2016-17 Blaze King Performance Thread (Everything BK) Part 2

[lsucet]

I respect everyone opinion on how to do something. After all is up to the individual. Is their stove, their money, their life and you can be sure that I respect that. When I know that there is different ways of doing things in everything, I am a person that like to follow things by the book as much I can. That's just me. The wider fields of opinions is just that, nothing else. Maybe is that for so many years I am working in a field that requires me, to follow instructions by the book. That's what let me collect data and provide it to the engineers. If I don't do that they not even want to talk to me. Cause they have no idea where to start.

And when my field is not related to stoves, the same concept apply. I dont see any part of the manual stating that claim. It says closed the bypass if reloading with cat into the active zone. I don't see anything about wood at room temperature cause any damage to the cat neither. All what it insist is seasoned wood with low MC.

We all know that, that is the key of a good burning practice with any stove regardless technology, including old smoke dragon regardless how forgiving they are when unseasoned wood is use.

 

[BKVP]

No, the thermostat is not smart at all. You get the airflow you set on the dial; the thermostat will open or close the air somewhat based on how close to the target temperature it is, but it can't, for example, say 'whoa, the cat is about to stall, we need a large increase in air here'.

It is still good enough to let a PI stay cat-active for 24 hours, and to stop overfires, so do not get the idea that makes it pretty awesome- but it's a mechanical bimetal spring and thus not at all 'smart'.

You will probably not be able to lower the thermostat and kill the cat with the fans off, unless you dial down lower than your draft can support. The higher the fans, the easier it is to do. I personally need a blazing hot stove and a thermostat setting above 50% on the dial to run with high fans.

The material may not be "smart" but they ain't simple either. Each model has a spring, made in house of raw material, cut to a specific length, specific revolutions or portions thereof, baked at a specific temperature for a specified period of time. Not to be too specific.

 

[twd000]

First overnight+ (12 hours) burn in my new Princess Insert!

Couple more questions: trying to find the serial number so I can fill out the warranty cards. Don't tell me the sticker is buried inside my fireplace now...Is there any other spot to find that #?

The installers left this bag of four shoulder bolts behind. Is this something I need to keep and install, or spare parts?

 

[Rut13]

First overnight+ (12 hours) burn in my new Princess Insert!

Couple more questions: trying to find the serial number so I can fill out the warranty cards. Don't tell me the sticker is buried inside my fireplace now...Is there any other spot to find that #?

The installers left this bag of four shoulder bolts behind. Is this something I need to keep and install, or spare parts?View attachment 195993

There are 4 nuts welded to the stove near the corners, the bolts are to level the insert.

 

[twd000]

There are 4 nuts welded to the stove near the corners, the bolts are to level the insert.

Well i guess it's level, cause I ain't pulling this thing out!

 

[webby3650]

First overnight+ (12 hours) burn in my new Princess Insert!

Couple more questions: trying to find the serial number so I can fill out the warranty cards. Don't tell me the sticker is buried inside my fireplace now...Is there any other spot to find that #?

The installers left this bag of four shoulder bolts behind. Is this something I need to keep and install, or spare parts?View attachment 195993

The installers should have recorded the serial number and handle all the warranty for you. We do anyway.. I rarely ever use those bolts, it's much easier to just use some metal shims. Unless of course it really out of whack.

 

[jetsam]

The material may not be "smart" but they ain't simple either. Each model has a spring, made in house of raw material, cut to a specific length, specific revolutions or portions thereof, baked at a specific temperature for a specified period of time. Not to be too specific.

I forgot to mention that it has fairy magic baked in. Doubt me? Then show me who has copied BK and made a 2.4 cf insert that burns for 24 hours.

 

[Woody Stover]

Well i guess it's level, cause I ain't pulling this thing out!

C'mon, a couple of girls could lift that. It's not like it's a Buck 91 or something.

 

[Niko]

You guys ever smell outside your house when your stove is running? This is way stronger then your ordinary wood smoke odor, not that wood smoke smells good but you can tell when driving around when a house has a fire going on. I cracked open my window to let some cool air in to cool off the downstairs a little, the king is crusing with the cat way up in the active range anf the flu temps around the 600 range. I open the window and a stronge smell of smoke but more stenchy if that makes sense. The smoke stack is at least 25 feet or more above the room im in, should smoke smell fall down? Shouldnt the smell at least rise up?

 

[twd000]

You guys ever smell outside your house when your stove is running? This is way stronger then your ordinary wood smoke odor, not that wood smoke smells good but you can tell when driving around when a house has a fire going on. I cracked open my window to let some cool air in to cool off the downstairs a little, the king is crusing with the cat way up in the active range anf the flu temps around the 600 range. I open the window and a stronge smell of smoke but more stenchy if that makes sense. The smoke stack is at least 25 feet or more above the room im in, should smoke smell fall down? Shouldnt the smell at least rise up?

Yes my Princess Insert is quite pungent too, especially at the beginning of the burn cycle. I expect the worst particulate emissions are mostly generated when exposing a fresh log to a coal bed. Some combination of steam, carbon monoxide, and particulates coming out the stack. Then it clears right up once the logs have fully charred and you're just burning carbon.

 

[lsucet]

You guys ever smell outside your house when your stove is running? This is way stronger then your ordinary wood smoke odor, not that wood smoke smells good but you can tell when driving around when a house has a fire going on. I cracked open my window to let some cool air in to cool off the downstairs a little, the king is crusing with the cat way up in the active range anf the flu temps around the 600 range. I open the window and a stronge smell of smoke but more stenchy if that makes sense. The smoke stack is at least 25 feet or more above the room im in, should smoke smell fall down? Shouldnt the smell at least rise up?

Mine does and more at the end of the cycle when I rake coals to the front and burn them on high for a few more hours. It is that charcoal smell I think.
But I love the heat from those coals. The ceramic glass gets hot and it iron your pants a few feet away.

 

[kf6hap]

To me the odor is reminiscent of burning coal. More pleasant (to me) than non cat smoke. I have a neighbor that burns those crushed sawdust logs in his non cat and that downright stinks. One of my other neighbors asked me about my stove's operation. I told him I have to struggle with my Ashford in the shoulder season to get less than an 8 hour burn. He now has a Princess. These stoves really do sell themselves, even if you say something bad about them.

 

[jetsam]

I love the smell of wood smoke. The smell my stove puts out isn't wood smoke, but there's not a lot of it either.

 

[Highbeam]

It kind of smells like modern car exhaust on a steep hill where the car's cat is probably really hot and eating pollution.

Due to the BK's low flue temps and small volumetric flow rate of stove exhaust (unlike a cat at full throttle all the time) what comes out of our chimneys is clear, cool, and at low velocity. It's barely oozing out exhaust at lower settings. That exhaust is very likely to settle down towards the ground where we can smell it.

Now if it starts smelling really nasty (Acrid, creosote like) then be on the lookout for a failing cat. More so if there is any visible smoke. Check your flue system for accumulation and start coming up with an action plan if there is a significant uptick.

My non-cat running hot smells actually pretty similar on the rare occasion I get a wiff. Then again, that non-cat is rated for only half of the emissions rate!

The campfire like smoke smell that we are all missing is a product of pollution and unburned fuel. Burning in a fireplace or smoke dragon will be the best way to get you that old fashioned smell.

 

[Woody Stover]

Yes my Princess Insert is quite pungent too, especially at the beginning of the burn cycle.

I have also noticed occasional stenchiness after loading. I think it's because the stove is hotter and is burning off some of the creosote in the box or in the bottom of the flue.

 

[regalflyer]

A BK princess on a 8" flue ?

Just FYI, the picture is a 6" double wall flue inside the house, not an 8" flue.
Thanks

 

[kennyp2339]

Just FYI, the picture is a 6" double wall flue inside the house, not an 8" flue.
Thanks

Ahhh.. Ok, it looked funky big to me in that pic.

 

[Tar12]

After 3 months of burning I decided to take a look see at my pipe and was pleasantly surprised to just find a light grey coating through out.Never had a old smoke dragons pipe look that good! I am not going to bother cleaning till this season is over with...which won't be much longer for me..I have been burning it hotter than most here I guess as I rarely let the flue temp drop below 300 degrees and try to keep it in the 4-500 degree range burning well seasoned burr oak with the cat running 1,000-1,200 degrees on avg. This Princess has been burning incredibly clean...so much so my neighbor asked me if I had a problem with the install or was using something else to heat with? Nope...I have been burning 24/7...he looked at me puzzled and said he never saw smoke coming out of the chimney! lol I said thats the way its supposed to be! Then I had some explaining to do! He was impressed and wanted to see this new technology...he had never heard of a catalytic combuster or seen one in action...the look on his face after he had was priceless! Then it dawned on him that if it was so efficient then the wood consumption had to be much less...when I told him I had burned just a little over a cord in close to 3 months he questioned my honesty...lol He currently runs a old smoke dragon...before the visit was over he had BKs info and directions to this site...I also found out during the course of the season that well seasoned hedge is a game changer! I hadn't burnt any in years but had some 4yr old stuff stashed back and loaded her up on a bed of coals...it was slow to take off and initially thought the hedge still had lots of moisture left in it...it did not...this stuff is very hard and dense! I got moisture readings ranging from 16%-18%....once it lit off the entire load glowed and put off serious BTUs for hours on end... It will be a mission to get more!

 

[Woody Stover]

he had never heard of a catalytic combuster or seen one in action...the look on his face after he had was priceless!

Probably a good thing that he's coming in later in the game...cats got a really bad name when they first came out, and a lot of that misinformation persists. Not unlike the "never burn Pine" folklore. Sounds like you might have him interested in joining the next generation of wood heating. Around here, there are a lot of old Dutchmen that won't ever spend a buck if they don't have to, neighbors and the environment be damned. They just keep on smoke-bombing the 'hood with the old smoke-blower stoves and ancient OWBs. Sheesh.

hedge is a game changer...it was slow to take off and initially thought the hedge still had lots of moisture left in it...it did not...this stuff is very hard and dense! once it lit off the entire load glowed and put off serious BTUs for hours on end... It will be a mission to get more!

It's like other dense woods in that respect; Hickory, Black Locust, Dogwood etc....they are all hard to get going. Hedge must be, to an even higher degree. I usually put some Cherry or something on the front end of the load to get that kind of stuff going, or it takes forever to get the stove cruising.
I have about 1/3 cord of Bodark that I got a couple years back, and it remains un-split. Gonna be tough now, I fear. Maybe I can get around to it this year, and finally try a full load for the first time next winter. I imagine it's going to be BL on steroids.
A lousy 1/3 cord is all I've been able to get so far, but I've narrowly missed out on a couple of big scores. The last one, there was maybe 15 Hedge, 5 Black Cherry, and assorted others that I saw dropped along the edge of a field. I found out who owned the land, left voice mail, but never heard from him. Then one day I went by there and saw two huge piles of wood burning. Oh, the humanity! Those piles glowed for days. Great use of natural resources, buddy.

 

[Tar12]

I started putting thinner splits of oak on the bottom and then I have been trying different mix ratios with the hedge...its a beautiful thing! They doze and burn a lot of fence around hear...its sickening to see how much wood is wasted.

 

[Ashful]

Never burned Hedge, but my BK's love oak. People also look sideways at me when they stop by on a Saturday afternoon, notice the stove burning, and learn I last loaded it Friday morning.

 

[Highbeam]

Never burned Hedge, but my BK's love oak. People also look sideways at me when they stop by on a Saturday afternoon, notice the stove burning, and learn I last loaded it Friday morning.

They are also intrigued by the lack of flame or smoke from the chimney. It's warm but they can't understand why.

 

[kf6hap]

A true wood gasifier/combustor. All with a thermostatic proportional combustion controller and a catalytic converter. No microprocessors here. Very strange for the average person to observe in person. A slick thing about these BKs is once the cat is "lit" it is self-sustaining. Air tubes "wink-out" <1K F. This allows the stove to drop down to a very low temperature but remain nearly non polluting and able to burn longer and lower than any air tuber can ever possibly achieve. Bragging? "It ain't brag'ing if ya can do it!" Willy Mayes.

 

[Tar12]

Woody I just researched Bodark and realized it is Hedge! lol I had never heard it called that before! I have heard Hedge or Hedge apple and Osage Orange tho..

 

[BKVP]

A true wood gasifier/combustor. All with a thermostatic proportional combustion controller and a catalytic converter. No microprocessors here. Very strange for the average person to observe in person. A slick thing about these BKs is once the cat is "lit" it is self-sustaining. Air tubes "wink-out" <1K F. This allows the stove to drop down to a very low temperature but remain nearly non polluting and able to burn longer and lower than any air tuber can ever possibly achieve. Bragging? "It ain't brag'ing if ya can do it!" Willy Mayes.

Say hey Willie!