BK Ashford 30 Install

[ValleyCottageSplitter]

Hmm. I just tried the dollar bill test around the whole door and it was fine. I do see the gasket a little thin on this bottom side. Not sure how to tell if that's the problem.

 

[Woody Stover]

Hmm. I just tried the dollar bill test around the whole door and it was fine. I do see the gasket a little thin on this bottom side. Not sure how to tell if that's the problem.

Hard to think that any smoke is leaking at the bottom of the box, especially if the gasket is tight along there. Maybe creo smell through a soaked gasket, though? At the same time, hard to imagine "creo smell" getting to different rooms of the house. Creo smoke, maybe...

 

[SpaceBus]

Hard to think that any smoke is leaking at the bottom of the box, especially if the gasket is tight along there. Maybe creo smell through a soaked gasket, though? At the same time, hard to imagine "creo smell" getting to different rooms of the house. Creo smoke, maybe...

That's why I was thinking an incense stick can reveal any leaks in or out. Can someone explain how the smell could get out of the stove if he is reading vacuum on the indicator?

 

[ValleyCottageSplitter]

Spacebus, remember there is a very strong flow blasting the lower corner of the door gasket. That could easily make up for the overall static vacuum pressure I'm reading. An incense stick could be a good idea I guess. Or some other gas dye. It's not just a big pressure tank under vaccum. It's a complex dynamic environment of swirling smoke and creosote.

It's even worse today, don't know what's different. Just seems to be releasing smoke while it's running. Just kind of smells like regular smoke. I smelled it last night and this morning. Made sure to clean the door ledge and ashpan lip. Last time it did this the cat was partially clogged but I checked it a week or two ago and cleaned it. Might be it for the season for this stove except to test a new door gasket.

 

[SpaceBus]

Does your draft meter ever show a draft reversal? Does your stove ever back puff? There are only a few situations in which your stove can actually release smoke.

 

[Woody Stover]

there is a very strong flow blasting the lower corner of the door gasket.

Where would that be coming from, since the air wash is above the window?
When I cruise my stove, I don't think there is any air "blasting" anywhere in the box...the opening through which air can enter, at the lower right of the sliding plate in this pic, looks to be less than the size of a 1/4" drill bit.

 

[ValleyCottageSplitter]

It used backpuff or get pipe explosions with the initial 90 deg pipe setup and the air shut down way too far when we just got the stove. The pressure reverses only occasionally when the stove is completely cold.

So another tool @AlbergSteve @MissMac is to use some Snoop Leak Detector when the stove is cold or cooler (says temp rating is to 200°F). It makes huge bubbles if there is a leak. If cold you could try blowing a hairdryer or wetdry vac into the airvent to give it a little pressure. I think I will try it on some of the welds this weekend. I'm going to grab a little from my work.

@Woody Stover if there is a poor door gasket seal, it could be "pushing" some smoke out of one of the edges of the gasket. The BK combustion inlet is all at the glass and basically puts a lot of pressure in the lower corner of the door

 

[Woody Stover]

Corrected, air opening is at lower right corner of the plate in the pic.

 

[brenndatomu]

It's even worse today, don't know what's different. Just seems to be releasing smoke while it's running. Just kind of smells like regular smoke. I smelled it last night and this morning. Made sure to clean the door ledge and ashpan lip. Last time it did this the cat was partially clogged but I checked it a week or two ago and cleaned it. Might be it for the season for this stove except to test a new door gasket.

Have you ever tried looking for a smoke leak with a flashlight while the room is unlit? (total blackout)
Sometimes if you get yourself, and the light at just the right angle, at just the right time, a wisp of smoke will show up that you'd never see normally...just an idea.
Maybe this is a problem with multiple sources...some days its a creosote smell from somewhere on the stove, some days its a smoke smell from when the wind/weather is just right, the chimney exhaust rolls down the side of the house, and a little smell gets pulled back in the cracks/crevices of the house along with the makeup air?

We recently did an upgrade on the 600k BTU NG fired boiler at work and greatly increased the efficiency...the upgrades mean the exhaust temp dropped the better part of 150* F. Previously the flue gasses exited the chimney hot enough that we rarely seen condensation...but since then, a trail of "steam" is almost constant (at least during the winter) and it has been interesting to see how much of the time the exhaust rolls right down the back of the building, almost to the ground. If this was a wood or coal fired boiler, we would surely get some odor inside the building sometimes.

 

[AlbergSteve]

Alright, well BK is sending a Door Gasket Kit. They think that has fixed this problem before. Steve did you try that already? If I get it before the season ends I'll try that and I think that's the last thing I'm trying on this stove. Then I'm going to have to start looking for a replacement.

Yeah, new gasket mid season last year. They should also send shims to adjust the front casting out from the body of the stove because the gasket is quite a bit thicker. Let me know when you get the new gasket and I'll send some pics of my install - don't just cut it and butt it together.

 

[ValleyCottageSplitter]

Did that help at all Steve?

@brenndatomu Window exhaust has probably happened before but the creo smell is a very clear smell coming from the stove. Its not sometimes it's every time on a reduced burn. I've tried the flashlight a few times and couldn't find anything.

Maybe some combination of the wind, warmer evening and loading spillage caused tons of smoke to get inside last night. It was not airing out after 30min. It almost seems to be emitting some regular smoke while running as well. I think I might wait for this gasket before relighting. It looks very soaked in creosote in some spots on the bottom. So tired of dealing with all this.

 

[AlbergSteve]

New Did that help at all Steve?

Nope, not for me but apparently it has for others.

 

[ValleyCottageSplitter]

I lit the stove again for two more cold days. I just tested with a lighter and sure enough there is strong vacuum at the cat probe with a decent draft going. Certainly all signs are pointing to the gasket. BK is shipping one today. If I can't get rid of it with that, I might look at something like a Woodstock Absolute steel. A cat stove slightly smaller with side loading seems much better for smoke spillage and any type of creo leak issues. Would suck to lose the tstat though.

Especially hearing Steve's experience does not give me a lot of confidence in this new gasket.

 

[Ashful]

There’s always the Princess, VCS. They’ve sold a chit ton of Princesses over the last few decades, and I think I’ve only ever seen one smoke smell issue posting on that model, ever. We’ve obviously seen more than a few on the Ashford 30 in the last two years, as I’m sure you’ve already seen.

Of course, nothing wrong with Woodstock, if you don’t see much value the long BK burn times or Thermostat. They’d be near the top of my list, if I ever moved away from BK.

 

[SpaceBus]

Does the thermostat work that well? My only experience is with an old VC Defiant with a cracked Fireback, so not really a great example of the technique. I'm weird and like being able to have total control over the stove, but that doesn't mean it's objectively better without the thermostat.

 

[Ashful]

Does the thermostat work that well? My only experience is with an old VC Defiant with a cracked Fireback...

Yeah, I works pretty well. I’ve never owned another thermostatic stove, but those who have claim BK’s is the only one that has worked as well as it does. I set it for the output I want at the beginning of the burn, and then it gradually opens air as the fire wanes, late in the burn.

Perfectly flat output? No. But it is better than leaving the air set where it was, as would be the case on other stoves, un-attended.

 

[Woody Stover]

all signs are pointing to the gasket. BK is shipping one today. If I can't get rid of it with that, I might look at something like a Woodstock Absolute steel.

I can't speak to the AS but I've had the Keystone for more than 7 years, and never replaced any gaskets or adjusted the door latch, ash pan latch or bypass door tension. The stove runs fine but if I went through all that stuff, there'd undoubtedly be some degree of improvement...I guess I'll do that this summer.
Thinking more, I did replace the window gaskets when I took the windows out to seal a front/left seam leak with the Ws furnace cement, which is great stuff BTW.

Does the thermostat work that well?

I think that in my case, the only time the thermo would really help would be at the end of the burn, to open up the air on the coals. Other than that, I just fit the stove's heat curve to outside temp cycles. So I load before I go to bed and the stove puts out its highest heat when the temps are dropping outside. Then in the morning I might put in more splits if I need more heat to get me to the relatively warmer afternoon, where the stove can coast. When it's cold out, I can burn down coals to make room in the box, while keeping output up by opening the air on the coals for a few hours.
Maybe with a bigger house, and a bigger firebox, and no one home to open the air a touch on the coals, the thermo would be more useful than what I can envision in my case. Room temp here stay from 69-72, so my stove in my situation holds steady-state fine without a thermo. As far as the long, super-low burn, I don't see that being of much benefit to me much either. In shoulder season, my stove can burn on a few coals buried in the ashes, and room temp still doesn't vary much since it's not cold outside. So the big BK features wouldn't appear to be of much use to me, that's why I've never considered buying one...especially in light of some of the other things I've read about them. My stove offers me the features that I deem more important...everyone's priorities are going to be different in that respect.

 

[begreen]

Yeah, I works pretty well. I’ve never owned another thermostatic stove, but those who have claim BK’s is the only one that has worked as well as it does. I set it for the output I want at the beginning of the burn, and then it gradually opens air as the fire wanes, late in the burn.

Perfectly flat output? No. But it is better than leaving the air set where it was, as would be the case on other stoves, un-attended.

VC's thermostat worked well on our Resolute. Some cabinet heaters have thermostatic control. The Quad Adventure series works with a wall mounted thermostat for room temp control.

 

[Highbeam]

VC's thermostat worked well on our Resolute. Some cabinet heaters have thermostatic control. The Quad Adventure series works with a wall mounted thermostat for room temp control.

The reviews on that quad! Horrible. The wood furnace world has a few different methods for thermostatic control. Surprisingly little shared technology with the stove world.

 

[bholler]

The reviews on that quad! Horrible. The wood furnace world has a few different methods for thermostatic control. Surprisingly little shared technology with the stove world.

Lots of good reviews as well.

 

[ValleyCottageSplitter]

Hey again guys. Weather has been pretty mild and we've been on vacation. I removed my old door gasket and prepping for the new 1" one from BK. They gave me Dowsil 732 RTV sealant, only rated for 350°F?! Should I just use Rutland Black? Would about 3/4 of a 2.3oz tube be enough? We are certainly running out of days to test this new gasket! I already started my AC. A few days of 40 degree nights ahead though.

Thanks and enjoy the last days of burning.

 

[moresnow]

Hey again guys. Weather has been pretty mild and we've been on vacation. I removed my old door gasket and prepping for the new 1" one from BK. They gave me Dowsil 732 RTV sealant, only rated for 350°F?! Should I just use Rutland Black? Would about 3/4 of a 2.3oz tube be enough? We are certainly running out of days to test this new gasket! I already started my AC. A few days of 40 degree nights ahead though.

Thanks and enjoy the last days of burning.

Definitely getting short on burning days here.
With all the trouble you have had I believe I would confirm the provided sealant with BK before throwing another wrench in the gears No use confusing the situation. Just ask? That sealant may be something they have concluded fits the bill. Dunno. Maybe ask on the BK thread as well. A handful of users have installed the new style gasket. They would know. Good luck. Should be interesting to hear your results.

 

[ValleyCottageSplitter]

Thanks, I'm asking BK the same questions. Let me know if you guys have any suggestions as well. I'm obviously completely inexperienced at bonding stove gaskets! I'm especially wondering how much adhesive to apply. I would be inclined to put a large amount to make sure it is well coated underneath. I don't know how much would be needed.

 

[begreen]

Thanks, I'm asking BK the same questions. Let me know if you guys have any suggestions as well. I'm obviously completely inexperienced at bonding stove gaskets! I'm especially wondering how much adhesive to apply. I would be inclined to put a large amount to make sure it is well coated underneath. I don't know how much would be needed.

You want a decent bead about 1/4" thick, but not so much that there is a lot of ooze.

 

[Woody Stover]

They gave me Dowsil 732 RTV sealant, only rated for 350°F?

The door frame isn't subjected to all that much heat, since it is shielded by the front of the firebox. I'm sure that what they gave you will work. On the Buck 91, I used the ~800* copper stuff from the auto parts store, for exhaust manifolds etc.