# Older blaze king?



## Isaac Carlson (Apr 17, 2022)

I have the opportunity to buy an older blaze king from the early 80's.  It's a ktj 302.  No baffle or air system, just a big stove.  It comes with about 9 feet of stainless pipe for $285.  I thought it would make a nice shop stove for my pole shed if I added a baffle and secondaries.

I was originally thinking of using a fuel barrel with a blower and tubes, like this one.  What do you guys think?  Should I use the barrel stove and still buy the blaze king just to have it?


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## begreen (Apr 17, 2022)

Nice shop that fellow has but he is sending a ton of heat up the flue. 700+ surface temp on the single-wall is like 1400º flue gas temp. The key damper is wide open when it should be closed to retain more heat in the stove.

You have the knowledge to update the BK smoke dragon into a reasonable secondary burner. Sounds like a good project if you have the time. Otherwise, consider a new 3 cu ft EPA value stove or a big used EPA stove in good condition.


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## Isaac Carlson (Apr 17, 2022)

What would the blaze king make for btu?  Just looking for a ballpark figure.

My shop is 40x80 and not yet insulated and no ceiling yet.


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## begreen (Apr 17, 2022)

It has a big belly so it's probably capable of 100,000 btus with your mods, but that's a guess. Doing that on a sustained basis could be rough on the paint. Mount a fan blowing across the top.


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## bholler (Apr 17, 2022)

Isaac Carlson said:


> What would the blaze king make for btu?  Just looking for a ballpark figure.
> 
> My shop is 40x80 and not yet insulated and no ceiling yet.


What is the shop used for?


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## Isaac Carlson (Apr 17, 2022)

bholler said:


> What is the shop used for?


I use it for everything.  Welding, auto repair, wood work, building boats, etc...


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## bholler (Apr 17, 2022)

Isaac Carlson said:


> I use it for everything.  Welding, auto repair, wood work, building boats, etc...


In that case you should know that having a solid fuel burner in it is a code violation and most likely will cause issues with insurance.  Many including myself choose to do it anyway.  But if anything happened I know insurance wouldn't pay.


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## Isaac Carlson (Apr 17, 2022)

Yeah, I know.  


bholler said:


> In that case you should know that having a solid fuel burner in it is a code violation and most likely will cause issues with insurance.  Many including myself choose to do it anyway.  But if anything happened I know insurance wouldn't pay.


I know.  But I live in the USA, so I'll heat it however I want.  😁


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## bholler (Apr 17, 2022)

Isaac Carlson said:


> Yeah, I know.
> 
> I know.  But I live in the USA, so I'll heat it however I want.  😁


But really it's only illegal in the USA.  

Like I said many make the decision to do it anyway knowing insurance won't cover a loss and that's fine.  I just want to be sure people know it.


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## Isaac Carlson (Apr 17, 2022)

bholler said:


> But really it's only illegal in the USA.



That's what you call bass-ackwards.


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## Isaac Carlson (Apr 17, 2022)

What do you think about the price?  What is an older blaze king worth?


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## bholler (Apr 17, 2022)

Isaac Carlson said:


> What do you think about the price?  What is an older blaze king worth?


With the pipe if it's insulated it's a very good price.  If not it's ok


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## Isaac Carlson (Apr 17, 2022)

bholler said:


> With the pipe if it's insulated it's a very good price.  If not it's ok


So the pipe is a good portion  of the price?


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## bholler (Apr 17, 2022)

Isaac Carlson said:


> So the pipe is a good portion  of the price?


If it is insulated chimney in good condition it's atleast half of not 3/4 of the value.


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## Isaac Carlson (Apr 18, 2022)

I asked...It's single wall pipe


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## bholler (Apr 18, 2022)

Isaac Carlson said:


> I asked...It's single wall pipe


Ok then still a decent price just not a great one


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## BKVP (Apr 18, 2022)

Isaac Carlson said:


> What do you think about the price?  What is an older blaze king worth?


You can buy them all day long for $75.00 in scrap yards.


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## DonTee (Oct 16, 2022)

I can appreciate the time and talent it took to make a stove Iike the barrel stove in the video, but personally I’d rather have an old smoke dragon. 

I have an old Timberline stove that is 40+ years old. Steel stove with firebricks. No glass in the door or other weakness. I would trust that thing to heat my shop more than a home made woodstove. I can almost guarantee the Timberline will still be serviceable in another 40 years. Some home made woodstove? Maybe not. 

Old woodstoves are so cheap that I don’t see any reason to ever build a barrel stove. I got my Timberline for free when a neighbor moved. And I’ve turned down two other stoves just like it.


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## Isaac Carlson (Oct 16, 2022)

You can't rip on homemade stoves any more than manufactured.  I have seen some piss poor stoves with bs marketing.  I have also seen some VERY nice homemade stoves.  Some big, some small.  One was HUGE and was designed to heat an enormous shop in -40 temps and burn whole pallets.


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## DonTee (Oct 16, 2022)

Maybe just the ones I saw were crappy. I’ve definitely seen some nice home made masonry fireplaces. Russian stove etc.

But also I can apprentice the time and skill it took to make the stove in the video. To me it’s not worth the time though. When there are used stoves will will heat the average size shop.

And I can’t weld that well. So there’s that


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## stoveliker (Oct 16, 2022)

Lol, yes we can rip home made stoves more than factory made ones. We live in the USA after all...

;-)

But I agree; one has to look at the case at hand. Just like with homes; privately built or commercially built.


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## BKVP (Oct 16, 2022)

The problem with even the most ingenious home crafted wood heaters....they lack safety labels with proof of having been tested.  In fact, that's how clearances are established. 

We get a few calls each year of shops, garages or homes that sustained partial or complete loss, only to be denied by the insurance provider, basis of the decision being lack of safety certification. 

And yes, it's the USA and some people don't have insurance or even care!


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## Isaac Carlson (Oct 17, 2022)

I reckon there's just as many fires from bought stoves as homemade, especially when people put them right up against wood or pipe them through plywood.  We grew up with a barrel stove in the basement.  It needed a LOT of room, but we were never cold.


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## BKVP (Oct 17, 2022)

It's not illegal by EPA's NSPS (Federal) for a consumer to build their own wood stove.  It is illegal to do so and sell them.  If you sell them without emissions testing and certification,  that is when real trouble can happen.

But as a homeowner, you can build your own.

City, County or State laws can also regulate which wood heaters may be operated.  In many communities with poor air quality, laws state "Must be EPA Approved ".  These communities usually are high density in population or geographically challenged (like a bowl) and have air stagnation.


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## bholler (Oct 17, 2022)

Isaac Carlson said:


> I reckon there's just as many fires from bought stoves as homemade, especially when people put them right up against wood or pipe them through plywood.  We grew up with a barrel stove in the basement.  It needed a LOT of room, but we were never cold.


There absolutely is nothing inherently unsafe about home made stoves.  If the person designing and building it knows what they are doing they can be perfectly safe and perform well.  But they can be hard to insure and they technically can't be installed because they aren't listed.   But in reality that code really isn't enforced in most areas


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## begreen (Oct 17, 2022)

bholler said:


> But in reality that code really isn't enforced in most areas


If it is a new, permitted installation in WA & OR (CA too?), then the code is definitely enforced. Only EPA phase 2 & 3 can get permitted.


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## bholler (Oct 17, 2022)

begreen said:


> If it is a new, permitted installation in WA & OR (CA too?), then the code is definitely enforced. Only EPA phase 2 & 3 can get permitted.


Yes absolutely


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