2014-2015 Blaze King Performance thread (Everything BK)#2

[ambull01]

lol, never heard chicken necker until I met someone from Baltimore and I've been on the Lower Shore all my life. I live in Berlin. You?
This winter has been average, I feel. We rarely get in the single digits here, and if we do, it's normally only for a couple hours in the morning. Teens aren't that common either, maybe 20 nights in the winter will be in the teens. Mostly 20 degree temps or above. Last winter was an exception; we had hardly shrubs and trees die here from the excessive cold. JANUARY 30 WAS -2.5 in the morning, which I don't EVER remember having negative temps in my lifetime here, but hey, I'm on 29.
Rarely do I have to start a fire. Only if I let the fire go out to clean the ash out do I have to restart it and even then, I usually push the red coals off to the side and use them to relight.

Well it may be a western eastern shore thing then lol. Nice, you're real close to OC then. I'm in Centreville. I absolutely LOVE the ES so far.

Yeah I think we've only had a few days of single digits here with the wind chill. Not that bad at all. If I can just figure out how to keep the skeeters and ticks off of me during the summer/fall I'll be in heaven.

I know I'm a guy and I have a USMC avatar but my mother in-law made us a little basket worth of firestarters which I can only describe as cute. They were made with cup cake paper things, a slim candle inside the cup cake wrap, and a pine cone attached to the candle. There were probably 20-30 of them in the basket. Wife's grandparents gave us 2 boxes of Fatwood and 4 boxes of those triangle shaped starters. We've already gone through all the fatwood and triangle thingies since getting them in December.

A lot of varibles go into this since houses/weather vary so much.
I'm heating just shy of 2k 1980 construction in Michigan with a Princess Ultra and load the stove twice a day when it's cold. Single digits cold or colder it's usually two full loads a day, when it warms a little I usually load full in the am and adjust the overnight load as needed so I don't end up with too much left over wood in the morning. 30's for overnight lows and 40's for daytime highs one load a day usually gets it done if I'm using good wood.(not chunks and uglies)

I'm starting to hate all of you BK owners. Ya'll have it so easy.

 

[bobdog2o02]

I'm starting to hate all of you BK owners. Ya'll have it so easy.

Yup, they're great.

 

[Rossco]

Positive pressure is the only way to defeat the dredded leaky / drafty home syndrome.

My trick is to bring in make up air from outside, allow the fans to pull that air over the stove. Once you get momentum combined with Stack effect the drafts cease.

 

[ambull01]

Positive pressure is the only way to defeat the dredded leaky / drafty home syndrome.
My trick is to bring in make up air from outside, allow the fans to pull that air over the stove. Once you get momentum combined with Stack effect the drafts cease

You're talking about an OAK right? I was thinking about putting one in then read this:

http://woodheat.org/the-outdoor-air-myth-exposed.html

 

[Rossco]

You're talking about an OAK right? I was thinking about putting one in then read this:

http://woodheat.org/the-outdoor-air-myth-exposed.html

Read that article carefully and try to ignore most of it.

No I mean an out side air feed to the back of the stove. Not connected to anything inside. An OAK prevents the stove from consuming inside air but doesn't help to regulate inside / outside pressure differential. With an air feed it allows the home to breath in and out with ambient pressure and also supplies air for combustion.

If you can set it up correctly it will infact slightly pressurize the house which is ideal.

I grabbed that pic from wood heat, this is how my set up works except the cold air coming in is forced over the hot stove.

 

[ambull01]

Read that article carefully and try to ignore most of it.

No I mean an out side air feed to the back of the stove. Not connected to anything inside. An OAK prevents the stove from consuming inside air but doesn't help to regulate inside / outside pressure differential. With an air feed it allows the home to breath in and out with ambient pressure and also supplies air for combustion.

If you can set it up correctly it will infact slightly pressurize the house which is ideal.

I grabbed that pic from wood heat, this is how my set up works except the cold air coming in is forced over the hot stove.

I think they call what you have an OAK too.

 

[Dieselhead]

I think I've used a fire starter 2 times since end of sept? The stove holds coals forever. If I'm away for a day I load it up and throw some scrap kiln dried whatever I have in my kindling bucket just to help get it going a little faster. Compared to my old stove I'd go through several packages of fire starter blocks per season

 

[Oldman47]

An air exchange system for a typical home, whether or nor burning wood, should have a pair of fans and a heat recovery heat exchanger. Both fans run together with one exhausting and the other supplying air. The heat recovery heat exchanger has the exhaust air heat being recovered by air flow in the opposite direction. The idea is to get rid of "unhealthy" air with a minimal loss of heating or cooling energy. A tight house can be so tight that you need to worry about interior air quality without the air exchange system. No air leaks means that things like VOCs build up in the interior air.

 

[ambull01]

I think I've used a fire starter 2 times since end of sept? The stove holds coals forever. If I'm away for a day I load it up and throw some scrap kiln dried whatever I have in my kindling bucket just to help get it going a little faster. Compared to my old stove I'd go through several packages of fire starter blocks per season

Not funny.

 

[Rossco]

Well it's 25C in here at the moment.

The air in my home is exchanging, air is drawn in the basement and pushed out of the living area. This is better than cold air entering the living area due to negative pressure In the basement.

My home is far from airtight and far from 21st century insulation standards.

Edit: The original question about BK heating a drafty house? Well the stove produces heat just like any other but the constant heat out put as opposed to up and downs provides more consistent temps. You really need to balance pressure inside and out or the drafts will remain.

 

[Dieselhead]

Not funny.

True story though! It makes it tough to clean out ash because there is always coals left in the stove that radiate off heat and send the ash flying. The ash pan on the ultra has been a lifesaver when it comes to dealing with a clean out

 

[bobdog2o02]

True story though! It makes it tough to clean out ash because there is always coals left in the stove that radiate off heat and send the ash flying. The ash pan on the ultra has been a lifesaver when it comes to dealing with a clean out

My stove is in a utility room. I hate the ash pan and ended up cutting the loop of of the plug to make iteasier to shovel out.

 

[ambull01]

True story though! It makes it tough to clean out ash because there is always coals left in the stove that radiate off heat and send the ash flying. The ash pan on the ultra has been a lifesaver when it comes to dealing with a clean out

Man you like to rub it in lol. Are all BK stoves really only top vent? I'm looking at their website and don't see anything.

 

[bobdog2o02]

Oak makes the biggest chunks that hold together. I burned some oak that was not as dry as it should have been, and that worked really well. I had some shagbark that was decent. Never burned any locust. Soft maple and ash broke up into really small pieces.

This was all from my Hotblast furnace. Never pulled coals out of my BK.

I made hickory charcoal using your method today. Way easier than I thought.

 

[ambull01]

Also, I was totally wrong. The BK King Classic and Ultra don't look that bad. I actually really like the looks of the King Classic they have on their brochure. Flue size is massive though. I have to measure my chimney flue to see if it will even fit.

 

[jeff_t]

My stove is in a utility room. I hate the ash pan and ended up cutting the loop of of the plug to make iteasier to shovel out.

I've been tempted to bring my 110v welder in and close it permanently. I seem to knock the plug loose while shoveling ashes. Not a big deal, as it seals back up in a day or two, but it seems like I end up with an air leak on those days when I don't need a lot of heat. I can't snuff out the flames, and end up with a hot house.

 

[Rossco]

My stove is in a utility room. I hate the ash pan and ended up cutting the loop of of the plug to make iteasier to shovel out.

Good idea. I haven't used the Ash pan either. Prefer to shovel ash out although we are not plagued with excessive ash.

Cut the loop off you say? That's going on the summer 'To do' list.

Aesthetics? I personally like the look of the BK industrial looking units (K & P) even the ones with legs. My preference is the Ultra with Convection deck thou.

 

[bobdog2o02]

I've been tempted to bring my 110v welder in and close it permanently. I seem to knock the plug loose while shoveling ashes. Not a big deal, as it seals back up in a day or two, but it seems like I end up with an air leak on those days when I don't need a lot of heat. I can't snuff out the flames, and end up with a hot house.

I like the weld it shut idea, I just have no use for it. Seems like more hassle than help.

 

[jeff_t]

Also, I was totally wrong. The BK King Classic and Ultra don't look that bad. I actually really like the looks of the King Classic they have on their brochure. Flue size is massive though. I have to measure my chimney flue to see if it will even fit.

I had never seen a classic in person until I got a used stove for my sister. That one is on tile that is flush with the carpeting. It doesn't look bad, but it would be much easier to deal with if it was elevated 10-12". Thought about swapping.

I'm quite happy with my ultra on 2x4+plywood+cement board+tile.

If you haven't seen one in person, you really can't call it ugly. It's a gigantic honkin' steel stove. Certainly not pretty, but not ugly either.

And yes, they're all top vent.

 

[jeff_t]

I like the weld it shut idea, I just have no use for it. Seems like more hassle than help.

The ash pan is bigger than it looks. I used it once, and it's not that bad. I'd still rather shovel.

I've seen poorer designs,

 

[bobdog2o02]

The ash pan is bigger than it looks. I used it once, and it's not that bad. I'd still rather shovel.

I've seen poorer designs,

For me its the size of the plug, when I clear ashes there are often coals. 2-3 inches of the combined mess. Its too much work to herd the stuff down the hole. I just shove it all to the back with a home made tool then shovel into the bucket. Its usually a whole pail worth when I do it once a month.

 

[Highbeam]

For me its the size of the plug, when I clear ashes there are often coals. 2-3 inches of the combined mess. Its too much work to herd the stuff down the hole. I just shove it all to the back with a home made tool then shovel into the bucket. Its usually a whole pail worth when I do it once a month.

Do you guys experience much of a burning penalty when you clean her out? I clean all ashes out and the dang stove seems to run just the same but when I do that with a non-cat it's hard to get the firebox hot.

 

[bobdog2o02]

Do you guys experience much of a burning penalty when you clean her out? I clean all ashes out and the dang stove seems to run just the same but when I do that with a non-cat it's hard to get the firebox hot.

More kindling

 

[JA600L]

So... are you guys getting over 16 hour burns in the coldest parts of the winter? I mean like 20 degrees and below. Just curious.

 

[Rossco]

So... are you guys getting over 16 hour burns in the coldest parts of the winter? I mean like 20 degrees and below. Just curious.

I could get any number I like below 24hrs. Depends on Thermo setting. 1.5 is ideal Shoulder season or 5 to -5C and yields the longest burns.

When it's real cold -20C and beyond it can run 6-8hrs in the 'Norm' setting, I could add maybe 2hrs to that but like HOT reloads. Load her up, watch it light off like a blast furnace and close her down.