Blaze King Ashford 30 best stove I've ever owned.

[Nealm66]

I would say it depends on your lifestyle and how your wood supply is. If you’re looking for a 12-24 hour good supply of heat that utilizes a little less wood than I’d say a blaze king would definitely be my pick. If I had colder weather, I’d pay the difference and install a king model. I’m currently burning some punky fir from a small snag I cut out of the way to try and be able to use the kitchen stove without opening up windows tonight lol

 

[BURNard]

and how much visible flame do you get?

Some but not tons. Depending on the draft in the chimney And the outside temperature It's usually a combination of Glowing Embers with some flame

 

[BURNard]

Some but not tons. Depending on the draft in the chimney And the outside temperature It's usually a combination of Glowing Embers with some flame

 

[Nealm66]

Wow! A bedazzled chimney!

 

[bholler]

I would say it depends on your lifestyle and how your wood supply is. If you’re looking for a 12-24 hour good supply of heat that utilizes a little less wood than I’d say a blaze king would definitely be my pick. If I had colder weather, I’d pay the difference and install a king model. I’m currently burning some punky fir from a small snag I cut out of the way to try and be able to use the kitchen stove without opening up windows tonight lol

To me your lifestyle doesn't matter much it is about your btu load. And whether you want to heat with wood or just supplement. 12 hrs doesn't cut it for me if it is much under 40 out.

 

[BURNard]

To me your lifestyle doesn't matter much it is about your btu load. And whether you want to heat with wood or just supplement. 12 hrs doesn't cut it for me if it is much under 40 out.

Well , I can say that I easily get 12 hours of burn time In the teens At half throttle With a full load of wood Every 12 hours. Basically load it in the morning Then load it again at night before bed. But also depends on your layout And square footage and wind. House Stays in the 70s

 

[Nealm66]

Well, I see where you’re coming from but I have days of work where I’ll be gone 15 hours and when I get home I always have plenty left. If I was in your situation, I wouldn’t run the still run the stove the same so that I wouldn’t have to build a new fire and I wouldn’t be using any more wood even if my other heat source had to pick up the difference. If I was retired, I would first try a king model and then if that didn’t work I’d put two stoves in.

 

[Caw]

I would say it depends on your lifestyle and how your wood supply is. If you’re looking for a 12-24 hour good supply of heat that utilizes a little less wood than I’d say a blaze king would definitely be my pick. If I had colder weather, I’d pay the difference and install a king model. I’m currently burning some punky fir from a small snag I cut out of the way to try and be able to use the kitchen stove without opening up windows tonight lol

I cannot fit a king as I mentioned earlier. It's a smaller fireplace so if I want the cat route I think the only thing that would fit is a Princess.

That's kind of the whole point of my question. To make an educated decision I need to get an idea where the tipping point is on pushing a cat stove so hard that there isn't really any point and just have a tube stove.

If I can get the same heating and extended burn time of course it would be better. I'm just not sure thats the case. I have to run my 1600 hard to keep up on 10 degree days.

 

[bholler]

Well, I see where you’re coming from but I have days of work where I’ll be gone 15 hours and when I get home I always have plenty left. If I was in your situation, I wouldn’t run the still run the stove the same so that I wouldn’t have to build a new fire and I wouldn’t be using any more wood even if my other heat source had to pick up the difference. If I was retired, I would first try a king model and then if that didn’t work I’d put two stoves in.

Why would you run 2 stoves in my situation when one can easily heat the house in most conditions with a 6" vent for 8 hours. If I was in your situation with no one in the house for 15 hours at times I would look at it differently. But the longest I am gone is 10 hours but usually less. And if I am not there in the winter my wife or kids will be to load the stove.

 

[BURNard]

I cannot fit a king as I mentioned earlier. It's a smaller fireplace so if I want the cat route I think the only thing that would fit is a Princess.

That's kind of the whole point of my question. To make an educated decision I need to get an idea where the tipping point is on pushing a cat stove so hard that there isn't really any point and just have a tube stove.

If I can get the same heating and extended burn time of course it would be better. I'm just not sure thats the case. I have to run my 1600 hard to keep up on 10 degree days.

Well to put things into perspective, on it's own, my oil furnace can't keep up with cold temps either and runs constantly in the teens and single digits. Sometimes a combination is what's needed. In my case the BK suffices, and does the job on it's own

 

[bholler]

I cannot fit a king as I mentioned earlier. It's a smaller fireplace so if I want the cat route I think the only thing that would fit is a Princess.

That's kind of the whole point of my question. To make an educated decision I need to get an idea where the tipping point is on pushing a cat stove so hard that there isn't really any point and just have a tube stove.

If I can get the same heating and extended burn time of course it would be better. I'm just not sure thats the case. I have to run my 1600 hard to keep up on 10 degree days.

You will not get the same heat over a longer period of time that simply isn't possible. What you would get it more even heat output at lower levels over a longer time. If that works for you a bk will be great. If it won't work for you then it wouldn't be a great fit.

 

[Nealm66]

Why would you run 2 stoves in my situation when one can easily heat the house in most conditions with a 6" vent for 8 hours. If I was in your situation with no one in the house for 15 hours at times I would look at it differently. But the longest I am gone is 10 hours but usually less. And if I am not there in the winter my wife or kids will be to load the stove.

I would only run two stoves in your situation because you have the full ability to install two stoves correctly by yourself at probably less than half the cost or less than the normal joe!

 

[Nealm66]

And then I would be at a 24 hour reload cycle, maybe?

 

[Nealm66]

Lol, please remember, you have forgotten more than I will ever want to know about wood stoves

 

[BURNard]

You will not get the same heat over a longer period of time that simply isn't possible. What you would get it more even heat output at lower levels over a longer time. If that works for you a bk will be great. If it won't work for you then it wouldn't be a great fit.

MY Ashford will run at 450 for hours at 2 1/2 throttle with a full load

 

[Caw]

Thanks for clarifying guys. I find I run my 1600 medium+ more often than not and I need the high heat for long periods of time to keep up so the tube stove route sounds right for me. I will stick with what works!

My main motivation in researching this is to satisfy the wife. She's not a huge fan of the 6-8 hr reloads but she's a big fan of the heat it produces! In an ideal world I'd get something a little bigger but our fireplace just isn't big enough. I'm happy with only needing the backup heat a couple hours here or there on super cold nights.

Sorry to hijack the thread. Back to regularly scheduled BK ballwashing! JK I just couldn't resist tho

 

[BURNard]

Thanks for clarifying guys. I find I run my 1600 medium+ more often than not and I need the high heat for long periods of time to keep up so the tube stove route sounds right for me. I will stick with what works!

My main motivation in researching this is to satisfy the wife. She's not a huge fan of the 6-8 hr reloads but she's a big fan of the heat it produces! In an ideal world I'd get something a little bigger but our fireplace just isn't big enough. I'm happy with only needing the backup heat a couple hours here or there on super cold nights.

Sorry to hijack the thread. Back to regularly scheduled BK ballwashing! JK I just couldn't resist tho

Identifying what works best for your situation is key. Everyone's home and heating needs are different. Good luck, Brother of the Flame.

 

[Nealm66]

I will say, the only thing my wife does with the stove is turn the thermostat up once in a while when she “feels cold”. Never down. Which somehow makes me feel safer about the whole thing even though I’ve came home to 74 degrees more than a couple times lol

 

[bholler]

I will say, the only thing my wife does with the stove is turn the thermostat up once in a while when she “feels cold”. Never down. Which somehow makes me feel safer about the whole thing even though I’ve came home to 74 degrees more than a couple times lol

Everyone in my household knows how to run the stove even the 8 year old. He almost never does it but the 11 year old loads the stove atleast once a week.

 

[Nealm66]

I suspect you’re 8 year old probably knows more about stoves and everything that is involved , more than my wife lol

 

[Caw]

Everyone in my household knows how to run the stove even the 8 year old. He almost never does it but the 11 year old loads the stove atleast once a week.

I plan on having both my kids know how to and help run the stove when they are old enough. They are 5 and 3 right now so it's a little too soon to actually do it but my 5 year old watches me like a hawk and asks good questions. He'll be a pro when he's ready.

The wife on the other hand is...interesting. She's so much smarter than me professionally (we have the same degrees) but she just doesn't want to get into the stove. She could learn how to use it in a week of practice if she wanted. Lots of "do what with the air" or "oh I just threw a couple logs in" or "it was burning just 15 min ago" when I look and it's smoldering etc. Classic eh I'm not into it stuff. I'm fine being the one to run it the majority of the time...I enjoy it...however I'm trying to get her to at least get into the basics so I don't have to elaborate what to do in every situation. That is a little exhausting. She really enjoys the heat I just wish we could get past this learning "block"! Grumble.

 

[bholler]

I plan on having both my kids know how to and help run the stove when they are old enough. They are 5 and 3 right now so it's a little too soon to actually do it but my 5 year old watches me like a hawk and asks good questions. He'll be a pro when he's ready.

The wife on the other hand is...interesting. She's so much smarter than me professionally (we have the same degrees) but she just doesn't want to get into the stove. She could learn how to use it in a week of practice if she wanted. Lots of "do what with the air" or "oh I just threw a couple logs in" or "it was burning just 15 min ago" when I look and it's smoldering etc. Classic eh I'm not into it stuff. I'm fine being the one to run it the majority of the time...I enjoy it...however I'm trying to get her to at least get into the basics so I don't have to elaborate what to do in every situation. That is a little exhausting. She really enjoys the heat I just wish we could get past this learning "block"! Grumble.

Yeah I taught them around 5 but 7 or 8 was the earliest they actually did it. Plus I am changing stoves all the time so it changes.

I am absolutely the one that does it most of the time. But I make sure everyone can do it incase I am not here

 

[moresnow]

I plan on having both my kids know how to and help run the stove when they are old enough. They are 5 and 3 right now so it's a little too soon to actually do it but my 5 year old watches me like a hawk and asks good questions. He'll be a pro when he's ready.

The wife on the other hand is...interesting. She's so much smarter than me professionally (we have the same degrees) but she just doesn't want to get into the stove. She could learn how to use it in a week of practice if she wanted. Lots of "do what with the air" or "oh I just threw a couple logs in" or "it was burning just 15 min ago" when I look and it's smoldering etc. Classic eh I'm not into it stuff. I'm fine being the one to run it the majority of the time...I enjoy it...however I'm trying to get her to at least get into the basics so I don't have to elaborate what to do in every situation. That is a little exhausting. She really enjoys the heat I just wish we could get past this learning "block"! Grumble.

Write down your start up and reloading procedure for her. It's better than continually telling her...... Less arguing!

 

[bholler]

Then again both my kids know how to drive already. The 11 yr old girl can drive stick already and has done a burnout in the parking lot and donuts in the mud. Today I wish I had taught her to run the plow truck. Lol

 

[BURNard]

This is a long over do review of my Blaze King Ashford 30. Absolutely the most amazing stove I have ever had the pleasure of using. Long consistent, even burns. Long periods of even consistent heat. Accept for smoking during initial start up and short periods during reloading, this stove burns absolutely smokeless. Just beautiful heat waves rising out of the chimney. This is my third winter burning and I have fed about five cords through it since purchased in 2018. I burned mostly two year old dead standing maple oak and ash. Don't let the ash pan and plug on the bottom of the burn chamber discourage you to think the stove needs to burn out to empty ashes. It does not, and don't think you'll be constantly emptying this bad boy. You won't, the stove burns so effectively, ash purges are minimal. I'll go through about two cords and probably empty the pan about 6 to eight times all winter. I start burning around October/November as needed, increasing as the winter gets colder to 24/7 burning, reloading the stove with 10 to 12 logs twice daily every 12 hours, morning/evening. I live in north eastern PA, where winters are often cool to very cold, and always damp and snowy. As I'm writing this we are expecting up to 20in. of snow and it's 19 degrees. (Ashford is purring away at 1 3/4 throttle, it's 75 degrees on the first floor, 69 on the second and oil furnace is snoring) My home is about 1700 square feet, with a semi open floor plan on the first floor and the stove cadi cornered in the living room. The stairs for the second floor are also in the living room, which lends to a great convection situation in the home. That and a couple of ceiling fans add to a generous circulation of heat. So I highly recommend this stove to all.