2014-2015 Blaze King Performance thread (Everything BK)

[tarzan]

It will probably bother me now until I adjust it. Until then....

I guess I should have left well enough alone. Over torqued the Allen head set screw and broke my knob.
O'l well, guess I'll install the new one to stop at 6 o'clock when it gets here.

 

[Woody Stover]

Yep you heated the wood up more and therefore more gas's were released. I have have seen that happen here.
After awhile though you will run out of gas though..lol.

Yep, and with slightly damp wood it may have been going out. A little more air got it burning again. He'll have to watch it with the damp wood. He will think he has the air set right, then the wood will dry out some and the load will take off. Thermostat should counter that though to some degree, correct?

 

[HotCoals]

Yep, and with slightly damp wood it may have been going out. A little more air got it burning again. He'll have to watch it with the damp wood. He will think he has the air set right, then the wood will dry out some and the load will take off. Thermostat should counter that though to some degree, correct?

I would sat yes as long as the t-stat is somewhere in the normal range.

 

[Stump shot]

Hey, now this is interesting. I kicked the thermostat up to 2.5 and the wood began to ignite. So I took it back down to 2, where it had been all day. Now it's 9:20 pm, a full 12 hours after I started the burn, and it's humming away just fine. For some reason, kicking it up and then lowing it back down smoothed out the burn when the cat was beginning (after 10 hours) to crash. Looks like the stove could go several more hours without a reload.

It's not going to be a 24 burn this time. But we're still way over 12 hours, even with damp fir.

I need to do the same thing sometimes too. The wood I'm burning is around 9% MC so it isn't a wood problem. My thought would be it's the daily change in draft that effects it the most during the shoulder season.

 

[Parallax]

Thanks for the feedback. So many variables in this wood burning.

 

[Ricky8443]

Can anyone elaborate on the Blazeking Princess's Insert's ability to heat without a working fan during a power outage? I have a backup generator, but still curious to know what percentage of its ability to heat will be compromised during an outage. thx

 

[rdust]

Can anyone elaborate on the Blazeking Princess's Insert's ability to heat without a working fan during a power outage? I have a backup generator, but still curious to know what percentage of its ability to heat will be compromised during an outage. thx

Most inserts don't heat well without the fans. I would think you'd have to remove the surround during a power outage for the best results.

 

[Ricky8443]

agreed, just curious to know if anyone has tried this or has experience considering the large amount of exposed stove surface associated with this insert compared to others.

 

[webby3650]

I don't think you will benefit much at all by removing the panels on a princess. It's completely shrouded and will not throw much heat at all.

 

[liquidskin]

Hey Folks,

I'm new here and new to wood burning in general. It's my first winter in my house which I bought in May, here in Hunterdon County, NJ. I was lucky enough to buy a house with 2 stoves. The house is a bi-level and the stove downstairs is a BK Princess insert. The one upstairs is a less sophisticated The Earth Stove. Prior owner told me the BK is used primarily and then the Earth Stove for when its REALLY cold. Told me the oil furnace hasnt been used in years.

I am working from home today, so had some time to get the BK going from a cold start. I woke up to my living room being a chilly 57 degrees at 7:30 AM. I got a few small splits fired up and loaded the stove shortly after 7:30. I didnt get it 100% full, but it was a fairly large load of wood. A few minutes of good fire and i flipped the bypass and set the thermostat to the half way mark. Put the fans on low and went to work.

As of 2:30, the cat is just about out of the active zone according to the thermometer. The upstairs living room is 61 degrees, a 4 degree improvement. There's very little left in the stove:

I guess i was hoping for a longer burn time, as I leave the house 6AM and dont return till 7PM on weekdays. This was only about 7 hours. Is this typical for the insert?

 

[HotCoals]

The t stat might have been set just a little to high and too much heat might have went up the flue. Try just a little lower setting.

 

[liquidskin]

The t stat might have been set just a little to high and too much heat might have went up the flue. Try just a little lower setting.

ok thanks, let me re-load and try again.. will report back..

 

[Ricky8443]

Hey Folks,

I'm new here and new to wood burning in general. It's my first winter in my house which I bought in May, here in Hunterdon County, NJ. I was lucky enough to buy a house with 2 stoves. The house is a bi-level and the stove downstairs is a BK Princess insert. The one upstairs is a less sophisticated The Earth Stove. Prior owner told me the BK is used primarily and then the Earth Stove for when its REALLY cold. Told me the oil furnace hasnt been used in years.

I am working from home today, so had some time to get the BK going from a cold start. I woke up to my living room being a chilly 57 degrees at 7:30 AM. I got a few small splits fired up and loaded the stove shortly after 7:30. I didnt get it 100% full, but it was a fairly large load of wood. A few minutes of good fire and i flipped the bypass and set the thermostat to the half way mark. Put the fans on low and went to work.

As of 2:30, the cat is just about out of the active zone according to the thermometer. The upstairs living room is 61 degrees, a 4 degree improvement. There's very little left in the stove:

I guess i was hoping for a longer burn time, as I leave the house 6AM and dont return till 7PM on weekdays. This was only about 7 hours. Is this typical for the insert?

What type of wood? Seasoned how long? I've been getting very short burn times as well with a brand new stove insert.

 

[liquidskin]

What type of wood? Seasoned how long? I've been getting very short burn times as well with a brand new stove insert.

im cutting it a bit close with the seasoning, yet i do understand how important this is. i closed on the house in may, got 4 cords in june. not ideal, but couldnt have done more. its hardwood, dont really know what kind.

 

[NinjaTech]

Can anyone elaborate on the Blazeking Princess's Insert's ability to heat without a working fan during a power outage? I have a backup generator, but still curious to know what percentage of its ability to heat will be compromised during an outage. thx

I have been running mine without the fans so far this year. With the fans on this time of year it roasts you out of the house. (30s at night 50s day) also helps extend burn times a little. Doing half loads twice a day. Saving the fans for the single digit days.

 

[Ricky8443]

I have been running mine without the fans so far this year. With the fans on this time of year it roasts you out of the house. (30s at night 50s day) also helps extend burn times a little. Doing half loads twice a day. Saving the fans for the single digit days.

good to hear that there is some level of heating capacity without fans for the princess insert, thanks!

 

[liquidskin]

when turning the thermostat down, is it okay that i hear the "click" or does that mean i've gone too far?

 

[rdust]

when turning the thermostat down, is it okay that i hear the "click" or does that mean i've gone too far?

The click you hear is most likely when the t-stat flapper reaches full closed. For example mine "clicks" at 1 on a stone cold stove, when my stove is warmed up after a 20-30 burn in it clicks right around 1 3/4. 1 3/4 is where I set mine most of the time.

 

[Rossco]

Well it's here. Winter!

Gonna drop to a low of -24C or -12F on Monday. (So say the Weather Network)

We will see how this BK handles that! She's gonna be pulling a decent draft.

 

[Highbeam]

Did my second weekly burn out this morning with a full load of fuel. The stat works very well on my stove and is very obviously responsive unlike some others. Maybe my chimney's draft puts the stat in the proper operating range. The stat set at 3, stove temps climbed to 575 and leveled off. This week a lot less blue smoke was being spewed during the hour long burnout. Perhaps there is a benefit. I like the idea of the flue getting a blast of heat occasionally too.

The cat meter does indicate past the top of the active line though. That's four white ticks. Is that what happens with your cats during high output?

 

[tarzan]

I never pegged my thermometer on the half load, but close. Woody Stovers pics of the two Condar probe thermometers on pg. 20 of this thread does make me wonder what temps we are seeing though.

Did they change something about the coil or just the temps on the face? Quite a difference in the old vs new past 1,000f.

 

[Parallax]

My cat probe never goes past the top of the active range. Close to the top, the t-stat seems to kick in.

 

[tarzan]

Did my second burn out fire. Was going to wait for colder weather but was anxious to see how the stove would handle it on a full load and then Highbeams post made me decide to go ahead and do it.

Stove loaded (to the gills) with <15% maple.
15 minutes after closing bypass Rutland thermometer on stove top right above cat read 525f and cat probe was at third tick with intermittent smoke.

30 minutes into burn, Rutland thermometer showed 650f, cat probe was at 1/4 past 3rd tick, steady but light blue smoke.

45 minutes in, Rutland thermometer showing 750! Cat probe was about 1/2 past third tick. Steady smoke but clearing.

1 hour in, Rutland thermometer back down to 725f, cat probe very close to fourth tick but not quite there. I would say 4/5 past the third tick. Smoke very light.

Thermostat closed about a quarter inch every 15 minutes through the burn. Once I reach the one hour mark and turned the T-stat down it fully closed at around 1.8.

This was my second time doing the burn out fire and first time with a full load. Very different and I would say favorable results with the full.load vs half.

 

[Parallax]

Remember the problem I was having with Doug fir from my woodshed, cut this past winter. It was working alright. But yesterday I got a call from someone who was giving away some old wood they're not using. So I went to their place and worked hard to get some very large logs down a huge hill. This is about half of it.

The wood is dry inside (like 17%, pretty consistently). But at the surface it's wet. Quite wet. We've had a lot of rain the last few weeks and some of the pieces have a bit of rot at the edges, allowing water to penetrate. So burning still requires an effort to dry it out near the beginning of each cycle. But once it gets going, it goes good.

 

[tarzan]

Remember the problem I was having with Doug fir from my woodshed, cut this past winter. It was working alright. But yesterday I got a call from someone who was giving away some old wood they're not using. So I went to their place and worked hard to get some very large logs down a huge hill. This is about half of it.

The wood is dry inside (like 17%, pretty consistently). But at the surface it's wet. Quite wet. We've had a lot of rain the last few weeks and some of the pieces have a bit of rot at the edges, allowing water to penetrate. So burning still requires an effort to dry it out near the beginning of each cycle. But once it gets going, it goes good.

View attachment 143776

I've had/have some wood like that. If I store it under cover the wind dries it quick. Don't know if the same would be true in your area.