2015-2016 Blaze King Performance thread (Everything BK)

[Ashful]

So need a little advice.. I currently have marginal draft on my Ashford 30.1. It's ok, but there's a good amount of smoke, and the cat has stalled with a load of envi blocks. Running 15'8 of pipe with 2 30s in the attic. Going to be adding a couple feet, but how much to add? Was going to put another 2' section on top, but not sure if a little 2' would really make a difference? Should I add 4' instead?

What was outside temp? I'm running one of mine on less pipe than that, with 100% oak fuel seasoned and stored outside, which is surely less dry than your eco blocks. What is your detailed start-up procedure?

 

[Highbeam]

Hello Blaze Kinger's . I have an 8 inch pipe on my old stove, so I am looking at the King model because I don't want the expense of changing the chimney.

However I am worried that the King might put out too much heat. The heat comes in handy when it is super cold and the power goes off, but as the stove is beside our dining/living area if it gets too hot when outside temperature is around the freezing mark we won't use it. (Which is the issue with our current stove that does not really damper down)

Blaze King state that the low BTU rate is 15, 475. I am wondering if I will have any success burning at a lower rate with a smaller fire or bigger damper.

We do live in soft wood country so that should help. Fir and hemlock mostly.

Also I am wondering about the fresh air kit. Will the stove burn hotter or cooler with the fresh air? I am probably looking for less performance. I am also thinking a blower is a good idea but have the same question with it.

The other option is to go with the 6 inch model and convert to my 8 inch pipe and see how that works. I have about 12 different opinions from 8 people on that issue.

Thanks!

The king is a big stove but it is not like a non-cat. You can turn it way down, size is not directly related to output like on a non-cat. Sometimes, during our mild falls or springs, even that low rate is too much so you build smaller fires and let them go out before starting a new one. I have to do that in my princess too. What results is a small swing in room temperature like 65-75 between firings. Such is the nature of wood heat in the shoulder season. With the BK you will be able to keep a constant fire going sooner in the fall than with any non-cat, that is due to the low output ability. It won't have to be freezing cold out to keep a fire going but probably sometime after the grass stops growing.

If I had the 8" flue, I would put in a king. I have seen them in very small mobile homes. Low output of 15000btu is really low.

 

[webby3650]

I've had a bunch of different stoves over the years. Some with grated floors, some with no ashpans and 2 with plugs in the floor. I much prefer the plug to the grated floor. I like being in control of ash removal. With the grated floor if you choose not to dump the pan it overflows. Making a huge mess when it comes time to dump it.

Ashpan door problems are probably our number 1 service call generator, and the number 1 killer of stoves. From a business standpoint I can certainly see why a manufacturer would use the plug style rather than relying on a door to seal up tightly. Latching that door and keeping the gasket tight is no big deal for us stove junkies, but that's not the case for most people.

 

[dh1989]

Count me in to the thread this year!

New BK Sirocco 20.1 owner here. Just installed today - professional install done by the local BK dealer. Have a look:
(broken link removed)
(broken link removed)

I was looking at the Sirocco/Ashford 30 but I needed something that would fit tight clearances with the stair landing. The stove is on an Ember King type 1 pad which is 10 gauge textured steel. I couldn't use a traditional raised pad for my application because of the landing. The stove sits in the center of the upstairs of my raised ranch. Stack height (chimney+double wall connector pipe) is about 14-15'. I think it looks pretty sharp. I have 3 cords of ~15% MC hardwood ready as well as a giant pile of kiln dried hardwood mill ends.

Looking forward to trying it out, but I can't complain about the 70F degree day we had today. Enjoying it while it lasts.

 

[Dieselhead]

Probably going to want to move that smoke detector!

 

[Poindexter]

I have never had any trouble with coaling. I use only hardwoods. Typically if you are having trouble with coals building up in the stove, it means you are asking too much from the stove. But, that's definitely understandable at -48! Dang!

You are the one with the hardwood experience.

I think the stove I picked is about perfect for my insulation envelope, my climate, my square footage etc, etc, etc. I run the stove just at night for a few weeks at the front end of the season, then on low 24/7 for a while, then medium 24/7 for a while, then on high 24/7 for a while, at the very coldest part of winter I some years shovel out hot coals to make way for new wood a time or two... Then as we head out of winter into summer, just play all those steps back in reverse.

When I moved to Alaska from North Carolina I was amazed by how short the coaling time of AK birch and spruce in smoke dragons, compared to oak and hickory in NC smoke dragons. The I got a Blaze King and I am amazed by the "long" coaling time I get out of birch and spruce.

Even as an experienced BK burner, if I were to move back east I would be looking for hardwood tips.

Is it kosher, in your experience, towards the end of a burn, to turn the tstat up to high, flip the lever to bypass and burn down hardwood coals for an hour or so on weeknights to make more room for fresh splits before bedtime?

Depends on how cold it is out of course, and I don't know if hardwood coals are putting out more heat than soft wood coals.

I just did it on mine, I loaded at 530am, its about 445pm now. My cat is still hot enough to be active, but I doubt there have been appreciable volatiles coming off my last load for several hours. About 45 minutes from now I'll open the door, fool with the ash/coal bed a little bit, load er up and be done for another 12 hours.

The cat and box will be plenty hot to take right off once the next load is lit, but burning down coals now is making room for me to fit more splits in sooner.

Maybe we all just have to find our own rhythm.

 

[Poindexter]

Count me in to the thread this year!

New BK Sirocco 20.1 owner here. Just installed today - professional install done by the local BK dealer. Have a look:

I was looking at the Sirocco/Ashford 30 but I needed something that would fit tight clearances with the stair landing. The stove is on an Ember King type 1 pad which is 10 gauge textured steel. I couldn't use a traditional raised pad for my application because of the landing. The stove sits in the center of the upstairs of my raised ranch. Stack height (chimney+double wall connector pipe) is about 14-15'. I think it looks pretty sharp. I have 3 cords of ~15% MC hardwood ready as well as a giant pile of kiln dried hardwood mill ends.

Looking forward to trying it out, but I can't complain about the 70F degree day we had today. Enjoying it while it lasts.

That's a nice looking install. I ran 13'6" of total pipe last year, my Ashford 30 was a little finicky in shoulder seasons but did fine in cold weather. I added two feet of pipe this year for 15'6" total and the stove has been much better behaved in the shoulder this autumn.

I think your manual calls for 15 feet minimum... Certainly give it a try, it'll probably do pretty good. The proof will be in the pudding next spring. Once you have had it running good through the winter, ask yourself in March and April if the stove seems a little fussy about moisture content and Tstat setting compared to the "set and forget" you will get accustomed to in Dec and Jan.

Do be careful about mixing kiln dried mill ends with cordwood already at 15%. I had my load average MC down to ~11% a few times last year with no trouble. Probably your manual will suggest 13% MC as your target, but how far below that you can go is unknown. The use of full loads of kiln dried at 7% is expressly forbidden in the book. I am not anxious to try 10% "just to see (if I melt any expensive parts)", knowing my stove can handle 11%MC gives me a little wiggle room when shooting at 13%.

Best wishes, welcome to the alien technology.

 

[jeff_t]

Is it kosher, in your experience, towards the end of a burn, to turn the tstat up to high, flip the lever to bypass and burn down hardwood coals for an hour or so on weeknights to make more room for fresh splits before bedtime?

Why open the bypass?

 

[BKVP]

So need a little advice.. I currently have marginal draft on my Ashford 30.1. It's ok, but there's a good amount of smoke, and the cat has stalled with a load of envi blocks. Running 15'8 of pipe with 2 30s in the attic. Going to be adding a couple feet, but how much to add? Was going to put another 2' section on top, but not sure if a little 2' would really make a difference? Should I add 4' instead?

Is the inside black pipe single wall or double wall black pipe?

 

[Poindexter]

Why open the bypass?

I get I think a little better airflow and I know I get a little more BTUs released inside the house.

I just had mine running from 11:15 to 11:45 from the last reload in bypass with the Tstat on high. The burn pretty well ran on medium all day while I was at work.

I finally opened the door and got almost no smoke into the room, which is good. Wrangled the coals into kind of a heap in the middle and went out ot check my stack. I had to go halfway around the house so my line of sight and the remaining sunlight met at the stack at a 90 degree angle, but from that viewpoint I could see a tiny plume of smoke. I came back in, found flames on my coals, the cat probe was at 12 oclock, I engaged the cat.

BRB, I got to change from my slippers back to my boots and then back to my slippers to get back to here from checking the stack again, its about +25dF this evening.

 

[Poindexter]

Why open the bypass?

So yeah, two reasons, One I am about to reload the stove, and second, I get more BTUs into the house burning down coals in bypass.

But, I am a regulated burner starting this year in an EPA non-attainment area for air quality.

At 445 (11:15 into the burn) I turned to bypass and high tstat. At 515 the cat probe had moved from just barely active to my 12 o'clock position, pic below.

At 516 I opened the door, got no visible smoke into the house from the stove, wrangled the coals into a heap in the middle, closed the door, left the Tsat on high, left the lever in bypass and checked my stack. When i got out there I had a barely visible plume. I came back in, found flames coming off my coals heap and engaged the cat. Then I went back outside, again, and found no visible plume. Then I came back in, again, and found the cat probe had crept even a little higher. I have my cat probe twisted so the text more or less lines up with the front edge of the stove top. 12 o'clock is well into active and pointing at the stack.

Gratuitous pic of coals getting burnt down, 12:15 after last reload.



I'll keep fooling with this while I have daylight. I think I remember burning down undisturbed coals in bypass gives no visible plume, its after I wrangle the coals into a heap that I need to think about re-engaging the cat. A bunch of variables I am sure.

But I did run the stove on medium for 11 and 3/4 hours before I started fooling with it. The house temp is stable, but I will reload soon so I am not even further behind the 8 ball at 0530 tomorrow.

 

[Ashful]

The good: here's what happens when you load just 3 splits of oak, burn for 24 hours on low, and then turn up the stove. Yes, that's 24 hours on 3 sticks, and I still have about 30% of it left after 24 hours. Simply amazing, and I'm guessing 40 hours on low would not be out of the question with white oak, even on this smaller stove.



The bad: I'm going to have to learn some techniques from you guys, if I have any hope of successfully using this ash bung thing. I pulled the plug, and tried getting some ash to go down the hole, for the first time tonight. I ended up with more coals than ash in the pan. I also had problems with the ash landing on the floor behind the pan, since the ash plug is right at the back EDGE of the pan. Why wouldn't they put it over the middle of the pan? Even when I'd jiggle the pan drawer after each scrape with the shovel, I still had coals drag over the back of the pan and land on the floor when I tried to pull the drawer out. Would've been much better if ash hole were over middle or front of pan, rather than back edge, I think.

Is this as good as it gets with this system, or can someone share some light? What am I doing wrong?

 

[webby3650]

The good: here's what happens when you load just 3 splits of oak, burn for 24 hours on low, and then turn up the stove. Yes, that's 24 hours on 3 sticks, and I still have about 30% of it left after 24 hours. Simply amazing, and I'm guessing 40 hours on low would not be out of the question with white oak, even on this smaller stove.

View attachment 164748

The bad: I'm going to have to learn some techniques from you guys, if I have any hope of successfully using this ash bung thing. I pulled the plug, and tried getting some ash to go down the hole, for the first time tonight. I ended up with more coals than ash in the pan. I also had problems with the ash landing on the floor behind the pan, since the ash plug is right at the back EDGE of the pan. Why wouldn't they put it over the middle of the pan? Even when I'd jiggle the pan drawer after each scrape with the shovel, I still had coals drag over the back of the pan and land on the floor when I tried to pull the drawer out. Would've been much better if ash hole were over middle or front of pan, rather than back edge, I think.

Is this as good as it gets with this system, or can someone share some light? What am I doing wrong?

I think the plug is centered over the pan. Sounds like you are over filling the pan before you pull the drawer forward. I rake the ash down until it fills up into the hole. Then shake the pan back and forth a few times. Rake some more, the I pull the ashes around the pan evenly. And repeat...
I only remove ashes once every week and a half or so. Works well for me, no complaints here.

 

[Scoutin Wyo]

I think I have a problem.

I walked past the princess about an hour after turning the t-stat to 1.25 and the cat guage had fallen to roughly 11 o'clock. In my head I thought "when I come back from the restroom I will turn it up to make sure I stay in the active zone".
When I walked back past the stove the cat guage was back up to 3 o'clock without me touching it and the house temp has not flinched.

The dang alien in my stove can read my mind!
Does BK sell tin foil hats?

 

[Poindexter]

I'm going to have to learn some techniques from you guys, if I have any hope of successfully using this ash bung thing. I pulled the plug, and tried getting some ash to go down the hole, for the first time tonight. I ended up with more coals than ash in the pan. [snip] can someone share some light?

No, I don't sweep my hearth every chance I get.

The one at the back came with my Ashford 30, may I say 30.0? Nominal 1/2", 90 degree angle on the end, it is the one tool I use 90% of the time. I have heard the wrangling tools with the 30.1s have a 45 degree bend on the end. If I couldn't get the hang of that before my wife left town for a weekend I would heat that sucker up to glowing red right in the stove while I was burning down coals, drag it down to the garage and hammer it over to 90 degrees. You got an anvil, right? Then water quench it, heat it again to dull yellow and then let it cool over night buried in the ash bin.

Not pictured, I got a 35 gallon galvanized trash can out in the front yard. All that goes in it is ashes out of the stove, takes about four cords worth of ashes to fill it. Bungeee cord to hold the lid down when the wind kicks up.

Also not pictured, I got a dedicated oven mitt for carrying that little box inside the ashdrawer out to the galvanized trash can.

That sifter thing in the middle I built from scratch, useless garbage. The holes are way too small. If I make another one, probably won't, I'll use expanded steel with holes in it about 1x3 inches. Straight handle on a flat sheet, complete tool would lie flat on a counter top, just push everything to the back, shovel out the ashes left behind at the front of the stove, pull everything forward, repeat as needed.

The other thing I got at my local stove emporium. About all I do with it is use the flat edge (down as pictured) to scrape ashes through the little hole into the drawer. It works good for that. 'Wood stove rake" will hit on google and get you some pictures. I have been eyeballing the bow rakes in the kid's sizes in the Lowes-Depot lawn department. tack weld a piece of sheet metal on the bow so I can turn it 180 degrees and have either a flat scraper or a rake with 1/4" tines on 1" centers. Don't want one bad enough to pay eight bucks and the electric bill for plugging in the spot welder.

The thing is, hanging out in front of the stove with the door open and a bunch coals burning down is a very hot place to be. I am pretty much to the point where I just use the wrangling tool to push the big (soft ball sized) coals to the back and lift the bung out, and then scrape ash and whatever coals will fit down into the drawer and get it over with.

Once that is done, wrangle the big coals forward, scrape the ash away from the back wall and reload. I have noticed that scraping the old ash out of the back corners of the stove tends to make the hair on my arms shorter.

Stove runs better with a bit of ash on the floor anyway.

I do vacuum the stove out long about June or so when I don't have to worry about setting the vac on fire.

I will say I get a lot less ash on my DVD player using the bung hole compared to shoveling into a bucket. I do use the tip of the wrangling tool to scrape the rim of the bunghole clean so the bung fits back down in there real nice on the first try.

On my hearth I still have the set of tongs that came with the fireplace tool set, use those about once annually. I took the fireplace poker to the dump to protect my firebricks from the kids. Kept the broom and flat shovel tool for the hearth too, but I just can't get worked up about keeping the hearth surgically clean.

All I try to do with ash removal is take enough ash to make room for fresh splits, and leave enough coals that I can hot reload. Having a few chunks of charcoal in the ash bin for the tomatoes next spring is no big deal.

 

[Poindexter]

I think I have a problem.

Does BK sell tin foil hats?

I dunno, but I'll buy a tinfoil hat with a BK logo on it first chance I get.

 

[Rossco]

Holy long posts batman.

Yeah ash. Clean Every few weeks maybe. If I travel or let the stove go cold by mistake.

Surprised the Ashford only has a measly 2-3" belly. Glad I didn't now.

 

[aansorge]

I can't believe I haven't started the Blaze Kind up yet. It has been a very warm Fall here in Minnesota and while we hit a couple of low temps, we were traveling when that happened. We really aren't out of the 60's until next Wednesday and with cooking and household activities the house generally stays warm enough under those conditions. Maybe I'll light a fire by November?

 

[webby3650]

I dunno, but I'll buy a tinfoil hat with a BK logo on it first chance I get.

I don't have a tinfoil cap, but... I do have this belt buckle that was design by the aliens.

 

[mwhitnee]

A hat would be nice!

 

[Ashful]

I think the plug is centered over the pan.

Not on the 30.1's. Back edge of plug hole is directly on rear edge of pan, such that some ash will always fall behind pan, even without overfilling the pan.

Poindexter, thanks for the rake idea. I'll grab a garden rake (small one-hand three-tine thing) next time. I do have an ash hoe, like the one you pictured. Plug lifting strap is at 45-deg on 30.1, but tool is still bent 90 deg.

 

[Highbeam]

I think I have a problem.

I walked past the princess about an hour after turning the t-stat to 1.25 and the cat guage had fallen to roughly 11 o'clock. In my head I thought "when I come back from the restroom I will turn it up to make sure I stay in the active zone".
When I walked back past the stove the cat guage was back up to 3 o'clock without me touching it and the house temp has not flinched.

The dang alien in my stove can read my mind!
Does BK sell tin foil hats?

What you witnessed is the thermostat doing its job. Some claim it doesn't do anything but what you saw was the thermostat react to a cooling stove by opening up the air and then the resulting increase in temperature.

 

[Woody harrelson]

A hat would be nice!

I will take a hat too. We don't wear big ass belt buckles here in NJ

 

[Woody harrelson]

Actually a tshirt is my first choice

 

[webby3650]

I will take a hat too. We don't wear big ass belt buckles here in NJ

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