2016-17 Blaze King Performance Thread (Everything BK)

[Ashful]

Does anyone spread the ashes on their lawn to lower the soil acidity? I heard that it's good for the grass, similar to an application of lime. Aparantly it also is a good source of potassium for the grass.

I've screened my ashes with a fry basket and have about three 5-gallon buckets of nice fine powdery ashes.

Curious to hear from someone who has tried it though. Any thoughts or suggestions?

I haven't looked into this, but I'd be surprised if the amount of ash generated by one woodstove contains enough base to make any difference over a large area like a lawn. I use dolomatic lime to the tune of a few thousand pounds per acre, when my soil approaches the low end of the ideal pH range, and even that only bumps the level a few tenths of a point.

If the ash contains enough base to actually change pH with the sort of volume any one of us produces in a year (100 - 200 lb?) it would have to be so basic it might burn the lawn. It would be a small area treatment, at best.

 

[kf6hap]

They are extremely alkaline. Good for soil Ph modification. Try sprinkling a small area thinly and water in well. Wait a week and observe. Ashes will supply potassium (K). Where I toss them in the forest, the weeds do better. The soil here is very acidic, so it helps.

 

[BKVP]

Does anyone spread the ashes on their lawn to lower the soil acidity? I heard that it's good for the grass, similar to an application of lime. Aparantly it also is a good source of potassium for the grass.

I've screened my ashes with a fry basket and have about three 5-gallon buckets of nice fine powdery ashes.

Curious to hear from someone who has tried it though. Any thoughts or suggestions?

I'd try it on my neighbors lawn. His dog seems to prefer mine!

 

[jetsam]

I scatter some around non-coniferous trees to help make up for the thick blanket of pine needles they have to eat every year, and put some in my compost pile, and use the rest for ice melt.

 

[Marshy]

Hi guys, new to the forum and fairly new the BK. I installed a King in my house this fall and have been burning it nonstop as my main heat source. Its given me a little learning curve compared to me old stove but I'm learning. One thing I have learned is these stove require the fan kit. I bought the stove without the fan kit and am now in to process of getting one on it. I thought the stove would be able to radiate the heat like my old Shenandoah but boy was I wrong. Any ways, looks like I have some reading to do in this thread. One thing I wanted to ask is, does anyone have any Infrared images of their stove in operation? I would like to compare mine if anyone has any... I'll get one or two posted for you folks to drool over. I'll also have some more questions for you guys as Im trying to heat ~3600 sq ft with it and its been a little challenging (hence I have more learning probably). I think the fan kit will help that out once I get it.



Maybe this will be of interest to @BKVP.. I was going to email my IR images to Chris in the US office so he could tell me if my stove was operating prorperly. I called and talked with him with concerns about low performance with it installed with a masonry chimney. I have more images if you care you view them.

Look what I made. I like the BK tool so much that I made a slightly bigger one for the non-cat in the shop. I'm always burning up the front half of the fuel load and wanting to rake wood forward and down to load more in. A little 3/8" rod, a vice, a mallet, and she's done. So far so good.

I have one made from 1/2" round bar just like it except a lot longer than the BK rod. I can put it in the firebox, close the door on it and reach to the opposite corner to rake coals with it. When the coals are burnt down well I will start at the front of the firebox and push the ash down and under the coals in the rear of the bed, lift the rod (it fluffs the coals out of the ash) then rake them forward. I do this across the whole front of the firebox. Then when I clean out the firebox the back of the firebox it mainly packed with ash, just rake the top layer of coals forward.

Does anyone spread the ashes on their lawn to lower the soil acidity? I heard that it's good for the grass, similar to an application of lime. Aparantly it also is a good source of potassium for the grass.
I've screened my ashes with a fry basket and have about three 5-gallon buckets of nice fine powdery ashes.
Curious to hear from someone who has tried it though. Any thoughts or suggestions?

IDK if I would want the ash all over my yard but I do dump them in my garden all winter. The garden is only about 50ft out the back door. They get tilled in come spring. I've heard it acts like lime also. I don't know if that is true or not though.

 

[Dieselhead]

Maybe this will be of interest to @BKVP.. I was going to email my IR images to Chris in the US office so he could tell me if my stove was operating prorperly. I called and talked with him with concerns about low performance with it installed with a masonry chimney. I have more images if you care you view them.

Chris is BKVP you got the right guy

 

[Woody Stover]

We have a King Parlor so I did not get the ash drawer - bought a metal bucket with metal scoop

The stoves I have now have grated ash-handling, but when I've shoveled in the past I took precautions to minimize the amount of dust escaping. If I just scooped out a shovel full of ash and dumped it haphazardly into a bucket, I had dust flying everywhere. First thing I changed was that I tried to remove ash only when it was cold out so that draft was strong and would pull any stray ash back into the stove box. I then started using a shallow pan which was about twice as long as it was wide. To empty ashes, I held the pan lengthwise, as close to the stove as I could, directly beneath the door opening. I would then carefully scoop up a shovel full of ash and put the shovel in the left end of the pan (I'm right-handed) at a slant, with the end of the shovel touching the bottom of the pan and the handle at a 45* or so angle. I tilted the handle up to get the ash sliding off of the shovel, then drew the handle to the right, depositing the ash in the bottom of the pan and creating the least amount of dust possible. At no time did I want ash falling off the shovel as it would result in a cloud of dust that the draft of the stove might not be able to capture completely. With some practice, I got pretty good at minimizing the amount of dust that escaped.

Does anyone spread the ashes on their lawn to lower the soil acidity? I heard that it's good for the grass, similar to an application of lime. Aparantly it also is a good source of potassium for the grass.

Yeah, but I think you could put it on too thick and kill the grass. Not sure how much would be safe, but it doesn't sound like you have a whole lot, so just make sure to spread it out well.

 

[Woody Stover]

One thing I have learned is these stove require the fan kit. I bought the stove without the fan kit and am now in to process of getting one on it. I thought the stove would be able to radiate the heat like my old Shenandoah but boy was I wrong. Any ways, looks like I have some reading to do in this thread. One thing I wanted to ask is, does anyone have any Infrared images of their stove in operation? I would like to compare mine if anyone has any... I'll get one or two posted for you folks to drool over. I'll also have some more questions for you guys as Im trying to heat ~3600 sq ft with it and its been a little challenging (hence I have more learning probably). I think the fan kit will help that out once I get it.

Does the King also have the "baffles" inside the firebox, like I saw in a pic of the Princess? If so, I wouldn't expect much radiant heat at all off the stove...blower would definitely be needed to pull off much heat. Any cat stove is designed to smolder, so the sides won't get as hot and radiate like a secondary stove. I'm trying to figure out the purpose of baffles inside the firebox...never seen that. I'm sure that would contribute to why the top-end BTU output is lower than some other big stoves. No matter what, 3600 sq.ft. is a lot of space to heat with one stove! Insulation and air-sealing would have to be very good.

 

[Marshy]

Does the King also have the "baffles" inside the firebox, like I saw in a pic of the Princess? If so, I wouldn't expect much radiant heat at all off the stove...blower would definitely be needed to pull off much heat. I'm trying to figure out the purpose of baffles inside the firebox...never seen that. I'm sure that would contribute to why the top-end BTU output is lower than some other big stoves. No matter what, 3600 sq.ft. is a lot of space to heat with one stove! Insulation and air-sealing would have to be very good.

The house is a 1800sqft ranch but on a full basement (1800 sqft). I have heated the home with way with an old Shenandoah for 4 years and was able to maintain 70-75F throughout. There is no reasonable comparison between the two stoves because even if I knew its rating its fair to say it was probably ran hotter than it was ever intended. Regardless, I emailed BKVP and provided him with my IR images of the stove and the conclusion is its operating at expected temperatures. I will share them with the group once I get them all to him, they are fun to look at.

Regarding the baffles, I have detailed pics of the inside of the stove that might answer your questions... I'll post those. There are shields inside the firebox and on the outside of the stove. It was explained to me that they serve to keep the combustion temperature up to incinerate the combustibles and aid in the efficiency. Pics to follow.

 

[showrguy]

Does the King also have the "baffles" inside the firebox, like I saw in a pic of the Princess? If so, I wouldn't expect much radiant heat at all off the stove...blower would definitely be needed to pull off much heat. Any cat stove is designed to smolder, so the sides won't get as hot and radiate like a secondary stove. I'm trying to figure out the purpose of baffles inside the firebox...never seen that. I'm sure that would contribute to why the top-end BTU output is lower than some other big stoves. No matter what, 3600 sq.ft. is a lot of space to heat with one stove! Insulation and air-sealing would have to be very good.

I'm heating 5600 sq. ft. With mine, I don't run the fans on the stove hardly at all.
My stove is on the 1st.floor great room exposed to the 2 nd. floor, I run ceiling fans, works awesome..
Every situation is different though..

 

[Marshy]

I'm heating 5600 sq. ft. With mine, I don't run the fans on the stove hardly at all.
My stove is on the 1st.floor great room exposed to the 2 nd. floor, I run ceiling fans, works awesome..
Every situation is different though..

Yes, sounds like the main floor has a large open area to freely flow to the upper level where as mine only have the stair well to the basement.

 

[kf6hap]

5600 is very large! 3.75X the size of mine.

 

[Blazing]

We need whitespider to help answer any questions you have . Hello Marshy surprised it took you so long.

 

[Ashful]

Does the King also have the "baffles" inside the firebox, like I saw in a pic of the Princess? If so, I wouldn't expect much radiant heat at all off the stove...blower would definitely be needed to pull off much heat. Any cat stove is designed to smolder, so the sides won't get as hot and radiate like a secondary stove. I'm trying to figure out the purpose of baffles inside the firebox...never seen that. I'm sure that would contribute to why the top-end BTU output is lower than some other big stoves. No matter what, 3600 sq.ft. is a lot of space to heat with one stove! Insulation and air-sealing would have to be very good.

Dunno about the King, but most of the radiant heat off the Ashford is thru the glass, perfect for those of us stuffing them back into fireplaces where any radiant heat off sides and back would be lost.

 

[Marshy]

We need whitespider to help answer any questions you have . Hello Marshy surprised it took you so long.

Matter of time I suppose? The level of intelligent technical discussion regarding stove operation is lacking over there. I might have brought some of that with me though. lol

 

[Blazing]

Oh I'm sure you will find some enlightenment to some of your questions here. As well as some intelligent individuals who enjoy debating over numbers. You and Ashful should get on just fine.

 

[Marshy]

Here ya guys go. Full load last night on HIGH before I turned my small fan on (first 2). Last one had my small 12" high velocity fan blowing over the top.

 

[Woody Stover]

where as mine only have the stair well to the basement.

You may see much better performance with the blower on a downstairs stove...it will get more air heated which will help get a convection loop going to the upstairs. But mixed results are reported when heating from the basement. Basement should be insulated, stove near the stairs, and stairs in the center of the upstairs, for best results.

 

[Marshy]

You may see much better performance with the blower on a downstairs stove...it will get more air heated which will help get a convection loop going to the upstairs. But mixed results are reported when heating from the basement. Basement should be insulated, stove near the stairs, and stairs in the center of the upstairs, for best results.

Its a walkout basement layout and is not finished, cinderblock walls, floor joists are uninsulated to the main level and stove is centrally located near the stairs. Unfortunately I also have an insulated 8'x8' garage door and a man door access to the basement. The garage door causes a lot of hear loss. IDK if I can replace it with something more air tight but I've considered buying sheets of 2" green foam board and covering the door from the outside to get it sealed up some.

 

[begreen]

Its a walkout basement layout and is not finished, cinderblock walls, floor joists are uninsulated to the main level and stove is centrally located near the stairs. Unfortunately I also have an insulated 8'x8' garage door and a man door access to the basement. The garage door causes a lot of hear loss. IDK if I can replace it with something more air tight but I've considered buying sheets of 2" green foam board and covering the door from the outside to get it sealed up some.

Lots of heat loss by that description. Uninsulated block walls are soaking up a lot of heat. It could be costing you about a third of the heat being produced. That would be the first thing to insulate, then the seal the rim joist well and insulate the joist spaces. Is the garage door used? If not consider removing it and replacing with an insulated wall. Or if it is used on occasion consider replacing with an insulated garage door or insulating the present one.
http://www.overheaddoor.com/insulated-garage-doors-thermacore
http://www.instructables.com/id/3-Steps-Most-EFFECTIVE-Way-to-Insulate-your-Garage/

 

[rdust]

I've said it before, if I was heating from an unisulated basement I'd have the biggest non cat I could find. The benifit for me of a cat stove is the great turn down. This is something you will rarely be able to enjoy heating from an uninsulated basement. Some people do it successfully but it seems more times than not they're unhappy.

 

[Marshy]

The garage door is used to bring the wood in for the week. I have a large 2 wheeled wheel borrow and a 4 wheeled cart. Two trips with each and I have a face cord of wood in the house. Like I previously said, I heated the house with an older stove with terrible cycle times and thought getting a new large stove with better efficiency would be able to match the heat output while increasing the cycles time. Its increased my cycle time but so far has not matched the old stove. I still owe it to myself and the stove to get the fan kit before I conclude its not going to work for me. I wasn't too fast to condemn the stove and I'm still not at that point yet. If I do get there, anyone considering switching to a King? lol

 

[Marshy]

Here's my old stove. It has a 24" deep firebox.

You can see how much larger the surface area is that's 5-670F vs the surface area on the BK. I typically didn't have any fans on it either. That's what I've come to realize fans are necessary on the BK to get that heat transfer out of it. Just need the $300 to buy it lol.

 

[begreen]

The garage door is used to bring the wood in for the week. I have a large 2 wheeled wheel borrow and a 4 wheeled cart. Two trips with each and I have a face cord of wood in the house. Like I previously said, I heated the house with an older stove with terrible cycle times and thought getting a new large stove with better efficiency would be able to match the heat output while increasing the cycles time. Its increased my cycle time but so far has not matched the old stove. I still owe it to myself and the stove to get the fan kit before I conclude its not going to work for me. I wasn't too fast to condemn the stove and I'm still not at that point yet. If I do get there, anyone considering switching to a King? lol

Figure on losing 1 cord out of every 3 burned regardless of the stove. The best investment is going to be insulating and sealing. That will make an instant improvement.

 

[Marshy]

I averaged 6 cord per year with the old stove. Some years as much as 7. If I cant burn less than that with the King then it will be a shame and I will go back to my old stove.