BK King glowing orange tonight...

[Rangerbait]

Before I was heading upstairs for the night, I loaded the stove with mostly walnut, but also had a nice big chunk of 4-year-old White Oak that I loaded east-west in the front. I had about 30 min before I was planning to head to bed, so I ran it wide open with the fan on high as well. About 10 min into the burn, I smelled an odd burning smell, and discovered the stove was glowing orange near the handle side of the door, and the wooden piece on the handle was smoldering.

I was under the belief that the t-stat would throttle back the air supply if the fire started to exceed safe levels...is that not the case? The manual directs a wide open burn after loading, and before turning the t-stat down. Thanks in advance for your insight.

 

[jetsam]

Burn that sucker low until it's cool, and then do the dollar bill test on the door. If it passes that, look for an air leak around the glass.

The thermostat does indeed keep the stove at non-glowing levels if there's no air leak.

Your air leak is obviously not big enough to cause an overfire on low thermostat, so it's not a get-the-fire-extinguisher type emergency, but it's a serious problem that needs to be corrected asap- asap in this case probably being tomorrow.

Hopefully you just need a little adjustment of the latch bolt. Does it take a little force to close the door handle or is it very loose? If that's all it is, you could probably shim it with a kitchen knife or something until the stove is cool enough for proper adjustment.

 

[Rangerbait]

Burn that sucker low until it's cool, and then do the dollar bill test on the door. If it passes that, look for an air leak around the glass.

The thermostat does indeed keep the stove at non-glowing levels if there's no air leak.

Your air leak is obviously not big enough to cause an overfire on low thermostat, so it's not a get-the-fire-extinguisher type emergency, but it's a serious problem that needs to be corrected asap- asap in this case probably being tomorrow.

Hopefully you just need a little adjustment of the latch bolt. Does it take a little force to close the door handle or is it very loose? If that's all it is, you could probably shim it with a kitchen knife or something until the stove is cool enough for proper adjustment.

The handle has always been what seems to me to be on the loose side...and I have done the dollar bill test several times, each time unable to pull it out. Once I turn the t-stat down about 90 degrees from wide open, the firebox goes dark within a couple of minutes, and it will run in alien mode for a very long time. That’s why this is a head scratcher to me.

 

[Rangerbait]

Also: this is the first time I’ve seen this happen, and I’ve been burning around the clock since mid-November.

 

[lsucet]

I think it is related to the way you loaded. Was the east/west split on top and to close to the door? It can be possible it was blocking air flow burning too much just at the front and the rest of the stove to cool making the tstat not react as it should.. It is just an idea.

 

[begreen]

No matter how loaded, even with wood up against the glass, that is an odd location to overheat.

 

[ratsrepus]

can you do damage to the combustor getting the stove that hot?

 

[kennyp2339]

Check your door gasket, let the stove cool down and do the dollar bill test. Also make sure the knife edge is making a seat in the middle of the gasket

 

[Rangerbait]

The paint is a little discolored on both sides of the door...I’m going to let it cool down, and then assess the gasket/door tightness.

Does a situation like this cause permanent damage? It was glowing for maybe 5 minutes.

 

[Rangerbait]

Check your door gasket, let the stove cool down and do the dollar bill test. Also make sure the knife edge is making a seat in the middle of the gasket

The knife edge has never seated in the middle of the gasket, even when brand new...how do you adjust that?

 

[begreen]

The knife edge has never seated in the middle of the gasket, even when brand new...how do you adjust that?

Was the stove dealer installed?

 

[Rangerbait]

Was the stove dealer installed?

The door was missing from the shipment when they loaded the pallet in the bed of my truck...I didn’t discover that until several weeks later when it was time to unwrap everything for installation. They shop ordered another door, and I put it on...the gasket was already installed into the groove.

 

[begreen]

That explains the lack of factory alignment. The dealer should resolve this problem or at least appraised of the situation. It may turn into a warranty claim. Hopefully not, but door alignment is critical on these stoves.
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads...read-everything-bk.93182/page-30#post-1392171

 

[BKVP]

That explains the lack of factory alignment. The dealer should resolve this problem or at least appraised of the situation. It may turn into a warranty claim. Hopefully not, but door alignment is critical on these stoves.
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads...read-everything-bk.93182/page-30#post-1392171

Actually, all doors are shipped in separate boxes, except Ashford and Chinook models.

There are several labels warning the "installer" to properly adjust door tension. It is also repeated in the Owners and Operators Manual. We added a tag to the latch bolts on front of the stove, just in the event a DIY'er should use the manual for their first fire!!

 

[begreen]

Good to know. Is the door alignment user adjustable or just the tension?

 

[Rangerbait]

Actually, all doors are shipped in separate boxes, except Ashford and Chinook models.

There are several labels warning the "installer" to properly adjust door tension. It is also repeated in the Owners and Operators Manual. We added a tag to the latch bolts on front of the stove, just in the event a DIY'er should use the manual for their first fire!!

I have performed the dollar bill check a number of times, and it has passed each time...so by that metric the tension is good.

I think the issue is the alignment of the knife-edge and gasket; here’s a shot I just took, and while it’s kind of hard to see, the gasket is compressed on the outer edge of the gasket near the latch instead of the the center of the gasket.

 

[lsucet]

I still thinking that the front E/W log cause is the issue, as you said is on both sides of the door. Is it was to high in front? over the metal bracket where the cat sits in front? door need to be to lose to cause an overfire like that and you said it pass a bill test.

 

[Highbeam]

Good to know. Is the door alignment user adjustable or just the tension?

The bks, and any of the last 4 stoves I’ve owned, are not adjustable except for tension. That was poor English but I hope you understand. To deal with poor alignment you replace the gasket properly.

 

[BKVP]

PM me your contact info and I will be in touch...

BKVP

 

[Rangerbait]

PM me your contact info and I will be in touch...

BKVP

Awesome...PM on its way!

 

[Highbeam]

I’ve never been a fan of knife edge gaskets. Doors droop on their hinges and the knife seems harder on the gasket. The stove and door must precisely match. Oh well, it’s part of the bk experience!

 

[BKVP]

I’ve never been a fan of knife edge gaskets. Doors droop on their hinges and the knife seems harder on the gasket. The stove and door must precisely match. Oh well, it’s part of the bk experience!

Highbeam, there is an advantage in the strength that is added to the front plate (face) of the stove. When a hole is cut into the face for a loading door, some strong back or integral design to reinforce the plate and opening is necessary. Can improvement be made, certainly.

 

[begreen]

Oddly the Summit has a knife edge gasket, yet the Alderlea T6 does not for the same firebox.

 

[jetsam]

Once I turn the t-stat down about 90 degrees from wide open, the firebox goes dark within a couple of minutes, and it will run in alien mode for a very long time. That’s why this is a head scratcher to me.

After you get the door leak sorted, your happy low burn spot will be a little higher on the dial than it used to be because all the air is now properly coming through the air intake. You'll figure out where on the dial your lowest cat-active burn is as the weather warms up.

Did the gasket get fixed? How is it working?

 

[Rangerbait]

Did the gasket get fixed? How is it working?

New gasket is on the way...thanks BKVP!