Blaze King Ashford 25 - not getting air?

[dm8877]

Hi all - hoping you can help me troubleshoot an issue that has me stumped. Have been running my Ashford 25 for 4 years now and have a good handle on how it behaves. Lately it has been acting weird. Currently I'm burning mostly ash and maple that I split and stacked two years ago. Moisture meter is showing between 11 and 12%. Everything has been fine until about two weeks ago. The stove was crusing low and there was a "wumph" sort of flashover in the firebox and a little smoke puffed out of the vents, then the flames died down and a few minutes later it happened again and maybe 3 or four times after that. I opened the thermostat a bit and the flames came up and it stopped so I didn't think anything of it. Have been running the thing pretty much non-stop since Thanksgiving. Ran a few more loads normally with no issue.

Then last week I was starting from cold and I just couldn't get it to light. Checked the wood moisture (at room temp, freshly spilt and checking the cut surface) and it's 11 to 12%. After the kindling died down, the logs just smoldered even though I had the thermostat wide open and the bypass open. Stayed like that for hours, smoldered all night as though I had the stove cranked low. There was nothing left but fine white ash in the morning. Sounds like the wood, right? So I grabbed some "kiln-dried" bundles from the hardware store and I even cracked the door for a bit to see if more air might help it take off. Just an orange glow smolder, with no visible flame. After several hours I raked what was left out into coals and threw a few 2x4 offcuts on to see what would happen. These DID light, but very lazily whereas I would expect them to rip.

Thought maybe a flue obstruction so I had the sweep come have a look. He says everything is clear with "moderate" creosote build-up. Tried again after he left with some ash and 3 year-old cedar and still no dice. What do you gentlemen think?

 

[kcmclellan]

Chimney cap plugged???

 

[begreen]

^^This.^^ First thing to check

 

[stoveliker]

I agree.

When you had the door open, was the bypass open or closed?

Any smoke roll out?

Also check the cat for being plugged with ashes.

12% is really really hard to get, especially in 2 years.
I have 4-5 years old maple and it's 14-16%.
Did you put the pins in all the way? Parallel to the grain?

 

[dm8877]

Thanks all. I will double check everything. Screen on the chimney cap looks good from the ground but will see if I can get someone with a camera to come take a look. Bypass door was open. Definitely getting smoke in the room if the door was open too much, but just cracked a bit it wasn't a problem. It's also rolling out of the top of the chimney pretty well . . .

Didn't think to look at the cat since I was bypassing it, but will now. Will also test a few more splits at random and see how wet they are, although I was burning this same wood most of December and January with no trouble.

 

[stoveliker]

Marginal wood can work, but does give build up. If the build up restricts exhaust it can result in insufficient draft for the marginal wood to work.

Don't ever burn with the bypass open unless the cat gauge says it's not active (i.e. on a cold start).

 

[moresnow]

so I had the sweep come have a look. He says everything is clear with "moderate" creosote build-up.

Did your sweep access the chimney cap? Putting money on a partially plugged chimney cap screen if he did not. Almost impossible to see unless you access the cap.

Run a SootEater cleaner (think Amazon) up through the stove and whip out the cap. Leave the supplied whips full length. A thought. Cheap DIY.

It would not hurt to vacuum the catalyst as well. Front and back.

Couple things you can DIY rather easily.

Good luck and let us know what happens after cleaning the cap.

 

[kborndale]

I use binoculars to keep an eye on the screen on my chimney cap.

 

[stoveliker]

If you take the cat out, but buy interam gasket first - you need that to put it back.

 

[Ashhole]

I had a Ashford insert installed 2 months ago. The dealer/installer included removing the screened cap and installing one that won't plug. Must be cheap insurance to avoid call backs.

 

[dm8877]

Thanks all. Sooteater has been ordered and I will try Moresnow's suggestion first. Stay tuned.

 

[dm8877]

Just wanted to follow-up here. Kids were on break from school so we were away for a bit.

I checked the chimney cap from the outside with binoculars. It looked mostly fine (a little creosote built up on the top of the cap but the mesh was unobstructed). I got a SootEater (two actually as my stack is ~25 feet) and had my son watch from outside to let me know when the whip head popped out. I ran it up to about 24 feet and hit an obstruction - an absolute plug of creosote. Took a bit of back and forth to break through but I got up into the inside of the cap and the spun the whip. After that I swapped in the second head (trimmed down to the size of my flue pipe) and ran it up and down the top 3 feet of pipe or so. See photo for an idea of what I pulled out.

That was Saturday. Been working like a champ since. My best guess is the sweep I hired only went up to the plug, felt the resistance and thought he was hitting the top of the cap. Anyway, I guess this is a job I do myself from now on.

Thank you all for your advice and suggestions. I'd like to run a camera up and have a better look at the entire flue. Does anybody have a favorite product for that kind of job?

 

[begreen]

It's good to hear it worked out. Thanks for the update. More frequent cleaning should solve this issue in the future.

 

[stoveliker]

Good news
Will feel good to know you can resolve blockages yourself.
Happy burning!

Next is making sure the wood gets dry enough so you don't have to clear blockages.

 

[brenndatomu]

After that I swapped in the second head (trimmed down to the size of my flue pipe) and ran it up and down the top 3 feet of pipe or so.

Just FYI, leaving the line left full length works just as well, if not better, and lasts longer.
Glad the SE worked out for you, I know its been a great tool for me!

 

[moresnow]

There ya go! Good to hear.

 

[RDPRDP]

Marginal wood can work, but does give build up. If the build up restricts exhaust it can result in insufficient draft for the marginal wood to work.

Don't ever burn with the bypass open unless the cat gauge says it's not active (i.e. on a cold start).

I ran the stove on startup last night wide open for 40 minutes to burn off creosote before engaging the bypass. Thermometer was almost at 12 o'clock on the catalyst when I closed. What damage might have I done?

RDP

 

[stoveliker]

The bypass opening

 

[RDPRDP]

Dollar bill test here I come. Thanks, appreciated.

 

[stoveliker]

Not only the gasket and how it's mounted, also the big metal plate. I've seen pics of cracks in the corners of the opening.

 

[stoveliker]

The problem is that, iirc, the thermostat doesn't work well when the bypass is open, so the stove gets far hotter than designed. The overfire protection doesn't perform.

To clean the firebox, run the stove with wide open throttle, bypass closed.

To clean the flue, do it properly, not with a chimney fire.