New ashford 30.2 installed this summer have a few questions!

[Cburke]

Hello everyone. I have been a member for a while just lurking though. I recently got rid of my non cat wood stove and upgraded to a bk asford 30.2. Haven’t been able to run it too much here in pa because it’s been rather warm. But I have had a handful of fires. Overall love the stove big learning curve switching to a cat stove. Few questions. I have been getting small amount of smoke smell about 6 hours or so into my burn at a fairly low setting. Don’t smell it on when first starting the fire. Is this normal due to it being in the 40s to high 30s at night and mid 50s day time, or do I have one of those strange ashfords that have smell issues. I was inspecting the door and I’ll post some pictures of the hinge area seems a little off to me as the pin looks smashed up a bit and some washers and bolts don’t really match up. I had the stove professionally installed it’s a straight run of double wall pipe probably about 16ft high. Any way. The smell seems to come from the upper left hand corner of the door. The wood I have on hand for burning right now is 4 year old America. Beech stored off the ground in a well ventilated wood shed. Here’s some hinge pictures and stove pipe set up. Thanks for the help!

 

[Tron]

You can do the "Dollar test" if you think your door isn't tight all around.

 

[stoveliker]

The other thread has been moved to the BK forum with the same question.
I suggest to remove this one @begreen ? (you moved the other one)

 

[Woody Stover]

It looks like the knife-edge on the stove isn't hitting in the center of the gasket in that corner, possibly because the hinge got moved.
I've never seen a door hinge bolted on. Anyone know if that's only done on BKs, or also on some other plate-steel stoves?
Was the stove "professionally installed" by the dealer you bought it from? I'd contact the dealer since either it was defective from the plant, it could have gotten bumped in shipping, or their installer messed it up.
In any event, someone besides you should be responsible for making it right. You could try to move the hinge back to where it was, as indicated by the washer mark, but that would be a last resort if you can't get satisfaction otherwise.

 

[Cburke]

Yes the installer

It looks like the knife-edge on the stove isn't hitting in the center of the gasket in that corner, possibly because the hinge got moved.
I've never seen a door hinge bolted on. Anyone know if that's only done on BKs, or also on some other plate-steel stoves?
Was the stove "professionally installed" by the dealer you bought it from? I'd contact the dealer since either it was defective from the plant, it could have gotten bumped in shipping, or their installer messed it up.
In any event, someone besides you should be responsible for making it right. You could try to move the hinge back to where it was, as indicated by the washer mark, but that would be a last resort if you can't get satisfaction otherwise.

yea I thought it was weird. I'm a mechanic by trade so I noticed it right away. Installer is contracted by the dealer. Installer did my last stove and all my services and has always been very good to me. Also I was there for the whole install I didn’t see him do anything funny with the door

 

[stoveliker]

To me the knife edge impression in the gasked seems perfectly centered...? Both from the impression location and the color (brown up to that impression, gray outside of that).

 

[Cburke]

Yea i was a little put off by the door being bolted on as well wondering if anyone has a new model year ashford on here

 

[Woody Stover]

To me the knife edge impression in the gasked seems perfectly centered...? Both from the impression location and the color (brown up to that impression, gray outside of that).

Looking more, the impression does seem centered well in the vertical section to the corner. Now, on the horizontal section of gasket near the corner (first pic,) the gasket is black all the way across, and creo is deposited on the window and frame, so that may be where the smoke is escaping. Maybe not when draft is strong enough to suck air in, but on those 40* nights when draft is weaker. Harder to tell if the gasket is centered there.
If OP ends up trying to fix this himself, maybe loosen the bolt and move the hinge back to the original washer mark, then re-gasket the door, bunching the gasket slightly where the black section is, so it will press harder against the knife-edge there.

 

[Cburke]

I think I might try to adjust the door tension it does seem that the latch has become much easier to cinch down after an about 6 fires. So maybe the gasket tension was marginal? Hopefully we get some cooler weather soon but it doesn’t look like I’ll be burning anytime in the new two weeks here in pa. If that doesn’t help I’ll call the installer/dealer and have them sort it out.

 

[moresnow]

Where are you setting the stat knob on your "fairly low setting"?

 

[Cburke]

I’d say about 1/8th to a 1/4 above absolute minimum I’m still learning a cat stove coming from an epa non cat style. I don’t have a flue temp probe maybe that would be a good idea?

 

[Tron]

I don’t have a flue temp probe maybe that would be a good idea?

That's always a good idea and the analog/mechanical ones are not very expensive.
I mostly use mine to prevent overfiring on startup.

 

[stoveliker]

Looking more, the impression does seem centered well in the vertical section to the corner. Now, on the horizontal section of gasket near the corner (first pic,) the gasket is black all the way across, and creo is deposited on the window and frame, so that may be where the smoke is escaping. Maybe not when draft is strong enough to suck air in, but on those 40* nights when draft is weaker. Harder to tell if the gasket is centered there.
If OP ends up trying to fix this himself, maybe loosen the bolt and move the hinge back to the original washer mark, then re-gasket the door, bunching the gasket slightly where the black section is, so it will press harder against the knife-edge there.

It's hard to see; I had the impression that the outer rim at the bottom of the gasket was not coated, but you may be right. Better pic would be needed imo.

The (bottom) corners of the glass being coated is quite standard in a BK - though you're right that if it leaks that will result in (more) coating. I do note that running at 1/8 of the thermostat in this (not very cold) weather may be part of the cause; at 16 ft draft in warmer weather may not be great.

Still, I've found the (few and far in between) cases of smoke smell from BKs always hard to deal with. Tough to truly figure out what's going wrong.

 

[Cburke]

It's hard to see; I had the impression that the outer rim at the bottom of the gasket was not coated, but you may be right. Better pic would be needed imo.

The (bottom) corners of the glass being coated is quite standard in a BK - though you're right that if it leaks that will result in (more) coating. I do note that running at 1/8 of the thermostat in this (not very cold) weather may be part of the cause; at 16 ft draft in warmer weather may not be great.

Still, I've found the (few and far in between) cases of smoke smell from BKs always hard to deal with. Tough to truly figure out what's going wrong.

Yes. I will experiment of the next few months and see what we get. It could possibly be a mid adjusted door. Maybe I’ll bring it to the installers attention see if he has any thought he does a lot of blaze king service in my area.

 

[Cburke]

I was planning on messing with the door this weekend. Is there any harm in moving the door back to where it looked like it was without re-gasketing the door after moving it?

 

[Highbeam]

I was planning on messing with the door this weekend. Is there any harm in moving the door back to where it looked like it was without re-gasketing the door after moving it?

Seems like moving the door might also upset the alignment of the cast panels. You're a mechanic so it's like adjusting a car door hinge so that the rubber gasket seals better but then the panel gaps look dumb or hit.

 

[Cburke]

Seems like moving the door might also upset the alignment of the cast panels. You're a mechanic so it's like adjusting a car door hinge so that the rubber gasket seals better but then the panel gaps look dumb or hit.

Yep very familiar with it just didn’t know if that knife edge was only a one time seal once it’s been imprinted into the gasket.

 

[stoveliker]

The gasket will adjust to a new position, especially if the gasket is still as young as yours.
Over a long time it'll get compressed more and eventually loses its ability to seal because of less flexibility and "springiness".

 

[Cburke]

Ok, my impatience got the best of me tonight. Got the kids to bed early and took the top and sides off the stove to inspect. First point of interest failed the dollar bill test on the handle side at the top and a few places near the handle. Hinge side tight as could be. Thought I was smelling smoke on the hinge side but who knows smells travel. So I than moved on the returning the hinge bracket that 100 percent moved in shipping from factory to the dealer, or dealer to my house. The witness marks from the staked nut showed it had been slid over. So I re adjusted that door. (Not a fun task by the way) got it all lined back up adjusted the door tension by sliding the hinge catch backwards and dollar bill test is now tight all the way around. Next step need some cold weather so I can test it out! Thanks for all your input I truly appreciate it. I’ll keep ya posted on my next burn.

 

[Woody Stover]

got it all lined back up adjusted the door tension by sliding the hinge catch backwards and dollar bill test is now tight all the way around.

Sounds promising! 👆

 

[moresnow]

I’d say about 1/8th to a 1/4 above absolute minimum I’m still learning a cat stove coming from an epa non cat style. I don’t have a flue temp probe maybe that would be a good idea?

Understand you're in the BK/cat stove learning curve yet.
You have confirmed my guess that you are likely using a low set point that is far below what the venting/setup/stove can utilize.
On your next loads try slow reductions on the stat knob until you find the point that just eliminates active fire.
Consider this a reference point to work off of. Marking that location on the backing plate behind the knob can be a place you know reproduces a hot burn witout flame. Something to start with on fine tuning your required adjustment range.
The entire sweep area on the stat adjustment knob will be reduced to a very small portion of what's available when you get your required setting locations ironed out.
This confuses almost all new BK owners. Normal.

Wide open on start up and reloads. As directed per manual.
Stepped reduction to a point that satisfies your heat need and doesn't snuff the burn cycle to far (stinky jerky smell).
Good luck. Enjoy learning the setup.

 

[Cburke]

Understand you're in the BK/cat stove learning curve yet.
You have confirmed my guess that you are likely using a low set point that is far below what the venting/setup/stove can utilize.
On your next loads try slow reductions on the stat knob until you find the point that just eliminates active fire.
Consider this a reference point to work off of. Marking that location on the backing plate behind the knob can be a place you know reproduces a hot burn witout flame. Something to start with on fine tuning your required adjustment range.
The entire sweep area on the stat adjustment knob will be reduced to a very small portion of what's available when you get your required setting locations ironed out.
This confuses almost all new BK owners. Normal.

Wide open on start up and reloads. As directed per manual.
Stepped reduction to a point that satisfies your heat need and doesn't snuff the burn cycle to far (stinky jerky smell).
Good luck. Enjoy learning the setup.

Yes i did notice the stat is super sensitive. The allure of the 30 hour burn is what gets me and I am always in the back of my mind if I turn it lower I’ll get that 30 hour burn. But need to ditch that mindset and just burn for comfort. I’m sure it’ll be a whole winter of learning. Marginal temps have not been helping either. This sucker delivers some heat! The heat out put is night and day difference compared to the melt your face for a few hours than cold cycle of my old stove.!

 

[Woody Stover]

Door gasket instructions (in manuals that I have read, anyway) say that you should be able to pull a slip of paper out, but that enough resistance should be felt so that it curls the slip of paper.

 

[stoveliker]

Regarding the marking of the thermostat, this position (any position) where you just snuff out the active fire will unfortunately vary based on outside temps (and in second order other weather parameters).

When you go too low on the Tstat, your cat may drop out of the active zone when you still have significant fuel left. Do keep an eye on the cat gauge for that. You need to keep it active until you have a few coals left (for me it drops out about when I have a volume of coals left dispersed in the ashes that equates to about 1/3 of a split or less).

So, dial down NOT to get your 30 hours, but dial down to the heat output you need. This'll be a learning curve because the Tstat does not tell you "68 F in the room" or "71 F in the room", but is regularing the heat output rather than the room temperature. And it's that setting that provides you with the right heat output (for the weather at the time...) that you need to be able to estimate.
That'll take a bit of time.

I dial down in steps. The drier your wood, the quicker you can do so. 20% wood is best done in 30 minutes or so (say 4 or 5 steps down in that time) imo, if you start from a nice complete blaze, that is. If you have 14% wood (measured in the inside), it can be done much quicker.
And even then, this will depend on the draft of your system, so weather, and flue height - the latter may be different from my case.

Burn a lot this winter (if you have dry enough wood; it sucks learning a BK with wood that's too wet), so that you get a good feel for it.

 

[Cburke]

Great explanation there thank you! I guess it sounds like I’m really just going to have to fiddle with the stove find my sweet spot for the draft and go from there. Shoulder season with this stove has been a challenge compared to my last tube stove but I’ll get it! If I could only keep the glass clean lol(I know it will be dirty). My wood is plenty dry I’m on 4 year old American beech this year test a few splits early this fall and I’m ranging anywhere from 12-14percent on a clean split face. I can literally light this stuff with a match no kindling or fire starter and it takes off. I’ve got 4 year old red oak waiting when the beech runs out. I didn’t burn a ton last winter it was very mild here.