Advise on Enviro Boston 1700 vs BK Ashford 25 and Several Newbie (yet specific) Questions

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Did the sweep who inspected it go in the attic?
Not sure but it looks like the chimney is exterior and doesn't go through the attic.
 
No, he didn’t go to attic.
As the repair you mean the crack on the surface? Would it be a big job or a crack sealer from Home Depot would do the job?
What is a crown?

No, he didn’t go to attic.
As the repair you mean the crack on the surface? Would it be a big job or a crack sealer from Home Depot would do the job?
What is a crown?
Without going in the attic how did he confirm your clearances? Can you see a space between the house and chimney?

The crown is the masonry on top of the chimney yours is very eroded and cracked. Crack sealer will work temporarily but it makes it harder to actually fix it right.
 
Not sure but it looks like the chimney is exterior and doesn't go through the attic.
Yes but on exterior chimneys still need clearances and you can check that by drilling test holes through the attic wall to the chimney to see if there is a space. If it is trimmed out on the outside (which is allowed) there is no other way to tell.
 
I had the same rig, 10” OD / 8” ID round tile with chimney-top damper. I tore the damper off, put a flag stone topper on brick corbels atop the chimney, stainless cage under that, and slid a 6” blanket-wrapped liner up thru that 8” ID clay tile. It works beautifully.

Thanks for the feedback. I am trying to convince the dealer to wrap a blanket around the liner since there is space for it.I said I would buy it from Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009KUWDWE/?tag=hearthamazon-20

I hope he agrees.
 
Last early Spring, I was able to obtain kiln dried white oak rips from a flooring store to burn in my fireplace. Since they were too dry, they burned vigorously without lasting much. I still have in my garage that I attached the pictures of. Do you think I can burn them safely in Ashford 25?
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That's good kindling. Use it to start fires.
 
A lot of skinny pieces like that are going to combust and outgas very quickly. The volume of smoke might overwhelm and exceed the ability of the cat to keep up with it. Some could be mixed in with cord wood.
 
When I was searching on the internet about using kiln dried oak rips in a wood stove, I came a cross with a thread in heart.com. If I am not mistaken someone mentioned in past threads that BKVP says it is OK to burn kiln dried lumber, pallets etc in BK. I was reading it in a subway but now cant find that thread. That’s the reason I posted the pictures of white oak rips to see if that’s OK to use in Ashford 25 and if it is how? Since they are kiln heated, I can store them in the garage not at limited space of backyard.
 
It's the spindly size of these strips that is the concern, not that it is kiln dried.
 
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Again, statistically speaking, hearing the same thing over and over without any exception from different installers in NY, NJ, and CT is really odd.
I hope they dont all cut corners.
It would be very informative and entertaining to watch a debate between experts in here and installers/dealers/sweepers I talked to.
Anyhow, My wife would kill me if she knows I spent so much time on this:)
Thanks all for the feedbacks.I’ll keep bothering you.


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It’s not just your area. I think it come downs to whether the professional assumes all chimneys are improperly built (safely conservative)or if they assume that all chimneys are properly built until proven otherwise.(more risky)

The certified licensed professional chimney company here in the pnw installed my liner in an old chimney without insulation or a block off plate. The masonry was obviously cracked which is why I had it lined. I really trusted the professionals since I was ignorant.

I have since torn down the entire masonry system and am much happier with a modern insulated rigid pipe system.
 
It's the spindly size of these strips that is the concern, not that it is kiln dried.
Since they are regular shaped, I was thinking to stack them together to fill at least half of the box with them and fill the other half with regular size of splits.
 
Since they are regular shaped, I was thinking to stack them together to fill at least half of the box with them and fill the other half with regular size of splits.

i am sure someone will correct me if i am wrong, try skipping some of that 30min high burn after engaging cat, since most of the moisture is already driven out of your wood, even if some pieces are not properly charred the coal should spread easily throughtout such regular pieces.

But unless you have pick-up loads of these i would keep them for kindling.
 
i am sure someone will correct me if i am wrong, try skipping some of that 30min high burn after engaging cat, since most of the moisture is already driven out of your wood, even if some pieces are not properly charred the coal should spread easily throughtout such regular pieces.

But unless you have pick-up loads of these i would keep them for kindling.

I can get pick up load of these, yes.