Ashford 30 BAD CREASOTE ON GLASS - help please

[The Brit]

Hi folks, I am beginning to REALLY hate my Ashford 30. No matter how I burn, stack, or run the stove, I get creosote on the glass which is so hard I have to use a blunt scraper to get it off with much difficulty.
I have spoken to the installers a number of times; called the tech line at Blaze King, but to no avail. My wood is well seasoned, dry fir or pine. The only way I can reduce the build up of creosote it to run the unit hotter more often but that only helps a bit. The house gets way to hot if I run it like that.
In my opinion as a seasoned engineer, and having worked at FPI (Regency Fireplaces), I can only come up with the conclusion that there is inadequate air flowing down to the glass door to keep it clean. A better choice would have been to design it with a lower up draft of air over the glass into the cat.
The install flu is going out into a framed chimney chase with 2 - 45degree sections and a 15ft rise. Moisture content as low as 8 - 10%, seasoned up to 6 years unders shelter.

Any opinions or ideas would be fantastic. Also if I an right in my assumption of the draft, is there a safe way to modify the air flow without messing up the cat action?

 

[stoveliker]

I don't know that air flowing up would be more effective than air flowing down, as it does now.

The issue is that when one runs low and slow, smoke is present in the firebox (that the cat cleans up and converts into heat), and the airflow to maintain that low rate is too small to fully keep the glass clean.

It is a necessary consequence of running low and slow while having a large window.

Note that low is only three and a half 1.5 kW plug in heaters. That is really low (for a stove this big, allowing it to maintain this for 20 or 30 hrs depending on the model).

So your observations are correct, but it's a simple consequence of the parameters that give you the low and slow capability.

If this doesn't suit ones needs, get a tube stove that has a higher low limit, or a small tube stove with a similar low output limit but one that you then have to reload every few hours.

 

[stoveliker]

Also, a 15 ft rise with elbows is less than what BK specifies?

 

[EbS-P]

How much vertical rise before the 45? How often do you load it? How many sq ft are you heating?

 

[Murray01]

I have found with my BK that I have to run it in the middle of the “normal” range to prevent/minimize buildup on the glass and firebox. In my case I need minimum -20C temperature to run it on normal without overheating the house. I’ve read on this site numerous times, if you want a clear window to watch a fire a BK isn’t the stove to do it with.

 

[Murray01]

Thread '"Dirty" Blaze King windows'

Nov 15, 2016

So, I hear a ton of criticism here, often from folks who have never owned a Blaze King stove, about them having dirty black windows. I don't get it, as my two BK windows never get nearly as dirty as the critics imply they will.

Here's my cold stove after a 15 hour burn on a load that's 80% oak and 20% cedar. I use cedar for cold starts, to get the oak going.



Here's my other stove on a fresh reload after a 24 hour slow burn. Previous load was 80/20 oak cedar, this load is all oak and ash.



In both cases, you will note that only the lower corners of the...

• Ashful
• Replies: 86
• Forum: Blaze King

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[kborndale]

Any stove will have dirty glass of run that slow. The reason other stoves can run without dirty glass is because they can not run that slow. Sounds like OP may have a larger stove than they should for their home if it gets to hot when they turn it up.

 

[Dieselhead]

How many posts from you on this topic do we need to read? Spamming forums with multiple posts on the same topic is frustrating for fellow forum users.

 

[Wisco Shepherd]

Dude this is your 4th thread on the topic. If clean glass is what you want it may be time to sell your BK and get a tube stove or hybrid. BK's have dirty glass to variable degrees, its just how it goes. I don't think anyone is going to have a magic wand fix here.

 

[Highbeam]

I doubt your wood is 8%. That’s below equilibrium MC for our area. I suspect it’s your method of measurement.

So it’s going to get dirty glass unless you run it hot. Don’t use a “blunt tool” to clean it but a razor blade. I just did it last night for the first time this year.

 

[bholler]

I doubt your wood is 8%. That’s below equilibrium MC for our area. I suspect it’s your method of measurement.

So it’s going to get dirty glass unless you run it hot. Don’t use a “blunt tool” to clean it but a razor blade. I just did it last night for the first time this year.

To be extra careful i take the sharp corners off of my razor blades for work. Once you do that it's almost impossible to scratch ceramic glass.