Warm Ash Vac

Comments about Plowhearth Warm Ash Vac:

Works great, but way too expensive.

Comments about Plowhearth Warm Ash Vac:

This ash vacuum is powerful, sucking up even small chunks of partially burned wood, and is capable of vacuuming ash debris still warm from the fire. The bent nozzle that comes with the vacuum is perfectly adequate for cleaning my fireplace insert. I have not yet had to empty it, so don't know yet whether that is easy or not. Also, I don't know yet how long the 2 filters last.

My only 2 complaints are that the electrical cord is not long enough, and I need an additional extension cord in order to reach the fireplace from the nearest outlet(older house with code allowing outlets to be fewer and more widely spaced than newer codes). The second complaint is that the assembly instructions could use some step-by-step pictures. Once I figured out what the text was saying, the lone picture made sense, but it took me longer to install the 2 filters and clamps than I expected because I wasn't positive about the instructions.

Comments about Plowhearth Warm Ash Vac:

Bear in mind that this is an ASH vac. It is not designed to pick up debris. I have used this vac for the past four years for coal ash. It is perfect to get to all the nooks and crannies in the clean-out doors of my stove. Prior to that I was using a shop vac which resulted in the ash getting spewed into the room from the motor and onto everything else.The double-filter in the Ash-vac eliminates this problem. Yes its loud but so is most vacuum cleaners. It is constructed very well and yes it is made in the USA.

Comments about Plowhearth Warm Ash Vac:

I use it to cleanout pellet stove. Have fine ash, it picks it up easy, and I can leave it right on the hearth area.

Comments about Plowhearth Warm Ash Vac:

I read the reviews before I purchased the vac and was wary to order after reading such mixed reviews.
We have a free standing wood burning stove that is our primary heat source. We were looking for something that could handle the warm to hot ashes from the clean out drawer while the stove was still burning, although not a roaring fire. I took a chance after speaking with the P&H rep. The pros are: as a female and beginner environmentalist, I could handle the clean out task. minimal debri in the air of the house and no fears of starting a fire as with the wet/dry vac I had been using previously. It does suck up the ash and smaller clinkers that fall through as long as your nozzle is at the bottom of the pile of ash, going slower while moving the nozzle around the drawer and if starts to clog with excess ash, placing the nozzle against the inside to cause greater suction, will typically clear it up. Only once during this past winter did I get it clogged with a large clinker from the inside of the firebox; the hose was quite difficult to clear and warranted dismanteling everything to remove (my husband's job). It is rather awkward to carry as I am short and the pail can be heavy after one clean out. A wheel base as an option, may be one suggestion. The hose is somewhat rigid and at times flaps around or hits objects when transporting until I wound through the handle twice when carrying the unit. The motor is extremely loud and warrants ear protection definitely, which is its biggest drawback.
I am so glad I found something that was fire- safe, efficient, and environmentally friendly to the indoor air quality. Thanks to the P&H rep who tipped the scale to try this by saying that I would not be out of pocket to return it if it did not work.

Comments about Plowhearth Warm Ash Vac:

This is a great product and works well for my pellet stove. It really makes the cleaning much easier and I'm able to get the nooks and crannies with the extra attachment I purchased also. I especially love the little hose with the rubber end. Ideal for the pellet stove chamber tubes on the top. For those people that said it got clogged - DONT SUCK UP PIECES LARGER THAN THE OPENING OR LARGE ENOUGH THAT MIGHT CLOG IT - USE SOME COMMON SENSE PEOPLE - You cant expect a product to work correctly if you don't use it correctly. Do you vacuum your socks up your house vacuum and expect it not be clogged? If there are large chunks break them up first or don't vacuum them up. When used correctly its a solid product and makes my chore a lot easier and faster. Also really easier to empty and contains the mess. My folks got one after seeing mine. Thanks for solid product P and H!

Comments about Plowhearth Warm Ash Vac:

I would not recommend this vacuum to my worst enemy. The hose is extremely under-sized and clogs very easily. It is difficult to unclog due to the stiffness of the hose. The filter has to be cleaned everytime it is used. For the price of it I could have purchase 5 shop vacs.

Comments about Plowhearth Warm Ash Vac:

Home use

Comments about Plowhearth Warm Ash Vac:

This really is a wonderful product. Those who do
give it a 5-star rating simply are not using it
correctly as per instructions. I bought it for a
gift, but I live with the person I bought it for,
so I get to see how well it works!

Comments about Plowhearth Warm Ash Vac:

This is a solid vacuum, but it is very loud. After using for a few minutes it results muffled hearing loss for me. I will need to buy ear protection to use this vacuum.

Comments about Plowhearth Warm Ash Vac:

Does not work consistently. Great idea just doesn't do the hard work.

Comments about Plowhearth Warm Ash Vac:

This vac works great if you follow the instructions and place the nozzle right on the bottom of the ash pile, rather than trying to vacuum the fluffy stuff off the top (which will clog it).

Comments about Plowhearth Warm Ash Vac:

The vacuum made cleaning the fireplace a snap which means I can enjoy a beautiful fire more often.

Comments about Plowhearth Warm Ash Vac:

It worked the first time. After that, the hose did not pick up at all. I cleaned it, and checked the hose, but nothing was in it. It would not work. I was very disappointed.

Comments about Plowhearth Warm Ash Vac:

Great vaccuum for our fireplace. Product is a good one.

Comments about Plowhearth Warm Ash Vac:

It does vacuum ashes without throwing them back into the room; however, the term 'warm' is a stretch. I've let my wood stove go almost cold (just a few embers left to rekindle a fire) and I still couldn't use this thing. If you can let your fire place burn out completely, buy the cheaper ash vac as this one doesn't really let you vacuum warm anything. Otherwise, stick to the shovel and bucket.

Comments about Plowhearth Warm Ash Vac:

I bought this for a Christmas present for my mother who has two wood stoves - she hadn't used it yet so I pulled it out and put it together for her and used it - within 10 minutes it acted like it was full - but it wasn't even close - it had great suction at first but then wasn't even close to useful - I would never buy this again and don't recommend it - it has filter system/bags that you can't wash and must be what clogs up the suction as I pulled the tubing off and everything but it didn't work.

Save your money!!! Wish I had got her something else - it was great in concept but poor in execution.... maybe if you scoop out all the ash first and just use it to get the dust in the cracks it would work...

Comments about Plowhearth Warm Ash Vac:

Cleaned out my fireplace in about one third the time as doing with a brush and shovel. A little loud...not popular with my dog. I really like the fact that it is manufactured HERE.

Comments about Plowhearth Warm Ash Vac:

we tried it for 2 weeks after xmas and it wouldn't work half the time. filters plug up too easy.

Comments about Plowhearth Warm Ash Vac:

This vac is great for cleaning the ashes out of my pellet stove. You can possibly get a clog if you try to vac up clumps but that is easily hendled by just chopping them up a bit first. It seems like I can go almost the whole winter vaccuming the stove once a week and only have to empy the vac one time. I do wish it was a littl quieter though, you can't talk on the phone or watch tv when this thing is running.

Comments about Plowhearth Warm Ash Vac:

I wanted to use this vacuum for cleaning up my wood-burning fireplace. The filter plugged up after just one use. Although it can be cleaned/washed, having to do so is more work than just cleaning the fireplace with a mini-shovel and broom, as I did before buying the vacuum. The handle of the vacuum flops around easily and tends to unbalance the vacuum receptacle. But, at least it looks nice. Overall, a big disappointment.

Comments about Plowhearth Warm Ash Vac:

We have found this vacuum to work very well, but is very loud.

Comments about Plowhearth Warm Ash Vac:

I use the vac to clean out my indoor fireplace in my cottage. The hose has too small a diameter to suck up any bits of wood and cinders. It only sucks up very small bits of ash and it constantly plugs up. It might work better for non-wood fires, but with a wood fire I still need to do most of the cleaning with a bucket and shovel, which I was trying to avoid all together. It doesn't perform well for the price.

Comments about Plowhearth Warm Ash Vac:

the vacuum makes it so easy to clean out our wood burning stove for its next use without all the soot dust...we love the vacuum!

Comments about Plowhearth Warm Ash Vac:

Every Pellet Stove owner should have one.

Comments about Plowhearth Warm Ash Vac:

This fireplace vacum cleaner cleans out my ashes in less tha a couple of minutes. It use to take 30 or so minutes to clean out my fireplace and it was very messy. But not with this vaccum. I am very happy that I purchased it. James

Comments about Plowhearth Warm Ash Vac:

I use the product for my pellet stove. The hose is small and does not vacum the pellets out to well, but does a good job on the ash. You must be careful to let the ash get cool. I melted the filter the first time thinking it did warm ashes.
But I would buy it again

Comments about Plowhearth Warm Ash Vac:

Tried to use it following all the directions and it still didnt work. Coals and pieces of wood kept getting stuck in it. Even tried using a strainer and it didn' work. Much more work than cleaning it manually.

Comments about Plowhearth Warm Ash Vac:

We bought this to use cleaning out our wood stove, which is our primary source of heat during the winter. The ash vac makes this job so much quicker, easier, and safer! We have not had any problems with the hose getting clogged. Our only minor complaint is that it is loud, so we have a "no cleaning before 7am rule"! Other than that we love it and wish we had bought it last year when we first got the stove.

Comments about Plowhearth Warm Ash Vac:

Nice to feel safe about sucking up ash when there might be a hot coal lurking.