Ash slot??

[rchamlen]

Just finished going through the book "The Bread Builders". I found it both instructive on a number of points, and extremely frustrating on others (in terms of lack of detail or lack of information). Oh Well...

One of the design features they bring up is an "ash slot" right outside the door to the oven. From what I can make of their design, it is constructed to dump ash right into the chamber beneath the oven support slab and the foundation slab. While a nice idea for cleaning out the oven, such a design would appear to be a Bad Idea if one uses that lower area to store wood (which appears to be most common).

Has anyone constructed an oven with such an ash slot, and if so, is there a way of doing so without interfering with the ability to store wood beneath the oven??

[Gulf]

This question comes up from time to time. Many of us feel that it is not necessary since there is not a lot of ash created by completely burned hardwood. Here is a search of the forum for "ash dump" as it is most commonly called. You will have to scroll down and weed out the other hits that include "ash" and "dump"

[rchamlen]

Hmmm. I tried doing that search and got no hits. wonder why??

If the consensus is that the ash slot is not worth it due to low quantity of ashes, I will go with that. Trying to put one in seems to create complexity, and I would much rather have the space underneath for wood.

Thank you for the reply!

[Gulf]

For the times that I do not fully charge the oven, I use a home made coal scoop to separate the lumps from the ash. I usually put them in my grill with the vents closed to snuff them out. They are unburned fuel that come in very handy for multiple purposes.

[rchamlen]

For the times that I do not fully charge the oven, I use a home made coal scoop to separate the lumps from the ash. I usually put them in my grill with the vents closed to snuff them out. They are unburned fuel that come in very handy for multiple purposes.

Is that made from wicker??? Doesnt it burn?

[Gulf]

No. It is made from expanded metal. It's just rusty and appears that way. I make all my tools from scrounged material. I have my eyes out for some stainless steel. But, that is hard to come by on the cheap

[rchamlen]

No. It is made from expanded metal. It's just rusty and appears that way. I make all my tools from scrounged material. I have my eyes out for some stainless steel. But, that is hard to come by on the cheap

Ahhh , I see it now. Like a old grill grate...... good idea.