Blaze king ashford 30.1 smoke smell/ air leak.

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BKVP

Minister of Fire
What I mean by burning very hot is just burn until it's vigourous. I've only used the stove 4 times Still getting used to it. The first fires I lit from the bottom. The last one I did top down and left the door open longer to make sure it would work. First time.

Also, I knew I was having an issue so I left the door cracked longer than usual to see if it made a difference. It did not.

I'll retest the wood tomorrow. Bringing a few pieces into the garage where the temps are in the 50s.

The installers are bringing their own wood in tomorrow to test as well so I suspect it's going to be dry.
Have them look for any gasket door leaks, check all welds etc. They can remove side shields to check welds there as well. Look where door hangs on hinge pins.

One small pin hole in a weld could make a smoke smell. If there is one, you'll see soot around the weld.

They can always call us at 509-522-2730. We are always willing to help.
 

bmikeb

New Member
Nov 15, 2022
27
Asheville NC
Have them look for any gasket door leaks, check all welds etc. They can remove side shields to check welds there as well. Look where door hangs on hinge pins.

One small pin hole in a weld could make a smoke smell. If there is one, you'll see soot around the weld.

They can always call us at 509-522-2730. We are always willing to help.
Thank you so much. They are coming on Tuesday now. I printed up some of the things you and others have stated here and they can look it over as well. Sometimes that helps some people.

I DO have a wierd spot weld under the front lip but I see no soot. Just rough. There is also a hole / imperfection on the lower hinge. I was checking this area as, up above the left half of the door, is where the smoke smell is eminating.

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bmikeb

New Member
Nov 15, 2022
27
Asheville NC
Retested some larger pieces. The interior of the split wood was 46 F verified with an infrared thermometer. Hydro tester at hardwood setting was 16% for one and 17% for the other.

Soft wood setting shows 25%. I don't know the type of tree this is from but I'm pretty sure it is hardwood. It is very difficult to split with a wedge and sledge. The seller said it's either Ash or Red Oak. It's extremely tough and stringy that's for sure.
 

stoveliker

Minister of Fire
Nov 17, 2019
7,261
Long Island NY
Going by the 16% at 46 F, your real MC is near 20%. That's borderline.

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stoveliker

Minister of Fire
Nov 17, 2019
7,261
Long Island NY
Methinks you are reading the Celsius column rather than the Fahrenheit.
 

BKVP

Minister of Fire
Op,

Turn off all the lights tonight. Hold a cell phone flashlight on the inside, very close to the area. You should not see any light coming through that space. Those welds are done on the inside. The other, under lip weld looks unlikely. Wipe it down and after another fire, check it again for change.
 

bmikeb

New Member
Nov 15, 2022
27
Asheville NC
Methinks you are reading the Celsius column rather than the Fahrenheit
I'm reading F.

Help me understand. Maybe I'm not reading this right and instead of spitballing I'll use numbers.

According to the chart, MC15 @40F is actually MC18. Right?

So MC15 @50F should actually be MC17.

MC15 @45F should be 17.5

MC16@ 46 should be 18.6 (17.4 + 1.2)

So yes a reading of MC17 @46F would be 19.8 which is borderline.

I was thinking of an MC16 reading when I said it was still below.

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BKVP

Minister of Fire
You are reading it correctly.
 
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stoveliker

Minister of Fire
Nov 17, 2019
7,261
Long Island NY
Yes, that is what I deduced from the table as well, as I said "near 20".
 

bmikeb

New Member
Nov 15, 2022
27
Asheville NC
Op,

Turn off all the lights tonight. Hold a cell phone flashlight on the inside, very close to the area. You should not see any light coming through that space. Those welds are done on the inside. The other, under lip weld looks unlikely. Wipe it down and after another fire, check it again for change.
No light leaking. Installer will be here tomorrow.
 

BKVP

Minister of Fire
My best guess is the lack of draft. The spillage that occurs during reloading is a strong indicator. Look to see if the knife edge seal is intersecting the door rope gasket. It could be the gasket needs to be fluffed (means tugged around) a bit to create a better seal.
 

Ashful

Minister of Fire
Mar 7, 2012
18,620
Philadelphia
If you let the installers drill a small hole in your pipe, they can measure draft. There should always be some measureable draft, even on a cold stove, although it may be only 0.01" to 0.03" water column, depending on knob setting. Draft should stabilize near .05" WC at max burn, and then climb to 0.10" to 0.15" when you turn down on a hot pipe. Later in the burn, pipe might be only 300F, and good draft would be .03" to .05", depending on knob setting.
 
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bmikeb

New Member
Nov 15, 2022
27
Asheville NC
My best guess is the lack of draft. The spillage that occurs during reloading is a strong indicator. Look to see if the knife edge seal is intersecting the door rope gasket. It could be the gasket needs to be fluffed (means tugged around) a bit to create a better seal.
I did post a pic of the seal in one of my firsts posts. Not sure if anything can be found there.

How the heck can I increase draft if that is indeed the issue?
 

BKVP

Minister of Fire
I did post a pic of the seal in one of my firsts posts. Not sure if anything can be found there.

How the heck can I increase draft if that is indeed the issue?
More chimney is one method. Insulating exposed chimney another.
 

BKVP

Minister of Fire
More chimney is one method. Insulating exposed chimney another.
I just looked at your post pictures. I may have simple tool to see if it's the door seal. Do you have a couple of washers you can drop over the bottom hinge pin? That should raise door about 1/8-3/16". Try this.
 

bmikeb

New Member
Nov 15, 2022
27
Asheville NC
I just looked at your post pictures. I may have simple tool to see if it's the door seal. Do you have a couple of washers you can drop over the bottom hinge pin? That should raise door about 1/8-3/16". Try this.
just the bottom hinge or both? Looking.... Got plenty of washers.

Edit... actually I don't just have enough. Each washer is about 1/16" and I have 3 made.
 
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BKVP

Minister of Fire
Y
just the bottom hinge or both? Looking.... Got plenty of washers.

Edit... actually I don't just have enough. Each washer is about 1/16" and I have 3 made.
You only need them on the lower pin....
 

BKVP

Minister of Fire
See if raising the door creates a better seal. (No smoke smell). If it works, we have shims that take the place of the washers. If it doesn't help, then that isn't the issue.
 

bmikeb

New Member
Nov 15, 2022
27
Asheville NC
See if raising the door creates a better seal. (No smoke smell). If it works, we have shims that take the place of the washers. If it doesn't help, then that isn't the issue.
I may be able to raise it 1/16" of an inch. I"m not sure about 1/8". If you look at the pic, the stove's sealing lip (sorry, don't know the correct term for it) is already verry close to the edge of the bottom of the seal, on the bottom of the door. Almost like it is too big or the sealing area of the door is too small.

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bmikeb

New Member
Nov 15, 2022
27
Asheville NC
The technician is here. He started the fire and said he can't find anything wrong but he's been letting it breath and letting the flu get good and hot. He also did not have the cat fully engaged and the issue starts after the fire settles.

I can already see where this is going.

Also states I need a firm coal bed before I should shut the door.
 

bmikeb

New Member
Nov 15, 2022
27
Asheville NC
The tech came out. He agreed that there was leakage from the left portion of the door. In addition to that, said he was perplexed by the dirty door window, dispite runninng on high, and the left side of the fire box having uneven / lack of airflow.

He stated he was going to talk to his team and take the next steps with contacting Blaze King.

@BKVP I will put a single washer in the door and try that out sometime this week. BTW, this consistently seems to have little to NO SMOKE SMELL, when the coals are to the rear of the fire box, during the last 3-5 hours of the fire.

That's all I have for now. Again, thank you everyone here for all your help and suggestions. I truly appreciate it.
 

BKVP

Minister of Fire
The tech came out. He agreed that there was leakage from the left portion of the door. In addition to that, said he was perplexed by the dirty door window, dispite runninng on high, and the left side of the fire box having uneven / lack of airflow.

He stated he was going to talk to his team and take the next steps with contacting Blaze King.

@BKVP I will put a single washer in the door and try that out sometime this week. BTW, this consistently seems to have little to NO SMOKE SMELL, when the coals are to the rear of the fire box, during the last 3-5 hours of the fire.

That's all I have for now. Again, thank you everyone here for all your help and suggestions. I truly appreciate it.
You can always PM or email me to get this addressed.

BKVP