2016-17 Blaze King Performance Thread (Everything BK)

[Highbeam]

No way thats with an insert, right? I dont think Ive ever seen anyone post those burn times with the insert.

Those times are from ashfords burning extremely high btu wood. Remember how these stoves work, the thermostat tries to maintain a specific stove temp which on lower burns is really just a cat temp. The firebox is mostly just a fuel tank. Ashful's fuel tank is a little bigger but filled with fuel that has much more energy per gallon.

My princess is bigger than his ashfords but I can't match those burn times with my low btu Douglas fir.

 

[jetsam]

My next house is going to have the new BK Megaking, which will have a 20 CF firebox, a nine burner cooktop, computerized airflow and fan speed, built in thermoelectric power, and a two week burn time when it's warm out.

I'm also getting the upcoming BK Treefurnace, which will have a big oblong firebox and a 100 ton winch on one side. You just run the winch cable out into the woods, hook it around a tree, and go back and press the "TOW AND HEAT" button. It'll pull the whole tree in and send you an email when it needs a new one.

 

[Tar12]

My next house is going to have the new BK Megaking, which will have a 20 CF firebox, a nine burner cooktop, computerized airflow and fan speed, built in thermoelectric power, and a two week burn time when it's warm out.

I'm also getting the upcoming BK Treefurnace, which will have a big oblong firebox and a 100 ton winch on one side. You just run the winch cable out into the woods, hook it around a tree, and go back and press the "TOW AND HEAT" button. It'll pull the whole tree in and send you an email when it needs a new one.

Sign me up! lol

 

[Tocramed]

My next house is going to have the new BK Megaking, which will have a 20 CF firebox, a nine burner cooktop, computerized airflow and fan speed, built in thermoelectric power, and a two week burn time when it's warm out.

I'm also getting the upcoming BK Treefurnace, which will have a big oblong firebox and a 100 ton winch on one side. You just run the winch cable out into the woods, hook it around a tree, and go back and press the "TOW AND HEAT" button. It'll pull the whole tree in and send you an email when it needs a new one.

I might have seen this on here somewhere, but it sounds like a match!
http://newatlas.com/spruce-stove-log/29863/

 

[Highbeam]

My next house is going to have the new BK Megaking, which will have a 20 CF firebox, a nine burner cooktop, computerized airflow and fan speed, built in thermoelectric power, and a two week burn time when it's warm out.

I'm also getting the upcoming BK Treefurnace, which will have a big oblong firebox and a 100 ton winch on one side. You just run the winch cable out into the woods, hook it around a tree, and go back and press the "TOW AND HEAT" button. It'll pull the whole tree in and send you an email when it needs a new one.

Seriously, bk made the apex furnace but it used (uses) a wonky 7" flue and had a huge firebox, blowers, etc.

 

[jetsam]

Seriously, bk made the apex furnace but it used (uses) a wonky 7" flue and had a huge firebox, blowers, etc.

I seriously considered the Apex when I was shopping for my Princess Insert, but it would have been a fairly large construction project to run air ducts to every level of the house, and would probably have involved trenching through the slab on the ground floor. (Wife said no trenchers indoors, wah wah wah).

House already had hydronic everything, as houses around here tend to do.

I also considered rigging up the Apex to run the hydronic system, but I probably shouldn't have used the phrase 'rig up' in the pitch speech.... Well, lesson learned for the next house.

One thing I am still thinking of doing is setting up a wood gasifier for the stove and generator, but I promised to build a chicken coop and a shed before I mess with that. Year after next, maybe.

 

[webby3650]

Pretty sure the Apex was discontinued, maybe just in the US, can't remember for sure.

 

[Ashful]

...would probably have involved trenching through the slab on the ground floor. (Wife said no trenchers indoors, wah wah wah).

Geez... you run one little Ditch Witch thru the living room, and she freaks out! Women, can't live with them...

 

[Ashful]

My next house is going to have the new BK Megaking, which will have a 20 CF firebox, a nine burner cooktop, computerized airflow and fan speed, built in thermoelectric power, and a two week burn time when it's warm out.

If BK ever developed a cookstove with low burn capability similar to their wood stoves, I'd give it serious consideration. It wasn't that long ago I was looking at Esse's, but decided I'd do better with BK, since my primary need is heat.

 

[volunbeer]

I am happy with my stove after 3 weeks and especially happy at the heat transfer on the upper two floors where we spend 98% of our time. It's even nice that our master bedroom does not stay so warm (I sleep better when it is about 65. It is staying around 72 on the main floor and 74 upstairs and I am running the stove at the 50% setting and I am not stuffing the box full (probably 2/3rds at most). Loading in the morning and loading in the evening and now that I am throwing the cat back into action quickly it does not take long. Have only lit the fire twice in 3 weeks (it burned out on the 3rd day when I was out of the house) and it has run non-stop otherwise. Best guess is that I have used about half a cord of wood. Still have not even shoveled out ash (probably 2 inches in bottom of the box).

With all of that being said, had I built my house and if I did not live in the communist whacko paradise known as Washington I would have put in a big Garn boiler. Those things are awesome!

 

[dh1989]

This is my second season heating most of my house full time with the Sirocco 20. Today I let the stove go cold to empty the ashes. While in there I did some housekeeping and pulled the flame shield to lightly brush the cat to remove fly ash. I thought I saw the cat move slightly, so I tugged the tabs with my finger and found my cat is loose. It appears the gasket is no longer holding it in place, but it is rather just sitting there in its slot. The cat still glows and works fine.

Is this normal? Should the cat gasket just wear out like this over time?

 

[webby3650]

This is my second season heating most of my house full time with the Sirocco 20. Today I let the stove go cold to empty the ashes. While in there I did some housekeeping and pulled the flame shield to lightly brush the cat to remove fly ash. I thought I saw the cat move slightly, so I tugged the tabs with my finger and found my cat is loose. It appears the gasket is no longer holding it in place, but it is rather just sitting there in its slot. The cat still glows and works fine.

Is this normal? Should the cat gasket just wear out like this over time?

They move a little, not an big deal.
If it's super loose then I'd change the gasket. It's typically not a wear item, unless the cat is pulled out.

 

[Tar12]

This is my second season heating most of my house full time with the Sirocco 20. Today I let the stove go cold to empty the ashes. While in there I did some housekeeping and pulled the flame shield to lightly brush the cat to remove fly ash. I thought I saw the cat move slightly, so I tugged the tabs with my finger and found my cat is loose. It appears the gasket is no longer holding it in place, but it is rather just sitting there in its slot. The cat still glows and works fine.

Is this normal? Should the cat gasket just wear out like this over time?

When I went up to the BK dealer to pay for my stove we were discussing the cats in these stoves and I remarked that they didn't seem to hard to change out the guy working there said you have to take these 2 bolts out and I said what? you don't have to take any bolts out and explained to him how it was done...he proceed to pull out a pocket knife and barely pried at the tabs and the cat moved right away...this was on a new/display stove that had a total of 3 fires in it....

 

[Highbeam]

When I went up to the BK dealer to pay for my stove we were discussing the cats in these stoves and I remarked that they didn't seem to hard to change out the guy working there said you have to take these 2 bolts out and I said what? you don't have to take any bolts out and explained to him how it was done...he proceed to pull out a pocket knife and barely pried at the tabs and the cat moved right away...this was on a new/display stove that had a total of 3 fires in it....

But you were right about no bolts!

 

[Tar12]

But you were right about no bolts!

I have learned so much from you guys already I feel I can trouble shoot about anything now...lol I have been taking notes...

 

[Tar12]

Question regarding flue temps...my set up will be a 15 ft flue..straight up..with double wall Selkirk with a SS inner and steel outer from stove top to ceiling support and then SS Selkirk from there on up....will getting the BK Princess in the active zone be all I need to know in regards to flue temp? or do I need to monitor the the double wall? and if so how is that done with double wall?

 

[webby3650]

When I went up to the BK dealer to pay for my stove we were discussing the cats in these stoves and I remarked that they didn't seem to hard to change out the guy working there said you have to take these 2 bolts out and I said what? you don't have to take any bolts out and explained to him how it was done...he proceed to pull out a pocket knife and barely pried at the tabs and the cat moved right away...this was on a new/display stove that had a total of 3 fires in it....

Catalyst access without needing tools is one thing that makes BK great! Other old designs often took a torch and replacement bolts to inspect the cat. Without heating up the bolts they weren't budging!

 

[kennyp2339]

Question regarding flue temps...my set up will be a 15 ft flue..straight up..with double wall Selkirk with a SS inner and steel outer from stove top to ceiling support and then SS Selkirk from there on up....will getting the BK Princess in the active zone be all I need to know in regards to flue temp? or do I need to monitor the the double wall? and if so how is that done with double wall?

As long as your in the active area and the bypass is closed you shouldn't have a problem with flue temps, the temps will run surprisingly lower than most stoves just keep the cat active with out stalling and you'll be good to go

 

[webby3650]

Question regarding flue temps...my set up will be a 15 ft flue..straight up..with double wall Selkirk with a SS inner and steel outer from stove top to ceiling support and then SS Selkirk from there on up....will getting the BK Princess in the active zone be all I need to know in regards to flue temp? or do I need to monitor the the double wall? and if so how is that done with double wall?

I like to monitor flue temps, although it's super boring... It will really help you grasp what's going on in there.
Just google magnetic flue probe thermometer.

 

[thefantods]

I am getting a Sirocco 25 installed soon. I was looking at the manual and saw that the clearance requirement from the top of the insert to the bottom of the mantle is 38 inches. That seems crazy to me. It's also the only stove I've seen have a requirement that extreme. Any ideas why?

 

[Ashful]

When I went up to the BK dealer to pay for my stove we were discussing the cats in these stoves and I remarked that they didn't seem to hard to change out the guy working there said you have to take these 2 bolts out and I said what? you don't have to take any bolts out and explained to him how it was done...he proceed to pull out a pocket knife and barely pried at the tabs and the cat moved right away...this was on a new/display stove that had a total of 3 fires in it....

Amazing how little some of these dealers know about their product. Then you get folks on here commending the value added by a dealer network... ::

 

[lsucet]

Question regarding flue temps...my set up will be a 15 ft flue..straight up..with double wall Selkirk with a SS inner and steel outer from stove top to ceiling support and then SS Selkirk from there on up....will getting the BK Princess in the active zone be all I need to know in regards to flue temp? or do I need to monitor the the double wall? and if so how is that done with double wall?

I got addicted to the flue probe, I come to the ranch on weekends and sometimes during the week. It means that I have to start a fire from scratch every time.
I get everything ready and fire up and let the door cracked for a while. What let me know i can shut the door is the flue probe.

Once it starts going into high 200 into the 300 I shut the door. Never fail to keep fire going that way. Is it necessary? No but it is a good aid. If you decide to get one get the probe, not the magnetic one.

 

[Tar12]

Amazing how little some of these dealers know about their product. Then you get folks on here commending the value added by a dealer network... ::

Once I realized he didn't know the finer details of the stove I asked him how many they sold a year...he said between both of his stores they might sell 2-3 a year and then proceed to sing praise about the other lines they carried...I nipped that in the bud real quick as I wasn't interested in hearing that gibberish. He took note..I realized then and there that there would be no real help forthcoming should I need it...Thats ok as I have you guys!..Priceless!

 

[Ashful]

I hear this too often, here. BK dealers pushing their other brands over BK. Don't know if this is innocent ignorance on their part, or if they have better incentives on the other lines. We all know there is no better stove than BK. [emoji14]

 

[lsucet]

I hear this too often, here. BK dealers pushing their other brands over BK. Don't know if this is innocent ignorance on their part, or if they have better incentives on the other lines. We all know there is no better stove than BK. [emoji14]

Oh boy, you are in trouble again with that statement. Lol. Just wait.