BK Ashford 25 (and Sirocco 25)

[avsmusic1]

i had to pull a permit and there is a chance that my local building inspector may want to come check things out. Just as importantly, to bholler's point, I want to know it's done right

 

[bholler]

i had to pull a permit and there is a chance that my local building inspector may want to come check things out. Just as importantly, to bholler's point, I want to know it's done right

And don't forget codes are a minimum acceptable for safety. Going above that is never a bad thing. For example in my install I met all of the minimum requirements but because I was skinning the block wall behind the stove I used steel studs and rockwool to keep everything non-combustible. That way I never have to worry about it.

 

[mellow]

Burning E/W in the sirocco I would have a good chuck of hot ember riding on the door gasket 6 out of 10 times, what compounded it was it would always be near the handle side of the door which swings out the widest, so that is why making sure you go above and beyond on those front door minimums is best practice. I would also open and shut the door to try and shake them off before fully opening the door.

 

[dafattkidd]

Thank you for all of the help in this thread. My BK Ashford 25 was installed last week. Very happy with it thus far. I’m still working out the details and getting used to the unit.

 

[Tar12]

Thank you for all of the help in this thread. My BK Ashford 25 was installed last week. Very happy with it thus far. I’m still working out the details and getting used to the unit.

View attachment 292846

Looks like it belongs there! Nice install! I hope you enjoy it!

 

[dafattkidd]

Looks like it belongs there! Nice install! I hope you enjoy it!

Thanks! We're loving it thus far.

 

[Jedi]

Can any Ashford 25 owners take a picture of the insert without the suround shroud? I'm debating if getting the shroud or not and leaving the insert by itselt since our hearth stone is so bumpy. The current fireplace doors have so many gaps due to the uneven stone, which I plug with plastic bags when not in use to prevent air leaking.

 

[Jedi]

This is the current fireplace without the metal frame. I like the way the stone looks, so I'm leaning towards not installing the shroud.

 

[Rob711]

Not the best pic. I agree. That’s a nice looking fireplace

 

[mellow]

@Jedi if you ask me that would be an awesome looking install for a Woodstock rear vent soapstone like the side loading Fireview.

 

[Jedi]

@Jedi if you ask me that would be an awesome looking install for a Woodstock rear vent soapstone like the side loading Fireview.

Looks beautiful, but I already ordered the ashford 25. Just haven't decided yet on the shroud. I did research small stoves like this one, but the clearances in the front of the hearth weren't enough and I didn't want to sacrifice living room space for extending the hearth.

 

[mellow]

Not an ashford but the sirocco 25 I had with no shroud, looks ugly if you ask me.

 

[BKVP]

Not an ashford but the sirocco 25 I had with no shroud, looks ugly if you ask me.

View attachment 303537

But the dog is cute...

 

[ZKlongisland]

Not an ashford but the sirocco 25 I had with no shroud, looks ugly if you ask me.

View attachment 303537

My Sirocco 25 is exactly in the same state, with no shroud, as I’m trying to figure out how to install a block off plate. …and I notice that you have a digital catalytic thermometer. What digital thermometer did you use to replace the analog catalytic thermometer that came with the insert? How is the digital helpful over the analog? At what temperature do you engage the catalytic bypass?

 

[mellow]

My Sirocco 25 is exactly in the same state, with no shroud, as I’m trying to figure out how to install a block off plate. …and I notice that you have a digital catalytic thermometer. What digital thermometer did you use to replace the analog catalytic thermometer that came with the insert? How is the digital helpful over the analog? At what temperature do you engage the catalytic bypass?

I was measuring my exhaust temps, I preferred using that as I could set an alarm for hi temps if I forgot about the bypass being open during startup.

 

[Jedi]

So I got my A25 yesterday, I did a good hot fire to burn of the oil smoke yesterday. This morning the stove was warm to the touch but too cold for an easy start. So I loaded the stove as full as I could get it, and closed the bypass around 8am when the cat seemed active. (My cat meter doesn't seem to be working properly, I wrote about this in the BK everything thread) around 820am I turned it down to around half temp. Then around 840 turned it down about 25% more. By 1130 I had to reload since the wood was turning to coals already. So I got 3 and a half hours out of that load, I'd say the thermostat was halfway. Any recommendations on getting better burn times?

 

[BKVP]

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So I got my A25 yesterday, I did a good hot fire to burn of the oil smoke yesterday. This morning the stove was warm to the touch but too cold for an easy start. So I loaded the stove as full as I could get it, and closed the bypass around 8am when the cat seemed active. (My cat meter doesn't seem to be working properly, I wrote about this in the BK everything thread) around 820am I turned it down to around half temp. Then around 840 turned it down about 25% more. By 1130 I had to reload since the wood was turning to coals already. So I got 3 and a half hours out of that load, I'd say the thermostat was halfway. Any recommendations on getting better burn times?

On AF25 and SC25, cat thermometer is a switch, it only goes to about 12 noon on gauge. Post picture of "full" load please.

 

[Rickb]

Also whats your pipe/chimney setup like? Also post a couple pics of your fire when your burning.

Mine looks like a black box with some hot coals and an occasional wispy fire outbreak, but thats with my air conrtol turned all the way down. If I left mine 50% it would be a good running fire and hot but my wood would burn pretty fast.

 

[BKVP]

One of the issues with burn times often rests upon "what is a full load". This is a full load.

 

[BKVP]

This is not even close to a full load.

 

[Jedi]

@BKVP @Rickb I'll try taking a pic next time. Its been 40-50F these days so I'm not packing it tight all the way, probably filling around 65% of the firebox and got a 12hr burn last night. I'm using mainly oak and a few smaller pieces of pine or spruce. Wood is dry (split 2 years ago). The interior chimney is about 20ft. The dealer used preinsulated liner. When I turn it down, I also get a black box with glowing coals. During the first few minutes after turning it down I have some nice dancing flames that look like the northern aurora borealis lights. After that settles, it's mainly red coals. I still dont turn it ALL the way down cuase I think it will go off, but I'd say 90% closed. It's hard to know if the cat is active or not since my meter will sometimes go to inactive zone even when the cat is clearly glowing red. I called my dealer/installer and he said this was normal, that I should use the cat meter just for starting the fire or reloading to know when to close the bypass.

Besides this, I'm liking the stove. Yesterday I went up in the attic and made my way to the chimney (single floor house but with vaulted cielings and two massive skylight shafts in fireroom). The masonry was warm up there, so this summer I'll try installing a blockoff plate.
Pictures are a view of the cieling and skylights.

 

[Jedi]

So the hvac thermostat is right before entering the master bedroom in the right hand side of the house. Right now its reading 73F and it's about 55F outside. I imagine the fireroom is about 75, need to but a thermometer for that room. I nuild a small fire about 3 hours ago just to maintain the temp. We keep all the room doors closed because I realize the Ashford cant heat all the house. If I close the playroom doors, it's about 1000sqft. Opening the playroom about 1200sqft, including 4 skylight shafts (2 in fireroom, 1 in play room, 1 in kitchen) and and vaulted cielings. On the cold 20-30F days the thermostat read between 68-70.

All considered I think the A25 is doing it's job. Maybe with all the heat loss from the skylights I'll never achieve burns longer than 12hrs? I'll keep experimenting and I'll still keep an eye out for the cat meter being wacky. I'll post my full load next time.

 

[Rickb]

So the 25 is only 2.5cuft. If turned down you get 12 hours I would say thats prob about right. With no block off plate a lot of heat is going up the chimney. I know there have been a lot of insert users on here that said after they put a block off plate in the heat out of there stoves was dramatically increased. If you want to test it pull the surround and just shove a bunch of rockwool up there and block it off with that and see if there is any improvement.

Also I dont know how the inserts work but on my 20 when I first got it they accedently installed the wrong cat thermometer. BK was nice enough to send me out the right one. That said I never pay attention to mine after it hits the line and I flip the bypass. If the stove went nuts I might but it seems like once my bypass is closed turned all the way down my temps stay about 1/2 way up if the fans off and about 20ish degrees above the active if the fans on.

 

[BKVP]

So the hvac thermostat is right before entering the master bedroom in the right hand side of the house. Right now its reading 73F and it's about 55F outside. I imagine the fireroom is about 75, need to but a thermometer for that room. I nuild a small fire about 3 hours ago just to maintain the temp. We keep all the room doors closed because I realize the Ashford cant heat all the house. If I close the playroom doors, it's about 1000sqft. Opening the playroom about 1200sqft, including 4 skylight shafts (2 in fireroom, 1 in play room, 1 in kitchen) and and vaulted cielings. On the cold 20-30F days the thermostat read between 68-70.

All considered I think the A25 is doing it's job. Maybe with all the heat loss from the skylights I'll never achieve burns longer than 12hrs? I'll keep experimenting and I'll still keep an eye out for the cat meter being wacky. I'll post my full load next time.

View attachment 309418

Load large pieces for a longer burn. Practice wood stove tetris.

 

[mellow]

@Jedi My 2 cents, insulate that fireplace, even with it being interior. I used an Auber digital thermostat that had a thermocouple hooked up to the appliance adapter right about the exhaust exit on mine. I did this for 2 reasons, 1. it had a high temp alarm (VERY helpful) 2. I could see the temp from across the room. I used that to factor when to reload rather than the BK thermostat. As for the big pieces make sure the larger pieces are 20% or below moisture wise, the bigger the split the longer it needs to season. For my larger Oak splits I was having to wait 3 years for them to get to the right %. Thankfully I had the stacking space to do that.