2014-2015 Blaze King Performance thread (Everything BK)

[tarzan]

Yeah I don't understand chimney sweeping very much. The build up looked allot worse than it actually was. When I sent the brush up the chimney I hardly got and debris. Just some real real fine black powder, same with the
Thimble and DWSP.

I can re-describe the build up as 'Fluffy' if that helps.

EDIT: Poindexter: I have no idea what the rest of your post means ?

I had brown to gray looking dust with the tube stove and it is my understanding that this was fine and wouldn't burn. Black and crumbly is supposed to be bad and I wouldn't let it build up but I have known plenty who will let it build to the point they loose draft before cleaning. Black and shiny tar or liquid looking stuff is very bad. I learned my lesson with this stuff during a power outage in Dec. 09 and changed my burning habits drastically after that.

 

[Poindexter]

EDIT: Poindexter: I have no idea what the rest of your post means ?

HDD or Heating Degree Days is a way to put a number on a how cold it is over time. There are also CDD, cooling degree days, not a challenge I have to deal with. HVAC folks when choosing furnace sizes for one thing; also for useful for comparing climates.

We pretty much use +65dF in Fairbanks when talking about HDD, though some systems use +70dF. You could use any number really, thus the (base65) notation in my occasional posts on the matter.

So imagine your outdoor ambient temperature remains at exactly +65dF all day, 24 hours straight. On that single day you would accumulate zero HDD. Imagine your outdoor ambient temperature is +60dF all day and all night for an entire 30 day month. You would be accumulating 5 HDD each day, that is the furnace would have to raise the temperature inside the house 5 degrees (F), and keep it there all month. So 5 HDD daily *30 days would be a 150 HDD month. 31* 5 would be a 155 HDD month, and etc.

Thus repeating from above, I had 1620 (base 65) HDD in calendar November 2014. My trailing 30 year average in Fairbanks is 1860 HDD for November. In January of 2014 with the polar vortex down to visit, Minneapolis, MN recorded 1762 HDD. Calendar November 2014 Minneapolis, MN recorded 1179HDD.

Not sure how to convert metric system HDD to antique system HDD.

And I am still burning spruce almost exclusively, not into my birch yet.

I love this stove.

I should add: I got a "free" ton of bio-logs from the borough gov't this fall as part of an air quality initiative. I am burning them two at a time everytime I load the stove just to get them gone. I don't mind them as cordwood extenders, but I don't want to try to keep them dry over the summer. I bet a wet bio-log takes about forever to dry back out.

 

[Highbeam]

I should add: I got a "free" ton of bio-logs from the borough gov't this fall as part of an air quality initiative. I am burning them two at a time everytime I load the stove just to get them gone. I don't mind them as cordwood extenders, but I don't want to try to keep them dry over the summer.

I've been using them up two at a time also to try and get rid of them. They don't make such a smokey mess out of my chimney when mixed with actual cordwood.

 

[tarzan]

Highbeam, did you ever use the bio-logs in your tube stove? If so, how did that compare to burning them in the BK?

I've been using them up two at a time also to try and get rid of them. They don't make such a smokey mess out of my chimney when mixed with actual cordwood.

 

[Highbeam]

Highbeam, did you ever use the bio-logs in your tube stove? If so, how did that compare to burning them in the BK?

Yes. They burned cleaner in the non-cat. I only run three at a time in the non-cat since you really have very little control over heat output in a noncat but they worked just fine. No stack smoke after full ignition. They did the same slow start smoke thing but then took off and ran clean. A pretty long burn for the volume of biolog. In a non-cat, the biologs offer a reasonable alternative, as they burn similarly to cordwood.

 

[R'Lee]

Metric to antique system HDD (or vice versa); I will presume the same protocol and with your FINAL calculation; factor in the coefficient for the conversion?
It's not just furnace and AC people using this method; also those that sell propane and fuel oil as well in their "forecasting models" flagging them on when to order/deliver essential supplies.

 

[BKVP]

I decided to get a draft gauge, got a good deal on one and thought why not. Thought I would post a few pictures. Two months burning full time, and that's all the buildup in the pipe I don't think I will even bother sweeping it till next spring. The top of the pipe looks just as clean. I'm VERY happy with this stove. Gotta love catalysts!

Ninja Tech...you're hired! Taking pictures while the lathe is turning, you are a multitasker!

 

[NinjaTech]

Ninja Tech...you're hired! Taking pictures while the lathe is turning, you are a multitasker!

I'll PM you my address so you know where to send the paychecks!

 

[gregbesia]

Yep, PM me your address so I can send OSHA after you

 

[Rossco]

So then, pics. Notice how much wood has 'Gone up in smoke' since last Thursday.



The deck. Doesn't hit my CAT gauge.



So, I have burnt without the deck and noticed the fan's throw the heat real well, installed the deck and wasn't impressed at all.

Today it's a different story, now the stove is up to temp and the basement is cooking, the fans & deck combine to produce a jet stream of super heated air that can be felt allot further away than before.

 

[NinjaTech]

Yep, PM me your address so I can send OSHA after you

No OSHA in my houses garage! Nothing was actually cutting in the picture anyway, just had the spindle running to get the blur for the picture.

 

[gregbesia]

Nice equipment for a garage. How do you like that Princess ? You know, that insert is on my wish list. Too bad my wife is not too crazy about it.

 

[Rossco]

Nice equipment for a garage. How do you like that Princess ? You know, that insert is on my wish list. Too bad my wife is not too crazy about it.

You talking to me?

If so, the BK is in my Basement.

 

[gregbesia]

You talking to me?

If so, the BK is in my Basement.

No, sorry , I was asking Ninja. Although your set up is very nice, I have a fireplace and am looking at inserts.

 

[NinjaTech]

Love it! I do kind of wish there was a king version of the insert just to get longer burn times, maybe I'm just being to picky about having to load twice a day. I really couldn't be happier though, it's a great heater.

 

[tarzan]

So then, pics. Notice how much wood has 'Gone up in smoke' since last Thursday.



The deck. Doesn't hit my CAT gauge.



So, I have burnt without the deck and noticed the fan's throw the heat real well, installed the deck and wasn't impressed at all.

Today it's a different story, now the stove is up to temp and the basement is cooking, the fans & deck combine to produce a jet stream of super heated air that can be felt allot further away than before.

Looks good Rossco!

My old tube stove had a step top (similar to the convection deck) and a 400cfm blower. I could get the stove hot and crank up the rheostat for some quick heat.

I doubt I would benefit much from a convection deck on the Princess though as I havn't actually needed to even run the blower much witch is a little surprising because my old stove heated the house much better with the blower.

The BK just has more mass and a Wayyy longer burn time.

 

[Highbeam]

So then, pics. Notice how much wood has 'Gone up in smoke' since last Thursday.



The deck. Doesn't hit my CAT gauge.



So, I have burnt without the deck and noticed the fan's throw the heat real well, installed the deck and wasn't impressed at all.

Today it's a different story, now the stove is up to temp and the basement is cooking, the fans & deck combine to produce a jet stream of super heated air that can be felt allot further away than before.

So how did you mod the deck to allow the cat meter to work? I had to spin the dial 180.

 

[claybe]

Love it! I do kind of wish there was a king version of the insert just to get longer burn times, maybe I'm just being to picky about having to load twice a day. I really couldn't be happier though, it's a great heater.

Ninja I totally agree I love my insert but am contemplating cutting out the fire place to install a King Ultra eventually. Gregbesia you should definitely get one! Chris are you listening?!? Any chance of a king insert in the future???

 

[BKVP]

Ninja I totally agree I love my insert but am contemplating cutting out the fire place to install a King Ultra eventually. Gregbesia you should definitely get one! Chris are you listening?!? Any chance of a king insert in the future???

Dude, I'm watching Godfather III! No King insert this next year...but.......

 

[Rossco]

No, sorry , I was asking Ninja. Although your set up is very nice, I have a fireplace and am looking at inserts.

Ha Ha Ha well my basement does have an industrial feel about it.

Looks good Rossco!

My old tube stove had a step top (similar to the convection deck) and a 400cfm blower. I could get the stove hot and crank up the rheostat for some quick heat.

I doubt I would benefit much from a convection deck on the Princess though as I havn't actually needed to even run the blower much witch is a little surprising because my old stove heated the house much better with the blower.

The BK just has more mass and a Wayyy longer burn time.

Thanks buddy, you are lucky to not need the fans, proves you have a good heating set up there. I run the fans 100% of the time to help the air circulate better, if I had the BK in the living room we would be chased out of the place.

So how did you mod the deck to allow the cat meter to work? I had to spin the dial 180.

Easy, just bend the lower fin down a little so the CAT needle rides above it, in fact it worked without modification but safer than sorry.

 

[Niko]

King insert hmmmmmm..

 

[NinjaTech]

I'll just throw this out there.. If there does *happen* to be a King version of the insert on the drawing board.. You may want to hint to the designers to try to get it setup with a 6 inch pipe, not the 8 inch that the free standing one has. I bet there would be a lot of people that the 8 inch pipe would be a deal breaker since they couldn't get an insulated liner down their chimney. (I know there is no way I would be able to fit a 8 inch liner down mine without busing out all the terracotta tiles.

 

[Highbeam]

I'll just throw this out there.. If there does *happen* to be a King version of the insert on the drawing board.. You may want to hint to the designers to try to get it setup with a 6 inch pipe, not the 8 inch that the free standing one has. I bet there would be a lot of people that the 8 inch pipe would be a deal breaker since they couldn't get an insulated liner down their chimney. (I know there is no way I would be able to fit a 8 inch liner down mine without busing out all the terracotta tiles.

One of my best wood heating decisions ever was to demolish a masonry chimney and go freestander. It had a Lopi freedom insert and a liner too. Didn't cost much to demo, the new class A pipe was more expensive.

 

[NinjaTech]

I don't think that would be much of an option for me, at least not easily. My chimney has two flues, one for the fireplace that has the insert, the other flue is for the gas furnace and water heater. If I took the entire thing out I would have to run a new flue for those too, and that would be two stories worth of pipe + the one story of pipe for the stove. I do wish I had a free stander though, I hear stories of people cooking on top of them and really wish I could do that.

 

[gregbesia]

Ninja, maybe you have already posted that, if so I apologize, but how tall is your chimney, how many sq. ft. do you have and what kind of burns are you getting? Thanks.