Advise on Enviro Boston 1700 vs BK Ashford 25 and Several Newbie (yet specific) Questions

[Rob711]

Forgot to add this but 20-25% moisture level for kiln dried wood? I’ve never purchased kiln dried but I’d thunk it would be significantly less. 25% won’t work well

 

[chemie]

It will always perform best with an insulated liner, as with any high-efficiency stove. A warmer liner means:

1. Less creosote condensation, which can be a real issue on very high efficiency stoves, where exhaust temperature is very low.

2. Maximized draft, for your chimney height and circumstances, which enables a lower minimum burn rate.

The block-off plate is not a show-stopper. You can add it yourself later, with pretty basic tools. I believe it can be as simple as foil-faced roxul, cut with a knife, and stuffed in place.

I called every single stove dealers in our area but none of them does do preinsulated stainless liner nor block plate. It is like they have reached a consensus that they both are not needed/offered. It is really strange that no one offers or does it.

Captain Soot told me that he has customers with pre-insulated linerbut it does not make any changes on creosote build.
I wish I was a handy person then I could install it on my own with pre insulated liner and block of plate. But cant do it.
Anyone here from my area using fireplace insert without preinsulated liner and block plate?
Is it a really deal braker to install an insert?

 

[chemie]

Forgot to add this but 20-25% moisture level for kiln dried wood? I’ve never purchased kiln dried but I’d thunk it would be significantly less. 25% won’t work well

It says in their website:
"moisture content from over 50% to an optimal 20 to 25% (true "seasoned" firewood is 30+%)""
https://www.lifirewood.com/kiln-dried-firewood.php

They do have good reviews. Should it be lower than that?

 

[Tegbert]

I called every single stove dealers in our area but none of them does do preinsulated stainless liner nor block plate. It is like they have reached a consensus that they both are not needed/offered. It is really strange that no one offers or does it.

Captain Soot told me that he has customers with pre-insulated linerbut it does not make any changes on creosote build.
I wish I was a handy person then I could install it on my own with pre insulated liner and block of plate. But cant do it.
Anyone here from my area using fireplace insert without preinsulated liner and block plate?
Is it a really deal braker to install an insert?

The insulated liner is for safety since most masonry chimney do not have the required clearances to combustibles it in my opinion should be insisted on. It also helps keep the liner warm for draft and what not so there are other pluses about it but safety is the most important one.

I installed a block off plate and insulated the fireplace too. I figured I was there why not do it once and be done.


Lopi Rockport
Blaze King Ashford 25

 

[chemie]

I’m strongly looking at the Ashford 25 myself. I’ve contacted captain soot and must say he was very good at replying and answered my questions.
The no block off or insulated liner is disappointing to hear, if your willing to pay why not just do it! I think the bk manual states it should be connected to insulated liner. Good luck

I agree that he is very good at communications and I get good vibes from him. He seems to know what he is doing and claiming that no one can beat his prices. Did he give you the same price, $4200?
Did you ask him about preinsulated liner and block off plate? What did he say?
Do you currently use a stove and want to replace it with Ashford 25 or it would be an addition?
What part of LI are you from ?Closer to the city?

 

[chemie]

The insulated liner is for safety since most masonry chimney do not have the required clearances to combustibles it in my opinion should be insisted on. It also helps keep the liner warm for draft and what not so there are other pluses about it but safety is the most important one.

I installed a block off plate and insulated the fireplace too. I figured I was there why not do it once and be done.


Lopi Rockport
Blaze King Ashford 25

I really do not know why no dealers offers preinsulated liner in our area.
They all say not needed.

 

[chemie]

I think you should decide what you really want the stove for. With limited amount of storage space it sounds like heating exclusively or almost exclusively with wood is probably out of the question but whatever you do burn will reduce your use of gas / oil. Personally I wouldn’t “waste” my wood burning it when I wasn’t home to enjoy it. I’d be a nights and weekend burner with smaller loads on weeknights if I was in your position.

I don’t want to start a Cat vs Tube argument, but there are aesthetic concerns too. I’ll tell people I burn for a lot of reasons, but if I didn’t have a glass door to watch the fire I wouldn’t do it. Some people are different. It’s all good - lots of different types of people on the forum.

My best suggestion is look at some videos of each stove burning, especially the Ashford on low since cat burns different than you’d expect. Ask your wife which one she would want to sit down next to. Pick the one she wants.

Edit:

This is a good video of the range of flame show on a BK.

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This is pretty typical for the Boston

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Thanks for the input and videos. It was very helpful. I showed both videos to my wife. She is very practical like me. She says that we do not need to see "flame show" all the time but need the most efficient stove taking into account our storage limit for wood.
As of wood, I am thinking to use 1 pallet of compressod enviro bricks along with another cord of wood that I will cut from dead oak or birch trees from the nearby forest. I am also thinking to buy 1/4 cord of kiln dried wood from a place I found on the net:
https://www.lifirewood.com/Long-Island-KILN-DRIED-Specialty-Firewood/165/

 

[Rob711]

It was 3200 for flat black. 3600 enamel brown. That was me picking up stove and installing myself. No liner. So 4200 for it installed with liner seems like a good price. The liner, unisulated, and associated pieces was 500 ish. I’m in Suffolk, East Northport. About one from nyc. Last year I installed a cute little Vermont Castings intrepid. Heats well but not for long, and it can eat through decent amount of wood.
Keep us updated
Rob

 

[chemie]

Some random thoughts, which hopefully answer this and a few other questions you've had:

1. The beauty of the Ashford is two-fold: (a) it's capability of stretching one load of wood for more than 24 hours, and (b) the automatic thermostat allows you to set it and forget it, at any burn rate you choose. Thanks to the thermostat, the burn rate does not vary with outside temperature as other stoves. I have marked the settings on my thermostats for 12-hour and 24-hour burn times, and I can hit them repeatably, depending on the needs of my schedule.

2. The BK thermostat varies inlet air to maintain a more constant temperature throughout the burn. Not perfect, but way better than any stove without a thermostat. With my old stoves, I used to have to open the air control as the load would wane, this stove does it automatically. BK is not the only stove with a thermostat, but they do seem to have one of the better ones.

3. You do not need to size your stove to your maximum heat load, unless you plan on heating 100% by wood. Instead, I treat my house like a large capacitor, just pumping BTU's into it all day and all night via two wood stoves. The multiple zones of oil-fired baseboards do their thing to keep the house at the temperature I like. I'm putting a heck of a dent in my oil bill, without all the hassle of trying to keep the house at the right temperature via wood stove only.

4. If you buy a stove that can heat your house on the coldest of days, especially a stove that has a narrower range of outputs (non-cat), it's likely it'll roast you out of the house on days that are less frigid. Many find it better to size their stove a little below their maximum need, to increase the number of days of the year you'll be able to use it, even if it can't keep you house at 80F by itself on the coldest day of the year.

5. The Ashford is more efficient than the Enviro, but not by the 3 to 5 cord differential you're being quoted. There are assumptions in there, that you'll be running the BK at a lower rate. My wood usage dropped from 10 to 6 cords per year, when I switched from Jotul to BK, but there were several factors beyond efficiency that caused those numbers to shake out the way they did.

Ashful, thanks, again, for the feedbacks.A few quick questions: If I want to run it at high during the weekends and also some nights ( or may be all nights ) until 10:30 PM but other time mostly at low ,can it switch from one mode to another (high to low, low to high)? With high setting on, can it blow as hot air as like Boston 1700? Or non cat burners like Boston 1700 would be always stronger/hotter than cat ones like Ashford 25? If I can run Ashord 25 at highs when I want and other times at low it could still save me woods may be not 2 cords but 1 cord or something.

Does cleaning cat once a year require to pull the unit from its place or it can be done without pulling it?

I saw on the video for BK Princess that there are like three settings 1,2,3. Based on your experience, how much temperature difference and wood consumption you get at each settings?

 

[NoGoodAtScreenNames]

If you are having problems finding an insulated liner then try calling chimney sweeps from csia. Have them install the stove instead of the dealer.

Most dealers don’t seem to want to install an insulated liner because they may need to knock out the existing clay liner for it to fit. It’s also harder to deal with a bulkier liner when up on the ladder. My installer promised to insulate it but when he saw the height of my chimney he chickened out. That’s why I have an uninsulated liner as well. That’s by far more common but not right. I’ll change it out eventually in a few more years when I have someone do some repointing work on the chimney.

 

[Tegbert]

Ashful, thanks, again, for the feedbacks.A few quick questions: If I want to run it at high during the weekends and also some nights ( or may be all nights ) until 10:30 PM but other time mostly at low ,can it switch from one mode to another (high to low, low to high)? With high setting on, can it blow as hot air as like Boston 1700? Or non cat burners like Boston 1700 would be always stronger/hotter than cat ones like Ashford 25? If I can run Ashord 25 at highs when I want and other times at low it could still save me woods may be not 2 cords but 1 cord or something.

Does cleaning cat once a year require to pull the unit from its place or it can be done without pulling it?

I saw on the video for BK Princess that there are like three settings 1,2,3. Based on your experience, how much temperature difference and wood consumption you get at each settings?

Cleaning the cat usually just means sweeping the face with a soft brush to remove the fly ash that accumulates on the face or vacuuming the face of it. No need to pull the unit. Even replacing it the cat just slides out of the spot it’s in.

Forget about those numbers you saw in that video they do not have that anymore on the new units. You can run a bk at any setting on the dial as long as your cat remains in the active zone. Too low and it could stall out.


Lopi Rockport
Blaze King Ashford 25

 

[begreen]

I called every single stove dealers in our area but none of them does do preinsulated stainless liner nor block plate. It is like they have reached a consensus that they both are not needed/offered. It is really strange that no one offers or does it.

Captain Soot told me that he has customers with pre-insulated linerbut it does not make any changes on creosote build.
I wish I was a handy person then I could install it on my own with pre insulated liner and block of plate. But cant do it.
Anyone here from my area using fireplace insert without preinsulated liner and block plate?
Is it a really deal braker to install an insert?

Not sure, but you may be using the wrong terms with the dealer. Pre-insulated liner is not quite the same as an insulated liner. Normally the insulation jacket is added during the installation. Pre-insulated is often used when space constraints require it. If they are balking about putting in any type of insulated liner, then I would question this, especially if a BK insert is put in. Cat stoves have cooler flue gases that will be more likely to condense into creosote with an uninsulated liner.

For comparison bid you might contact a CSIA sweep and ask them about installing the insert. www.csia.org.

 

[bholler]

I really do not know why no dealers offers preinsulated liner in our area.
They all say not needed.

Because they are more concerned with keeping prices down to make sales than they are with the safety and performance on the product they are selling.

Did any of those who told you insulation was not needed come out and do an inspection to verify you have proper clearances? If they didnt they have no way of knowing if it is needed.

 

[chemie]

Because they are more concerned with keeping prices down to make sales than they are with the safety and performance on the product they are selling.

Did any of those who told you insulation was not needed come out and do an inspection to verify you have proper clearances? If they didnt they have no way of knowing if it is needed.

Nope, no one did. They just said I dont need it.

 

[chemie]

Not sure, but you may be using the wrong terms with the dealer. Pre-insulated liner is not quite the same as an insulated liner. Normally the insulation jacket is added during the installation. Pre-insulated is often used when space constraints require it. If they are balking about putting in any type of insulated liner, then I would question this, especially if a BK insert is put in. Cat stoves have cooler flue gases that will be more likely to condense into creosote with an uninsulated liner.

For comparison bid you might contact a CSIA sweep and ask them about installing the insert. www.csia.org.

I always asked for if they use preinsulated liner or any types of insulation on the liner, they said no.

Are you talking about something like this :

https://www.rockfordchimneysupply.c...tion/chimney-liner-insulation-blanket-kit.php

If this is the product you are talking about, how much time does it take to wrap it around the liner?

 

[chemie]

Cleaning the cat usually just means sweeping the face with a soft brush to remove the fly ash that accumulates on the face or vacuuming the face of it. No need to pull the unit. Even replacing it the cat just slides out of the spot it’s in.

Forget about those numbers you saw in that video they do not have that anymore on the new units. You can run a bk at any setting on the dial as long as your cat remains in the active zone. Too low and it could stall out.


Lopi Rockport
Blaze King Ashford 25

So yearly cleaning is that simple? I can even do it monthly if that's the all maintenance needed
Does it get really hot if you run it high like comparable to a non cat stove like Boston 1700?

 

[bholler]

Nope, no one did. They just said I dont need it.

Then they obviously are not concered with being code compliant.

 

[bholler]

I always asked for if they use preinsulated liner or any types of insulation on the liner, they said no.

Are you talking about something like this :

https://www.rockfordchimneysupply.c...tion/chimney-liner-insulation-blanket-kit.php

If this is the product you are talking about, how much time does it take to wrap it around the liner?

Yes that is the type of insulation we typically use. It takes 10 to 15 mins for 2 experienced guys to insulate a liner

 

[begreen]

The Captain must love soot.

 

[bholler]

So yearly cleaning is that simple? I can even do it monthly if that's the all maintenance needed
Does it get really hot if you run it high like comparable to a non cat stove like Boston 1700?

Every time we clean a cat stove we clean behind the cat. In most inserts that means pulling the cat. We didnt used to but we had to many call backs due to stuff building up behind the cat and restricting the exhaust. And yes there is typically stuff behind the cats in bks as well.

 

[Ashful]

Ashful, thanks, again, for the feedbacks.A few quick questions: If I want to run it at high during the weekends and also some nights ( or may be all nights ) until 10:30 PM but other time mostly at low ,can it switch from one mode to another (high to low, low to high)?

Yes, you just turn a knob to the setting you want, like your kitchen range. You can change it at any point during the burn. This is not unique to BK, most wood stoves can be dialed over some range, although BK’s are unique in that you cannot overfire them. I repeat, you cannot over-fire a BK in proper working order, to my knowledge that is the only stove that can make this claim.

I run two BK Ashfords, and as I think I mentioned earlier in this thread, I run them on settings that give me 12 hours and 24 hours. This is the setting that suits my work schedule, not always my full heating needs, I just let my central heating pick up any slack. It’s putting a heck of a dent, to the tune of 1000 gallons of oil saved per year, while not messing up our schedule.

Today, I woke up, ate breakfast, went to work, ran errands at lunch, went back to work, picked up two kids from school, brought them home, gave them a snack and got them changed for their evening sports, handed one off to my wife and took the other to his Karate class, ran to Lowes to pick up two ceiling fans while he was in class, got gas, and now I’m answering work emails while waiting for Karate to finish. When I get home tonight, it will be getting dinner into them, getting them thru their homework, getting everyone ready for bed, and then doing some evening chores. The schedule doesn’t let up in the winter, so I need a stove I can stuff with wood once or twice per day, and then forget it.

So, getting back to your question, I run these stoves on lower settings. One is loaded twice per day, and run on a setting that completes a full burn cycle in 12 hours, repeatably. The other is loaded once per day, and run on a setting that completes a full burn cycle in 24 hours, just as repeatably. If I’m sitting by the stove doing work in the evening (one of them is in my office), I’ll turn it up to watch the pretty flames while I work, and then turn it back down when I head to bed. No biggie.

With high setting on, can it blow as hot air as like Boston 1700?

Yes, of course. I have the optional blowers on both of my Ashfords, and would recommend anyone get them, there is really no down side to having them. Turn them up when you want to move some serious heat around, or turn them off when you want it quiet. Mine is a free-stander, I’ve not run an insert, so I’m not sure if you’d want to just turn them down or completely off, on an insert. Since my stoves are stuffed into fireplaces (see my avatar), I just keep the fans turning on a very low setting 24/7.

Or non cat burners like Boston 1700 would be always stronger/hotter than cat ones like Ashford 25?

I can’t answer this, as I’ve not used either of the stoves in question. The Ashford 30 is rated lower than the Jotul Firelights they replaced, but actually do a better job of heating my house, due to their convective nature. In my experience, the BK ratings are too conservative, I can rip thru 2.65 cubic feet of wood in 4 - 6 hours. Even at a very poor 66% packing density, that’s roughly 1 million BTUs in that time, and we all know a wood stove is really cranking out the larger fraction of those BTU’s in the first half of the burn, even with the aid of a thermostat. So, how is the Ashford 30 not rated somewhere over 200,000 BTU/hour maximum output?

Ashful, thanks, again, for the feedbacks.A few quick questions: If I want to run it at high during the weekends and also some nights ( or may be all nights ) until 10:30 PM but other time mostly at low ,can it switch from one mode to another (high to low, low to high)?

Yes, you just turn a knob to the setting you want, like your kitchen range. You can change it at any point during the burn. This is not unique to BK, most wood stoves can be dialed over some range, although BK’s are unique in that you cannot overfire them. I repeat, you cannot over-fire a BK in proper working order, to my knowledge that is the only stove that can make this claim.

I run two BK Ashfords, and as I think I mentioned earlier in this thread, I run them on settings that give me 12 hours and 24 hours. This is the setting that suits my work schedule, not always my full heating needs, I just let my central heating pick up any slack. It’s putting a heck of a dent, to the tune of 1000 gallons of oil saved per year, while not messing up our schedule.

Today, I woke up, ate breakfast, went to work, ran errands at lunch, went back to work, picked up two kids from school, brought them home, gave them a snack and got them changed for their evening sports, handed one off to my wife and took the other to his Karate class, ran to Lowes to pick up two ceiling fans while he was in class, got gas, and now I’m answering work emails while waiting for Karate to finish. When I get home tonight, it will be getting dinner into them, getting them thru their homework, getting everyone ready for bed, and then doing some evening chores. The schedule doesn’t let up in the winter, so I need a stove I can stuff with wood once or twice per day, and then forget it.

So, getting back to your question, I run these stoves on lower settings. One is loaded twice per day, and run on a setting that completes a full burn cycle in 12 hours, repeatably. The other is loaded once per day, and run on a setting that completes a full burn cycle in 24 hours, just as repeatably. If I’m sitting by the stove doing work in the evening (one of them is in my office), I’ll turn it up to watch the pretty flames while I work, and then turn it back down when I head to bed. No biggie.

With high setting on, can it blow as hot air as like Boston 1700?

Yes, of course. I have the optional blowers on both of my Ashfords, and would recommend anyone get them, there is really no down side to having them. Turn them up when you want to move some serious heat around, or turn them off when you want it quiet. Mine is a free-stander, I’ve not run an insert, so I’m not sure if you’d want to just turn them down or completely off, on an insert. Since my stoves are stuffed into fireplaces (see my avatar), I just keep the fans turning on a very low setting 24/7.

Or non cat burners like Boston 1700 would be always stronger/hotter than cat ones like Ashford 25?

I can’t answer this, as I’ve not used either of the stoves in question. The Ashford 30 is rated lower than the Jotul Firelights they replaced, but actually do a better job of heating my house, due to their convective nature. In my experience, the BK ratings are too conservative, I can rip thru 2.65 Buick feet of

If I can run Ashord 25 at highs when I want and other times at low it could still save me woods may be not 2 cords but 1 cord or something.

I scale my burn rate to my work schedule, but you could easily scale it to your wood supply. In fact I guess I’m doing that in a way, the choice to load the one stove only once every 24 hours is based on how much wood I am willing to process per year. Point being, you don’t need to go 100% to put a big dent in your heating bill, and in fact I’d promote this concept for one without a lot free time on their hands.

Does cleaning cat once a year require to pull the unit from its place or it can be done without pulling it?

There is normally no need to clean the cat. I had an unusual issue with one of my Ashford 30’s that required me to vacuum it clean, and even remove it once to vacuum the back face, but that’s very unusual. Most folks use them for 10,000 - 15,000 hours (maybe 12 cords), and then just replace them. The replacement takes about two minutes, and the only tool required is a screwdriver or butter knife to pull the old one out.

I saw on the video for BK Princess that there are like three settings 1,2,3. Based on your experience, how much temperature difference and wood consumption you get at each settings?

It’s a continuous range, not a discrete 1, 2, 3. In fact, they’ve done away with that label, and replaced it with the modern “swoosh” label. Much banter on that, in this forum.

But, to answer the question, I can set mine to sip on one load of wood for 36 hours on the lowest setting. Or, I can turn it up and rip thru a full load in 4 - 6 hours. It’s all at your fingertips, just the turn of a dial.

 

[bholler]

Yes, you just turn a knob to the setting you want, like your kitchen range. You can change it at any point during the burn. This is not unique to BK, most wood stoves can be dialed over some range, although BK’s are unique in that you cannot overfire them. I repeat, you cannot over-fire a BK in proper working order, to my knowledge that is the only stove that can make this claim.

I run two BK Ashfords, and as I think I mentioned earlier in this thread, I run them on settings that give me 12 hours and 24 hours. This is the setting that suits my work schedule, not always my full heating needs, I just let my central heating pick up any slack. It’s putting a heck of a dent, to the tune of 1000 gallons of oil saved per year, while not messing up our schedule.

Today, I woke up, ate breakfast, went to work, ran errands at lunch, went back to work, picked up two kids from school, brought them home, gave them a snack and got them changed for their evening sports, handed one off to my wife and took the other to his Karate class, ran to Lowes to pick up two ceiling fans while he was in class, got gas, and now I’m answering work emails while waiting for Karate to finish. When I get home tonight, it will be getting dinner into them, getting them thru their homework, getting everyone ready for bed, and then doing some evening chores. The schedule doesn’t let up in the winter, so I need a stove I can stuff with wood once or twice per day, and then forget it.

So, getting back to your question, I run these stoves on lower settings. One is loaded twice per day, and run on a setting that completes a full burn cycle in 12 hours, repeatably. The other is loaded once per day, and run on a setting that completes a full burn cycle in 24 hours, just as repeatably. If I’m sitting by the stove doing work in the evening (one of them is in my office), I’ll turn it up to watch the pretty flames while I work, and then turn it back down when I head to bed. No biggie.


Yes, of course. I have the optional blowers on both of my Ashfords, and would recommend anyone get them, there is really no down side to having them. Turn them up when you want to move some serious heat around, or turn them off when you want it quiet. Mine is a free-stander, I’ve not run an insert, so I’m not sure if you’d want to just turn them down or completely off, on an insert. Since my stoves are stuffed into fireplaces (see my avatar), I just keep the fans turning on a very low setting 24/7.


I can’t answer this, as I’ve not used either of the stoves in question. The Ashford 30 is rated lower than the Jotul Firelights they replaced, but actually do a better job of heating my house, due to their convective nature. In my experience, the BK ratings are too conservative, I can rip thru 2.65 cubic feet of wood in 4 - 6 hours. Even at a very poor 66% packing density, that’s roughly 1 million BTUs in that time, and we all know a wood stove is really cranking out the larger fraction of those BTU’s in the first half of the burn, even with the aid of a thermostat. So, how is the Ashford 30 not rated somewhere over 200,000 BTU/hour maximum output?


Yes, you just turn a knob to the setting you want, like your kitchen range. You can change it at any point during the burn. This is not unique to BK, most wood stoves can be dialed over some range, although BK’s are unique in that you cannot overfire them. I repeat, you cannot over-fire a BK in proper working order, to my knowledge that is the only stove that can make this claim.

I run two BK Ashfords, and as I think I mentioned earlier in this thread, I run them on settings that give me 12 hours and 24 hours. This is the setting that suits my work schedule, not always my full heating needs, I just let my central heating pick up any slack. It’s putting a heck of a dent, to the tune of 1000 gallons of oil saved per year, while not messing up our schedule.

Today, I woke up, ate breakfast, went to work, ran errands at lunch, went back to work, picked up two kids from school, brought them home, gave them a snack and got them changed for their evening sports, handed one off to my wife and took the other to his Karate class, ran to Lowes to pick up two ceiling fans while he was in class, got gas, and now I’m answering work emails while waiting for Karate to finish. When I get home tonight, it will be getting dinner into them, getting them thru their homework, getting everyone ready for bed, and then doing some evening chores. The schedule doesn’t let up in the winter, so I need a stove I can stuff with wood once or twice per day, and then forget it.

So, getting back to your question, I run these stoves on lower settings. One is loaded twice per day, and run on a setting that completes a full burn cycle in 12 hours, repeatably. The other is loaded once per day, and run on a setting that completes a full burn cycle in 24 hours, just as repeatably. If I’m sitting by the stove doing work in the evening (one of them is in my office), I’ll turn it up to watch the pretty flames while I work, and then turn it back down when I head to bed. No biggie.


Yes, of course. I have the optional blowers on both of my Ashfords, and would recommend anyone get them, there is really no down side to having them. Turn them up when you want to move some serious heat around, or turn them off when you want it quiet. Mine is a free-stander, I’ve not run an insert, so I’m not sure if you’d want to just turn them down or completely off, on an insert. Since my stoves are stuffed into fireplaces (see my avatar), I just keep the fans turning on a very low setting 24/7.


I can’t answer this, as I’ve not used either of the stoves in question. The Ashford 30 is rated lower than the Jotul Firelights they replaced, but actually do a better job of heating my house, due to their convective nature. In my experience, the BK ratings are too conservative, I can rip thru 2.65 Buick feet of


I scale my burn rate to my work schedule, but you could easily scale it to your wood supply. In fact I guess I’m doing that in a way, the choice to load the one stove only once every 24 hours is based on how much wood I am willing to process per year. Point being, you don’t need to go 100% to put a big dent in your heating bill, and in fact I’d promote this concept for one without a lot free time on their hands.


There is normally no need to clean the cat. I had an unusual issue with one of my Ashford 30’s that required me to vacuum it clean, and even remove it once to vacuum the back face, but that’s very unusual. Most folks use them for 10,000 - 15,000 hours (maybe 12 cords), and then just replace them. The replacement takes about two minutes, and the only tool required is a screwdriver or butter knife to pull the old one out.


It’s a continuous range, not a discrete 1, 2, 3. In fact, they’ve done away with that label, and replaced it with the modern “swoosh” label. Much banter on that, in this forum.

But, to answer the question, I can set mine to sip on one load of wood for 36 hours on the lowest setting. Or, I can turn it up and rip thru a full load in 4 - 6 hours. It’s all at your fingertips, just the turn of a dial.

It is not uncommon at all to need to clean the cat.

 

[Ashful]

Every time we clean a cat stove we clean behind the cat. In most inserts that means pulling the cat. We didnt used to but we had to many call backs due to stuff building up behind the cat and restricting the exhaust. And yes there is typically stuff behind the cats in bks as well.

On my stoves (BK Ashford 30’s), the easiest thing I’ve found for annual summer cleaning is this:

1. Shovel out the stove.

2. Open bypass damper, and sweep bottom-up with Soot Eater or other “string trimmer” type implement on high speed drill.

3. Remove screws from stove collar, and slide telescoping pipe up to vacuum out chamber behind cat thru the flue collar.

4. Vacuum out the stove, and vacuum off the face of the cat (without removing it). Remove fire bricks, inspect, reinstall bricks. Replace any bricks I managed to break during the year (not common, but it happens).

5. Clean window glass, close the door, vacuum up any dust I made around the stove.

That’s my normal yearly procedure. But, one of my telescoping pipes is stubborn. So, on that one I simply vacuum out behind the cat thru the bypass door opening, using my hand to direct debris to the vacuum nozzle. Not as convenient, but I’m pretty sure I got it pretty clean, and the bypass is closing and sealing well. Better than my stove dealer did it, anyway.

It’s easy to remove and re-install the cat on a BK, but you will need about 3 feet of fresh interam gasket on hand to wrap around the can before you re-install it.

 

[bholler]

On my stoves (BK Ashford 30’s), the easiest thing to do is this:

1. Shovel out the stove.

2. Open bypass damper, and sweep bottom-up with Soot Eater or other “string trimmer” type implement on high speed drill.

3. Remove screws from stove collar, and slide telescoping pipe up to vacuum out chamber behind cat thru the flue collar.

4. Vacuume out the stove. Remove fire bricks, inspect, reinstall bricks.

5. Clean window glass.

That’s my normal yearly procedure. But, one of my telescoping pipes is stubborn. So, on that one I simply vacuum out behind the cat thru the bypass door opening, using my hand to direct debris to the vacuum nozzle. Not as convenient, but I’m pretty sure I got it pretty clean, and the bypass is closing and sealing well. Better than my stove dealer did it, anyway.

Yes with a freestander that is the easiest way for sure. I for some reason though this thread was about an insert. It isnt a big deal at all on a freestander. I find it much easier and i can be sure i am thorough if i pull the cat when it cant be accessed from above. There is also a danger of damaging the back of the cat with the vacume hose. But either way on bks it isnt hard to pull the cat. Unless the housing warps a little which i have seen.

Why do you pull the bricks? There is no need to do that at all.

 

[Ashful]

Then they obviously are not concered with being code compliant.

You may have noticed that bholler is a stickler. You want your chimney sweep to be a stickler. I wish he worked in my territory.