Ashford 25 Insert Questions

[basilseal]

Made sure of that today and got the fire going a bit but with two logs and the door closed the thermometer only got about half way to the red. I know that the manual says to just use two logs and some kindling - do you feel that's enough for yours or should I be putting more wood in? Another person said the wood might be too moist (It was wood used last winter - my first winter here - and I had it outside under cover all spring/summer/fall - but maybe still not seasoned enough?). If the wood is too moist is that going to prevent it from getting hot enough?

Also - I've lived in warm weather my whole life. We moved to the mountains of NC last winter. I may just be too dumb to light a good fire! Will try again tomorrow after reading the comments .

I suspect, as others have noted here, that the wood is too wet. I usually use kindling and then two logs as the base, and it works.

 

[BirdsatHiloMuni]

Proper decision.

Keep in mind.
You should bring a random selection of your splits indoors and let them come up to room temp. Overnight perhaps depending on outdoor temps.
Bring a room temp split back outdoors and re-split it.
Immediately apply your probe style moisture tester firmly to the freshly exposed inner surface of the split. Record reading.
Repeat on the rest of your test batch of splits.

Report what you find.

Testing any other surface will mean zero accuracy.

Many folks will simply jam their new tester against the existing outer surface (or end) of a split.
Useless reading as those surface areas have been exposed and will read unrealistically dry.

Thank you! I definitely would have done the jam new tester against existing outer surface . I'll do this and let you know. Thanks again!

 

[BKVP]

*I use a BK stove, but I am not familiar with the Ashford insert*
You may have taken some life out of your combustor, I doubt that you have wrecked it. A picture of the combustor without the guard may help diagnose that.
I would wait until the gauge is near the "active" zone before engaging the bypass. Within a few minutes of closing the bypass you should see the bypass glowing. In the next 15 minutes you should be able to start dialing the fire down and turning up the fan.
This is how my Sirocco freestanding works (minus fan) but maybe I shouldn't advise too much since I have not operated an Ashford insert.
And *bump*...

Bypass glowing? Never!

BKVP

 

[BKVP]

You can also go get some manufactured logs or bricks. You can mix them with your wood and bring down the overall moisture content of the entire load. Lots of different manufactured fuels, so use caution in amount use. I am certain there are plenty of posts on this site relating to bricks and logs. Also, if you have access to pallets, or friends with pallets, use a saw and cut all the slats (no nails) and they are typically dray, thing and burn hot.

BKVP

 

[Highbeam]

I would add that two logs is not enough, especially if they're not dry. My fire this morning was with 8-4" splits of maple on top of a log cabin stack of 6-1" splits of kindling. Start it all at once with a gas soldering torch. You need a good bit of fuel/fire/heat to get the cat hot enough to start it's self sustaining activity.

 

[BirdsatHiloMuni]

Proper decision.

Keep in mind.
You should bring a random selection of your splits indoors and let them come up to room temp. Overnight perhaps depending on outdoor temps.
Bring a room temp split back outdoors and re-split it.
Immediately apply your probe style moisture tester firmly to the freshly exposed inner surface of the split. Record reading.
Repeat on the rest of your test batch of splits.

Report what you find.

Testing any other surface will mean zero accuracy.

Many folks will simply jam their new tester against the existing outer surface (or end) of a split.
Useless reading as those surface areas have been exposed and will read unrealistically dry.

Ok - so here's the update. I tested the wood and I think it's dry enough. I followed your advice and tested 4 pieces that were freshly split. Each one registered in the 12-18 range. To double check, I split a piece that I had cut about 2 months ago and it registered in the low 30s. I used the soft wood setting - because when I used the hard wood setting everything was registering at like 10 - even the piece that was in the low 30s registered at 12. I thought I had hardwood - but again being new to this I'm not sure what kind of wood it actually is. I'll pose some photos - but not sure how helpful that would be.

In good news - I followed some advice from this thread and tried a different fire set up. The manual said to make a fire with kindling and then add 2 logs but it wasn't really working for me. I use a log cabin style set up with several pieces of kindling and 4 logs. I also followed the advice from people and opened a window up a bit. The fire turned out MUCH better - but not so out of control as the one on my original post.

I'm not sure if the catalyst engaged or not. It never turned red, but I was purposely trying to keep a small fire going to follow the manual recommendations of making small, slow burning fires the first 3-4 times you use the stove (although with as much heat and smoke and smell as came out on my original post the curing might be done already. The temperature gauge has stayed just inside the red active zone for a few hours now and I'm seeing very little smoke coming out of the chimney - but with it never turning red I'm not sure if it's working or not.

Thanks again to everyone for all the help!

 

[BKVP]

Ok - so here's the update. I tested the wood and I think it's dry enough. I followed your advice and tested 4 pieces that were freshly split. Each one registered in the 12-18 range. To double check, I split a piece that I had cut about 2 months ago and it registered in the low 30s. I used the soft wood setting - because when I used the hard wood setting everything was registering at like 10 - even the piece that was in the low 30s registered at 12. I thought I had hardwood - but again being new to this I'm not sure what kind of wood it actually is. I'll pose some photos - but not sure how helpful that would be.

In good news - I followed some advice from this thread and tried a different fire set up. The manual said to make a fire with kindling and then add 2 logs but it wasn't really working for me. I use a log cabin style set up with several pieces of kindling and 4 logs. I also followed the advice from people and opened a window up a bit. The fire turned out MUCH better - but not so out of control as the one on my original post.

I'm not sure if the catalyst engaged or not. It never turned red, but I was purposely trying to keep a small fire going to follow the manual recommendations of making small, slow burning fires the first 3-4 times you use the stove (although with as much heat and smoke and smell as came out on my original post the curing might be done already. The temperature gauge has stayed just inside the red active zone for a few hours now and I'm seeing very little smoke coming out of the chimney - but with it never turning red I'm not sure if it's working or not.

Thanks again to everyone for all the help!

The cats do not have to glow to be working. They will often glow more brightly on a low burn. The slower the gases go through the cat, the greater the residence time. The greater the residence time...often the hottest the cat temps can be.

BKVP

 

[BirdsatHiloMuni]

The cats do not have to glow to be working. They will often glow more brightly on a low burn. The slower the gases go through the cat, the greater the residence time. The greater the residence time...often the hottest the cat temps can be.

BKVP

Thanks for that information! I'll keep an eye out - hopefully will get some glow sometime soon! Appreciate all your help.

 

[BirdsatHiloMuni]

I would add that two logs is not enough, especially if they're not dry. My fire this morning was with 8-4" splits of maple on top of a log cabin stack of 6-1" splits of kindling. Start it all at once with a gas soldering torch. You need a good bit of fuel/fire/heat to get the cat hot enough to start it's self sustaining activity.

Thanks for the info!

 

[spudman99]

Welcome to the Forum:

My recommendation is to be deliberate and consistent in your starting and nurturing procedures. Maybe type out a cheat sheet to follow each time:

1. stack several logs, add kindling (i use 1/4 of a fire starter brick)
2. make sure bypass is open, thermostat is fully open
3. add several crumpled newspaper on top, light to warm up chimney and create draft
4. then light kindling, close door leaving a crack
5. when fire looks like it is self sufficient, close and latch door, leaving all else the same
6. monitor cat gauge on top, when the red triangle hits the active zone, close bypass
7. leave wood burn to achieve a "char" on most logs (can be 10-30 min depending on wood)
8. lower thermostat halfway to desired level, wait 10 min, lower again to final spot
9. sit back and enjoy the warmth.

This list is by no means absolute, and local conditions will prevail, but it is a pretty good approximate. Wet wood is a real problem for new burners, resulting in sub-par performance. Maybe get a compressed log at a fire store (not the Duraflames or similar as they are not approved for woodstoves). Even grab a scrap 2x4 at the big box store, cut it up into 16" pieces and use 1 or 2 in the fire to get it going. Cheap way to ensure you get a hot fire going. Eventually you will learn how your wood burns and what is the best technique.

Please do not get frustrated. This is a learning curve, especially if you have limited experience. Folks here are non-judgemental and willing to help. Keep us informed and you soon will have what can be considered one of the best wood burning appliances on the market humming.

 

[BirdsatHiloMuni]

Welcome to the Forum:

My recommendation is to be deliberate and consistent in your starting and nurturing procedures. Maybe type out a cheat sheet to follow each time:

1. stack several logs, add kindling (i use 1/4 of a fire starter brick)
2. make sure bypass is open, thermostat is fully open
3. add several crumpled newspaper on top, light to warm up chimney and create draft
4. then light kindling, close door leaving a crack
5. when fire looks like it is self sufficient, close and latch door, leaving all else the same
6. monitor cat gauge on top, when the red triangle hits the active zone, close bypass
7. leave wood burn to achieve a "char" on most logs (can be 10-30 min depending on wood)
8. lower thermostat halfway to desired level, wait 10 min, lower again to final spot
9. sit back and enjoy the warmth.

This list is by no means absolute, and local conditions will prevail, but it is a pretty good approximate. Wet wood is a real problem for new burners, resulting in sub-par performance. Maybe get a compressed log at a fire store (not the Duraflames or similar as they are not approved for woodstoves). Even grab a scrap 2x4 at the big box store, cut it up into 16" pieces and use 1 or 2 in the fire to get it going. Cheap way to ensure you get a hot fire going. Eventually you will learn how your wood burns and what is the best technique.

Please do not get frustrated. This is a learning curve, especially if you have limited experience. Folks here are non-judgemental and willing to help. Keep us informed and you soon will have what can be considered one of the best wood burning appliances on the market humming.

Thank you!! Yes, this forum has been incredibly kind and really helpful. I appreciate your comments - good plan! I'm having a hard time getting into the active zone but I haven't put more than 4 pieces of wood in since the first night. The wood I'm using doesn't seem to be too wet based on measured readings but it isn't burning very hot. Maybe next fire I'll try 5 pieces of wood and see if that makes the difference. Good suggestion to get some scrap 2x4 and try and heat it up a bit more. Thanks again! I'm certainly way less frustrated than I was a week ago thanks to everyone's help on here.

 

[GG Woody]

I'd say that once you have good coals like your last picture, fill the firebox, doesn't matter how many splits. Leave it wide open until everything is burning hot and start dialing the thermostat down.
I have not had a fire in ours yet that isn't pretty much a full firebox. And I haven't really had a fire that lasted less than 12hrs.

 

[BirdsatHiloMuni]

I'd say that once you have good coals like your last picture, fill the firebox, doesn't matter how many splits. Leave it wide open until everything is burning hot and start dialing the thermostat down.
I have not had a fire in ours yet that isn't pretty much a full firebox. And I haven't really had a fire that lasted less than 12hrs.

Thank you! I'll give that a try!