Occasional use is fine on the freestanders. I use the fans as you describe, the 1% of the time when big heat is needed. Usually for me this is because of weather patterns where there is no fire burning but it gets cold overnight.
2022-2023 BK everything thread
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BKVP
Minister of Fire
All our units are tested without fans (except inserts). You can run the stoves without the fans turned on without concern. I do it all the time when in the living room watching television.
In especially cold weather I run my deck fans 24/7. In pretty cold weather I run them on high towards then end of a burn to help the coals burn down faster. In shoulder season I don't run them at all.
Dunno about other models. My A30.0 came with plastic bladed fans which I did melt as above. I didn't win anything. I bought replacement metal bladed fans (I think the A30.1 was current at the time) and those are still running fine for me.
Dunno about other models. My A30.0 came with plastic bladed fans which I did melt as above. I didn't win anything. I bought replacement metal bladed fans (I think the A30.1 was current at the time) and those are still running fine for me.
Ashful
Minister of Fire
Interesting. My stoves are transitional, between A30.0 and A30.1... each got a mix of different features of each, including swoosh vs. numbers dials and different firebrick locations. Both had the 30.1 ash drawer assembly with the old A30.0 ash plug location, which was an initial problem, until BK made and sent out some retrofit ash drawers to resolve the issue.
In any case, now you got me wondering about the fans. Really just a curiosity, as whatever the material, they haven't melted in 7 years of use. Is it easy to tell the difference just peering thru the housing? They're probably pretty dusty this far into the season, I've been getting more lazy about cleaning them with each passing year.
In any case, now you got me wondering about the fans. Really just a curiosity, as whatever the material, they haven't melted in 7 years of use. Is it easy to tell the difference just peering thru the housing? They're probably pretty dusty this far into the season, I've been getting more lazy about cleaning them with each passing year.
spudman99
Feeling the Heat
I have a question about the combustor thermostat. This is my 4th year on the Princess insert. Beginning of this year during annual cleaning, I pulled the combustor dial (a/k/a thermostat) for the first time and it had some crust on the bottom. Took my sandpaper and cleaned it all down. Now it seems to take much longer than before to reach the active/inactive line. I have a temp dial on the top of the unit and when it reaches around 275deg I can close the bypass and visually see the combustor take off (red glowing cells).
Did I damage the combustor dial by my method of cleaning, or could it by faulty for some reason. Worked fine last 3 years with no apparent lag between active and the STT from the dial a few inches away.
Did I damage the combustor dial by my method of cleaning, or could it by faulty for some reason. Worked fine last 3 years with no apparent lag between active and the STT from the dial a few inches away.
kennyp2339
Minister of Fire
Only thing I could think of, is the needle probe isnt fully seated back in the hole.
Cleaning the junk off of the thermometer rod dies not hurt it. I usually use a key and scratch it clean. The probe acts to “wick” heat up to the coil under the face so a clean rod should show higher temperatures than a crusty rod.
Did you by chance mangle the bimetallic coil? Does the dial return to zero when cold?
BKVP
Minister of Fire
Jeff in Maine
Feeling the Heat
The one on my Princess quit this fall so I replaced it with a condor model. I have not had good luck with it. It never gets above 400* - 500* in other words it does not work. I paid $35.00 for it I think, if you do buy new I would recommend paying the long dollar and buying an original BK dial
Did you call condar? They make great thermometers and surely will help you.
Jeff in Maine
Feeling the Heat
You should. No problem here with Condar Cat probe or STT meters. Worth a shot.
Nealm66
Minister of Fire
I let the stove go out. Trying out this part time burning stuff by running the heat pump when we’re in the 50s. Of course, was frosty this morning but the heat pump had no problem. The dogs prefer 78 around a nice warm princess than 72 “air temp”.
Ashful
Minister of Fire
Nealm66
Minister of Fire
I’m not sure I like the heat pump. The idea of it picking up the slack is nice but whew, gets too warm in these sneaky warm spells. 54 outside now. On the fence to re stoke. One of the indoor/outdoor cats just loves the wood stove and kinda weird since he’s got a thick coat of fur.
My Ashford 25 insert is beautiful and operates really nicely, but I’m basically positive I could be doing things better. I’ve owned two other inserts that I can confidently say I have mastered, but I still feel like an amateur running this unit.
Any other Ashford 25 insert or Sirocco 25 insert owners who think they have the unit mastered? I’d love to hear some tips and strategies that work for you. Thanks!
Any other Ashford 25 insert or Sirocco 25 insert owners who think they have the unit mastered? I’d love to hear some tips and strategies that work for you. Thanks!
I'm trying to get a sense for how well my princess (pe32) is operating, as well as if I'm operating it well, as the smoke output at the top of the flue seems higher than I would expect at times.
On a cold start, with pine measured at 17% MC, starting in the way the manual describes, once I fill the firebox and have shut the door the top of the flue looks exactly like an old pre-EPA stove I'm used to (which I would expect). Once the cat gets into active range and I turn off the bypass, I can almost immediately hear the cat kick into gear (sounds of expanding metal) and the cat thermometer will steadily rise. Watching from the outside, I can't see any immediate change in smoke from the flue, but over the course of the next 10-15 minutes it will steadily decrease to maybe 1/3 of the smoke output it had when I initially enabled the cat. It is definitely not just water vapor, and it is easily discernable if someone were looking at it, though it is certainly way less than what I would see if it were an old pre-EPA stove at the same point in a burn cycle. This 10-15 minute point after engaging the cat is also around when the cat thermometer gets to 85-90% of max temp. At this point my air control/thermostat is still wide open and the firebox is also a raging inferno, with the entirety of every log in a full firebox engulfed.
From here, if I turn down the air, the smoke out the flue goes down to what I consider a pretty low level, you can only see it if you are looking for it, though I do believe I'm seeing more than just water vapor. The cat temperature may settle back to about 75% (2-3 o'clock) at this point, but as long as I keep the air high enough to keep the coals active, it will stay around 50-75% until the firebox has burned down to a bed of coals. If I instead leave it up at wide open full air, I continue to see that modest smoke output slowly diminish over the next 30-60 minutes, at which point the smoke from the top of the flue would be similar to a turned down air setting, but I would attribute that more to the most volatile portion of the fire cycle being over (and the cat would have been in the 90-100% temperature range the whole time).
A hot reload is essentially the same; if I reload at around the ideal point with a healthy bed of coals and the cat about 20% above the inactive zone, I can stuff the firebox, close the door, engage the cat, and within a minute or two I'll get the sound of expanding metal and the cat will climb steadily from 20% up to 85-90% in about 10-15 minutes. If I go outside to watch from the moment I engage the cat on this type of reload, it will initially be pouring smoke like a pre-EPA and just like I described in the cold start, slowly and steadily decrease in unison with the cat approaching 90%, but smoke will still be easily visible until I turn down the air, or after 30-60 minutes of burning at full air.
Is this normal and appropriate behavior? While I wasn't expecting zero smoke all the time, my understanding was that if the cat was in the active range, engaging it would have a pretty immediate and significant impact on smoke output, which is not what I'm seeing. It feels to me as an inexperienced operator of this type of stove, that the cat can't keep up with the smoke output the firebox is creating in these situations.
I would also note, I bought the stove used from a BK dealer, who said it was a return after less than half a season of use. I have pulled off the shielding plate and the catalyst shows no signs of cracking or clogging/plugging. All of the gaskets also look to be in good shape as well, though I haven't done a formal test on them..
On a cold start, with pine measured at 17% MC, starting in the way the manual describes, once I fill the firebox and have shut the door the top of the flue looks exactly like an old pre-EPA stove I'm used to (which I would expect). Once the cat gets into active range and I turn off the bypass, I can almost immediately hear the cat kick into gear (sounds of expanding metal) and the cat thermometer will steadily rise. Watching from the outside, I can't see any immediate change in smoke from the flue, but over the course of the next 10-15 minutes it will steadily decrease to maybe 1/3 of the smoke output it had when I initially enabled the cat. It is definitely not just water vapor, and it is easily discernable if someone were looking at it, though it is certainly way less than what I would see if it were an old pre-EPA stove at the same point in a burn cycle. This 10-15 minute point after engaging the cat is also around when the cat thermometer gets to 85-90% of max temp. At this point my air control/thermostat is still wide open and the firebox is also a raging inferno, with the entirety of every log in a full firebox engulfed.
From here, if I turn down the air, the smoke out the flue goes down to what I consider a pretty low level, you can only see it if you are looking for it, though I do believe I'm seeing more than just water vapor. The cat temperature may settle back to about 75% (2-3 o'clock) at this point, but as long as I keep the air high enough to keep the coals active, it will stay around 50-75% until the firebox has burned down to a bed of coals. If I instead leave it up at wide open full air, I continue to see that modest smoke output slowly diminish over the next 30-60 minutes, at which point the smoke from the top of the flue would be similar to a turned down air setting, but I would attribute that more to the most volatile portion of the fire cycle being over (and the cat would have been in the 90-100% temperature range the whole time).
A hot reload is essentially the same; if I reload at around the ideal point with a healthy bed of coals and the cat about 20% above the inactive zone, I can stuff the firebox, close the door, engage the cat, and within a minute or two I'll get the sound of expanding metal and the cat will climb steadily from 20% up to 85-90% in about 10-15 minutes. If I go outside to watch from the moment I engage the cat on this type of reload, it will initially be pouring smoke like a pre-EPA and just like I described in the cold start, slowly and steadily decrease in unison with the cat approaching 90%, but smoke will still be easily visible until I turn down the air, or after 30-60 minutes of burning at full air.
Is this normal and appropriate behavior? While I wasn't expecting zero smoke all the time, my understanding was that if the cat was in the active range, engaging it would have a pretty immediate and significant impact on smoke output, which is not what I'm seeing. It feels to me as an inexperienced operator of this type of stove, that the cat can't keep up with the smoke output the firebox is creating in these situations.
I would also note, I bought the stove used from a BK dealer, who said it was a return after less than half a season of use. I have pulled off the shielding plate and the catalyst shows no signs of cracking or clogging/plugging. All of the gaskets also look to be in good shape as well, though I haven't done a formal test on them..
Nealm66
Minister of Fire
BKVP
Minister of Fire
kennyp2339
Minister of Fire
Eastern white pine is pretty sappy stuff, lots of knots to, I'm will to bet that the wood is just off gassing more then the cat can burn, when loading on hot coals, keep the t stat at 3/4 open instead of fully open, let it come up to active cat and close the by-pass, turn the t stat down a hair and you should have a much cleaner plume.
If there is a distinct 'locking' action right at the end, it isn't doing that. With the bypass engaged, the lever sits at around 8 o'clock, as I close the bypass it moves smoothly and I can hear/feel the mechanism, but the bypass cover and the lever just come to a stop when they get to exactly 3 o'clock, there is no final thud/clunk/locking feeling. The lever cannot move down past 3 o'clock, but it does have free play back up to around 1 or 2 o'clock before I can feel it start to lift the plate when I'm opening the bypass back up.
Noted, I'll have to try some more of the red oak I have to compare. Its been measuring mostly around 19-20% MC, so I'd been using the pine since it was a bit drier, and I don't need longer burn times right now.
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