"Heatlife" of the BK Ashford

[webby3650]

I keep hearing about the heat life of a soapstone stove. While the stone does have a great ability to hold the heat, i find the BK Ashford to excel in heat life. So I thought I'd share a few pics of how the stove performs thru out the day. I took the cast top off to expose the steel top so I could get some more accurate measurements. This was a very small load of red oak that I put in this morning, 4 splits on a hot coal bed. The air was set on med-high and left untouched for 11 hours. While it may not have the ability to store lots of heat in its mass, it sure makes up for it with its slow, controllable heat.
I mean no disrespect to stone stoves at all. I have been around several, just thought I'd share my experience with the two types of stoves.

 

[begreen]

On medium high still? When is spring coming?

 

[BrotherBart]

As long as those coals are in it, it ain't heat life. It is burn time. How long did it stay hot after they had gone out?

 

[webby3650]

As long as those coals are in it, it ain't heat life. It is burn time. How long did it stay hot after they had gone out?

Don't know, it never burns out unless I force it to. On a full load, it would be more than 30 hours on medium before it was out of coals.

 

[webby3650]

On medium high still? When is spring coming?

I have never burned my stoves this hot for this long! It's getting rediculious!

 

[webby3650]

As long as those coals are in it, it ain't heat life. It is burn time. How long did it stay hot after they had gone out?

This is my point exactly. I think its way better to have a stove that will burn effectively for 16 hours and allow very easy restarts than a stove with 8 hour burns and offers very marginal "heat life" for a few hours after its completely gone out. Then you get to start a fire from scratch. I guess I'm spoiled to not need any fire starters or any kindlin.

 

[BrotherBart]

So you don't like masonry heaters then.

 

[webby3650]

So you don't like masonry heaters then.

They are beautiful and they do interest me. I have operated a Tulikivi on a few occasions, its nice but is very limited on what it's capable of heating. We have a really nice one in our show room, its a beauty for sure! My next stove might be soapstone, but it won't be for the heat life of the stone.

 

[alforit]

This is my point exactly. I think its way better to have a stove that will burn effectively for 16 hours and allow very easy restarts than a stove with 8 hour burns and offers very marginal "heat life" for a few hours after its completely gone out. Then you get to start a fire from scratch. I guess I'm spoiled to not need any fire starters or any kindlin.

Amen Brother !

 

[Highbeam]

On medium high still? When is spring coming?

I'm still burning as well neighbor. Every day, right now even as it is only 45 out. Probably due to these warmer outside temperatures I too have been burning at higher settings like 50% throttle.

I've had a stone stove and will totally agree that a burntime of 20 hours beats the crap out of a 10 hour burn plus an extra hour of cruise at 200. Of course you pay for that slower cool down with a slower warm up. Overall the stone stoves are less efficient, the stone does not bring anything but looks to the party.

 

[webbie]

"heat life" was a term (as I remember) used by Hearthstone back in the late 1970's to introduce people to the concept. Because you are trying to appeal to non-technical folks, it was a good idea in terms of marketing.

We've distilled that somewhat over the years to "takes longer to heat and also longer to cool down" as well as other tendencies of the various stove types. A lot of stoves also have large glass areas (very quick radiant heat) as well as cast areas.

I like your statement "my next stove may be soapstone, but not because of the heat-life". That's a good way to put it.

 

[begreen]

I'm still burning as well neighbor. Every day, right now even as it is only 45 out. Probably due to these warmer outside temperatures I too have been burning at higher settings like 50% throttle...
Overall the stone stoves are less efficient, the stone does not bring anything but looks to the party.

That surprises me. I would have thought that in this mild weather the stove would have been on low heat. A stone stove + cat seems to work out pretty well. As we see here Woodstock has a very loyal following with folks heating for over 20 yrs with the same stove. Looks do matter and I suspect the Ashford will sell well because of this.

 

[Highbeam]

I think even the woodstock guys, the ones that heat full time, will tell you that if you keep your fire going the stone never cools which will eliminate the heat storage benefit of the stone. It just becomes a curious building material at that point.

You only notice the heat storage quality of any material if you let your stove go out. Then for every extra hour of stored "output", you have to recharge the stone when you restart. There's no free lunch.

It sure looks nice though. Especially the polished stone from hearthstone.

Not sure why, but the higher settings seem to be producing less heat in the warmer weather. I'm thinking the draft is weaker so a given stat setting is effectively lower. It's not a problem but it is noticable.

 

[begreen]

Interesting, that sounds plausible.

 

[rdust]

Not sure why, but the higher settings seem to be producing less heat in the warmer weather. I'm thinking the draft is weaker so a given stat setting is effectively lower. It's not a problem but it is noticable.

Yep, I see the same thing. I usually run my stove about 1 3/4 all year and use the blower or no blower to control heat output. 1 3/4 when it's 50, isn't the same as 1 3/4 when it's 0.

 

[webby3650]

I typically run on medium or even medium low in this weather. It just got left higher yesterday.
On these days where its 60 for a few days and then drops into the 40's with rain, I just can't get warm. I find that I run higher on those days than I would if it had never been over 40 outside. It just feels good to see the fire!

 

[begreen]

Looks like you have a week of warmer weather coming up! 'bout time.

 

[rdust]

Looks like you have a week of warmer weather coming up! 'bout time.

When are we going to see your post about your "New BK Ashford"?

 

[begreen]

When a little birdie drops one on the doorstep. It's hard to justify getting one when we have a heatpump that covers 40-65F weather very well.

 

[webby3650]

When a little birdie drops one on the doorstep. It's hard to justify getting one when we have a heatpump that covers 40-65F weather very well.

That's another reason I might run my stoves a little higher than some others, I have no other heat source. So after a few days of running real slow, it starts feeling a little chilly in here.
Actually, its just an excuse to let er rip for a while!

 

[rdust]

When a little birdie drops one on the doorstep. It's hard to justify getting one when we have a heatpump that covers 40-65F weather very well.

I understand, I'd like to put an Ashford in here but it's hard to justify when performance will be pretty much a wash with the Princess.

 

[begreen]

Yes, and it would be a bigger leap for us, especially as I get older and will have to buy more expensive wood for fuel. That said I do like the cleaner, more efficient burning and the Ashford comes in blue-black enamel, my favorite finish, so who knows?

 

[Dakotas Dad]

Whatever.

It's still ugly.

(That's all I got)



Edit: and honestly.. it's not even that ugly.

 

[begreen]

I thought the Ashford to be a pretty good looking stove, especially their enameled model.

 

[rideau]

Woodstock soapstone stoves retain their interior heat as well as radiate heat for a long time, with coals sufficient for easily restarting a fire, after the fire has essentially ended. One very seldom has to resort to firestarters. Generally with dry wood the fire ignites before the door is closed on reload, if there are any coals present.The ability of the soapstone to absorb and slowly radiate heat does have an effect on the heat produced by the stove. It evens out the heat production, with the stove itself radiating some heat toward the end of the burn, in addition to the direct heat from combustion. And, even at the end of burn, the soapstone is still absorbing some heat which it will radiate.