Doing "Self" install of blaze king ashford 30.1

[troy-pit]

I am considering doing the install of a blaze king myself. It seems like it would be a fairly easy install. The hardest part seems like just getting the stove to where it needs to be. Do these stove ship directly to a residence. If so is it possible to get the stove into the house considering there is only one step and it would be a first story install. I do not really have any friends or neighbors to help with the install so I would have to do this myself. Any thoughts?

 

[Heftiger]

No. I had 4 steps to go up and it took 3 guys and a stair climbing dolly. You have to work with your local dealer anyways, so ask them how much delivery would be.

 

[Poindexter]

Mine is on the second floor, took a grownup at the top of the dolly and two burly college aged men at the bottom of the dolly to get it up the steps. And that was with all the cast iron pieces off.

I think I paid $150 for the install, if one of the enameled pieces got scratched it would have been on the dealer. Money well spent in my book.

 

[drz1050]

Get some lifting straps and hire a kid from the local 7-11/ Wawa/ Stewart's to give you a hand getting it past that step. They're heavy, but 2 men + straps can move it. I've moved mine alone before, but didn't move it very far, and not up or down any steps.

Also put some cardboard or carpet scraps underneath each leg. Tape/ rubber band it to the leg- this will prevent scratches on your floor/ hearth.

 

[Woody Stover]

These work well but you need a helper. You can lift one side at a time and slip wood under the legs to jack it up. You definitely need another person if you are going to navigate any inclines using ramps, etc. http://www.harborfreight.com/18-in-x-12-14-in-1000-lb-capacity-hardwood-dolly-60497.html

 

[blueguy]

Rent an appliance dolly from your local rental house and move into place yourself after stripping all the removable items off. It's easier with a friend, but depending on your physical ability, can be done alone if moving it onto a ground floor location. My 5' nothing wife helped me move our Sirocco 30 up an outdoor flight of steps and down into the basement onto the hearth pad using this method.

BK does drop ship, at least they did a couple years back when I bought my stove.

 

[Highbeam]

I moved mine from the pallet in the bed of my F350, up one step and onto the hearth by myself. Moving big things takes a little bit of brawn but a whole lot of thought. A furniture dolly and scrap lumber is all I needed. Did it again this summer when I rebuilt the hearth. Lifted the stove 10" in the air all alone. Go slow and don't smash your hootus.

I did have a buddy come over and help with the shop stove since it was way up on an 18" hearth. We did it wheelbarrow style.

The sellers of BK stoves are often less full service dealerships and more hardware stores which actually might be a good thing. They likely have some young buck that can help.

 

[Heftiger]

I moved mine from the pallet in the bed of my F350, up one step and onto the hearth by myself. Moving big things takes a little bit of brawn but a whole lot of thought. A furniture dolly and scrap lumber is all I needed. Did it again this summer when I rebuilt the hearth. Lifted the stove 10" in the air all alone. Go slow and don't smash your hootus.

I did have a buddy come over and help with the shop stove since it was way up on an 18" hearth. We did it wheelbarrow style.

The sellers of BK stoves are often less full service dealerships and more hardware stores which actually might be a good thing. They likely have some young buck that can help.

Remember that these 2 stoves are lighter than the Ashford. The Ashford is the heaviest of the BK stoves. Although, we did not remove any cast iron except for the top. So you should be able to shed a bunch of weight by breaking it down for the move.

 

[Highbeam]

Remember that these 2 stoves are lighter than the Ashford. The Ashford is the heaviest of the BK stoves. Although, we did not remove any cast iron except for the top. So you should be able to shed a bunch of weight by breaking it down for the move.

Meh, slightly heavier. 400, 500, 600 whatever. You're not lifting it, you're moving it. My hearthstone was heavy too, easier to move than the tall BK.

 

[troy-pit]

Thanks for all the useful info. Seems like it is doable since all I got is one outdoor concrete step. Like has been said I will not be lifting but more sliding and rolling. Hopefully BK still delivers to a residence.

 

[kf6ha[]

My stove guys used a crank-up lift with forks. The forks rested on the ash drawer frame assembly. The ash pan drawer was rolled out and removed. Just pinch the little black "flags" on the roller bars as you withdraw it. They go in opposite directions. Just like a file cabinet drawer. You have to place metal washers in between the drawer assembly and the stove body to keep room collapsing. It is 500 pounds. You can scoot it about but you ca'nt pick it up.

 

[Rossco]

Meh. Me and a friend lifted my Princess off the pick up like nothing. Firebricks and all. The hardest part was figuring out how to remove it from the pallet.
Three of us with a sack truck then hauled it up 7 steps then down 15 into the basement. Most of the work was done by the dolly driver. Could be done alone, or atleast have the wife watch for contact.

Just make sure the entrance to the home and the path taken is actually big enough for the stove to pass.

 

[Highbeam]

Just make sure the entrance to the home and the path taken is actually big enough for the stove to pass.

That's funny, I have a skinny spot in a doorway and had to pass through it while the BK was in that skinny spot. My belt buckle drug across the front edge of the stove and created the one scratch that the stove has. Right in front! The 30 size BKs are actually pretty big with the big stat hump on the back and the ash lip in front.

 

[Heatsource]

My stove guys used a crank-up lift with forks. The forks rested on the ash drawer frame assembly. The ash pan drawer was rolled out and removed. Just pinch the little black "flags" on the roller bars as you withdraw it. They go in opposite directions. Just like a file cabinet drawer. You have to place metal washers in between the drawer assembly and the stove body to keep room collapsing. It is 500 pounds. You can scoot it about but you ca'nt pick it up.

thats the way we do it!

pretty difficult stove to move, fragile legs, pallet cradle to remove, etc.

 

[OhioBurner©]

I installed the Woodstock Ideal Steel by myself just a few weeks ago, and I'm a pretty skinny guy. Shipping pallet was marked over 700 lbs though I did strip a lot of weight off it (but left in all the soapstone liner inside the firebox). I got one of the steel mesh deck garden carts from tractor supply to move the thing with, worked pretty slick for the most part. The biggest thing is going up or down. I use pallets and ramps to ease all the transitions. Luckily I ended up not having to go up at all - that would be hard with just one person unless you got one of those powered stair climbing dolly things (think my local tool rental rented those out at around $80/day if memory serves).

I too have no local friends or neighbors to help, plus I am just stubborn and like to take care of my own stuff myself. Just be careful, it doesn't take much to strain your back, and I hear hernias aren't fun either. I only had one somewhat minor injury (I think) from the ordeal. I'm not entirely sure since I only noticed it a couple days later, but I appeared to strain a tendon or something in my left thumb. I still can use it mostly, but in the right position trying to grip a larger object I can feel a strain and sharp pain. I don't think it will be a big deal.

It was nice to do it all myself on the cheap. I built a simple brick and mortar hearth pad for probably $50, and only had to add a $15 or so tee to hook it up to my existing duraliner venting. The stove even shipped free to a nearby terminal which was only a couple miles out of my way from my drive home after work. The garden cart I bought cost a lot more than the whole rest of the install, but I'll of course be able to use it for many other things.

A couple action pics:
View attachment 170461 View attachment 170453 View attachment 170454 View attachment 170462

 

[Heftiger]

Looks like you had a 4-legged helper!

 

[tcassavaugh]

sometimes, depending on the carrier and the equipment they have, a drop ship can be moved to an area where you want it. talk with the driver as they will often move it for a few extra dollars. your best bet though is to get a young buck from the dealer/distributor, if you can, and have them put it where you are going to want it.

 

[troy-pit]

Sounds like blaze king does not ship directly to a residence. I have a work van but no pickup truck. I was thinking that the best thing to do is rent a truck with a lift to lower the stove down. Ohioburner how is the woodstock working for you.

 

[OhioBurner©]

Sounds like blaze king does not ship directly to a residence. I have a work van but no pickup truck. I was thinking that the best thing to do is rent a truck with a lift to lower the stove down. Ohioburner how is the woodstock working for you.

It has been so warm this winter that I've only run it maybe a weeks worth so far (only been in about a month, and also have the pellet burner going as more of a 'base load' heater) but so far I am really impressed and way better for my situation than my Jotul insert was (its probably double the burn time!). I can finally now still have the stove going when I get home from work 14hrs later. I really liked the thought of a BK for the long burns but had to have something that would horizontal vent.

Having the pick up truck helped for me, since starting off with it on the back of the truck it was only downward I needed to go. If you get it shipped or otherwise dropped off with liftgate and your starting at ground level will make things a bit more challenging. It's possible if I started at ground level I could perhaps have still done a self install if I could have rigged up ramps up to the porch and a winch in the door frame that pulled the unit up the ramp while I guided it. You just got to be really careful and sure of the rigging, since if something broke or went awry and the unit came back at you, one person is probably not enough to stop it (you can also add some safety harness of sorts that you shorten along the way, or some wedge block you move up as you go, but don't assume those will work perfectly either).

Looks like you had a 4-legged helper!

I wish! She was just supervising.
I'm not sure on my last post why those pics came up as links and not thumbnails.

 

[Highbeam]

Sounds like blaze king does not ship directly to a residence. I have a work van but no pickup truck. I was thinking that the best thing to do is rent a truck with a lift to lower the stove down. Ohioburner how is the woodstock working for you.

I just picked mine up at the dealer in Kitsap county. They forked it into the bed of my pickup. I used plain wooden motorcycle ramps to slide the pallet down onto my patio and then immediately up onto a furniture dolly from harbor freight.