2016-17 Blaze King Performance Thread (Everything BK)

[Shoo42]

I just shoved my head as far into the stove as I could and the pipe is clean as can be. So up to the first bend it is clean. Went on the rough and looked down the chimney. Walls slightly s dull black. No evidence of build up.

 

[drz1050]

Did the installers put some kind of sealant at the slip joints?

 

[webby3650]

That's excel and its installed correctly. Have you had a bunch of rain lately? I've seen water make it's way through the ventilated flashing and find its way into the stovepipe.

 

[Shoo42]

Did the installers put some kind of sealant at the slip joints?

They did not use a sealant.

 

[Shoo42]

That's excel and its installed correctly. Have you had a bunch of rain lately? I've seen water make it's way through the ventilated flashing and find its way into the stovepipe.

No rain since the install.

 

[drz1050]

Hmm, could maybe be oil/ grease used by the chimney manufacturer to prevent rust while in storage? Did it wipe off, or is it tough? You can try WD-40 or rubbing alcohol to clean it off.. I'd say acetone, but that would probably strip the paint off the pipe too.
As long as it doesn't come back and the flue looks clean, I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[Shoo42]

Hmm, could maybe be oil/ grease used by the chimney manufacturer to prevent rust while in storage? Did it wipe off, or is it tough? You can try WD-40 or rubbing alcohol to clean it off.. I'd say acetone, but that would probably strip the paint off the pipe too.
As long as it doesn't come back and the flue looks clean, I wouldn't worry about it.

I will keep an eye on it. Burning right now. Got myself a moisture tester just to be sure the wood is fine.

 

[PA_Forester]

The group might be interested in this Ashford 20 vs 30 thread and visual comparison:
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/blaze-king-ashford-20-vs-30.157246/

 

[Ashful]

I will keep an eye on it. Burning right now. Got myself a moisture tester just to be sure the wood is fine.

Moisture from wood should drain back down inside pipes to stove, not outside. I suspect what you saw is just some oils from manufacturing, probably won't occur once everything is well-baked in.

 

[Woody Stover]

Moisture from wood should drain back down inside pipes to stove, not outside. I suspect what you saw is just some oils from manufacturing, probably won't occur once everything is well-baked in.

Probably doesn't apply in this case if it is double-wall, but I don't think it is always possible to have all the male ends down if you have single-wall connector with a telescoping section. I could be wrong...
I've never seen any trace of oil on any chimney components I have bought, but it has all been single-wall, either connector, or rigid or flex stainless liner.

 

[webby3650]

Probably doesn't apply in this case if it is double-wall, but I don't think it is always possible to have all the male ends down if you have single-wall connector with a telescoping section. I could be wrong...
I've never seen any trace of oil on any chimney components I have bought, but it has all been single-wall, either connector, or rigid or flex stainless liner.

Even with double wall all the male end will face down, just like single wall. But somehow it can still happen with double wall. It's moisture between the walls of the pipe, and I've seen creosote make its way in this area too. Don't know how. I think it's happening at the ceiling box connection, even though it's installed correctly.

 

[Ashful]

Probably doesn't apply in this case if it is double-wall, but I don't think it is always possible to have all the male ends down if you have single-wall connector with a telescoping section. I could be wrong...
I've never seen any trace of oil on any chimney components I have bought, but it has all been single-wall, either connector, or rigid or flex stainless liner.

I'm not sure I follow you, Woody. I've owned single wall and double wall, with telescoping sections in both. All are formed so any condensation inside the pipe drains down inside. With double wall, this has the outward appearance of being backwards, but it is correct inside.

 

[Woody Stover]

I'm not sure I follow you, Woody. I've owned single wall and double wall, with telescoping sections in both. All are formed so any condensation inside the pipe drains down inside.

I'll have to look again at my BIL's single-wall telescoping section again to see if I'm remembering correctly. It's also possible that I installed it wrong, but I thought I had tried different ways, and there was always going to be a reversed joint. One end had to go up for a good fit at the support box, as I remember it. The connector I got (one 4' section, plus the telescope) was by the same maker as the support box (Selkirk.) At any rate, with only 13.5' of stack, there hasn't been any leakage on his setup.

 

[Gforcefd]

New burner of of a Ashford 30.1 here (1 week). Question about the CAT probe. I thought I saw a thread someplace about adjusting or calibrating it? I ask because when I installed my stove and it was completely cold the needle was pointing way down below the INACTIVE area. Wondering if my readings are all off by that 1/4" or more now? I want to make sure I am operating this stove correctly. I also have a very sticky bypass lever so maybe I am running to cold and gunking up the works. Going to be 60 this weekend so I can let the stove die out and inspect some stuff.

 

[webby3650]

New burner of of a Ashford 30.1 here (1 week). Question about the CAT probe. I thought I saw a thread someplace about adjusting or calibrating it? I ask because when I installed my stove and it was completely cold the needle was pointing way down below the INACTIVE area. Wondering if my readings are all off by that 1/4" or more now? I want to make sure I am operating this stove correctly. I also have a very sticky bypass lever so maybe I am running to cold and gunking up the works. Going to be 60 this weekend so I can let the stove die out and inspect some stuff.

That's normal for the therm to be way low when the stove is completely cold.

So what's the bypass doing? It's suppose to lock in the closed position. It makes a good solid clunk once latched. Is that the what you are experiencing?

 

[Gforcefd]

Do do get the solid clunk to know it is fully engage. The issue is when I go to disengage and it seems like I have to give it a bit more effort than what I would consider normal to open it up. Also (this could be in my paranoid head) it feels like the lever action is "gunky" for a better term. I haven't seen how it is assembled but it is what I imagine a metal to metal contacting surface to feel like if there was some dirty grease between them. So it sounds like my CAT might be stalling when I turn it down low based on your info about the probe being correct. Does it normally stall when there is still wood in the box near the end of a burn, or should it hold active until there is literally no chunks left? I might have some cruddy wood mixed in my pile as they sat uncovered all summer, but we did have a drought.

 

[BKVP]

Do do get the solid clunk to know it is fully engage. The issue is when I go to disengage and it seems like I have to give it a bit more effort than what I would consider normal to open it up. Also (this could be in my paranoid head) it feels like the lever action is "gunky" for a better term. I haven't seen how it is assembled but it is what I imagine a metal to metal contacting surface to feel like if there was some dirty grease between them. So it sounds like my CAT might be stalling when I turn it down low based on your info about the probe being correct. Does it normally stall when there is still wood in the box near the end of a burn, or should it hold active until there is literally no chunks left? I might have some cruddy wood mixed in my pile as they sat uncovered all summer, but we did have a drought.

Please post pictures of your chimney, inside and out. Insufficient draft can result in having the cat go inactive.

One easy way to tell, turn up the thermostat to high. If the increase in the combustion temperature causes the cat therm to go active, it probably wasn't the wood. Keeping in mind the vast majority of moisture in wood combustion is dealt with in the first few hours.

 

[Gforcefd]

Hello Mr. Vice President. You are not going to like my chimney setup . Here is the post where I was asking about if my setup would have draft issues. I am open to suggestions on ways to make it work better.

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/blaze-king-ashford-30-1-draft-question.156963/#post-2106492

I am pretty sure I can turn up the thermostat to high and the cat comes back as you suggest. I don't know how the CAT works but I don't see it just stopping all of a sudden, it seems to creep down and go into the INACTIVE range over the night even though there appears to be plenty of wood in the stove. I am thinking draft issues because if I leaved it turned up higher this doesn't appear to be an issue. Though I have only been burning 5 days or so, so still learning.

 

[Ashful]

Hello Mr. Vice President. You are not going to like my chimney setup . Here is the post where I was asking about if my setup would have draft issues. I am open to suggestions on ways to make it work better.

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/blaze-king-ashford-30-1-draft-question.156963/#post-2106492

I am pretty sure I can turn up the thermostat to high and the cat comes back as you suggest. I don't know how the CAT works but I don't see it just stopping all of a sudden, it seems to creep down and go into the INACTIVE range over the night even though there appears to be plenty of wood in the stove. I am thinking draft issues because if I leaved it turned up higher this doesn't appear to be an issue. Though I have only been burning 5 days or so, so still learning.

I have two BK Ashford 30.1's on chimneys of very different heights (one right around 15 feet, and the other near 30 feet), and I notice much of the same at warmer temperatures (eg. above 40F) on my shorter chimney. To me, it seems the draft is just too weak to keep the system working at very low burn rates, and it stalls out. No harm, I've learned what minimum setting I can run for different temperatures, and just stay a little above those. It does sometimes mean not taking advantage of true "low and slow" 30-hour burns, on that stove.

My Ashford 30.1 on the taller chimney is quite a bit nicer, in this regard. I can turn that thing down to the point where you could sit on it without getting burned, and the cat stays happy in the active region. I can get burn times in the neighborhood of 40 hours on white oak, in that stove.

 

[Gforcefd]

Question: Assuming I have low draft, and assuming I can't really move my stove too much to adjust for the odd install to overcome this low draft issue(see install thread link above). How do I find that happy spot before the CAT wants to stall. Can I tell looking at the fire or lack their of? I am getting a little smoke smell out of the air vents at the top. This weekend is going to be warmer and I will be able to let the stove go cold and check some things over hoping to find the answer to the smell.

 

[pvfjr]

My Ashford 30.1 on the taller chimney is quite a bit nicer, in this regard. I can turn that thing down to the point where you could sit on it without getting burned, and the cat stays happy in the active region. I can get burn times in the neighborhood of 40 hours on white oak, in that stove.

That's it! I'm ordering another chimney section. You've convinced me. Now I just gotta figure out what kind will match...

 

[Woody Stover]

pretty sure I can turn up the thermostat to high and the cat comes back as you suggest. I don't know how the CAT works but I don't see it just stopping all of a sudden, it seems to creep down and go into the INACTIVE range over the night even though there appears to be plenty of wood in the stove.

Are you sure it is un-burned wood? As the burn proceeds, most of the volatiles will be gone out of the wood although it may appear that there are intact splits still in there. Once the volatiles are mostly spent, the cat will go inactive because there is nothing for it to feed on.

 

[BKVP]

Hello Mr. Vice President. You are not going to like my chimney setup . Here is the post where I was asking about if my setup would have draft issues. I am open to suggestions on ways to make it work better.

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/blaze-king-ashford-30-1-draft-question.156963/#post-2106492

I am pretty sure I can turn up the thermostat to high and the cat comes back as you suggest. I don't know how the CAT works but I don't see it just stopping all of a sudden, it seems to creep down and go into the INACTIVE range over the night even though there appears to be plenty of wood in the stove. I am thinking draft issues because if I leaved it turned up higher this doesn't appear to be an issue. Though I have only been burning 5 days or so, so still learning.

"Your killing me Smalls"

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?...609F3AF0720E2C4A51BA609F3&fsscr=0&FORM=VDMCNL

 

[BKVP]

Question: Assuming I have low draft, and assuming I can't really move my stove too much to adjust for the odd install to overcome this low draft issue(see install thread link above). How do I find that happy spot before the CAT wants to stall. Can I tell looking at the fire or lack their of? I am getting a little smoke smell out of the air vents at the top. This weekend is going to be warmer and I will be able to let the stove go cold and check some things over hoping to find the answer to the smell.

That too is the result of insufficient draft.

 

[BKVP]

Are you sure it is un-burned wood? As the burn proceeds, most of the volatiles will be gone out of the wood although it may appear that there are intact splits still in there. Once the volatiles are mostly spent, the cat will go inactive because there is nothing for it to feed on.

With proper draft, on low burn rate of less than 1 kg/hr. There fuel should burn down to ashes.