside in the garden or inside the drip line of favored trees and shrubs, best done when it's wet or snow.