My new combustor came with the gasket already taped.
Blaze King Ashford 30 owners
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My new combustor came with the gasket already taped.
They come pre taped. Just pop it in the hole.
I did forget to mention that you’ll want to let the old one cool off.
Ashful
Minister of Fire
I agree, some extra cat gasket would be good to have, but let’s not forget some cat manufacturers are saying you don’t need them at all. This is wrong, per BKVP, but it does indicate to me that one could get away with this in a pinch for a few days. Of course, the EPA prevents him from endorsing this.
On the annual combustor cleaning, this has been an issue for me, but it seems I’m in a pretty small minority on this issue. I can only recall one other user experiencing something similar. It might not be a bad practice in general, and it’s a great way to clean the chamber if you clean the flue up thru the bypass, but I’d still challenge the necessity of stocking the gasket for emergencies.
When it comes to emergencies, for my stove, I think the only thing one needs is a fresh, unopened tube of high temp RTV and some gasket cement. That will help you stick back down either of the two gaskets on this stove, which will get you by just fine until you can order another and do a replacement at your convenience. A combustor can be pulled, and either set back in place without a gasket, or jammed in with a piece of rope gasket, in a pinch. Not ideal, but you’ll be warm, until the issue is addressed more fastidiously.
SCOTT S.
Burning Hunk
I have a Ashford 30... (in my house) and a Regency F3500 in my workshop. They're both excellent stoves and I have to admit that I'm hooked on catalytics. I had a Boston 1700 insert for a short while until I removed the fireplace altogether, got my money back from the dealer (partially) and got the Regency as a replacement.
Likes and Dislikes :
1. BK Ashford : no dislikes whatsoever! I dial it down in my house (open concept 1300 sqft main floor) at night just enough to let propane furnace kick in a couple times during the night to cycle it and heat the lower floor. I'm in northern Ontario and temps go down -20C (4F) to -40C(-40F) in January. Set a 1.5 and full of well seasoned birch or tamarack, it keeps on heating comfortably for 12 to 16 hours before i have to refill on a full bed of coals. At -40, i set it a bit higher and refill every 10-14 hrs. Chimney cleans are once a year and mostly just a check as the chimney is shiny clean. Hope it lasts. CAT stays on forever
Love that stove. 2. F3500 : I got this stove a little earlier than the BK and thought it was the best. Runs great and heats a bit more at the lowest setting. The stove doesn't retain heat as much and radiates more (no cast iron). It heats my shop which is 24x32 with 11ft high ceilings... decent insulation - big garage door and 6 windows. I refill it 3 times; once in the morning, around 3pm and 10 pm. I could do with twice a day and would have no problems. Chimney sweeps are in the spring about 4 to 6 handfuls of flue dust to fine creosote. The chimney cap needs a little cleaning. I don't like that job because of the tin roof but I do it with safety ropes. IMHO, the stove design could be improved in a couple of areas :
- it has a secondary burn tube just beneath the catalyst and I think it would be more effective a little ways back
- more insulation (i.e. cast iron, soapstone, etc.) to keep internal temperatures higher and keep CAT engaged longer
- better airwash design ... the removable baffle on inside top window loosens easily and I have to be careful when reloading not to unhook it from the hand-tightened bolts (as per instructed not to ratchet)
I still like the F3500 but would not hesitate to swap it for an Ashford. Not sure if other BK products are as good as that model. P.S. I burn a mixture of jackpine, birch, poplar and tamarack (no maple or oak around here). The cats burn these species very long and i feel I can squeeze out a lot of heat out of "cheap" wood. They are manufactured out in the western provinces where coniferous trees are just about the only thing available ... convenient.
Last comment : Before the F3500 in my workshop, I had a Sedore 2000 stove for about 4 years and did not have success at all with that stove. It was a beast with lots of rave reviews and at first everything seemed ok but turned out very disappointing. Must have been user error as I never did get good burns and went through a lot of wood in a season.
Thanks.
BK Ashford burner here. Fairbanks, Alaska. Been burning dry birch for about a dozen years. I had the smoke smell issue from the beginning. Seems to emerge from the latch side of the door, though I need to remove the top and see if that is indeed where it comes from. Here are my pedestrian observations, which I see echoed by some other commenters: The smoke smell only happens at warm temps (>20F; less draft?), and often when I engage the secondary burn too soon. It might be solved with a tighter gasket, but given that others are experiencing the same issue, might not. The other issue I've had with this stove is that when I turn the damper to about 4pm, I hear a click that sounds like it closes entirely, and it behaves that way. This is also when the smoke smell emerges. I'm curious if there shouldn't be more range in the damper control (as implied with the dial), and if perhaps that ultra-closed-down air flow isn't triggering the smoke smell. Overall, this is an amazing stove and I am generally able to operate it in such a way to avoid the smoke smell. But I confess that it might annoy the heck out of someone else, because it can be finicky.
Check to make sure that the stove's knife-edge is centered on the door gasket. If not, it should be aligned. Also, BK had a replacement door gasket that has solved this issue for some.
Regarding the closing at 4 pm, you do have more range. The point is that it's not a damper. It's a bimetal coil thermostat. If it closes at 4 pm then your stove is quite hot. Leave it there and when it has sufficiently cooled down,.the coil will open the flapper a bit.
What you do is set a heat output, and if the current output is much higher then you'll close it completely. Once the output goes down, it'll open up to keep it at the output level you had set it.
If you set it at 3.30, it'll close, until the output reaches that lower level and it'll open up a bit then.
What you do is set a heat output, and if the current output is much higher then you'll close it completely. Once the output goes down, it'll open up to keep it at the output level you had set it.
If you set it at 3.30, it'll close, until the output reaches that lower level and it'll open up a bit then.
True about the 'damper' not being an actual damper, but a thermostat. I'll adjust my expectations accordingly. Thanks!
Thanks for your quick response. I have checked the gasket and found it to be slightly misaligned on the right side, which you alluded to. I'll try replacing it.
Ashful
Minister of Fire
Ahhh... the Ashford smoke smell issue! I've actually gotten a smoke smell from mine, a few times now. Each time I discovered it was due to some wood swarf (bark chips, saw chips, etc.) getting caught in that no-man's space between the firebox lip and the ash drawer. Debris falls into there, and gets cooked, and it's like having a stove-sized Rauchermann.
I'm sure that doesn't explain every case of anyone experience smoke smell from an Ashford. But based on my own experience, I'd bet it explains a few of them.
I'm sure that doesn't explain every case of anyone experience smoke smell from an Ashford. But based on my own experience, I'd bet it explains a few of them.
