2016-17 Blaze King Performance Thread (Everything BK)

[rwhite]

I can get a photo tonight. You need a stove collar adaptor, the double wall does not go directly into the stove.

https://www.rockfordchimneysupply.com/dbl-wall-blk-stove-pipe-adapter-sizes.php

Duravent dvl telescoping fit in the stove collar

 

[ohiojoe13]

I am still having some issues with my bypass. Sometimes when I close it, i don't feel the cam over. So I open and close it a few times then I will get that cam over action. What would cause that? Is this a problem. Or is it ok as long as I feel it close I'm good to go?

 

[rwhite]

Did some searches and find my exact problem. The left side blower fan makes a noise that sounds like a crinkling shipping bag. I took it off and cleaned and oiled shaft but that didn't do much. Hard to describe the sound but I took it off because I thought a piece of plastic bag got stuck in there. Anyone else? I truly haven't used the fan and may never but it bugs me that its there and i can't turn on cause it's to noisy.

 

[Patapsco Mike]

I am still having some issues with my bypass. Sometimes when I close it, i don't feel the cam over. So I open and close it a few times then I will get that cam over action. What would cause that? Is this a problem. Or is it ok as long as I feel it close I'm good to go?

I have this same issue with my stove. Over a few years, I felt the action less and less and now I never feel it. Doesn't seem to have affected how my stove performs. I think this results from cable stretch, and that the solution is to adjust (tighten) up the bypass. Need to pull the stove to do it though, and it's a huge PITA that I'm actively avoiding...

 

[Poindexter]

I pretty much do this, but I try to let all the wood catch in the box? Guessing that does not really matter and it seems to catch well when the cat is engaged and I run it on high? Thanks. I think I am getting the hang of this thing now - just want to understand it a little better.

I think you are doing fine. Imone thing you can do when you 'could' be getting 16 hour burns but want to maintain a 12 hour loadibg cycle is not pack the stove quite so tight.

This will give you more room at the end of the burn, and more space between sticks on reload will help every surface of every piece ligjt off a bit quicker.

 

[Highbeam]

When adding a fresh load to a hot stove it's not as obvious when to engage the cat. I do wait for the new load to get burning and for flue temps to rise. Just be really careful about melting the bypass retainers. It's 1000 times easier to replace a cat than melted bypass retainers.

The longer charring process is done with cat engaged and stat on high.

 

[Tar12]

The BK Princess is ordered and If my calculations are correct I will have 9-10 ft of pipe sticking straight up through the roof. Will this require 1 or 2 sets of braces?
Cold Air Intake question on a BK Princess...Does the air intake have to go straight down behind the stove or is there some flexibility as to where it enters the floor?
also is there a vent cap that you guys prefer?

 

[webby3650]

Did some searches and find my exact problem. The left side blower fan makes a noise that sounds like a crinkling shipping bag. I took it off and cleaned and oiled shaft but that didn't do much. Hard to describe the sound but I took it off because I thought a piece of plastic bag got stuck in there. Anyone else? I truly haven't used the fan and may never but it bugs me that its there and i can't turn on cause it's to noisy.

Make sure the fan blades arent distorted from heat. Also check clearance on the blades, mine were hitting the wiring harness making awful racket.

 

[rwhite]

Make sure the fan blades arent distorted from heat. Also check clearance on the blades, mine were hitting the wiring harness making awful racket.

They didn't look distorted but I'll look closer. If I can't figure it out I was thinking of just unplugging the left side and just run 1 fan if I ever decide to use it.

 

[kf6hap]

The BK Princess is ordered and If my calculations are correct I will have 9-10 ft of pipe sticking straight up through the roof. Will this require 1 or 2 sets of braces?
Cold Air Intake question on a BK Princess...Does the air intake have to go straight down behind the stove or is there some flexibility as to where it enters the floor?
also is there a vent cap that you guys prefer?

Most codes will say a brace for every 5'. Mine is ~12' but only has 1 brace. It has survived 70 MPH winds tho. Your milage will vary. One trick is to use the same roof attachments for both sets of braces. Not exactly code but works.

The cold air connects with a flexible "accordian " pipe.

Not sure what cap is the best. The shielded types keep rain out better than a simple hat but might need more cleaning than a simple hat. A simpls screened cap can be inspected with binoculars. Living in a forest, I placed galvanized hardware cloth with 1/2" squares. No cruding-up problems after many years.

 

[Tar12]

Found a moisture tester today and had a chance to check out the moisture content of my wood...The White Oak avg.14% and the Locust avg.12% and the shocker was the Ash at a 20% avg. as it had been cut and split longer than the Locust! I also checked 3 cords of Red Oak for giggles that we had just cut and hauled in that had been down for 3.5 years from a logging operation...it avg.22% although some of the smaller limbs still attached to the top were rotten..just goes to show that it has to be split and air dried to get it where it needs to be.The fresh cut stuff would have been plenty dry enough for the old boiler but not going to cut it for the BK. Nice knowing that I have more than enough moisture correct wood to cruise through this winter...

 

[raypa]

Duravent dvl telescoping fit in the stove collar

I'm going to run single wall while i research. I can reuse my existing 8". I'm going to offset from my thimble so I need to run 2 - 45 degs to get it there, I think my pipe length is only going to be 3-4' plus elbows.

 

[raypa]

I am still having some issues with my bypass. Sometimes when I close it, i don't feel the cam over. So I open and close it a few times then I will get that cam over action. What would cause that? Is this a problem. Or is it ok as long as I feel it close I'm good to go?

isn't is adjustable at the bypass with a bolt and nut to snug it up a thread or two?

 

[lsucet]

Congratulations.
that is the key to have a good experience and enjoyment with these stoves ( GOOD DRY WOOD ). 90% of what i burn is softwood, it is what we have on this part of the country. I have some oak that i burn some pieces last weekend temp drop to 11df and i can tell you that there is not much differences between hard and softwood with these stoves. of course hardwood is better and no doubt get 2 to 4 hrs more out the same load is nice, but i burn 90% of the time RED/WHITE CEDAR,PINE, ALLIGATOR JUNIPER and it is just fine. lately i am getting between 22 to 29 hrs of burn depending on outside temperature with the stove in low. I learn to not mess with the thermostat and use the fan better, anyway the fan make the stat open and stove temp climb again. I have the fans connected to an outlet that it is controlled by a wall stat and it looks like it is working excellent, but i want to do more testing and adjustment before give a final review.
The night temp dropped to 11df i still getting 16 hrs out of the same load that was a mix of oak and alligator juniper. I rake coal to the front and open stat and still big chunks glowing red and for sure i was able to go for another 2 hrs minimum but I decide to toss a few pieces, not bad at all. during the day temp got into the 30s but the wind blowing from north was making it looks worse.

I just trying to say, I LOVE THIS STOVE. lol lol
regards

 

[Tar12]

Isucet...I am very interested in your experiment controlling the fans with the wall stat....I will be expecting a fully detailed report soon! lol

 

[kf6hap]

If you want thermostatic control of the fan lots of options are available on Amazon. Just enter "line voltage thermostat".

Here is one option:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01ASYNO00/?tag=hearthamazon-20

 

[lsucet]

If you want thermostatic control of the fan lots of options are available on Amazon. Just enter "line voltage thermostat".

Here is one option:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01ASYNO00/?tag=hearthamazon-20

The reason I am using a line voltage wall thermostat is cause i can keep it at normal high that is about 4 to 5 ft. reason to it is cause if i use an outlet thermostat the draft at floor level when fan is on can affect the performance of it. that is why when you installed a wall stat to control a furnace manufactures recommend that high for a better performance and more accurate reading of room temp. Maybe i am wrong. my problem now is to get a better one with better accuracy cause this one is 3-5 degrees accuracy i am trying to find one that is single pole and with better accuracy maybe in the +/- 0.5 of a degree or no more of 1 degree.

 

[jetsam]

The whole thing is problematic in cold weather because you don't want your fan shutting off at high thermostat settings, and you don't want a high fan cooling the cat below its active range on low thermostat settings.

Retrofitting an existing BK stove to run as needed to keep the room at a target temperature would require servos and probes and a microcontroller. It's not a super complex project- but it is a messy proposition until they start building them into woodstoves.

I hope somebody builds one with a thermoelectric generator to run the fan and charge the battery, and a backup battery to run the computer when the fire's low. The user puts in a target temperature and closes the bypass and walks away, and the stove manages airflow and fan speed, and sends you an email when there's a problem. (FROM: Stove Subject: MOAR WOOD)

 

[Highbeam]

Duravent dvl telescoping fit in the stove collar

On my princess, duravent dvl did NOT fit the stove collar. Much too sloppy. Required the adapter made by duravent. I tried though as on my old hearthstone heritage the duravent dvl fit awesomely tight without the adapter.

You want a very nice seal at the flue collar to maintain excellent draft.

 

[Highbeam]

The BK Princess is ordered and If my calculations are correct I will have 9-10 ft of pipe sticking straight up through the roof. Will this require 1 or 2 sets of braces?
Cold Air Intake question on a BK Princess...Does the air intake have to go straight down behind the stove or is there some flexibility as to where it enters the floor?
also is there a vent cap that you guys prefer?

Maximum of 5 feet unsupported. If you get 9 feet above the roofline, one brace only. Braces look dumb, double braces very dumb, so I would be trying to avoid that second set.

I use a cold air duct. It does not have to go straight down. Use the semi rigid aluminum dryer duct and/or rigid duct to make up your intake system. You can even shoot right out the wall and terminate with a dryer hood with the flapper removed. Outside air is always superior and worth the effort.

 

[rwhite]

On my princess, duravent dvl did NOT fit the stove collar. Much too sloppy. Required the adapter made by duravent. I tried though as on my old hearthstone heritage the duravent dvl fit awesomely tight without the adapter.

You want a very nice seal at the flue collar to maintain excellent draft.

Strange? It fit tight. The only issue I had was the 3 holes on pipe and collar didn't line up so I drilled some new ones.

 

[lsucet]

well, i will not get that technical with this and fried my brain, i use more my brain with my ham radios and antennas and a lot other things that i am into it. i just trying to have better control of that fan overnight cause after all these stoves handle that task with no problems. saying that, it is for sure the stove will still have wood in AM when i get out of bed. i just don't want to short the burn time with the fan on if is not necessary overnight. if i turn the fan on before go to bed and later the house temp can be keep just with the stove, why to use the fan all night and short the burn time? I just want to go to bed and let the thermostat decide if i am going to need the fan or not to bring temp back and keep back rooms into acceptable temp.

Plus i have something else to do and play with without get to technical about it. lol. just just

 

[rwhite]

Make sure the fan blades arent distorted from heat. Also check clearance on the blades, mine were hitting the wiring harness making awful racket.

Was able to take it apart and the very end of the tape wrapping the wind was peeled up and getting sucked into the blades when I turned it on. Rewrapped and all is good! Maybe a useless venture since I don't even use it but it's nice to know it works.

 

[tylorklein]

Question for the group; I have 2 BK stoves, a three year old sirocco 30 downstairs and year old princess upstairs. A few days ago, the princess thermostat knob suddenly has an extreme range of motion (near 360 degrees). The dial (swoosh not numbers like the sirocco) needs to be vertical near 6 o'clock to get a burn that used to be above 3 (around 1.5 on the numbered dial). Anyone have similar experience or suggestions? Since its still working, just at much different position, I am hesistant to mess around with it. That said, if its a simple fix I will do it so they're consistent again (easier for my wife also).

Thanks.

 

[lsucet]

check if the shaft moves too. i heard here that the knob can get loose and cause that issue. if is that, it is a simple fix and just need to be calibrate it and with an allen wrench secure the screw of the knob to the shaft