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

[Woody Stover]

Live from Dublin Ireland

How long will a BK burn on a load of peat?

 

[kennyp2339]

Just wanted to say that I had a rather awesome BK customer service experience. I called my dealer last Friday to file a warranty claim for the combustor, I then received a call from BK company on Tuesday just confirming my information and asking basic questions on why I feel that my cat needs to be replaced. The staff were extremely friendly and knowledgeable, and they said they were shipping out my new cat today.
This was possibly the easiest warranty claim / exchange I've ever been through. So a big thanks to BK company.

 

[jetsam]

How long will a BK burn on a load of peat?

I think we should experiment. Field tests on turf, coal, kerosene, paper towel rolls....

Speaking of things that the EPA wouldn't approve of, and thanks to several 70 degree days with cold nights, I've discovered that if you don't worry about keeping the cat active and just turn down the thermostat all the way, you can go a LONG time on a couple splits. The air goes so low that it eclipses the loss of efficiency from the cat cutting out.

 

[Tar12]

How long will a BK burn on a load of peat?

Considerably longer than a Woodstock on a load of B.S.

 

[webby3650]

Considerably longer than a Woodstock on a load of B.S.

This gets my vote for the best post of the season!

 

[Niko]

Niko...it is possible that the two spring washers on the thermostat rod do not have enough tension. So it is very important that you follow these instruction closely.

First, if you have the fans, unplug the fans and remove the blower on the thermostat knob side only, set them on the floor. Remove the thermostat cover (I'll take hell for saying that from someone). Only remove the two black screws. Next turn the knob until the black set screw on the collar faces straight up and using a sharpie mark the position of the black thermostat collar set screw on the rod, just next to the collar. Then, clamp a pair of visegrips onto the rod about 1/8" away from the collar. You need vise grips and do not try this with pliers!

You then need a flat blade screwdriver and a small Allen wrench. 7/32" as I recall. Loosen the set screw and BE VERY CAREFUL NOT TO ROTATE THE COLLAR ON THE ROD. Place the flat blade screwdriver in between the collar and the visegrips. Turn the handle of the screwdriver and it will apply pressure to the collar and against the flat washers. Tighten the set screw on the collar, making certain you have it still aligned with the mark on the rod.

Do not apply to much pressure to the collar with the blade of the screwdriver or you will make the thermostat knob difficult to turn. Now, remove the vise grips, reinstall the thermostat cover, MAKE 100% certain the blade is completely horizontal before the lid is installed. Reinstall the two black screws.

Reinstall your fans and again plug them into the outlet.

Your set washers may not have enough pressure and the bimetallic spring is actually turning the rod backwards. It is very rare, but so too is such great tasting baclava that your family restauarant makes!

And to the rest, be nice to each other. Live from Dublin Ireland,

Chris

Lol i will look at this on my next day off. Anybody wanna make a youtube video of this ?

 

[maple1]

Hey Chris,
I talked to Clair @ Bowmans yesterday, he was gonna call ya tomorrow about my draft situation..

I took a manometer reading a few days ago, 32" off of stove top and had .23-.26" of -w/c draft/draw..
I think I need a key damper, but he wanted to see what you recommended..
Have fun, and watch out for runaway trucks where you're at..

That is huge draft, if measured correctly. Like, around 4x +/- what you should have, I think. I have a 32' straight up stainless chimney and the only time I see numbers like that is with wind gusting across the top of it. What do you have for a chimney? Not sure what BK recommends, but sounds like a baro damper might be in order.

 

[DuaeGuttae]

Lol i will look at this on my next day off. Anybody wanna make a youtube video of this ?

Maybe this will help.

(broken link removed to https://www.blazeking.com/EN/PDF/instructions/Thermrod%20adjustment.pdf)

 

[Ashful]

I finally proved out one criteria in which my old Jotuls were better than my new BKs. The Jotuls took 20-22" splits, where as the BKs take 16-18". Whereas I've been thru maybe 50 cords if Jotul wood, without ever having a stack topple, I've had two BK stacks topple in the last month! Maybe I need to start using more yard space, and stop stacking as high.

Maybe BK needs to size their stoves to take proper full-sized splits, not this miniature wood! [emoji14]. I won't even go into the time spent cutting 4" off every stick of the 30 cords I had CSSd, when I bought them!

 

[showrguy]

That is huge draft, if measured correctly. Like, around 4x +/- what you should have, I think. I have a 32' straight up stainless chimney and the only time I see numbers like that is with wind gusting across the top of it. What do you have for a chimney? Not sure what BK recommends, but sounds like a baro damper might be in order.

That is a huge draft..
I'm gonna go with a key damper..
There are several reasons I don't like the baro. Option

 

[maple1]

The main thing people don't like baros for is they can make some creosote, where the cold air comes in & hits the nasties in the exhaust stream. But with a clean burning appliance, that shouldn't be an issue - I'm on year 5 with a gassifying boiler & haven't had any build up. I like the baro as it automatically compensates/adjusts for changing draft conditions- like when the wind is blowing outside. My old setup had both - key damper for sort of a baseline, and the baro handled the peak conditions.

I might see what BK recommends. That might have already been posted on here, but with all these pages over the years good luck finding it.

(They have been very good threads though, very good reading even for non-BK owners...)

 

[Highbeam]

Maybe this will help.

(broken link removed to https://www.blazeking.com/EN/PDF/instructions/Thermrod%20adjustment.pdf)

Great pdf. Does everyone have access to these "how-to" pdfs or were you sent this one? Hearthstone had a similar system with a bunch of procedural how-tos for techs.

 

[showrguy]

The main thing people don't like baros for is they can make some creosote, where the cold air comes in & hits the nasties in the exhaust stream. But with a clean burning appliance, that shouldn't be an issue - I'm on year 5 with a gassifying boiler & haven't had any build up. I like the baro as it automatically compensates/adjusts for changing draft conditions- like when the wind is blowing outside. My old setup had both - key damper for sort of a baseline, and the baro handled the peak conditions.

I might see what BK recommends. That might have already been posted on here, but with all these pages over the years good luck finding it.

(They have been very good threads though, very good reading even for non-BK owners...)

BK recommended either option..
The two main things I don't like about the baro are it introduces cool air into my stack, which is supposed to stay warm/hot as possible..
The other thing is it would take that room air outa the room, creating even more vacuum in the living space than combustion air by itself..
That air has to come from somewhere-------outside, cold air being sucked through any nook and cranny it can get through..
If that make sense ?

 

[Niko]

Great pdf. Does everyone have access to these "how-to" pdfs or were you sent this one? Hearthstone had a similar system with a bunch of procedural how-tos for techs.

pictures are so nice! thanks man!

 

[Niko]

Maybe this will help.

(broken link removed to https://www.blazeking.com/EN/PDF/instructions/Thermrod%20adjustment.pdf)

silly question but this is what BKVP was saying correct? except on mine i have to take off my fan kit.

 

[DuaeGuttae]

Great pdf. Does everyone have access to these "how-to" pdfs or were you sent this one? Hearthstone had a similar system with a bunch of procedural how-tos for techs.

I found the information sheets online when I was reading up on Princess Insert installations, so I knew they existed. When Niko asked for a video, I had a hunch that I could google a key term like "Blaze King thermostat tension adjustment," and it popped right up.

 

[DuaeGuttae]

silly question but this is what BKVP was saying correct? except on mine i have to take off my fan kit.

I'm no expert. I just knew those instructional PDFs were out there, and this uses the same terminology that BKVP used, so I thought it might help. Maybe someone more mechanically inclined than I can do a more detailed comparison.

 

[Tar12]

I finally proved out one criteria in which my old Jotuls were better than my new BKs. The Jotuls took 20-22" splits, where as the BKs take 16-18". Whereas I've been thru maybe 50 cords if Jotul wood, without ever having a stack topple, I've had two BK stacks topple in the last month! Maybe I need to start using more yard space, and stop stacking as high.

Maybe BK needs to size their stoves to take proper full-sized splits, not this miniature wood! [emoji14]. I won't even go into the time spent cutting 4" off every stick of the 30 cords I had CSSd, when I bought them!

View attachment 196954

View attachment 196955

View attachment 196956

Had to do this with a cord...lol...I really feel your pain!

 

[Niko]

So i need a little advice again as i keep asking this question. I am looking to buy my second king utlra for my house one is downstairs and the new one will be upstairs, The reason why for the second one is i don't like running my downstairs stove hotter so i can get more heat upstairs. Its a demo unit and im getting it at a great price from the same compnay i bought my first one from. I did the brainstorming and had some threads about insulation vs second stove, but i just also forsee even with better insulation still having to run the downstairs stove hotter to get more heat upstairs. I dont want it to be more then 75 down their and we usually have to keep it in the 80-86 to keep the upastairs in the 68-74 range. I know a lot of you guys have 2 stoves already but your houses are bigger mine is only 3,000 sqaure feet, 1500 top, 1500 bottom.

Can someone just persuade me and make me feel like im making the right choice. Yes i know i can get a smaller stove but i like my burn long burn times and the price for a uktra king cannot be beat.

 

[kennyp2339]

Can someone just persuade me and make me feel like im making the right choice. Yes i know i can get a smaller stove but i like my burn long burn times and the price for a uktra king cannot be beat.

Go for it, I'm assuming you got your plan in place for the proper chimney. Also just think of the awesome shoulder season fires, lite the bottom stove and it will hold the heat in the house, when it gets colder out, you got both stoves going, low and slow, you prob will still burn / tend to both stoves less than 1 tube stove.

 

[jetsam]

So i need a little advice again as i keep asking this question. I am looking to buy my second king utlra for my house one is downstairs and the new one will be upstairs, The reason why for the second one is i don't like running my downstairs stove hotter so i can get more heat upstairs. Its a demo unit and im getting it at a great price from the same compnay i bought my first one from. I did the brainstorming and had some threads about insulation vs second stove, but i just also forsee even with better insulation still having to run the downstairs stove hotter to get more heat upstairs. I dont want it to be more then 75 down their and we usually have to keep it in the 80-86 to keep the upastairs in the 68-74 range. I know a lot of you guys have 2 stoves already but your houses are bigger mine is only 3,000 sqaure feet, 1500 top, 1500 bottom.

Can someone just persuade me and make me feel like im making the right choice. Yes i know i can get a smaller stove but i like my burn long burn times and the price for a uktra king cannot be beat.

Well, on the down side, the install is expensive and time consuming, and you have to load two stoves, which is also messier.

On the up side, your reload cycles should be more than twice as long than they were this year, and your house will be more comfortable. I bet that basement stove will be on 24-36 hour reloads in the dead of winter with the upstairs stove doing most of the work.

Also, you get to sniff at all the peasants on the forum who not only have lesser stoves, but who also only have ONE of them.

Hail to the Kings, baby!

 

[Ashful]

Can someone just persuade me and make me feel like im making the right choice. Yes i know i can get a smaller stove but i like my burn long burn times and the price for a uktra king cannot be beat.

You are making the right choice. Trying to heat a multi-story home from a single space heater is always going to be a compromise, and this way you can tailor the temperatures more to your liking. Also, thanks to BK's ultra-low burn capability, now you can go down to loading once every day or two. Also, you may use less wood overall, as your basement heat loss must have been enormous at 80-86dF.

Let's practice: "oh, you only have ONE stove?" Say it with a certain amount of indignity.

 

[lsucet]

So i need a little advice again as i keep asking this question. I am looking to buy my second king utlra for my house one is downstairs and the new one will be upstairs, The reason why for the second one is i don't like running my downstairs stove hotter so i can get more heat upstairs. Its a demo unit and im getting it at a great price from the same compnay i bought my first one from. I did the brainstorming and had some threads about insulation vs second stove, but i just also forsee even with better insulation still having to run the downstairs stove hotter to get more heat upstairs. I dont want it to be more then 75 down their and we usually have to keep it in the 80-86 to keep the upastairs in the 68-74 range. I know a lot of you guys have 2 stoves already but your houses are bigger mine is only 3,000 sqaure feet, 1500 top, 1500 bottom.

Can someone just persuade me and make me feel like im making the right choice. Yes i know i can get a smaller stove but i like my burn long burn times and the price for a uktra king cannot be beat.

I will say go for it. I know insulating can make a difference cause i am working on that but still. My house is just between 2300-2400 sq ft vicinity, but because of the floor plan i see me running the stove harder when gets under 30 df, having the same condition as you have, with one part of the house in the hotter side. that's why i am going to install another princess or maybe an ashford in that side of the house after remodeling this summer that area. I am sure i will be running them just on low and the wood consumption will not be much different of what i am using now. shoulder season is more than enough with just one on low. insulation helps but sometime the swing up to 10 degrees between one side of the house and the other including upstairs is always there when cold outside. my heart aches when i have to run it that hard. LOL. But it is doing the job.

I think you will be happy.
regards

 

[Highbeam]

So i need a little advice again as i keep asking this question. I am looking to buy my second king utlra for my house one is downstairs and the new one will be upstairs, The reason why for the second one is i don't like running my downstairs stove hotter so i can get more heat upstairs. Its a demo unit and im getting it at a great price from the same compnay i bought my first one from. I did the brainstorming and had some threads about insulation vs second stove, but i just also forsee even with better insulation still having to run the downstairs stove hotter to get more heat upstairs. I dont want it to be more then 75 down their and we usually have to keep it in the 80-86 to keep the upastairs in the 68-74 range. I know a lot of you guys have 2 stoves already but your houses are bigger mine is only 3,000 sqaure feet, 1500 top, 1500 bottom.

Can someone just persuade me and make me feel like im making the right choice. Yes i know i can get a smaller stove but i like my burn long burn times and the price for a uktra king cannot be beat.

You've decided on a second stove downstairs. That's fine, your downstairs square footage is just slightly bigger than my entire house and I can't see how you made it this long! Now as far as another king vs. a smaller stove, the king can be turned down almost as low as the princess so you aren't getting too much stove with the king.

 

[Niko]

well i purchased it, I just needed a little push going to pic it up tomorrow. Now i just gotta cal my buddy up this summer and we can do the install together. I think im gonna do the outside air kit with this one since this stove is above ground and much easier to install it.