Ashford 25 blaze king heat shield

[osummers]

Hi all, we purchased an Ashford 25 blaze king and we’ve had unfortunately nothing but problems. It’s a beautiful stove, but the rheostat shorted on us and needed to be replaced, the bolt that attaches the lower cover became un- welded so we can’t currently reattach it, and now having problems with the heat shield that covers the combustor. The thing keeps falling down after I remove it to clean the combustor that is another problem itself. Anyone else have any issues with this? I wedge it back up with the triangle pointing down, but when we open the door or even just by itself the shield drops down. All these issues have taken place within a year of owning. Blaze King has been helpful but we are in Victoria BC and it’s hard to get them in.
The reason we have to remove it is also annoying. Our combustor gets clogged very frequently and needs vacuuming with a soft brush about once a week. This seems excessive. I am burning dry wood (12-18 moisture content) so not sure when it’s getting covered it soot so often. Any help with these issues would be much appreciated.
Owen

 

[shoot-straight]

Sounds like too much draft. Sucking up the ash will clog it. I guess you have the insert? (25) a damper cures that on free standing stoves. Not sure of the fix with an insert. Someone will have an idea. Explain your setup and take and post some pics.

Not sure how your flame shield differs from the one on the 30. Ours has a ledge that you set it on and it tilts forward. The only time it's fallen is when it's not seated right. It will do that if it's not. Use a flashlight and make sure it's seated right.

BK makes a great product and their customer service has been great from my experience. I'm sure things will get ironed out. There's a learning and tweaking period with the very stove to make them operate at their full potential . And that can vary by location, house, setup and type of wood.

 

[stoveliker]

I second the draft issue; only way for ash to get up there is with a lot of air flow. If that can be fixed, you'll also get more heat out of it.

Regarding the flame shield, mine is slightly sagging (from being at high temps for long). If it sags too much it would be "too short" and risks falling out. If yours is not flat, see if you can bend it flat again.

 

[osummers]

Sounds like too much draft. Sucking up the ash will clog it. I guess you have the insert? (25) a damper cures that on free standing stoves. Not sure of the fix with an insert. Someone will have an idea. Explain your setup and take and post some pics.

Not sure how your flame shield differs from the one on the 30. Ours has a ledge that you set it on and it tilts forward. The only time it's fallen is when it's not seated right. It will do that if it's not. Use a flashlight and make sure it's seated right.

BK makes a great product and their customer service has been great from my experience. I'm sure things will get ironed out. There's a learning and tweaking period with the very stove to make them operate at their full potential . And that can vary by location, house, setup and type of wood.

Thanks for the response. I’ll have a look at the draft issue. Cheers