Blaze king Ashford 25 insert door problems

[trucklyhow]

Hi folks. I just had a brand new Ashford insert installed and all in all I'm impressed with it. However, I seem to be seeing a few issues with the door. After the first couple of burns there was a lot more staining on the glass than I'd expected. I was not burning very low. It also seemed suspiciously localized. I did the dollar bill test all around. On the bottom it was very firmly pinched, could not remove it at all. On the top there was very little pressure, and on the side just above the latch there was no resistance at all. Further inspection showed these issues:

Problem 1: The ends of the gasket seem to meet just above the latch, and where they meet the level of the seam is indented a good 1/8" below the level of the rest of the gasket. Photo 1 shows the location of the problem area and the smoke staining which seems to originate right at that spot. In photo 2 I'm holding a straight edge on the gasket and you can see the sizable gap which you can actually see light coming through.

Problem 2: The upper hinge bracket (the part bolted to the firebox) seems to be installed crooked:

The bottom hinge bracket is completely straight compared to this one.

Problem 3: Inspecting the gasket all around seems to show that the "knife edge" of the firebox is contacting the door too high, almost off the edge of the gasket in some places.

I have a call in to the installer and am waiting to hear back (that's a whole other story) but in the meantime-- am I crazy, or do these photos show the problems I think I'm seeing? I'm hoping this can all be fixed by straightening the hinge bracket, and that the gap in the gasket will not be an issue once the door is seated correctly. If it needs more work than that, will this be covered by Blaze King's warranty?

Thanks for reading, if you got this far. Mostly I just needed to vent to some folks that know about this stuff. The wife is less than pleased that we can't currently burn wood in our quite expensive brand new insert. A dark mood hangs over the household...

 

[begreen]

These are valid concerns. The hinge bracket should be square and the knife-edge should be roughly in the middle of the gasket. Hopefully, the dealer can make this right quickly. And yes, they are warranty issues.

 

[stoveliker]

I concur with the above. It's not good (hinge, shape of stains on the glass, and I think you're right w/ the gasket cause there), and BK should correct this.

I would also check the glass: on a cold stove, use your two hands flat on the inside and outside of the glass. Try to move the glass up and down and left and right this way. It should not move. If it does, there may be further air leak issues there.

 

[trucklyhow]

A brief update, with a new question. The local dealer finally returned to address the remaining issues. They replaced the door gasket, installed a block-off plate, and provided the hearth protector (which I will install seasonally.) However, they declined to work on the hinge bracket (see the issue in the photos above) because they assured me they were told by their contact at Blaze King that "that's how they are supposed to be." They showed me a photo which they claim is of another Ashford insert at their shop which the received with an identically angled hinge bracket. I am frankly incredulous—it just doesn't look right to me—but even though the BS meter is going off, I'm willing to be proven wrong. Could any of my fellow Ashford 25 owners provide a close-up photo of the top hinge showing whether it's straight or installed at an angle? Thanks!

 

[begreen]

The dealer reminds me of a contractor we once had in during a remodel. He hung a door incorrectly and at about a 5º angle so it wouldn't stay open. Then he angled the door stop to match! When I asked why he said (and I kid you not) that he matched the door across the hall. Well, the door across the hall was set decades ago and the house settled in that area (since corrected with new foundation). But he was off by several degrees. Needless to say he was off the job shortly afterward. It turned out he had built that wall at that 5º angle too. A good finish carpenter followed who corrected the error cleverly and the door was rehung properly.

 

[stoveliker]

@BKVP (hoping this works now...), pls have a look at the hinge pic above.

 

[BKVP]

I have responded to the OP...thank you.

 

[trucklyhow]

Yep, I guess I stand corrected: Blaze king has confirmed that the top hinge bracket is intended to be installed at that angle! It's always good to be willing to change one's mind in the face of hard evidence, so I humbly withdraw my complaint! I'd still be interested to see my fellow Ashford owners' hinges. Maybe someone out there has an incorrectly installed hinge and they never noticed because it's on straight!

... and just to reiterate, we've been so happy with this machine and wouldn't hesitate to recommend it, even after only burning for half a season. Can't wait for winter to come back around again!

 

[stoveliker]

Thank you for educating all of us. And thank you bkvp for the quick response.

 

[BurningtoBlaze]

This is a photo of my ashford insert that I just had installed in March. The hinge seems to be at the same angle. I will say the inside of mine has a crust forming which now has me nervous.

 

[BKVP]

View attachment 294803
This is a photo of my ashford insert that I just had installed in March. The hinge seems to be at the same angle. I will say the inside of mine has a crust forming which now has me nervous.

Burn it hot before end of season....use a load smal splits. It should "bake" the accumulated stuff and burn off. What remains, you can scrape or have another hot fire.

 

[BurningtoBlaze]

Burn it hot before end of season....use a load smal splits. It should "bake" the accumulated stuff and burn off. What remains, you can scrape or have another hot fire.

When you say burn it hot, roughly how hot? And what’s the best location on the insert to take an infrared temperature? Somewhat related, how full can I pack the insert for overnight burns? I’ve heard to not have the wood go above the bricks but the firebox is pretty tight.

 

[begreen]

I have responded to the OP...thank you.

What is the design logic with the hinge bracket at an angle? It looks like it would promote uneven wear.

 

[BKVP]

When you say burn it hot, roughly how hot? And what’s the best location on the insert to take an infrared temperature? Somewhat related, how full can I pack the insert for overnight burns? I’ve heard to not have the wood go above the bricks but the firebox is pretty tight.

Turn it up 3/4 or full. IR temps will be hottest directly above the combustor. With a variables taken into consideration (draft, piece size, amount of fuel), 600F+

Loading above bricks can lead to air flow impingement, but the consequence of that will be dirtier glass.

During shoulder season, with low burn rates, pack it full....if you need maximum burn times.

 

[stoveliker]

I burn one load (this year red oak, normal splits) at full air at the end of the season. And I bought a 1.5" dia cylindrical brush with tough "hairs" to brush behind the metal shields above the bricks. A welding shop will have what you need.

A good brushing and a vacuum cleaner is all you need then to properly clean the stove.

 

[spudman99]

That crust build up on the side is normal and is also found on my Princess Insert. I posted this last year as an easy and inexpensive way of removing that creosote at the end of year cleaning.

I had some time this morning and thought I might add this little tidbit that I used during prep to get my insert ready for use this year.

The Princess box has what I call a deflector plate on either side just above the angle irons that hold the fire brick in place. They provide a rough 1" or so gap off the side of the unit. During the burning season my gap collects plenty of creosote in this space, typically flakey shiny stuff. I know you can burn that up with a high heat run, but I like to get it all out.


View attachment 285393


This gap is hard to get tools into to vacuum or scrape. I used this tool that is very flexible to dislodge the flakes, then pull them forward into the box where I can easily vacuum them up. It costs maybe $4 and did the job well.

View attachment 285395

I know this is an out of season post but I just did this service about a month ago and finally got around to writing this up.

Also a refrigerator coil cleaning brush from the big box home stores can also bend and clean behind the plate. Either way dont worry about the flakes as they are in the firebox and controlled by the unit. Last season hot fire to bake them is sound advise and routinely used by BK burners.