2015-2016 Blaze King Performance thread (Everything BK)

[kennyp2339]

I'm tracking by heating degree days, and subtracting our calculated daily usage for DHW, so it should scale out to some degree. I find their error(s) in my method actually favors colder weather, as it always looks like my usage/HDD goes up a little when it's warmer. Probably because I often let the stoves go out when it's > 50F.

Lol - you guys crack me up, I just turn the t stat a little higher, the blower a little higher and make a mental note of how much wood I have left in the garage rack. KISS method.

 

[Ashful]

Lol - you guys crack me up, I just turn the t stat a little higher, the blower a little higher and make a mental note of how much wood I have left in the garage rack. KISS method.

Geez, I thought this was simple, for me... and really for anyone who passed algebra in middle school. Should we apologize for being intelligent?

 

[kennyp2339]

Absolutely not

 

[ohiojoe13]

Is it normal to see smoke from chimney with bypass closed after a reload?

 

[BKVP]

Yes, for a period of time depending upon cat temp, amount of fuel and moisture content. Usually with 20 minutes it should start decreasing as the fuel loads settles into crock pot mode.

 

[ohiojoe13]

Yes, for a period of time depending upon cat temp, amount of fuel and moisture content. Usually with 20 minutes it should start decreasing as the fuel loads settles into crock pot mode.

Thanks. It did clear up in about 20 minutes

 

[Ashful]

crock pot mode.

A new term for the hearth.com vernacular?

 

[begreen]

Not to be confused with crackpot mode aka running with a magic heat.

 

[Blazing]

Alien technology is far from magic .

 

[BKVP]

I used the term because some lady once said that her Blaze King was like her crock pot, but more reliable. Heck, add it to the WS Dictionary. Hunting whitetails, sitting in truck waiting for freezing rain to stop. 17F but buddy has a tag to fill....I could be at home watching football!!

That's o.k., the King will have the house nice and warm when we get some common sense and head home....

 

[Poindexter]

I'm tracking by heating degree days, and subtracting our calculated daily usage for DHW, so it should scale out to some degree.

I just look through the glass every twelve hours to see how much more wood I can stuff in there this time.

 

[BKVP]

Poindexter,

I will be in FB 1/19, but may not have time for a beer, I will be in touch if time permits.

Chris

 

[Hezz]

Have a quick question, on a few occasions now I have had a nice low burn going and when I look at the cat to see what pretty color it is there is a little bloom of flame between the flame shield and the combustor. Usually I can eliminate it by adjusting the thermostat up so I have more active flames, or sometimes down a bit more does the trick with a dark firebox. When I noticed it today, it looks like I am starting to get a little distortion of the cells on the face of the combustor. (Lines aren't straight, a few cells look squished a little.)

Am I doing something wrong? Should I do something different?

 

[BKVP]

Have a quick question, on a few occasions now I have had a nice low burn going and when I look at the cat to see what pretty color it is there is a little bloom of flame between the flame shield and the combustor. Usually I can eliminate it by adjusting the thermostat up so I have more active flames, or sometimes down a bit more does the trick with a dark firebox. When I noticed it today, it looks like I am starting to get a little distortion of the cells on the face of the combustor. (Lines aren't straight, a few cells look squished a little.)

Am I doing something wrong? Should I do something different?

No, the flame issue is not an issue. As for the wavy pattern, some is normal. Cold over the river, eh?

 

[Hezz]

Today is a little better than yesterday, less wind helps. I have been playing a fun game of "Let us keep the heat pump from turning on" all week. Thanks for your prompt answer, now I can stop worrying about it.

Yesterday was in the teens with a steady fast breeze outside, had to run the stove hotter and harder than I had previously, but it was nice seeing lots of flickering flames and gathering with friends in a nice warm room for cards and cheesecake.

 

[Rossco]

-15F last night according to my thingy.

It's a mild 8F right now mmmm

Burn em high and burn em hot!

 

[webby3650]

I was reticent to try the ash dump on my 30.0 because the hole is so darn small, but once I started using it I was converted the first time. Keeps almost all the airborne ash out of the living space with not very many coals in the box to keep the flue pumping. Judging by the cone of ash that accumulates in the drawer the hole on the 30.0 is more or less dead center over the floor of the drawer. Works awesome.

I do prefer the numbered Tsat dial on my 30.0 to the new swoosh, easier to communicate with the wife when she is the one twisting the knob.

If my 30.0 gets abducted by aliens tonight I'll order a new 30.1 first thing in the morning. I'd probable have to fab up some kind of sheet metal chute for the back of the drawer so I could keep using the ash dump...

I think the old, smaller ash hole is a much better design. Big coals don't fall in near as bad.

 

[webby3650]

I know you haven't run a cat stove BG, and you also have a furnace that you can use to prevent your house from cooling if you leave for long, you're also retired so can be at home to keep it warm in your warmer climate. I have run two other EPA non-cats in this house before coming over to the cat stove side. So I know what happens when you run a non-cat hard, they can coal up, whether in a house or in a shop. In the house you shouldn't have to do that very often but as you can see above, some folks run their BKs at 100% to keep warm and don't have the same coaling problem and go through less wood. I'm starting to wonder if there really ever is a time when a non-cat is "better". It used to be said that at high outputs, the non-cats are at least as efficient but that's just not panning out for a couple of reasons.

I would love a furnace in the shop. It would be better than a stove, even better than a wood furnace would be a wood boiler and the floor heat. Due to the lack of available clean burning furnaces (even BK cancelled US sales of their cat furnace), I will be using a stove for now. The NC30 does the job but as was expected, it needs to be run hard and hot. Anybody have a king they want to swap for an NC30? I would not put another 3 CF stove in the shop so the princess is out and on a 6" flue the king would be an experiment.

I'd let go of mine for the right price. It's also got the optional oil drip kit installed!

 

[Squisher]

Holey moley that looks complex in a simple sort of way. Lol.

 

[Poindexter]

Poindexter,

I will be in FB 1/19, but may not have time for a beer, I will be in touch if time permits.

Chris

I'll be on call for the hospital since it's a Tuesday. If time permits I could have a cup of coffee ;-)

 

[sequoia]

I'm running a Princess. When I removed some ash I find a hard layer of solidified ash like ash cakes. Is this normal for ash to do this? Is it the type of wood I'm burning?

 

[Dieselhead]

Yep perfectly normal

 

[Highbeam]

I'm running a Princess. When I removed some ash I find a hard layer of solidified ash like ash cakes. Is this normal for ash to do this? Is it the type of wood I'm burning?

They call them clinkers. I get them too, especially when running hotter.

 

[sequoia]

They call them clinkers. I get them too, especially when running hotter.

I wonder if I should leave them in. Could they be a better insulation than soft ash?

 

[Dieselhead]

Probably about the same, and most likely will end up breaking apart anyway. I'd take them out whole and leave the ash, less airborne dust!