Grate for Woodmaster

[oneoldbanjo]

I have a Woodmaster 4400 and I have only had it for one heating season. The OWB works great and does a wonderful job of heating my house and garage. The only thing I could think I would like to improve is the ash system. There is no grate in this furnace and the wood burns from the air blowing in over the wood - the coals need to be burned by raking the ashes around and bringing them to the top of th ash bed and the coals don't burn up completely as it seems the wood gets the supply air first and there is no air left over for the coals. About every two weeks I don't add any more wood on a Saturday or Sunday and can often heat the entire day just by stirring ashes every hour or so to bring new coals to the top of the ash bed. The bulk of the coals/ashes can be reduced considerably by the end of the day and a two week supply of wood is reduced to half a trash can of very heavy ashes. If you don't do the raking - the coals stay down in the ashes and don't get enough air to burn up.

I would like to build a grate with 1/4" slots that would allow the ashes to fall through to the bottom - and a small scoop to take some of the blower air under the grate to allow the coals to burn. Woodmaster claims that the air being up top is a good thing - I guess it allows the gasses to burn more completely than if the air came up from underneath exclusively. I could make the air scoop hinged - or a seperate piece that is stuck on the grate when it is desirable to burn the coals/ashes. I would hold the bottom of the grate up about 6" to allow room for the ashes - I would clean them out by lifting the front of the grate up and shoveling out from underneath.

Does anyone have any experience with something like this?

 

[ms310]

i am confused

The local woodmaster dealer here sells grates and an ash auger for extra $$$, cant you just buy them? Any way my heatmor has both an ash auger, and grates, the grates are elevated so the fan blows 1/2 under 1/2 over, if you have the ash auger go under the grates, you will be able to clean that thing right out with the fire going. On mine only the fines fall threw the grates not the coals.

 

[oneoldbanjo]

One of the reasons I haven't chosen to buy the Woodmaster grate and auger system is the $ 495 price. I have heard of two local people that bought the system and only use the grate - they were not happy with the auger system and only use the grate portion. I don't know what they didn't like about the auger or why they stopped using it. Even my dealer who has a working stove on display doesn't use the auger system in his display....so I don't know how well it works and that is a lot of money to spend on something without knowing if it is a good working system.

Anyone that has the Woodmaster auger system is welcome to report on how well it works.

 

[Butch(OH)]

Sounds like your experience with the 4400 parallels mine. I wanted an ash auger when I bought it, more for the grate than the auger but the dealer talked me out of it. They sell 40-50 units a year and zero ash augers. Anyway I know what you mean about burning down the coals. I try to do it on Saturday also and have also heated all day and into the evening on coals only.Mine is two years old and I still dont mind baby sitting it now and then. Your idea might work and cant hurt to try it. I have found that regulating the amount of wood I put in it works very well to reduce the unburned coals. An idea I have had but not started on is a screen of some sort that will separate the ash from coals as I shovel them out. I could them simply throw the coals back in over the new wood.

 

[oneoldbanjo]

Butch:

When I clean out my OWB every few weeks I actually try to rake the coals to the top and then use a shovel as a surgical tool and try to lift the biggest coals out of the ashes and put them in a metal bucket with air holes in it so they keep burning - then I throw them back in the OWB after the ashes are cleaned out.

Last year at the end of the season I was thinking of making a shovel with a screen bottom to help do the sifting. The only downside is that the coals will remain in the shovel while the ashes will remain in the OWB - which is kind of backwards from what I want to happen! I could continue to shovel them into the bucket like before - but a screened bottom shovel would make it a little quicker. I also wondered if some kind of a rake could be used just to lift the coals up on top of the ash bed.

 

[Madspeed]

WOULD ONE OF THESE NIFTY ASH TRAPS WORK?

ash trap

 

[oneoldbanjo]

Madspeed:

A shovel works fine - if you don't mind getting the ashes and coals at the same time. It is easy to shovel them out - it isn't easy to seperate the coals from the ashes and leave the coals behind in the OWB.

 

[Madspeed]

okay got ya now!

 

[olyman]

oneold--got a old coal bucket--or the bottom part of a 55 gal drum--steel??? just dig out the coals with your modified shovel, shake the thing over the bucket--no ashes, then throw the coals in a steel pail-------

 

[pipe welder]

I have the 4400 with the grate auger system and after one winter with it I have to say that it works poorly as it comes from woodmaster. It sure as heck isn't worth $495. The so called grate is just plate steel with a few slots cut in it and there in lies most of the problem. There are not anywhere near enough holes for the ash to fall through.You can stir all you want but you still get a lot of ash build up. I am going to modify my unit with a bunch more holes some,firebrick and a more powerful fan. If that does not help then I will sell it and build my own. Am going to give it one more winter and will report here how well the modifications work.

 

[oneoldbanjo]

pipe welder:

Now this is what I am looking for......a guy with some experience! I wondered what it was that made the factory grate and auger system undesirable.

How thick is the grate from Woodmaster? I was thinking about using 3/16" as it would weigh about 60 pounds when finished and I could probably muscle that into the OWB. I planned on cutting 1/4 inch slots fairly often and would make them run side to side so as not to weaken the grate so much that it would sag - but they would be at a slight diagonal to help prevent a rake from catching in the slots. I may have to add a support or two in the middle if it sags - if the grate gets red hot it will lose most of it's strength and could easily sag without some support in the middle. I do not plan on having the auger system so it cannot offer support in the middle. My goal is to get a way to get some air underneath the coals so they will burn more completely without the need to rake frequently. I feel that when cleanout became necessary I could lift the front of the grate and hang it from the heat exchanger tubes while I shovel out the ash from under the grate.

 

[pipe welder]

It's pretty heavy steel, about 1/4 in thick with a bend on each side which adds more strength. The holes are slots about 1/2 wide by 1 and 1/4 inch long. they are laid out 2 and 1/2 on center side ways and 4 inch on center length ways with the unit. There is also an air scoop bent into the grate in the front to allow some air to go under and some over the fire. I have no complaint with the quality of the unit as it is built pretty heavy. I just don't like the way it works and I think I can make it better. I am going to at least tripple the number of holes. If you hold your hand down by the air outlet with the fan running it dose not move a lot of air. I think a bigger fan will help. Going to try it and throw in some fire brick also. Like I said if it don't work I will just sell it and built my own.

 

[abohac]

I have a Woodmaster 4400 and I have only had it for one heating season. The OWB works great and does a wonderful job of heating my house and garage. The only thing I could think I would like to improve is the ash system. There is no grate in this furnace and the wood burns from the air blowing in over the wood - the coals need to be burned by raking the ashes around and bringing them to the top of th ash bed and the coals don't burn up completely as it seems the wood gets the supply air first and there is no air left over for the coals. About every two weeks I don't add any more wood on a Saturday or Sunday and can often heat the entire day just by stirring ashes every hour or so to bring new coals to the top of the ash bed. The bulk of the coals/ashes can be reduced considerably by the end of the day and a two week supply of wood is reduced to half a trash can of very heavy ashes. If you don't do the raking - the coals stay down in the ashes and don't get enough air to burn up.

I would like to build a grate with 1/4" slots that would allow the ashes to fall through to the bottom - and a small scoop to take some of the blower air under the grate to allow the coals to burn. Woodmaster claims that the air being up top is a good thing - I guess it allows the gasses to burn more completely than if the air came up from underneath exclusively. I could make the air scoop hinged - or a seperate piece that is stuck on the grate when it is desirable to burn the coals/ashes. I would hold the bottom of the grate up about 6" to allow room for the ashes - I would clean them out by lifting the front of the grate up and shoveling out from underneath.

Does anyone have any experience with something like this?

They se grates and auger systems. They don't wor very we but aot better than nothing.

 

[oneoldbanjo]

pipewelder:

Does the auger system work for the ashes that do reach it? Is the problem only with the grate?

I emailed Woodmaster with questions about the grate and asked if the system had been improved.......it has been 2 weeks and I have not gotten a response. Maybe they expect you to ask all questions through the dealer or call them instead.

I can build a grate system of my own - but ash removal would have to be by lifting the grate up in front and hanging it temporarily form the heat exchanger pipes on top of the firebox and shoveling the ashes out from under the grate. If the Woodmaster auger system works well (but not the grate) maybe it would be best just to use their augers and my grate.

 

[pipe welder]

The auger doesn't work to bad if you really crank it at least twice a day. If you let it get any build up in it then it becomes hard to turn so you have to stay on it. I talked to a fellow who said he adapted an electric drill to run his auger and it worked good, might try that myself. I don't remember what the non auger model looks like but if you wood have to lift that grate by hand every time. I think that wood become a major pain. Maybe you could hinge the grate in the middle so you could push the coals to the back while you shovel out the ash. Just a thought.

 

[abohac]

I have a Woodmaster 4400 and I have only had it for one heating season. The OWB works great and does a wonderful job of heating my house and garage. The only thing I could think I would like to improve is the ash system. There is no grate in this furnace and the wood burns from the air blowing in over the wood - the coals need to be burned by raking the ashes around and bringing them to the top of th ash bed and the coals don't burn up completely as it seems the wood gets the supply air first and there is no air left over for the coals. About every two weeks I don't add any more wood on a Saturday or Sunday and can often heat the entire day just by stirring ashes every hour or so to bring new coals to the top of the ash bed. The bulk of the coals/ashes can be reduced considerably by the end of the day and a two week supply of wood is reduced to half a trash can of very heavy ashes. If you don't do the raking - the coals stay down in the ashes and don't get enough air to burn up.

I would like to build a grate with 1/4" slots that would allow the ashes to fall through to the bottom - and a small scoop to take some of the blower air under the grate to allow the coals to burn. Woodmaster claims that the air being up top is a good thing - I guess it allows the gasses to burn more completely than if the air came up from underneath exclusively. I could make the air scoop hinged - or a seperate piece that is stuck on the grate when it is desirable to burn the coals/ashes. I would hold the bottom of the grate up about 6" to allow room for the ashes - I would clean them out by lifting the front of the grate up and shoveling out from underneath.

Does anyone have any experience with something like this?

Buy one from your dealer.

 

[oneoldbanjo]

Abohac:

As indicated in this thread....and from others I have talked to......the grate from the factory does not work well. Most people that have purchased the factory one don't use it......and the dealers I have talked to don't even recommend them.

 

[pipe welder]

Old Banjo if mine had a clean out door instead of just a piece of 4 inch pipe that the center auger discharges through I would take the auger system out and just scrape out the ash. To change any of this would require cutting and welding. I am going to give it one more winter and if I continue to have problems I will probably do just that or build the whole boiler and sell this one. Two different times last winter the chain that connects the three augers got a chunk of wood jammed in there which requires letting the fire go out, shovel out the ash then pull the grate out and dislodge the clog and then build a new fire. I suspect this alone is the reason your dealers don't rec amend the auger system, let alone the 500 buck price tag that goes with it.

 

[abohac]

Abohac:

As indicated in this thread....and from others I have talked to......the grate from the factory does not work well. Most people that have purchased the factory one don't use it......and the dealers I have talked to don't even recommend them.

Okie Dokie. Hope you find something better.