Ashford 30.1 smoke smell
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Yep, a pipe poking 3' out near the ridge would be the ticket. As they say hindsight is 20/20.
Welll the original plan would have put it right by the Ridge. Then when the stove store said I would save some money putting it where it is. At first they only wanted to install 12 feet. Like you said hindsight is 20/20.
Don't forget, you can make longer legs out of EMT with the ends pounded flat. 1/2" or 3/4" will do.
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Calentarse
Feeling the Heat
Just wanted to chime in and give an update on my stove. Although adding the height and new gasket to my stove helped a lot, it has not completely fixed my issues. I live with it because it's a phenomenal stove and I don't feel like anything else fits my house in fit and function like this stove. When it's below 40 outside, I hardly notice the smell. Yet, if it's 40s or warmer out; if my chimney is getting dirty; or there is wood burning near the door, I can smell the stove in the stove room. I can't do anything about it. I'm not willing to move my stove in the room and recut everything to move the chimney to avoid the 45s. I'm not willing to add pipe to the stratosphere.
I'm posting today to let everyone know that I truly believe the issue is somehow the glass. After all is said and done with the door gasket, I still have a smell. When I smell above the front of the stove, there's an odor. When I smell above the door joint, there is an odor. Coming down one level more, if I smell above the glass, there is an odor. Only when I go below the glass/door joint does the odor vanish. I still think something is faulty within the glass gasketing. One can obviously compensate for this by requiring lots of chimney for stronger drafts so that the "spillage" is offset, no? I'm no physicist; it just seems like simple reasoning.
Has anyone isolated the issue to the glass gasket by regasketing the glass? @blueguy @BKVP @ohiojoe13 @pdxdave @kf6hap
My brother has a 2040 that needs a rebuild and is considering the Ashford. He's leery because he too can only add about 16' of chimney and knows of my problems. My dad has a woodstock and doesn't suffer from these issues (he also has 26 ft. of stack) so it's difficult for me to make a case for how amazing the BK is...nothing is worth the incessant battle of a smoke smell. Not burn times, not efficiency, not beauty, nothing.
I'm posting today to let everyone know that I truly believe the issue is somehow the glass. After all is said and done with the door gasket, I still have a smell. When I smell above the front of the stove, there's an odor. When I smell above the door joint, there is an odor. Coming down one level more, if I smell above the glass, there is an odor. Only when I go below the glass/door joint does the odor vanish. I still think something is faulty within the glass gasketing. One can obviously compensate for this by requiring lots of chimney for stronger drafts so that the "spillage" is offset, no? I'm no physicist; it just seems like simple reasoning.
Has anyone isolated the issue to the glass gasket by regasketing the glass? @blueguy @BKVP @ohiojoe13 @pdxdave @kf6hap
My brother has a 2040 that needs a rebuild and is considering the Ashford. He's leery because he too can only add about 16' of chimney and knows of my problems. My dad has a woodstock and doesn't suffer from these issues (he also has 26 ft. of stack) so it's difficult for me to make a case for how amazing the BK is...nothing is worth the incessant battle of a smoke smell. Not burn times, not efficiency, not beauty, nothing.
jetsam
Minister of Fire
If there is air leaking through your door (or any other part of the stove) and there is a fire in the stove, the air is going from the room and up the flue.
Next time you smell smoke, bypass the cat, wait a couple minutes, and open the front door. If smoke billows out and continues to do so, then maybe you have a leak in your stove but you also have a much more serious draft problem. If smoke doesn't billow out, then chances are very low that the smoke smell is coming from the stove itself, because the smoke is going up the flue.
I could take the glass out of my door and not have smoke coming in the room (well, not until the stove melted, anyway).
Next time you smell smoke, bypass the cat, wait a couple minutes, and open the front door. If smoke billows out and continues to do so, then maybe you have a leak in your stove but you also have a much more serious draft problem. If smoke doesn't billow out, then chances are very low that the smoke smell is coming from the stove itself, because the smoke is going up the flue.
I could take the glass out of my door and not have smoke coming in the room (well, not until the stove melted, anyway).
The stove interior is in a negative, so it can't leak smoke out. What happens is the creosote condenses on the gasket and it's smell creeps sideways against the chimney draw. The chimney draw is not strong enough to overcome the lateral gasket "creep" or capillary action. At some critical point, the chimney overcomes this and the problem vanishes. This problem is long standing and a phone call to BKVP will get this resolved once and for all. Be assured, this problem CAN be resolved. Meanwhile check for suction leaks with an incense stick at the flue to stove joint, ceiling joint and all other joints. Suspect all joints. A very small leak can spoil the flue stack draw. The problem , I believe, is insufficient draw. I also suspect your chimney system is probably very close to defeating this problem and a small tweak of some kind will resolve this problem.
Anybody else agrees/disagrees please chime in.
Anybody else agrees/disagrees please chime in.
Calentarse
Feeling the Heat
Calentarse
Feeling the Heat
Very interesting explanation. Chris and I spoke for quite some time while the stove was under warranty. He went above and beyond to help me. I'd be very surprised if anything can be done to fix this outside of the glass gasket. I have added height, replaced single for double wall within the house, replaced the gasket several time, tested everything there is to test, etc.
I can tell you that I get spoke spillage on hot reloads, and my gasket definitely gets discolored. The one my stove guy put in is a very soft, white gasket. Almost like a super thick baby's blanket. I think it is better than what BK sent me, just based on my experience comparing smoke smell with the two. He suspected that the smell was creeping behind the gasket and really took his time getting that thing perfect when he put it in. What should I do?
My joints are all sealed up tight. I paid him to come in and replace single wall with brand new double, and he checked all that afterwards when we fired it up.
Calentarse
Feeling the Heat
If the stove collar is male, the pipe is female. It comes down over it a couple inches. Does that make sense? I never get any smell around that area - never have, nor do I get any pulling on a flame when I test for leaking.
Calentarse
Feeling the Heat
I know it's conflicting, that's because it is. Awesome stove, with truly amazing technology. But my 17' stack with 2 45s just doesn't cut it...and IMO, it should. My house looks ridiculous with a towering chimney sticking out the top yet I still smell smoke inside. How much draft does it need?!
Looking from the outside in on my experience, it's difficult for him to buy one. Since others have had my experience, he feels like the same may happen to him because he too has a minimum chimney height. My in-laws just bought a Hearthstone that is non-cat. It never smells like smoke in their house, even on hot reloads and their chimney is 17' with a 90 degree bend! Now, it's in a chase but still may be a better option for those short stakers who don't want to risk smelling smoke (understanding few stoves compare to Blaze King in burn times).
I'm in this same conundrum as my brother if I ever move- love the stove but I don't know I'd buy it again. I choose not to use it in the spring because the smell gets bad enough that I'd just rather run the heat pump. I don't know if I ever moved and needed to get another one if I'd be able to do so (unless I had a taller chimney). If I had a taller chimney or same height without bends, all bets would be off and I'd buy another one in an instant. It's just that none of the other wonderful qualities matter when you run the risk of smelling smoke. The only advice I have for him with a 16' chimney is to weigh the risk!
Perhaps an exterior flue joint is leaking? High temp RTV can be applied to the outside. I like using an incense stick as I think it is more revealing and way easier to use. Back in the day, I used to use sulfur candles (incense stick like) to detect ammonia leaks. Dim the lights and use an LED flashlight to look through the smoke. Cost is very low. Make leak checks only when the flue is very hot as the draw will be very strong making leakage way easier to locate.
Something small is getting overlooked.
In threads past it was stated a continuous bead of RTV had to be used under the gasket as opposed to discreet blobs to attenuate the "smoke smell". How true this, I don't know. I did it and it helped a lot. 17+ feet should get it.
Something small is getting overlooked.
In threads past it was stated a continuous bead of RTV had to be used under the gasket as opposed to discreet blobs to attenuate the "smoke smell". How true this, I don't know. I did it and it helped a lot. 17+ feet should get it.
Worth a quick look, this is how I "fixed" mine. https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads...ead-everything-bk.155890/page-80#post-2143748
Woody Stover
Minister of Fire
It sounds like in low-draft situations, he can smell smoke in the room. For the 'stinky dog butt' theory to hold, I would think you could only smell anything if your nose was right on the dog's butt, not across the room.
For sure, I'd try the glass gasket if that seems to be where the smoke is coming from. If that doesn't work, offer to sell the BK to your brother...if he can install the stack with no bends. If he can get another foot or two of chimney on the top, so much the better. It will probably work (not sure if the 30 is worse than the 30.1, but both have had odor problems IIRC.) Better yet, sell it to some sucker you don't know, that hasn't done his homework.
Seriously, I would probably ask a potential buyer what their chimney setup would be, and tell them they really need to adhere to the installation instructions. You could sell the dog's butt for 1/3 off, and for that money still get a new Ws Ideal or Absolute, which I'm pretty sure would work on your stack. Me, I'm not willing to put up with any smoke smell so I'd be making a move, if I determined that something else would meet my heating needs. When dogs start following me around because I smell like their barbecue-chef owner who gives them meat treats, that's where I draw the line. BTW, what Ws stove does your dad have?
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Highbeam
Minister of Fire
No, you misunderstand the theory. The stink of a dogs butt does indeed become airborn but it's not actual farts. We've all sat next to that bum on the bus. The stink can ooze quite a distance.
Woody Stover
Minister of Fire
Well, the bum and his clothes have a lot more surface area than the surface of the stove's door gasket, and the bum hasn't got a chimney connected, creating negative interior pressure to reel in malodorous emissions.
Calentarse
Feeling the Heat
You make good points. My brother is currently suffering with the VC and is only price shopping. He's feeling the pain, for sure. My dad has a Progress Hybrid.It sounds like in low-draft situations, he can smell smoke in the room. For the 'stinky dog butt' theory to hold, I would think you could only smell anything if your nose was right on the dog's butt, not across the room.
For sure, I'd try the glass gasket if that seems to be where the smoke is coming from. If that doesn't work, offer to sell the BK to your brother...if he can install the stack with no bends. If he can get another foot or two of chimney on the top, so much the better. It will probably work (not sure if the 30 is worse than the 30.1, but both have had odor problems IIRC.) Better yet, sell it to some sucker you don't know, that hasn't done his homework.
BTW, what Ws stove does your dad have?
Calentarse
Feeling the Heat
This is very interesting. I wonder what my stove guy would say about it. You have peaked my curiosity though because my pipe is also duravent.
This is very interesting. I wonder what my stove guy would say about it. You have peaked my curiosity though because my pipe is also duravent.
Another benifit is you can secure the adapter to the stove with screws then screw the pipe to the adapter.
If the flue-to-stove fitting is leaking you will not smell any smoke at that point because it is in a negative. The stove's firebox is not in a strong enough negative to overcome the creosote lateral creep. A very small leak at that joint (or any joint) will "spoil" or greatly reduce the total draw resulting in the "smoke smell" effect.
At any point in the burn, can you extinguish the flames by closing the thermostat?
At any point in the burn, can you extinguish the flames by closing the thermostat?
Just a thought. If your brother is motivated. Get you two together. Unplug your stove and hustle it over to his place. Plug it in. Add far. Grab two cocktails and get scientific
. Engage sniffer. Be a good check for him and you.
. Engage sniffer. Be a good check for him and you.Similar threads
