Ashford 30 -2 months old door hinge smoke smell

[Squisher]

I don't think it's common for a sweep to have a handheld co detector. They are expensive and need constant calibration was the impression I was under? To expensive to upkeep and have at the ready for the one in a million chance someone is going to pay you to come and monitor their stove while it's running. I'd check with the local fire hall if you are wanting to access something like that.

 

[Niko]

Also check the outside of your chimney screen. Running low sometimes can clog up the screen from the steam which eill turn into ice and create a clog.

I had this like 2 weeks ago and was noticing my kind was back puffing smoke a lot more on relaods. So i went outside and so some nice icecylce forming off of the screen almost 2-3 ft in length. Let it burn on hot and the back puffing went awat.

At what temp do you close your bypass when reading your pipe probe?

 

[aaronk25]

Also check the outside of your chimney screen. Running low sometimes can clog up the screen from the steam which eill turn into ice and create a clog.

I had this like 2 weeks ago and was noticing my kind was back puffing smoke a lot more on relaods. So i went outside and so some nice icecylce forming off of the screen almost 2-3 ft in length. Let it burn on hot and the back puffing went awat.

At what temp do you close your bypass when reading your pipe probe?

Thanks. I close bypass as soon as the cat thermometer is active or nearing active since the thermometer is a couple mins behind.

Also no screen on the top of chimney a more open style chimney cap. But when other really cold I'll watch for what your talking about. Been in the 30s.


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[Niko]

I see sometimes my pipe probe reading 400+ but my wood is still not fully chard. So when i close my bypass my cat meter still wont show in the active zone. Within 2-5 minutes tho my cat will be glowing red and my cat meter still won't show active yet. Ill let the stove get nice and hot (i use a magnetic meter on my stove top) once i see the stove top get to 400-500 i start to close the t stat lil by lil. I used to close it on one shot before and now im trying the lil by lil method. I think the reduced incriments may be a lil bit better for me as i have been seeing better cat activity and less smell.

My moisture meter reads in the 15-17 range on my wood now. But i dont measure every piece so im sure i might get some higher number pieices in their

I would def let the stove run nice and hot and burn up whatever crude you got built up.

Have you done this yet?

 

[Blazing]

I only seem to get the smoke smell when I turn down to fast ymmv.

 

[Niko]

I only seem to get the smoke smell when I turn down to fast ymmv.

Have you turned you stove on high, burn out all the creo built up in it?

what is ymmv?

 

[Blazing]

Have you turned you stove on high, burn out all the creo built up in it?

what is ymmv?

Oh yeah as long as I don't turn it down fast I get zero smell. "Ymmv"-your mileage may vary

 

[webby3650]

I only seem to get the smoke smell when I turn down to fast ymmv.

I've experienced this smell at times. Usually only When I reduce from high to low all at once. It certainly doesn't bother me, I just know that I can't reduce it all at once, and depending on weather conditions I may not be able to run on low. Every setup won't be the same, sometimes low will stall the cat and often a smoke smell is reported when this happens.

In This instance I wouldn't think that's the case, with such aggressive draft.

 

[blueguy]

If one were to watch the smoke in the firebox (without a lot of flame), you can kind of see how the air travels around the box. The air wash comes out right about where the factory installs the joint in the door gasket. I'm still of the opinion that this is what is causing the smoke smell - the air wash is pushing the smoke directly into the joint and some of the smell (not CO or actual smoke particles) is pushing through when the stat is turned down.

 

[Blazing]

I've experienced this smell at times. Usually only When I reduce from high to low all at once. It certainly doesn't bother me, I just know that I can't reduce it all at once, and depending on weather conditions I may not be able to run on low. Every setup won't be the same, sometimes low will stall the cat and often a smoke smell is reported when this happens.

In This instance I wouldn't think that's the case, with such aggressive draft.

Spot on sir.

 

[bholler]

the air wash is pushing the smoke directly into the joint and some of the smell (not CO or actual smoke particles) is pushing through

If you smell smoke smoke is getting out of the stove. I seriously doubt that the airwash has anything to do with it. It is just in the nature of a cat stove because when running on low the box get full of smoke and with it turned down there is not allot of air moving through the box which allows smoke to work its way out occasionally. Obviously this can be avoided for the most part once you get the hang of it though.

 

[blueguy]

If you smell smoke smoke is getting out of the stove. I seriously doubt that the airwash has anything to do with it. It is just in the nature of a cat stove because when running on low the box get full of smoke and with it turned down there is not allot of air moving through the box which allows smoke to work its way out occasionally. Obviously this can be avoided for the most part once you get the hang of it though.

I have plenty of experience with my BK. Ever been around a campfire and smelled your clothes after the fact? They smell like smoke, but yet there is no smoke currently around. It's kind of the same.

I know you have tons of experience with stoves and sweeping, but unless you have actually personally watched / experienced this in a 30 series BK, you're just adding to an already frustrating experience for these owners. I've had the smoke smell, and believe me, there is ZERO smoke making it's way out, but once I made the changes I mentioned above, the smell went away, even with the stat all the way down.

And with that, I'm out.

 

[Highbeam]

Is that gasket a BK gasket? It looks very white.

 

[aaronk25]

Is that gasket a BK gasket? It looks very white.

Yes, it is stove is new with maybe 40 days run time on it, but 1 day before taking that pic I uninstalled caulked and reinstalled the rope and as soon as pulled out it looses the memory of the indent so it's possible it got rolled to a cleaner side when re-installed.


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[Highbeam]

Yes, it is stove is new with maybe 40 days run time on it, but 1 day before taking that pic I uninstalled caulked and reinstalled the rope and as soon as pulled out it looses the memory of the indent so it's possible it got rolled to a cleaner side when re-installed.


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So you reinstalled the old gasket on a big pile of silicone. A knife edge gasket has a very specific imprint from the stove. I didn't think you could reuse them.

 

[bholler]

Ever been around a campfire and smelled your clothes after the fact? They smell like smoke, but yet there is no smoke currently around. It's kind of the same.

What do you think you are smelling though? Those "smoke particles" are still there on your clothes Basically you have a tiny bit of creosote on your clothes. If you are smelling smoke in the house it is because a little smoke is leaking out it doesn't matter what stove it is there is nothing different about blaze kings in this respect at all. The op has already been told how to avoid the problem they are new to the stove and just have to figure it out. We all have that with a new stove not a big deal.

 

[bholler]

I'm sure professionals chimney sweeps have electronic detectors for checking co levels by sniffing the stove and pipe to ceiling. Finding the root cause for smoke leaks has been a concern of mine too. I'm sure stove manufacturers have to pressure check there stoves you would think.

Yes I always carry a co detector but it will not help locate the source of smoke at all.

 

[bholler]

I don't think it's common for a sweep to have a handheld co detector. They are expensive and need constant calibration was the impression I was under? To expensive to upkeep and have at the ready for the one in a million chance someone is going to pay you to come and monitor their stove while it's running. I'd check with the local fire hall if you are wanting to access something like that.

It should be common 3 times now I have walked into a house and the monitor on my belt started going off right away. It will not at all be useful for locating a leak like this but it can pick up a problem usually with a furnace or water heater. And yes they are expensive to buy and maintain.

 

[aaronk25]

So you reinstalled the old gasket on a big pile of silicone. A knife edge gasket has a very specific imprint from the stove. I didn't think you could reuse them.

I'm not sure if this is a knife edge gasket or not as I'm not a stove expert just have a desire to always figure out how everything works. There was a about a 3/16 deep very defined imprint from the door into the rope gasket. As soon as any tension was applied to the gasket pulling it out the imprint was gone. As you may know with a rope gasket it is not installed pulled tight but rather a bit bunched up so it will compress nicely to form a good seal.

I don't want to read into what your saying to much but i didn't apply a pile of silicone behind the rope just a even spread to seal the the rope and threads and clearance holes for gasket retainer.

 

[Squisher]

It should be common 3 times now I have walked into a house and the monitor on my belt started going off right away. It will not at all be useful for locating a leak like this but it can pick up a problem usually with a furnace or water heater. And yes they are expensive to buy and maintain.

I'm just going on memory but aren't the sniffers that you'd use to find a leak quite a bit more expensive and tougher to keep calibrated I think than the personal alarms?

This bit of discussion is a good wake up call for me to get a personal alarm going. I had inadvertently filed that under 'later'.

 

[bholler]

I'm just going on memory but aren't the sniffers that you'd use to find a leak quite a bit more expensive and tougher to keep calibrated I think than the personal alarms?

I dont know how much those cost I never saw a need for one so I didnt check

But even the personal monitors are pretty pricey and they need calibrated regularly as well.

 

[drstorm]

If my wood is to close to the glass/door I get the smoke smell in my Chinook 30.Sometimes the wood has rolled and landed on the glass=smoke smell.
I try and make sure to keep everything pushed in enough so that the chances of ending up too close to the door are minimal.

 

[aaronk25]

Ok so was having a good Bacardi and diet looking at the stove tonight which previously had a clean door, I sit and stare at the creosote/carbon pattern on the door form running 12 hours on setting 2 (medium) thinking gosh the hinge side of the glass (left side) sure has a lot more creosote and carbon build up than the right side (latch side) and thinking about how the two main air tubes bring air in from the back of the stove and with all being equal maybe since the thermostat flapper is a unequal flapper meaning that it changes the direction of the airflow on the outlet side under the most restrictive setting low (closed) and consequently starving one side of airflow allowing more airflow to the other side. So I stole one of the wife's steel pot and pan cleaning pads and stuffed it up on top of the air door wash angle and in front of the right side tube to damper the air coming out in hopes that it would increase airflow out of the left side tube and reduce the hinge side creosote and smoke smell. At least if the right side starting smelling we know what to fix. We will see as of now on high (3) judging by the short rapid moving flames on the left and long slow flames on the right it's working exactly as planned.


Oh ya and all day on #2 setting and zero, none Nadda no smell, so here we go....

Ok turning down to 1 let's see if it stinks in a coupe hours. Come hell or high water we're gonna find a solution to this stove problem!


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[aaronk25]

Oh ya and the wood being burned currently, which is about 50% of the wood burned is dimensional pine which is not salt water pine. The thermostat does a great job bringing a fast burning wood back to regulated burn rates. Ive burned oak and pine both smell on low. I own a construction company that build a lot of wood apartment buildings and in our panel plant when the right job comes along I am able to load up on a unlimited supply of 18" 2x6"and 2x10" and stack the firebox so it is about 90% wood. Burns 14 hours on #2 setting.


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[webby3650]

Oh ya and the wood being burned currently, which is about 50% of the wood burned is dimensional pine which is not salt water pine. The thermostat does a great job bringing a fast burning wood back to regulated burn rates. Ive burned oak and pine both smell on low. I own a construction company that build a lot of wood apartment buildings and in our panel plant when the right job comes along I am able to load up on a unlimited supply of 18" 2x6"and 2x10" and stack the firebox so it is about 90% wood. Burns 14 hours on #2 setting.


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Perhaps the issue here then is that you are loading the stove completely full of boards, rather than cordwood like it's designed to burn. The wood could be offgassing at a rate so fast that the cat can't keep up?