BK Ashford/Sirocco 25 questions

[dafattkidd]

Hello friends, I’ve just ordered a BK Ashford Insert in black. I’ve been burning wood for a long time in other units. So, I know the basics; dry wood, full load cycles, clean chimney, etc.

I also know that each stove has its own little idiosyncrasies. What are some stove specific tips, tricks, hints, hacks and advice for the BK Ashford 25? I’m super excited to get this new insert and I’m really looking forward to hearing from you.

Questions I have:
What are realistic burn times on low, medium and high?

What size splits work best for you (length and diameter of split size)?

What is your preferred wood loading procedure (NS, EW, cribbed, etc)?

Any other hints, tricks, hacks or processes that work for you?

 

[TheTodd]

I put this in the larger BK thread last night, but just in case you didn't see it...

Better late than never, but in my 3 seasons of burning, I have averaged about 10 hours on my Ashford insert on low. Thankfully that setting is enough to keep my 2500sqft house warm almost the entire winter with a circulation fan placed in the foyer(stove fan off), so I rarely have to turn it up any higher and shorten burn times further, but on high it might be just 3-4 hours. FWIW I have a block off plate and insulated firebox, and a pretty high stack that probably pulls my draft out of spec which affects burn times too. I shoot for just a hair above where the flapper clicks to avoid stalling the cat and still have either fire or glowing coals most of the time. Interestingly, I also seem to get better burn times loading E-W rather than N-S. The majority of the conversation here about burn times, black boxes, etc relates to freestanding stove models, so we insert owners need to be aware of that. Good information and conversation, just less applicable to us.

Here's some more focused insert talk if you're interested: https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/bk-ashford-25-and-sirocco-25.163405/

 

[mellow]

You can also check out my review of it when it was first released.

Blaze King Sirocco 25 insert

Installed the Siracco 25 this weekend, was one of the easier installs thanks to Blaze King's flue adapter, you install it first on the liner than back the insert into the fireplace, reach through the damper and grab the adapter and then mount it on the back with two bolts. The most worrisome...

www.hearth.com

 

[phiester]

I put this in the larger BK thread last night, but just in case you didn't see it...

Better late than never, but in my 3 seasons of burning, I have averaged about 10 hours on my Ashford insert on low. Thankfully that setting is enough to keep my 2500sqft house warm almost the entire winter with a circulation fan placed in the foyer(stove fan off), so I rarely have to turn it up any higher and shorten burn times further, but on high it might be just 3-4 hours. FWIW I have a block off plate and insulated firebox, and a pretty high stack that probably pulls my draft out of spec which affects burn times too. I shoot for just a hair above where the flapper clicks to avoid stalling the cat and still have either fire or glowing coals most of the time. Interestingly, I also seem to get better burn times loading E-W rather than N-S. The majority of the conversation here about burn times, black boxes, etc relates to freestanding stove models, so we insert owners need to be aware of that. Good information and conversation, just less applicable to us.

Here's some more focused insert talk if you're interested: https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/bk-ashford-25-and-sirocco-25.163405/

I
recently had a Sirocco 25 insert installed. I've only been burning for a few days, but have noticed some difficulty turning down and achieving burn times longer than ~7 hours. Some of that is likely due to the load not being completely full.

However, I'm also thinking that my draft is probably too high making the thermostat very sensitive since I have an insulated 30' liner.

TheTodd, I noticed you mentioned a block off plate to help reduce the draft. Could you tell me a little more about that? Is that a Blaze King component? Where is it installed? Did you notice a different with and without it?

Thanks!!

 

[stoveliker]

A flue damper can reduce draft. A block off plate reduces heated air from escaping up the chimney (outside of the liner). It is mounted where the liner comes out into what was the fireplace.

 

[TheTodd]

I
recently had a Sirocco 25 insert installed. I've only been burning for a few days, but have noticed some difficulty turning down and achieving burn times longer than ~7 hours. Some of that is likely due to the load not being completely full.

However, I'm also thinking that my draft is probably too high making the thermostat very sensitive since I have an insulated 30' liner.

TheTodd, I noticed you mentioned a block off plate to help reduce the draft. Could you tell me a little more about that? Is that a Blaze King component? Where is it installed? Did you notice a different with and without it?

Thanks!!

The block off plate is meant to prevent heat from traveling up the chimney outside the liner and instead forces most of it back into the house, but it wouldn't affect the draft. You'd need something like a damper inside the liner to affect the draft. On freestanding stoves there is much more access to the stovepipe to activate a damper manually, so that's fairly commonly used there (although not officially supported by BK), but not on inserts since the fireplace greatly restricts that access. I am not aware of a good way to manage high draft on inserts, unfortunately.

Make a damper sealing block-off plate

A block-off plate is particularly helpful with inserts installed in fireplace on exterior walls with exterior chimneys. Without one, the flue liner (which should be insulated) and the stove will try to heat the mass of masonry that is exposed to the outdoors. This can result in a...

www.hearth.com

Wood with moisture content >20% is the most common cause of new installs not getting the expected burn time, since you likely haven't been acquiring and seasoning wood 2-3 years ahead of time yet. 80% of people with that complaint on the forums seem to end up learning that they aren't measuring it the right way and have wetter wood than they thought.

 

[Raoul]

Completely normal burn time. I have never achieved anything like the guys who run the free standing bk’s.
Only way I might stretch it is when I mix the load with high quality pressed logs.

My burn time measurement is can l light it off the coals.

 

[mellow]

I
recently had a Sirocco 25 insert installed. I've only been burning for a few days, but have noticed some difficulty turning down and achieving burn times longer than ~7 hours. Some of that is likely due to the load not being completely full.

However, I'm also thinking that my draft is probably too high making the thermostat very sensitive since I have an insulated 30' liner.

TheTodd, I noticed you mentioned a block off plate to help reduce the draft. Could you tell me a little more about that? Is that a Blaze King component? Where is it installed? Did you notice a different with and without it?

Thanks!!

I would insulate your fireplace so the heat is not robbed by outside sources, especially if this is an exterior chimney.

As for your draft at 30' that is quite tall, for inserts you can't install a damper since it is not easily accessible, but what you can try is installing an offset adapter, they are made in stainless for insert installs. They do reduce draft.

Off-Set Box & Insert Adapter for Flexible Chimney Liner Systems - Rockford Chimney

Shop Adapters: A two-piece adapter for fireplace inserts. Off-set box allows you to adjust the insert front and back from inside firebox. Free shipping.

www.rockfordchimneysupply.com

 

[phiester]

Thanks to all for the replies, this is a great forum. I've been tweaking and I think I found a good thermostat 'low' setting. I've also tried to pack the wood in the firebox as densely as possible. Been able to get 11-12 hours now on low, which suits the work/sleep schedule just fine.

 

[ColdForNowBing]

Hi All,

I've been researching getting an Ashford 25 myself. I also noticed you are on LI (dafattkidd) too! Was just curious if you pulled a trigger on the Ashford 25, I haven't seen any videos at all on the internet of it being used, just Captain Soot's review, LOL. I am torn on an Ashford 25 or a VC Montpelier II, but the the VC doesn't apply to the tax credit, SMH. In any case, I appreciate you starting the thread, i really want to try to get this in asap, any info or reply would be extremely grateful for.

Thank you all for your time,

-Christian

 

[dafattkidd]

Hi All,

I've been researching getting an Ashford 25 myself. I also noticed you are on LI (dafattkidd) too! Was just curious if you pulled a trigger on the Ashford 25, I haven't seen any videos at all on the internet of it being used, just Captain Soot's review, LOL. I am torn on an Ashford 25 or a VC Montpelier II, but the the VC doesn't apply to the tax credit, SMH. In any case, I appreciate you starting the thread, i really want to try to get this in asap, any info or reply would be extremely grateful for.

Thank you all for your time,

-Christian

Hey, Sorry for the delayed reply. I must have turned the notifications for this thread off accidentally. I purchased mine from Captain Soot and had him install it. I ordered it take last week in October and it was installed last week. Lead times are pretty horrible right now, but I’m super grateful it’s in now. I had to do some work to my chimney and fireplace, so the long lead time was actually a little helpful to me.

 

[dafattkidd]

I posted this in another thread, but probably worth sharing with you. Here’s the black Ashford all set up and cooking some wood.

 

[Rob711]

Looks good, did the captain talk you outta insulated liner? He laughed at me. “If we lived in Alaska maybe.”
I’m happy with mine, no 20 hr burn time but it’s definitely doing the heavy lifting as far as heating our 2000 sqft house.

 

[clancey]

That's very beautiful defattkidd and a pretty fire too..clancey

 

[dafattkidd]

That's very beautiful defattkidd and a pretty fire too..clancey

Thank you!

 

[dafattkidd]

Looks good, did the captain talk you outta insulated liner? He laughed at me. “If we lived in Alaska maybe.”
I’m happy with mine, no 20 hr burn time but it’s definitely doing the heavy lifting as far as heating our 2000 sqft house.

Ha! Similar conversation. It’s a double wall liner. He’s a super knowledgeable guy and I liked his installers a lot.

 

[ColdForNowBing]

Hey, Sorry for the delayed reply. I must have turned the notifications for this thread off accidentally. I purchased mine from Captain Soot and had him install it. I ordered it take last week in October and it was installed last week. Lead times are pretty horrible right now, but I’m super grateful it’s in now. I had to do some work to my chimney and fireplace, so the long lead time was actually a little helpful to me.

Talk about a late reply, Hhahha. My apologies. I guess better late than ever. So I pulled the trigger and purchased the BK Ashford in the chestnut finish from the SooT. I still need a bigger block of plate cause the fireplace i have is even bigger than biggest shroud. All in all it's beautiful and can't wait to start lighting some fires. Will post a pic when everything is finished. How has your experience been with the insert? If you had to rate it what would you give (1-10 Scale)? Thank you so much for the replies and info. I am really excited for this winter.

 

[stoveliker]

A shroud, covering the fireplace opening around an insert, is not a block off plate. The latter you should put in, the former only if the significant other wants it...

 

[dafattkidd]

Talk about a late reply, Hhahha. My apologies. I guess better late than ever. So I pulled the trigger and purchased the BK Ashford in the chestnut finish from the SooT. I still need a bigger block of plate cause the fireplace i have is even bigger than biggest shroud. All in all it's beautiful and can't wait to start lighting some fires. Will post a pic when everything is finished. How has your experience been with the insert? If you had to rate it what would you give (1-10 Scale)? Thank you so much for the replies and info. I am really excited for this winter.

I love this unit. It’s really beautiful. I get enough heat from it for my needs, but I’m still figuring it out.

I’m pretty sure my Osburn in my other house puts out more heat, but that doesn’t make me love the Ashford any less.

 

[mellow]

I love this unit. It’s really beautiful. I get enough heat from it for my needs, but I’m still figuring it out.

I’m pretty sure my Osburn in my other house puts out more heat, but that doesn’t make me love the Ashford any less.

That Osburn probably does put out more heat at its peak cycle being a tube burner, but the Ashford will put out a more even heat for longer periods of time, it does take some getting used to.