BK Ashford 30 Input

[CaptainMauw]

We've been running on an old VC Dutchwest 2462 which has been great but is due for a complete rebuild (cracks in the top webbing, warped side door, etc etc). I will overhaul it, but it will be relegated to the main barn as we choose the next stove to heat the old farm house for the next 30 years. The house is small (1200ish sq. ft.) but it is an 1800's farm house so I plan to stay in the same size/BTU range as wood is our primary heat. I will also now never own a primary stove that isn't a cat stove.

I am pretty well settled on Blaze King and after visiting our local dealer the wife prefers the looks of Ashford 30. For me it is a toss-up between the Ashford and the Princess, with the princess seeming to be most peoples preferred via my research. Literally not a single bad word toward the princess, but some have had issues with the Ashford.

I have done a tremendous amount of reading and am worried about the flue. We currently have an 8" flue piped to our Dutchwest. It is a single story house and the flue is between 15 and 17 feet, but will 8" be considered oversized? I can add to it and make it taller if needed, but one can only pipe outside doublewall to a point before flue gasses cool too much. I cannot find a solid answer on this. Additionally, with the cast iron exterior of the Ashford, is it possible to cook on the top like I currently can with our Dutchwest? The BK dealer indicated that cooking may be possible and a flue reducer at the ceiling (running 6" to the stove, 8" to the flue top) would be fine, but I would love to see some real world input from others with the Ashford. Additionally, are those of you with the Ashford still experiencing the smoke smell problems?

 

[moresnow]

The Princess would be my choice if you have intentions of cooking. The Princess reliability is bulletproof. The Ashford..... Not so much although most issues are vent related in my opinion.
Have you considered replacing the 8 inch with correct 6 inch for either BK? Nothing more frustrating than a poor performing brand new stove that's hooked to incorrectly sized/functioning venting. Mostly when its rather late in the season to remedy it. Is the stove pipe/chimney pipe straight up and out? Hopefully. Any 90's are a real hindrance with these stoves in my opinion.
I run a Sirocco at my place. Incredible performance. I've installed two Princess units in close neighbor's homes. They have been very happy. One has a straight up and out vent system. Perfection. The other has a through wall setup. Somewhat finicky at startup with smoke rollout etc.
Any BK or other brand new model stove will be very intolerant of wet wood, Hard to emphasize the importance of 20% or less moisture content to make these stoves sing!
If you have any questions just ask. Enjoy the BK they are really something.

 

[CaptainMauw]

The flue is straight up thru the roof without any turns. I am not above replacing the 8", but downsizing from 8" to 6" is not as easy as upsizing from 6" to 8." I would love to use what is already here, but not if it is going to cause problems.

The issues that you speak to on the Ashford, is it serious reliability issues? To my understanding the Sirocco/Chinook/Ashford are all the exact same fire box just with different exterior packaging, so if there is an issue with one, there should be with all. Venting problems are all dependent upon the environment 99% of the time, unless there is something specific on the Ashford that leads to problems.

No concern with wood. There's 3-4 years processed and drying at any point in time in the corn crib I converted and we've been burning for a while now.

 

[moresnow]

The corn crib works good for a buddy of mine as well.
The Ashford issue is likely a rather mute concern. There have been a handful of users report creo smell/stink that they have had trouble isolating.
I can induce that smell with my setup by not letting a fresh batch bake on high long enough. It can also show up by turning down the air to far. Not really a stove issue as much as a user issue in my case. Guessing there are others who have done the same.
Something to know with any BK install is that the usable range on the thermostat/air delivery knob is much less than the available range of motion. Each install dictates how much of the range applies to your stove. Tough one for folks to wrap there heads around at first. Totally draft related. My range is from the 6pm location (wide open), back down to the 3pm location most of the time. In some weather I can run lower than 3 due to extreme cold or wind. Common sense to me but still a operation function that needs to be explained often to new users.
Another tough one to explain is that these stoves are truly batch burners. fill it to the brim, bake the load well and turn it as low as needed for required heat output. No continuous tending a few splits at a time. Defeats the design/purpose of the stove. And tough on the Cat.

 

[CaptainMauw]

Another tough one to explain is that these stoves are truly batch burners. fill it to the brim, bake the load well and turn it as low as needed for required heat output. No continuous tending a few splits at a time. Defeats the design/purpose of the stove. And tough on the Cat.

Good to know. This is how I have had to tend the old VC Dutchwest to keep it operational and throwing heat, particularly in the bitter cold with high winds (I am on the plains of the upper Midwest). Toss a few chunks in every 3ish hours to keep her ripping hard.

Theoretically speaking, the King 40 "could" fit and be used instead of the Princess or Ashford. Its already on 8" flue collar and its spec'd out roughly the same as the old Dutchwest 2462 but with a larger fire box. Despite being spec'd similarly, I would be worried that it could be too much stove though with the heating technology that is significantly better than the old VC.

VC Dutchwest 2462
55,000 Btu/hr max
10,500 - 27,700 Btu/hr range

BK King 40
57,000 Btu/hr max
14,314 - 47,809 Btu/hr range

 

[moresnow]

The only worry I would have on the King is physical size. It's flat out large! The heat output can be regulated so well it really only means you have much, much longer times between tending/loading. During mild weather I can get 20+ hrs on a load. At the very coldest time of the year it is rare to be under 12hr reloads. I am using the small 20 series stove. Have you checked locally for current BK users? May be worth looking for a local opinion. Perhaps.

 

[CaptainMauw]

I have not yet found anyone in the area that is BK owner. My neighbor and I are some of the very few to heat with wood, and he and most are all on wood boilers. We are one of the only on true wood stove heat.

The King is not much larger than the Dutchwest 2462, just much deeper. We have a large brick hearth pad however and the current stove is set nearly 15" off the back wall as per its requirements. The back standoff of the King is only 6" so it will effectively have the same footprint and only take up the empty space behind the current stove. It would certainly look larger however, beyond a shadow of a doubt.

 

[bkvp]

The corn crib works good for a buddy of mine as well.
The Ashford issue is likely a rather mute concern. There have been a handful of users report creo smell/stink that they have had trouble isolating.
I can induce that smell with my setup by not letting a fresh batch bake on high long enough. It can also show up by turning down the air to far. Not really a stove issue as much as a user issue in my case. Guessing there are others who have done the same.
Something to know with any BK install is that the usable range on the thermostat/air delivery knob is much less than the available range of motion. Each install dictates how much of the range applies to your stove. Tough one for folks to wrap there heads around at first. Totally draft related. My range is from the 6pm location (wide open), back down to the 3pm location most of the time. In some weather I can run lower than 3 due to extreme cold or wind. Common sense to me but still a operation function that needs to be explained often to new users.
Another tough one to explain is that these stoves are truly batch burners. fill it to the brim, bake the load well and turn it as low as needed for required heat output. No continuous tending a few splits at a time. Defeats the design/purpose of the stove. And tough on the Cat.

The range of motion issue was resolved with a new thermostat stop for both high and low on new models beginning earlier this year. No one even noticed! If the OP's stack is 15'+, I would be inclined to run the KE40.

As to the Ashford issues, you may have noticed those that had a slight smell are mostly, as you pointed out, a insufficient draft issue. We've had no new complaints on this in the past 2 seasons.

 

[CaptainMauw]

Update:

After a few weeks of thinking and planning, we have settled on going with the King. We already have the 8" flue to which I can add the necessary 2-3' to the top for optimal flue length if needed. There really is no sense in downsizing a flue, especially given that we will plan to redo and add onto the old farm house sometime in the future. Additionally, the old Dutchwest will throw some heat (granted, it is beyond outclassed by the king) but even then, when the true cold spikes hit (-20F and lower with wind) it simply doesn't have enough power to keep the house above 60F. The whole point of the BK is the ability to throttle so low which the DW cannot do, so assuming smaller fires when its only 30, the King shouldn't heat us out of the house like some stove stores have tried to tell me. Maybe in an airtight new construction house, but not an 1880s farmhouse.

Kind of like chainsaws and trucks, you never wish you had smaller, you always wish you had bigger. Using that thought process, I am confident in the King for our use, despite being a small house.

And as to BK, I have called and spoken to them a few times now covering several questions and inquiries and they have hands down fantastic customer service.