2012-2013 Blaze King Performance Thread(everything BK)

[Seasoned Oak]

IM starting to think i get a long a burn times as you king owners.I could be wrong but im see similar burn times as you guys are posting with my harman 300TL. I sometime load the stove only once a day in 30-35 degree outside temps.I dont have to start a cold stove unless i go into the 2nd day before reloading. Not too bad for a downdraft reburn NON cat stove .Of course i dont see anywhere near these kind of burn times with my NC-30 englander that i use at a different location, even though its about the same size firebox.

 

[Highbeam]

IM starting to think i get a long a burn times as you king owners.I could be wrong but im see similar burn times as you guys are posting with my harman 300TL. I sometime load the stove only once a day

That's great for a non-cat. Your performance does not approach the 40 hours from a king but you are right there with the many of us that get 30 hours from a princess. Long burn times are the best, doing it with a non-cat is rare.

 

[Todd]

It was -8 the other morning and I noticed for the first time that my usuall setting at 1.5-1.7 for a 24 hour burn has to be adjusted down a tad. Almost had to break out some kindling to get things going again but found enough coals buried in the ash to get the next load going.

 

[weatherguy]

It actually screwed me up a little! I loaded at 6:30pm and knew it was gonna be cold so I loaded full! I usually load at 7am and have my wife burn it hot for a couple hours in the morning before I get up. Well she didn't turn the stove up at all this morning since the family room was plenty warm. I had to break up the wood the best I could, by the time I loaded the coal bed was up to the bottom of the door level front to back. I hate loading on a 4" plus coal bed but you have to do what you have to do.

I had to do that this morning too, loaded up last night since it was so cold and it screwed up my timing, I burned the coals down this afternoon so now Im back on schedule now, supposed to be 5 overnight.

 

[HotCoals]

My King doesn't have a hole in the flapper, my neighbor's Princess does. Not sure why the Princess is different.

The hole is not in the flopper..it's below it..so if the t-stat has the flopper closed it still gets a minimal amount of air through that hole..but it now comes from the bottom of the middle tube instead of the air coming up the side tubes..past a open flooppper.
And then either way it goes into the stove between two slots that are in between the flopper and the hole below it.
Kinda hard to explain unless you're looking at it all.
Nice sled!

 

[Seasoned Oak]

That's great for a non-cat. Your performance does not approach the 40 hours from a king but you are right there with the many of us that get 30 hours from a princess. Long burn times are the best, doing it with a non-cat is rare.

40 hours WOW Thats phenomenal.DO all cat stoves get that kind of burn time. or just the BK?

 

[rdust]

40 hours WOW Thats phenomenal.DO all cat stoves get that kind of burn time. or just the BK?

The BKK has a 4+ cubic foot belly so it has a large gas tank.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

The BKK has a 4+ cubic foot belly so it has a large gas tank.

OK that explains it. My harman has a 3 Cu Ft Capacity. If it were 4+ im sure it would do close to 40 hours as iv done close to 30 already. SO whats the BTU per hour rating of the BK stove.
I find myself wishing i could turn my stove down lower most of the time,i guess thats were the CAT stove shines is in the ability to dial the burn down low and stretch out the hours.

 

[Beetle-Kill]

OK that explains it. My harman has a 3 Cu Ft Capacity. If it were 4+ im sure it would do close to 40 hours as iv done close to 30 already. SO whats the BTU per hour rating of the BK stove.
I find myself wishing i could turn my stove down lower most of the time,i guess thats were the CAT stove shines is in the ability to dial the burn down low and stretch out the hours.

I've gotta believe the wood plays a huge factor, as far as usable heat.
For me, I could dial down the stove and have heat for 40hrs. Burning Pine. In June.- But in January, I'm going 8-12 hours between full loads. Dec., Jan., and Feb.- I'm burning as much wood as anyone. March-June, it goes back to the 24hr burns, but it depends on weather. Sept. to Dec. I can go 30 at first, but really, I load every 24 hrs.
Or less. This is not the stoves fault, but my funky home layout and inferior insulation. Working on that.

 

[Skidooer]

Does anyone run their princess with a damper in the flue? I remember seeing pics of one being removed from a twin princess to mine and would like some info on how well it worked. I have a 7 inch dia. pipe by 20- 25 feet double wall insulated selkirk thru the middle of the house. Then necked down to 6 inch leading to 2 x 45s spaced out for max flow down into my stove. My problem is i cant run this thing past 1.5 or it trys to overfire and overheat my flue. Like i can only run it with the damper completely shut or it takes off and il have an infirno. Tonight i set the thermo just under '2', and after half hour/ hour my Cat was at 5oclock closing in on 6, and my flu was at 800deg plus and not coming down with a roaring fire. Thats with the blowers not running. And it will stay this way all night long. And when i go down in the AM i find a pile of dormant coals 2 inches high above the door and a lukewarm stovetop. After only 8 hrs or so... Iv been told its drawing too hard but with the thermo shut its pulling .07 at a very low setting. As soon as it opens she takes off on me, making me think its overdrafting thus the damper. Iv already tightened my door and bypass.
Im having no luck with BK service in BC (Canada) and my dealer is being a knob. I would really really appreciate some info and HELP as im ready to pull the plug and put my ol Smoke dragon back into servie. Thanks

 

[tobaccogrower]

Does anyone run their princess with a damper in the flue? I remember seeing pics of one being removed from a twin princess to mine and would like some info on how well it worked. I have a 7 inch dia. pipe by 20- 25 feet double wall insulated selkirk thru the middle of the house. Then necked down to 6 inch leading to 2 x 45s spaced out for max flow down into my stove. My problem is i cant run this thing past 1.5 or it trys to overfire and overheat my flue. Like i can only run it with the damper completely shut or it takes off and il have an infirno. Tonight i set the thermo just under '2', and after half hour/ hour my Cat was at 5oclock closing in on 6, and my flu was at 800deg plus and not coming down with a roaring fire. Thats with the blowers not running. And it will stay this way all night long. And when i go down in the AM i find a pile of dormant coals 2 inches high above the door and a lukewarm stovetop. After only 8 hrs or so... Iv been told its drawing too hard but with the thermo shut its pulling .07 at a very low setting. As soon as it opens she takes off on me, making me think its overdrafting thus the damper. Iv already tightened my door and bypass.
Im having no luck with BK service in BC (Canada) and my dealer is being a knob. I would really really appreciate some info and HELP as im ready to pull the plug and put my ol Smoke dragon back into servie. Thanks

sounds like you have a bad thermostat. have you taken the top cover off and actually watched to see if it closes the air off? i'm no expert on bk's but i'm sure a few of them will be able to help you out better. i dont think its a draft problem, but a problem with the stove itself.

 

[jeff_t]

Your chimney doesn't sound excessive. Are you sure the thermostat is working right? There was an issue a few years ago. Was your stove built in 2012?

I have called the Walla Walla facility several times and always found out what I wanted to know. Or you could pm BKVP.

 

[Todd]

Does anyone run their princess with a damper in the flue? I remember seeing pics of one being removed from a twin princess to mine and would like some info on how well it worked. I have a 7 inch dia. pipe by 20- 25 feet double wall insulated selkirk thru the middle of the house. Then necked down to 6 inch leading to 2 x 45s spaced out for max flow down into my stove. My problem is i cant run this thing past 1.5 or it trys to overfire and overheat my flue. Like i can only run it with the damper completely shut or it takes off and il have an infirno. Tonight i set the thermo just under '2', and after half hour/ hour my Cat was at 5oclock closing in on 6, and my flu was at 800deg plus and not coming down with a roaring fire. Thats with the blowers not running. And it will stay this way all night long. And when i go down in the AM i find a pile of dormant coals 2 inches high above the door and a lukewarm stovetop. After only 8 hrs or so... Iv been told its drawing too hard but with the thermo shut its pulling .07 at a very low setting. As soon as it opens she takes off on me, making me think its overdrafting thus the damper. Iv already tightened my door and bypass.
Im having no luck with BK service in BC (Canada) and my dealer is being a knob. I would really really appreciate some info and HELP as im ready to pull the plug and put my ol Smoke dragon back into servie. Thanks

Since the weather has gotten colder I will see the same as you with a setting around 2. I've had to tweak down my settings as the weather has gotten colder. Is the stove not heating your home at lower settings.

 

[nellraq]

Does anyone run their princess with a damper in the flue? I remember seeing pics of one being removed from a twin princess to mine and would like some info on how well it worked. I have a 7 inch dia. pipe by 20- 25 feet double wall insulated selkirk thru the middle of the house. Then necked down to 6 inch leading to 2 x 45s spaced out for max flow down into my stove. My problem is i cant run this thing past 1.5 or it trys to overfire and overheat my flue. Like i can only run it with the damper completely shut or it takes off and il have an infirno. Tonight i set the thermo just under '2', and after half hour/ hour my Cat was at 5oclock closing in on 6, and my flu was at 800deg plus and not coming down with a roaring fire. Thats with the blowers not running. And it will stay this way all night long. And when i go down in the AM i find a pile of dormant coals 2 inches high above the door and a lukewarm stovetop. After only 8 hrs or so... Iv been told its drawing too hard but with the thermo shut its pulling .07 at a very low setting. As soon as it opens she takes off on me, making me think its overdrafting thus the damper. Iv already tightened my door and bypass.
Im having no luck with BK service in BC (Canada) and my dealer is being a knob. I would really really appreciate some info and HELP as im ready to pull the plug and put my ol Smoke dragon back into servie. Thanks

I have the BK Chinook. At the advice of BK Service at the BC manufacturing plant, I installed a damper. I have 6" pipe from stove to chimney top. The damper was installed to slow the fire so that the combuster had more time to "eat the smoke". It helped a bit, but now that I realize that all BK's smoke on startup/reload, I don't use the damper much any more.
It does slow the fire down quite a bit; and may help your situation. It's worth a try - cheap ($6 at Cdn Tire) and easy to install.
I have closed the damper at the same time as I close the bypass--and leave the damper closed for the duration of the burn. Just experimenting to see if I get longer burns and/or more heat. Result --no significant difference - I get 24+hour burns either way, and the stove top ends up at 250+/- either way as well.

 

[Highbeam]

Since the weather has gotten colder I will see the same as you with a setting around 2. I've had to tweak down my settings as the weather has gotten colder. Is the stove not heating your home at lower settings.

Exactly. Why are you running it at 2 and then complaining about burn time and hot flue. That's what happens when this stove is run at #2. A slight bump to 1.75 or even 1.5 should reduce the output significantly. Pull flue temps down too. This thing doesn't need a flame to make heat.

Do check your stat though. I will often use the #2 setting to heat up a cold house and once the stove is up to temp, the stat closes and the flames die away mostly. There is obvious satifaction of the thermostat. Still, the stove is being asked to make major mojo and will consume wood at such a high setting.

My entire range of operation seems to be 1.5 to 2.0 on this stove.

 

[Highbeam]

I had a damper in my flue above the princess. Only installed it because I had it and needed the appliance adapter. I removed it and replaced the section with a non-damper appliance adapter. I noticed no difference in performance but I eliminated the leaks from the damper shaft and also I can now sweep the chimney into the stove.

The BK princess only gets air from a controllable butterfly. The amount of stuff flying up your chimney is controlled by how much air you allow into your firebox. Since the minimum stat setting still provides a 3/8" hole for air to enter the stove, your flue damper would have to elminate the entire flue down to a 3/8" hole to be very effective. That won't happen. My point is that with such good control of the intake, such low amounts of flow through the stove, control of the exhaust is unnecessary.

Note that most times, very little volume of smoke and heat leaves the top of the stack. Non-cats send way more air up the pipe for dilution and secondary combustion.

On a non-cat stove, you have wild and huge amounts of secondary air entering the firebox uncontrolled. A pipe damper here makes up for the lack of control built into the non-cat technology.

 

[jeff_t]

The BK princess only gets air from a controllable butterfly. The amount of stuff flying up your chimney is controlled by how much air you allow into your firebox. Since the minimum stat setting still provides a 3/8" hole for air to enter the stove, your flue damper would have to elminate the entire flue down to a 3/8" hole to be very effective. That won't happen. My point is that with such good control of the intake, such low amounts of flow through the stove, control of the exhaust is unnecessary.

That's a darn good point. Air in=air out.

Not sure if the 7" pipe plays a role, but I doubt it. The only thing the manual specifies is that it be a minimum of 6" diameter, or 28.25 sq in.

My sister's King has 26'+ straight up, no elbows, and it works perfectly. Not enough draft I can see being an issue, I think it would take a lot to be too much.

 

[HotCoals]

Does anyone run their princess with a damper in the flue? I remember seeing pics of one being removed from a twin princess to mine and would like some info on how well it worked. I have a 7 inch dia. pipe by 20- 25 feet double wall insulated selkirk thru the middle of the house. Then necked down to 6 inch leading to 2 x 45s spaced out for max flow down into my stove. My problem is i cant run this thing past 1.5 or it trys to overfire and overheat my flue. Like i can only run it with the damper completely shut or it takes off and il have an infirno. Tonight i set the thermo just under '2', and after half hour/ hour my Cat was at 5oclock closing in on 6, and my flu was at 800deg plus and not coming down with a roaring fire. Thats with the blowers not running. And it will stay this way all night long. And when i go down in the AM i find a pile of dormant coals 2 inches high above the door and a lukewarm stovetop. After only 8 hrs or so... Iv been told its drawing too hard but with the thermo shut its pulling .07 at a very low setting. As soon as it opens she takes off on me, making me think its overdrafting thus the damper. Iv already tightened my door and bypass.
Im having no luck with BK service in BC (Canada) and my dealer is being a knob. I would really really appreciate some info and HELP as im ready to pull the plug and put my ol Smoke dragon back into servie. Thanks

If I read your post right you are using a barometric damper right now?
If you are get it off there!

Like was said take the cover off and watch the flopper when you turn the t-stat up and down.
The t-stat on a warm stove should be closed if turned down to 1.5 or under.
I don't think the Princess has numbers like the king..but anyways as you lower the t-stat the flopper should close..there were some that were wound backwards and I guess would open more as the stove got hotter!

 

[HotCoals]

Exactly. Why are you running it at 2 and then complaining about burn time and hot flue. That's what happens when this stove is run at #2. A slight bump to 1.75 or even 1.5 should reduce the output significantly. Pull flue temps down too. This thing doesn't need a flame to make heat.

Do check your stat though. I will often use the #2 setting to heat up a cold house and once the stove is up to temp, the stat closes and the flames die away mostly. There is obvious satifaction of the thermostat. Still, the stove is being asked to make major mojo and will consume wood at such a high setting.

My entire range of operation seems to be 1.5 to 2.0 on this stove.

Your post is spot on!
I just want him to check to be sure the t-stat is not wound wrong..you never know.

 

[Highbeam]

The princess stove has numbers, the insert is the oddball.

 

[Skidooer]

Hey guys, i called a reputable dealer/ installer in BC and explained my issues. He has a BK in his house so we were able to talk "apples to apples" kinda thing. Guy was great, i explained everything and he agreed that it sounds like it needs a damper. After he called BK head office, they both agreed this is what i need to try, as every other think he asked me to check iv alread done and more. I hope it will make a difference. Hes blaming my 7" pipe.
And the stove will not heat my house at 1.5 unless its +5 deg C outside. Last week it was - 30 deg C and we froze! As far as the settings go, why bother to put a 1, 2 or 3 or just give people the option of turning these stoves up if they wont take it? Its a wood stove for god sakes! If i cant turn it up a bit when Canadian winters hit hard then il buy something that will. My 30 year old Selkirk stove did it last year why shouldnt this

Heres a nice list of all iv done,
Changed the thermostat- no difference
Tighten up door and bypass- little difference
Checked ash plug- good
Checked my draw- .07, little bit high but was ok BK said
Checked and cleaned the pipes- No difference
Had the stove and pipes inspected by installer and dealer- no know issues
Checked the stove for cracks and pipes for leaks- no know issues
Tried all different settings, fans vs no fans, loading sequences, etc- no difference
Complain to the wife and turn up the propane funace as i rack my brain- constantly
Im sure il think of more later I really appreciate all the info you fellas are relaying thanks!

 

[Skidooer]

Oh, and when i run above 1.5 i notice a fair bit of smoke coming out the stack. Like as much as the old stove but without the haze and stink of the old stove.

 

[rdust]

Oh, and when i run above 1.5 i notice a fair bit of smoke coming out the stack. Like as much as the old stove but without the haze and stink of the old stove.

If it's cold outside a lot of times that's not smoke it's steam.

I still have a hard time thinking it's a draft issue since these stoves have a pretty positive shut down. Have you charted the stove top temps during the burn, I'd love to see what those are. If you're burning on "2" once the stove heats up the flames should go out. If you can't burn these stoves on their low settings and heat the space you want to heat you probably need a different stove. These stoves shine on low, I've never had to burn mine over the "n" in normal with the blowers running on low. Typically my setting is about 1 3/4, I regulate heat output by either running the blower or not. With that said we very rarely get lows below 0*F so I'd need to burn hotter I'm sure if I had -22*F on a regular basis.

Is the stove in the basement or main level?

 

[rdust]

And when i go down in the AM i find a pile of dormant coals 2 inches high above the door and a lukewarm stovetop. After only 8 hrs or so...

What is a lukewarm stovetop? Coals 2 inches above the door is a HUGE pile of coals that should have at least a 400* stove top.

 

[Skidooer]

My stove is in the basement. If i set it at 2 the stove never reaches temp for the thermostat to shut, not even close ( iv watched the flapper). It will be an infirno inside and 7 hours later its ashes and coals. Thats burning seasoned Elm and Ash. While i was talking to BK about it yesterday, i set it at 2 with a 1/4 of a load burning down. Within 10- 15 min my flew temp was over 700deg. Thats with not much wood in the box. I can set at 3 to re heat after i reload, and the 5 or 6 min it takes me to go refill the wood bin (old 3 cu ft grain bin works great) the flue temp will go from 450 to 850 with the Cat engaged! I took pics the other night, after stove was running 1 1/2 or 2 hours set at #2 - flue was 820 deg, Cat nearing 6 oclock and a crazy fire! Turned on the fans and went down a tiny bit. Pulled the thermo cover, was only open 3/16" approx. As soon as i crack that flapper open its instant infirno!