Ashford 25 smoke smell and worsening handle movement.

[Raoul]

My first year with the stove. Installed in the spring. I am burning three year split and stacked silver maple mixed with a couple homefire energy logs.

25’ exterior chimney. Uninsulated liner and no block off plate. Purchased from an out of town Bk dealer but not installed by my local dealer as they first refused to install an insulated liner and then claimed they didn’t know where to buy an insulated liner. I will leave the rest of my feelings out. I expect this may be unfortunate for me.

Really really love how well it heats my home except the two issues listed in the title.

The handle is getting harder and harder to open/close. It’s so stiff I wouldn’t dare operate it with the door open for fear of damaging however it’s hinged.
I have a call into BK and am awaiting a response. Any thoughts on making an adjustment?

The smoke smell is also unfortunate. It only presents itself if I try to run it on low.(little to no flame)
If on low, less than 3 O clock on thermostat and the cat blazing orange the room and home will begin smelling like smoke. I read about occurrences of this prior to purchasing the stove but it seemed like inserts were unaffected.
Uninsulated liner to blame? She seems to draft without issue. It’s 35 F here and I’ve been burning for 48 hours straight still will stink up the house.

Any thoughts are appreciated



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[ratsrepus]

BKVP will chime in and help you. A few folks have had what your describing, go back to one of the long winded BK post and youll find many post concerning this

 

[Rob711]

My Ashford handle did the same thing. Was fine brand new, after a week or so it tightened to the point the stove would move opening the door. I loosened the hex bolt that the handle is attached with, My theory is the metal expanded. I believe it’s a locking nut so you will need to get a hold of it with a wrench other wise it just spins. Smoke smell, did you sweep chimney first before liner?

 

[77whitewater]

I’ve been having the same things happen with my Ashford 25 that was installed this fall and have been using for about 2 weeks. Handle is getting very tight and smoke smell running on low. I have a 23’ insulated liner on an interior chimney that was cleaned before the liner installation. The smoke smell is only when trying to run lower than 3 o’clock ish. The only place I suspected but didn’t confirm was leakage on the door gasket near where the handle.

I haven’t reached out to blaze king yet, left for work and will not get a chance to use the stove again until January. Waiting until then to further trouble shooting the problems.

 

[spudman99]

I do not think your draft is an issue even though the liner is not insulated. For reference my 30' exterior insulated liner installed 1 month ago pulls a 0.20 in on my magnehelic gauge when the unit is on high and bypass closed. Every installation is different, but with the BK insert on that long of a run, I strongly doubt you have draft issues.

First thing to do is get the door latch corrected. Let the stove cool down so you can work on it. There are instructions in the manual on how to do that but take some time to loosen the nuts and then retighten when you are satisfied with the closing tension.

While doing the above, take the door off (use gloves if you don't want to get your hands too gunky). Lay it down on some cardboard and then inspect the gasket. Look to see if the knife edge has a clean indent on the gasket all the way around in the center. Possible air leaks from the gasket are the main causes of smoke smell. When burning low the wood smolders and the cat eats the smoke. Any possible negative draft will pull the smoke out the smallest gap and this is the easiest place for one to develop.

 

[Raoul]

My Ashford handle did the same thing. Was fine brand new, after a week or so it tightened to the point the stove would move opening the door. I loosened the hex bolt that the handle is attached with, My theory is the metal expanded. I believe it’s a locking nut so you will need to get a hold of it with a wrench other wise it just spins. Smoke smell, did you sweep chimney first before liner?

Thank you so much about the handle. I’ll give that a go.

The chimney was not swept as I had it entirely rebuilt and have never had a fire in it.



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[Raoul]

Look to see if the knife edge has a clean indent on the gasket all the way around in the center. Possible air leaks from the gasket are the main causes of smoke smell. When burning low the wood smolders and the cat eats the smoke. Any possible negative draft will pull the smoke out the smallest gap and this is the easiest place for one to develop.

I will do this. A cursory look I gave it and feeling with my fingers there is a nice indent.

What about the liner to stove connection? If that isn’t connected well could that allow the smell to enter the room.





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[mar13]

The smoke smell is also unfortunate. It only presents itself if I try to run it on low.(little to no flame)
If on low, less than 3 O clock on thermostat and the cat blazing orange the room and home will begin smelling like smoke. I read about occurrences of this prior to purchasing the stove but it seemed like inserts were unaffected.
Uninsulated liner to blame? She seems to draft without issue. It’s 35 F here and I’ve been burning for 48 hours straight still will stink up the house.

Only knowing about BKs from Hearth.com, wouldn't this just suggest that with the colder weather, uninsulated, liner, etc., that your particular set-up is simply going to require running hotter to get the minimally needed draft to avoid the smoke smell when the outside temperatures drop down this low?

Late next week may give you more cold weather experience, as it seems like winter will arrive with Thanksgiving in the PNW!