Hi everybody! I am new to the site and could really use some advise. This is my first season burning my new BK Ashford 30 24/7 to heat my house. House was built in 2018 and the stove is in the basement. I am burning a hardwood softwood mix that has a moisture reading all below 20% and is covered and stacked on skids. So i burned for 3 months with no issues and i never turned the stove back without first allowing the stove to be properly fired and the cat functioning. ( i read the stove manual) One morning after burning low for the night i reload the stove and burn it on high to bring it back into high active zone before running it for the day. I go to check on stove because i noticed the sound of something falling within the pipe and see my pipe temp is high. ( for sure higher than normal) I run outside and see a few small paper pieces of burned creosote in the air but no flames and smoke wasn't crazy. I run downstairs ready to close off the air and call fire department but everything is back to normal within a few minutes. The stove pipe temp is normal and everything seems fine. I let the fire die and call my chimney sweep guy to take a look before a burn again. He sweeps and only gets a cup of black fluffy stuff from the whole pipe and says everything looks fine. I start burning again but this time start to run the stove hotter to keep buildup down. Two weeks in and it happens again. To me it seems like it is burning off the nights creosote but i didn't think this is normal is it??? Stove has good draw and few turns. I will take some pictures and post to help. We are playing it safe and not burning tell i figure out what i am doing wrong or the stove. Any help would be great.
Need some opinions
- Thread starter Duke01
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No it isn't. What you are describing is a small chimney fire and it is not normal at all
How is the wood moisture being tested specifically? Is this with a resplit piece of wood at room temp on the freshly exposed face of wood?
It may be that you just overheated the chimney. Why are you running the cat meter to "high active?" Doesn't the cat light off quickly when you are anywhere in the active zone? If the stove top temp above the cat starts rising steadily when you close the bypass, then the cat is burning. The cat meter should continue to rise from lower in the active zone as well. Of course, if the cat glows right away, there's no question it's burning..
bholler may be right, could have been a small chimney fire. But I think if you overheated the pipe, some creo might fall in the pipe, without there having been a chimney fire. I'm not a chimney expert, but I did have a few chimney fires, years back.
How long were you running with the air wide open after you loaded?
Thanks for the replies! As for testing the wood i am testing the inside face of a split piece. Was testing more today and pine was 15-18% and maple was 18-19%. I am following the reload instructions provided by Blaze King, " It is good burning practice to burn the stove on HIGH for 20 to 30 min after every refueling". I turn it back to half after this to get about 8-9 hours of good heating. I don't think i am over firing the stove and my pipe temps spiked too rapidly for it not to be a fire in there. I should note that the buildup seems to be in the first 5 feet leaving the stove to the 45 bend. If my setup is functioning well I guess the only conclusion would be the wood needs to season longer, I might skip a winter just to give everything ample time.
Is that the inside face of a freshly split piece at room temp? If not you are not getting an accurate reading.
If the temp spiked way faster and higher than what you normally see, I agree it must have been a fire as bholler said.
What I didn't state clearly in my post is what Diabel asked..are you running the air wide open before you close the bypass? You're supposed to have the bypass closed when you do that, although that's not clear in the quote you posted.
I was thinking that maybe if you had the air wide open with the bypass open, a couple of creo flakes might be able to blow out as the chimney heated up and they broke loose. More than likely it was a fire if you saw a decent amount of creo blow out.
As far as the chimney buildup, @Highbeam has said that if he tries to run his BK too low, he will gunk the chimney up relatively quickly. Maybe the long burns that are mentioned are only for those who are OK with brushing their chimney several times each winter. I've never heard Highbeam or anyone else report actual burn times if they are trying to keep creo buildup at bay. Of course, that will also vary with the chimney setup; I'm going to get more buildup in my colder exterior masonry chimney, than a person with chimney the runs up inside the house. It appears that most of the flakes I get when I sweep are in the top 5' of the chimney, where it goes above the roof and is exposed on all four sides.
But yeah, with a 2.9 cu.ft. box, I'd think you should be getting more than 8-9 hr. burns, unless you are talking only about the time you have flame in the box. Maybe you aren't packing your box full?
I get maybe a 1.5 quarts of flakes and dust, sweeping once a year. This talk of creo low in the pipe is new to me; I assumed it was always at the top, and never worried much about igniting it. I guess I need to look up from the bottom of the tee, next time I remove the bottom cap to sweep. I have my stove pulled out right now..maybe I can see the bottom of the liner with a mirror and flashlight, without removing the tee cap.
@bholler How can creo possibly get deposited that low in the pipe??
Maybe that's just the BK low-burn guys that have said that, I don't recall..Knowing every set up is different. I get about a quart of creosote every 2 months or so. But I burn only softwood and turn it down low (#2). I have no doubt you had a fire but 2 weeks after cleaning seems strange. Is your draft so strong its pulling flame way up in the pipe? The only similar issue I ever had with my Princess was I think I let it get to hot and closed the bypass and the air at the same time. It kind of woofed and sure sounded like it sent flames up the chimney. Never had it happen again but once was enough to get my attention.
What do you mean how can it get deposited that low? It gets there exactly the same as it does anywhere elseIf the temp spiked way faster and higher than what you normally see, I agree it must have been a fire as bholler said.
What I didn't state clearly in my post is what Diabel asked..are you running the air wide open before you close the bypass? You're supposed to have the bypass closed when you do that, although that's not clear in the quote you posted.
I was thinking that maybe if you had the air wide open with the bypass open, a couple of creo flakes might be able to blow out as the chimney heated up and they broke loose. More than likely it was a fire if you saw a decent amount of creo blow out.
As far as the chimney buildup, @Highbeam has said that if he tries to run his BK too low, he will gunk the chimney up relatively quickly. Maybe the long burns that are mentioned are only for those who are OK with brushing their chimney several times each winter. I've never heard Highbeam or anyone else report actual burn times if they are trying to keep creo buildup at bay. Of course, that will also vary with the chimney setup; I'm going to get more buildup in my colder exterior masonry chimney, than a person with chimney the runs up inside the house. It appears that most of the flakes I get when I sweep are in the top 5' of the chimney, where it goes above the roof and is exposed on all four sides.
But yeah, with a 2.9 cu.ft. box, I'd think you should be getting more than 8-9 hr. burns, unless you are talking only about the time you have flame in the box. Maybe you aren't packing your box full?
I get maybe a 1.5 quarts of flakes and dust, sweeping once a year. This talk of creo low in the pipe is new to me; I assumed it was always at the top, and never worried much about igniting it. I guess I need to look up from the bottom of the tee, next time I remove the bottom cap to sweep. I have my stove pulled out right now..maybe I can see the bottom of the liner with a mirror and flashlight, without removing the tee cap.
@bholler How can creo possibly get deposited that low in the pipe??
I'd think that the flue temp down that low, where extreme temp would show up on his flue meter, would always be above condensation temp, even in a cat stove..
I clean lots of creosote out of lots of connector pipe. So not absolutely will not always be above the condensation point.
OK, I'll look at the bottom of my liner before I slide the stove back in, even if I have to take off the tee cap..
To see if there's any of the creo buildup that you are warning about. I'm not gonna worry about a little dusty stuff in there..I don't think I ever run enough heat up there to ignite anything. I rarely run with the air wide open for any length of time. When ramping up a load, I'm cutting the air so that I never have big flame exiting the bypass opening into the flue.
I get maybe a 1.5 quarts of flakes and dust, sweeping once a year.
As I stated above, "I get maybe a 1.5 quarts of flakes and dust, sweeping once a year...It appears that most of the flakes I get when I sweep are in the top 5' of the chimney, where it goes above the roof and is exposed on all four sides."
This is when shining a flashlight down from the top, before sweeping. All I see below the top five feet or so of the liner is dust, no flakes. Are you saying that any amount of creo, even just a little dust, has the potential to create a chimney fire?
Regardless, I will probably just stick to my once-yearly sweeping schedule. When I've glowed the tee, I've occasionally heard a few creo flakes falling. Weather that's the result of a small fire, or just from liner expansion, I can't say for sure.
Yes, I get creo out of my liner. I've never heard of anyone who doesn't get at least some creo when they sweep.
As I stated above, "I get maybe a 1.5 quarts of flakes and dust, sweeping once a year...It appears that most of the flakes I get when I sweep are in the top 5' of the chimney, where it goes above the roof and is exposed on all four sides."
This is when shining a flashlight down from the top, before sweeping. All I see below the top five feet or so of the liner is dust, no flakes. Are you saying that any amount of creo, even just a little dust, has the potential to create a chimney fire?
Regardless, I will probably just stick to my once-yearly sweeping schedule. When I've glowed the tee, I've occasionally heard a few creo flakes falling. Weather that's the result of a small fire, or just from liner expansion, I can't say for sure.
Because you "clean lots of creosote out of lots of connector pipe" which is close to the flue exit, where my tee and the bottom of my liner is.
Why are you distracting from dukes real problem and questions with this nonsense???
Pretty much everything I've been talking about pertains to your assertion that the OP had a chimney fire, which is caused by igniting creo in the pipe or chimney.
Are you trying to ascertain how much I've been drinking tonight?
The answer is, I've not dranken in the last couple days. I'm merely trying to get my stove back online but you keep distracting me with your circuitous line of questioning. 
So, getting back to Duke's issue, assuming he had a chimney fire, there must have been some amount of creo in the pipe or chimney. He's tested his wood on a fresh split, and the sweep told him his chimney looked fine, so it doesn't sound like an excessive amount of fuel for a chimney fire. I've already covered the possibility that he's trying to burn too low, but that doesn't sound like it's the case, either.
So, mr. holler, have you got any theories, or do we all just have to brush our chimneys every two weeks to prevent chimney fires? Or is a small fire no big deal?
Well one or 2 small fires are no big deal. But repeated chimney fires even small ones will eventually destroy the chimney.
The only time i have the by pass open is for a moment during reload when still in active zone. If i am starting a fire from scratch i have the by pass open and set to high until i am in the active zone and then close and turn air back. These fires have all happened when doing a reload after a lower long burn and the cat is on but air is set to high for the recommended time. I only get 8-9 hours off a load because i burn only at half back because i need the heat. Burning super low did not kick out the heat i needed i found. Tested wood indoors at room temp and hardwood 18-20% and the softwood was 14-16%. Me and my wife are frustrated because now we have lost a lot of confidence in what we are doing. Three months of good burning then all the sudden problems and we are not doing anything different. Would it be worth contacting Blaze King to see if they have any thoughts??? Thanks again!
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