2013-2014 Blaze King Performance Thread(everything BK)

[daleeper]

Decided with the dealer to invest in a blower.
Everyone seems to agree that will get us nice and toasty.

I loaded the stove at 7:00 am today and set it to a little over 2.
Got home at 1:30 pm and turned it down to 1.
Now at 4:20 pm the cat is in the inactive zone. the stove is still pretty full with fuel.

I have only ever set the thermostat to 1 before and it also went into the inactive zone.

When you do a slow burn should you turn it down to the lower setting pretty fast? Or is it OK burn on a higher setting for a while and then turn it down if it is to hot?

It is fine to burn it on a higher setting for a while, of course you have burned some of the wood faster, so the burn will get shortened a bit.

Do you have the blower on already, or is it on order? What was the room temp when you got home at 1:30? Are you gaining any on warmth in the room?

 

[rdust]

Decided with the dealer to invest in a blower.
Everyone seems to agree that will get us nice and toasty.

I loaded the stove at 7:00 am today and set it to a little over 2.
Got home at 1:30 pm and turned it down to 1.
Now at 4:20 pm the cat is in the inactive zone. the stove is still pretty full with fuel.

I have only ever set the thermostat to 1 before and it also went into the inactive zone.

When you do a slow burn should you turn it down to the lower setting pretty fast? Or is it OK burn on a higher setting for a while and then turn it down if it is to hot?

Sounds like either your wood or draft isn't up to a "1" setting. Try 1 1/2 next time and see if it stays active. Every install is different and some set ups can't tolerate a low setting.

Can you hear your t-stat flapper close when you turn the t-stat down? This time of year I try to set my t-stat where it just closes when the stove is nice and warmed up. Usually I burn the stove with an active flame for 20-30 minutes then turn it down to my "spot". On my stove when it's around 600 on the stove top my t-stat flapper will close somewhere around 1 3/4. That spot allows the t-stat to still have some room to work where it will open and close some as the stove cools and heats up. If I turn it down to 1 the flapper will never open any since that is where the flapper closes on a stone cold stove. Shoulder season that is fine but it's not gonna cut it this time of year.

 

[alforit]

Decided with the dealer to invest in a blower.
Everyone seems to agree that will get us nice and toasty.

I loaded the stove at 7:00 am today and set it to a little over 2.
Got home at 1:30 pm and turned it down to 1.
Now at 4:20 pm the cat is in the inactive zone. the stove is still pretty full with fuel.

I have only ever set the thermostat to 1 before and it also went into the inactive zone.

When you do a slow burn should you turn it down to the lower setting pretty fast? Or is it OK burn on a higher setting for a while and then turn it down if it is to hot?

Decided with the dealer to invest in a blower.
Everyone seems to agree that will get us nice and toasty.

I loaded the stove at 7:00 am today and set it to a little over 2.
Got home at 1:30 pm and turned it down to 1.
Now at 4:20 pm the cat is in the inactive zone. the stove is still pretty full with fuel.

I have only ever set the thermostat to 1 before and it also went into the inactive zone.

When you do a slow burn should you turn it down to the lower setting pretty fast? Or is it OK burn on a higher setting for a while and then turn it down if it is to hot?

Zanimal,


Running on over 2 is high............Running on 1 is low.......too low.
The sweet spot on the Ashford for me is between 1.50 and 1.75

I am running my Ashford on a 16 foot chimney straight shot up and my draft is adequate. Two things: Your chimney is 15 foot with two bends in it....According to manufacturer chimney pipe install
manuals , for every bend of chimney pipe you have, you have to add 3-5 feet of extra chimney pipe per bend , to make up for loss of draft .....And you have two bends. Manufacturer minimum height is 12 feet.
These BKs and and any epa stove need some draft and dry wood to work correctly

Also your wood is suspect........I have never ran my Ashford on 1. I don't think it would run well unless your wood is extremely dry.......Go split one of your splits and check the moisture content of that fresh split.......It should be around 15-18 percent to get the most out of your burn and heat output. If your wood is in the mid to upper 20's in moisture you will not get the heat output or low burn ability and efficiency ......What you will most likely get in cold weather is low heat output and a huge coal bed.

When you go to do a reload on hot coals let your load char good with good flames for about 15 to 20 minutes and then shut your bypass and look up at the cat to see that it is starting to glow in any certain spot..........Wait a couple minutes and turn the stat down to 1.75..........Don't turn it up and down , just leave it at one spot and let the cat do its thing...........Patience and a little time here and you will get the hang of it.....

Allan

 

[shoot-straight]

Alan, your the man! Still struggling a bit as well, but getting better I think. I know for a fact my wood isn't perfect either but I do have a lot of draft! I found the 1.7-1.8 range as the sweet spot as well and do the same as you listening for that stat to close. Thanks again for your time the other day.

Brett

 

[Dieselhead]

Does anyone have a tv mounted on the wall above their blaze king? Still working out my install plan. Stove will be an alcove install in my great room with 22' ceilings. Wanted to mount the tv above it like I have my tv mounted now. My stove is a zero clearance with not too much radiant heat

 

[Zanimal]

Do you have the blower on already, or is it on order?

Blower is on order

On my stove when it's around 600

My Ashford will only achieve a stove top temp of 600 on the maximum thermostat setting of 3.

The sweet spot on the Ashford for me is between 1.50 and 1.75

If that is the case then there is something more seriously wrong with this stove than the lack of blower. I need to have this stove between 2.25 and 2.5 to maintain a constant temperature in this 200 sq ft room. Doing this the stove room is 62, next room over is 56, and the bedrooms hang at around 48.
It is cold in the house. We have a system of fans to move the air and balance out the temperature in the house but we do not use it otherwise we freeze.
Been using the oil furnace while I try the low burns because the stove is making less heat than the oil space heater in our bedroom.

Have tried for thermostat of 1 twice today. Both times gone into the inactive zone.
Trying for 1.5 at the moment but the cat probe is dropping and is now 1/4" away from being in the inactive zone.

Also your wood is suspect

Suspect all you wish.
The dealer provided me with wood to try. No difference.
I have tried and multiple occasions with the ultra dry compressed sawdust logs. No difference.

Really unhappy with the stove. It does not function as advertised.

 

[NVHunter]

I was hoping some of you Ashford owners out there could post some pictures of your stoves glass door. I'm curious how blackened they are after some time of burning? Seems like there's a hand full of people who have this stove now and I'm curious how dark the glass gets after a series of burns.

Is it possible to get a good flame view with this stove? I know it's got to be turned up high to achieve a good flame show right.

 

[Zanimal]

Is it possible to get a good flame view with this stove?

I get no visible flame under 2 1/4 when the stove is fully loaded.

 

[shoot-straight]

Flames at 1.8 now. Glass stays pretty clean.

 

[shoot-straight]

Flames at 1.8 now. Glass stays pretty clean.

 

[shoot-straight]

Blower is on order


My Ashford will only achieve a stove top temp of 600 on the maximum thermostat setting of 3.


If that is the case then there is something more seriously wrong with this stove than the lack of blower. I need to have this stove between 2.25 and 2.5 to maintain a constant temperature in this 200 sq ft room. Doing this the stove room is 62, next room over is 56, and the bedrooms hang at around 48.
It is cold in the house. We have a system of fans to move the air and balance out the temperature in the house but we do not use it otherwise we freeze.
Been using the oil furnace while I try the low burns because the stove is making less heat than the oil space heater in our bedroom.

Have tried for thermostat of 1 twice today. Both times gone into the inactive zone.
Trying for 1.5 at the moment but the cat probe is dropping and is now 1/4" away from being in the inactive zone.


Suspect all you wish.
The dealer provided me with wood to try. No difference.
I have tried and multiple occasions with the ultra dry compressed sawdust logs. No difference.

Really unhappy with the stove. It does not function as advertised.

Although mine isn't throwing quite as much heat as I hoped, I do think something else is wrong. I will say that given its a jacketed stove, blowers are necessary.

I wouldn't say I'm unhappy, I know my wood is a bit wetter than it should be and I have a lot to learn. Sold my old stove Friday night, so I gotta make it work now!

 

[Zanimal]

I will say that given its a jacketed stove, blowers are necessary

Theres a nice blurb in the manual about how nice it is to use the Ashford for radiant heat. I feel duped in many ways about what this stove will do.

 

[rdust]

Really unhappy with the stove. It does not function as advertised.

It's not the stove unless something was made wrong, which I would hope the dealer would've found.

Can you add length to your chimney? I think your short chimney is hurting performance. The only reason for the cat to go inactive is a draft related issue or the wood is sub par. Since you're confident it's not the wood I'd start looking at the chimney. As a test you can buy some cheap pipe and extend the top of the chimney with it as a test.

With the space you're heating the stove should be able to run you out of the place with or without the blower. I can understand your disappointment but stick with us we'll get it figured out.

I know it's not producing the heat you need but what type of burn times are you seeing?

 

[fire slave]

Looking for any tips on changing the door gasket on my Princess. I've heard and noticed that the door tends to not seal as good around handle area. Do you try to make that area fluffier and the hinge area more compressed? any other tips would be great.

 

[shoot-straight]

Theres a nice blurb in the manual about how nice it is to use the Ashford for radiant heat. I feel duped in many ways about what this stove will do.

I just searched the whole document. "Radiant" does not appear in it. Which blurb are you referring to?

 

[NVHunter]

This is making me a little nervous to hear zanimals possible draft issue. My future install (completely new with no wood stove components already in place) is similar.

My chimney length is planned to be just shy of 16 feet with 2, 45 elbows and 8 3/4" of off set from them in the stove pipe (DVL 6")

This is from flue collar. If I include to the bottom of the stove (Ashford30) that would bump the total to 17.5 feet.

Still too short? I guess time will tell once I complete my install.

 

[daleeper]

Suspect all you wish.
The dealer provided me with wood to try. No difference.
I have tried and multiple occasions with the ultra dry compressed sawdust logs. No difference.

Really unhappy with the stove. It does not function as advertised.

What has the dealer given as reasons for your stove not heating your space as it should?

I can't blame you for being unhappy with the stove, but the blaze king stoves when working properly certainly will function as advertised. There has got to be an answer to your issues that has not yet been uncovered. A good dealer would be able to sort this out, but not all dealers are good ones.

 

[HotCoals]

Something wrong with his cat if it's even in there..lol.

Could be the draft at low intake is very week.

 

[alforit]

Blower is on order


My Ashford will only achieve a stove top temp of 600 on the maximum thermostat setting of 3.


If that is the case then there is something more seriously wrong with this stove than the lack of blower. I need to have this stove between 2.25 and 2.5 to maintain a constant temperature in this 200 sq ft room. Doing this the stove room is 62, next room over is 56, and the bedrooms hang at around 48.
It is cold in the house. We have a system of fans to move the air and balance out the temperature in the house but we do not use it otherwise we freeze.
Been using the oil furnace while I try the low burns because the stove is making less heat than the oil space heater in our bedroom.

Have tried for thermostat of 1 twice today. Both times gone into the inactive zone.
Trying for 1.5 at the moment but the cat probe is dropping and is now 1/4" away from being in the inactive zone.


Suspect all you wish.
The dealer provided me with wood to try. No difference.
I have tried and multiple occasions with the ultra dry compressed sawdust logs. No difference.

Really unhappy with the stove. It does not function as advertised.

Zanimal,

Thanks for the info. Did you split one of your splits and get a moisture reading yet ?

I know your dealer gave you some of his wood too but did you split one of his splits and get a moisture reading ?

This is REALLY IMPORTANT that you do this. Because along with the possiblility of wet wood is that your draft is inadequate. Even the pressed logs will burn like CRAP with a BAD DRAFT..
TRUST ME....I ran a BK Chinook 30 on my 12 foot chimney straight shot up and I had problems with unburned wood and creosote galore on the door. I had to learn the hard way through trial and error about the draft and wood on these BKs cause my dealer was clueless and the manufacturer didn't help. And I had not heard of this website yet.(Thank God for hearth.com now. ) I added four feet to my straight chimney and it made a huge difference.

So lets work on these two things first.........Draft and Wood

You didn't respond about the chimney height ? This is critical .....If you are not getting an adequate draft then when the stat opens up it cannot feed enough air to your wood to keep it going. And if your wood is wet that COMPOUNDS the problem.

Like rdust suggested , can you add some length to your chimney to test this out ?

So let us know what your moisture content is on a fresh split of wood.
And is it feasible right now to add some extra length to the chimney ?

I know your frustrated but we'll get this figured out .



P.S ..... I am assuming that you have looked at your cat in action and that it is glowing or does glow .......right ?

P.S.S ...... What the heck is the insulation properties of your home and stove room ? Just wondering cause your house temps are soooo low.



Allan

 

[zac2424]

Hey all,

Thought I would post my new setup, since I took so much info in the past weeks of lurking.

Just hooked up my mid 80's Blaze King Princess that my parents burned for 20+ years. Was originally an insert but after some grinding and welding is now a freestander. Works as well or better than I remember. These old non-cat stoves do a great job and should help on my propane bill.

Zac

 

[Quentin2]

Hey all,

Thought I would post my new setup, since I took so much info in the past weeks of lurking.

Just hooked up my mid 80's Blaze King Princess that my parents burned for 20+ years. Was originally an insert but after some grinding and welding is now a freestander. Works as well or better than I remember. These old non-cat stoves do a great job and should help on my propane bill.

Zac

Dang, that old thing looks great, you did a good job on the install. Did it look that clean or did you refurbish it? That brings back memories for sure. Welcome.

 

[Zanimal]

Can you add length to your chimney?

It is about 15' now. That has been stated as OK by Blaze King and the dealer. Really any additional cost is unwelcome. The stove was already a massive purchase for us.

Which blurb are you referring to?

Sorry was one of the brochures. Here is a photo of the blurb

What has the dealer given as reasons

There does not seem to be anything obviously wrong. Wood has been the major reason. But like I said, we tested that one and it was not the issue.

Did you split one of your splits and get a moisture reading yet ?

I returned my moisture reader because it did not seem to give an accurate indicator. The dealer tested my main stack of wood and it was low.

have looked at your cat in action and that it is glowing or does glow .......right ?

Not really. It glows red sometimes but not always. I brought this up with the dealer and they said that that is not an indication of the proper function of the cat.

the heck is the insulation properties of your home and stove room ?

Insulation is pretty good. Walls have at least 6" fiberglass and the ceiling also is insulated with fiberglass and then covered with cellulose. The house was built in 73 and I think the insulation rocks. But I have only ever experienced very old homes in comparison.

 

[Zanimal]

I was fiddling with the low burns for most of the day yesterday.
Could not keep the cat active at 1.
Could not keep the cat active at 1.5.
So last night I set the cat to 1.75 just inside the normal range.

This morning the stove is again in the inactive zone. More than half the fuel remains. These are solid pieces of wood not coals. It took only a couple of minutes for the fire to get back up to raging with the remaining fuel.

The lowest I have successfully kept the cat in the active zone is 2. Which like I have said is insufficient to keep the room warm and apparently higher than most of you keep your stoves on.

 

[zac2424]

Dang, that old thing looks great, you did a good job on the install. Did it look that clean or did you refurbish it? That brings back memories for sure. Welcome.

Thanks! It was in great shape, i just had to remove the side and top pieces from it being an insert, and wire brush some surface rust of the back 1/2. Less than a can of high temp paint and she's good as new. Prob can't see but we made a metal stand to kind of resemble the new ones. Came out pretty good i think.

Had a nice bed of coals at 10:00 last night and loaded with 3 5" or so diameter logs. Came in this morning at 7:00 and had nice bed of coals to load onto. Not bad for a non-cat almost 30 year old stove. Will play with damper, and air inlet tonight to see if i can improve on that.

 

[Zanimal]

Is there any easy test that can be done to see if the draft is sufficient?