2017-18 Blaze King Performance Thread (Everything BK)

[lsucet]

Yeah, I'm sure a lot of people will skip over it, that's fine and why I don't hesitate to make a detailed post. I've skipped plenty of shorter posts myself that I had no interest in.

Oh ok, I see. You like the long ones

 

[tarzan]

Yeah, I'm sure a lot of people will skip over it, that's fine and why I don't hesitate to make a detailed post. I've skipped plenty of shorter posts myself that I had no interest in.

I read the whole thing. For some reason it reminded me of "Walden."

 

[Highbeam]

Highbeam, have you tried the "mini-rocket stove" technique I mentioned last week? I'll elaborate below the re-quote:

Yikes, that was long. BG will probably accuse you of writing a "rant"

I light the whole load at once and am not into partially filling the firebox. So I don't have room to be building tee-pees or rocket stoves where fuel should be. Perhaps that dooms me to forever have long, smokey, warm up times in the BK.

I do use red cedar kindling and everything is well under 20%, actually in the mid teens last I checked. If there is anything sub par it would be the old cat that still works great but not as good as new.

I do notice that the plume color switches from white to blue after cat engagement. Then cruises for awhile before going clear, aka "stealth".

 

[kf6hap]

Here is my "quick fire" cold start method:
1. Construct a soft wood fire so the flames are licking all over the perforated cat protector.
2. When the flue probe hits 350, shut the loading door and close the bypass.

Your "magic lightoff" flue temperature might be different from mine. Experiment. Below the magic lightoff temperature, the load might smoke badly for a long, long time.

I always pack the wood to the top so it is very near the cat protector. In the shoulder season, I stack the wood in a triangle so at least some wood is very near the cat to provide lots of licking flames.

The flue draw will suck the flame heat into the (steel) cat causing it to glow red almost instantly. My loads never fail to take off. The cat thermometer is never in the "active" region but shoots up into it in a few minutes.

If this does not work for you, perhaps the draw is too weak. My flue ,17' X 6" no bends, makes the house look a little odd but it works great. I don't know if this works on ceramic cats.

 

[WoodyIsGoody]

I light the whole load at once and am not into partially filling the firebox. So I don't have room to be building tee-pees or rocket stoves where fuel should be. Perhaps that dooms me to forever have long, smokey, warm up times in the BK.

I'm confused. Why do you think I'm recommending a partial fill?

Maybe I forgot to add, you pack all areas of the firebox full, including inside the "mini-firebox".

I do use red cedar kindling and everything is well under 20%, actually in the mid teens last I checked. If there is anything sub par it would be the old cat that still works great but not as good as new.

I grew up thinking red cedar was the ONLY kind of kindling. What I've learned since is that is of very limited utility. The problem is it takes up too much firebox space for it's heat output. Now I only use it in a few small slivers to help the initial flame spread a bit faster so my entire load of smaller wood goes off at once.

I do notice that the plume color switches from white to blue after cat engagement. Then cruises for awhile before going clear, aka "stealth".

From a practical standpoint, I don't think you need to worry about the 15 minute rule when you're lighting up your BK. Here's why. Before the rule their was no legal means to prevent irresponsible burning. Nothing anyone could do if you smoked for hours, dark, choking smoke. It was everyone's legal right to burn as dirty as they wanted 24 hours a day. When they drew up the regulation to fix this problem, they could have given you 60 minutes to get a good clean fire going. But, by the time the enforcer got to the problem site, the offender might have already been burning for an hour. Then the enforcer would have had to take measurements for another full hour to write a ticket. By minute 50 their fire might have burned down to coals and finally be in compliance. The enforcer just wasted 1/4 of their day.

The 15 minute rule is just an acknowledgement that wood-burners (in regulated urban areas) have a responsibility to burn dry wood and start fires in a competent manner. And that the enforcer can show up and write a ticket to an offender without waiting around all day. Nobody's going to be waiting with a stopwatch outside your house waiting for that first wisp of smoke to exit your chimney so they can start their stopwatch and catch another conscientious wood burner. Your Blaze King is one of the cleanest burning stoves on the market!

 

[BrianN]

It is difficult to overfire the BK stoves as the thermostat limits the temperature. This is wonderful. Can it be overfired? Yes, but hard to do. I believe my steel welded cast-iron clad stove top can operate in the 600s but that would overheat the house.

Hate to disagree, but, it is very easy to over fire my BK. I can run the stove top well above 600 and have the cat thermometer above and beyond the active range.
I do keep a close eye on it when I have the stove above 2 on the dial.

 

[coutufr]

Burning big chunks of ash right now in the Ashford 30.

 

[webby3650]

Hate to disagree, but, it is very easy to over fire my BK. I can run the stove top well above 600 and have the cat thermometer above and beyond the active range.
I do keep a close eye on it when I have the stove above 2 on the dial.

That is not an overfire. 600 degrees on a steel stove is just gettin started!
Your stove won’t overfire unless the door gasket is bad or you leave the bypass open.

 

[jetsam]

Hate to disagree, but, it is very easy to over fire my BK. I can run the stove top well above 600 and have the cat thermometer above and beyond the active range.
I do keep a close eye on it when I have the stove above 2 on the dial.

You can wrap around that cat probe thermometer without being anywhere near an overfire (and when the cat is new, you will).

600 stovetop is hot but nowhere near an overfire either.

I've burned whole loads on wide open thermostat (the first time nervously, with IR thermometer in hand). The thermostat really does take care of it for you.

 

[Beldin]

Yikes, that was long. BG will probably accuse you of writing a "rant"

I light the whole load at once and am not into partially filling the firebox. So I don't have room to be building tee-pees or rocket stoves where fuel should be. Perhaps that dooms me to forever have long, smokey, warm up times in the BK.

I do use red cedar kindling and everything is well under 20%, actually in the mid teens last I checked. If there is anything sub par it would be the old cat that still works great but not as good as new.

I do notice that the plume color switches from white to blue after cat engagement. Then cruises for awhile before going clear, aka "stealth".

Kick the load off at once on your BLAZE KING. Perfect for me. I am not worried about over firing my stove, I understand that. I don't have to worry about emissions at all (my sauna stove is only 9 feet from top of flue and smokes out my Marxist squatter neighbors), but it is good to know that as a system the BK stoves can operate like that. I'm feeling better for spending more money on a BK

 

[SculptureOfSound]

What performance issues will low draft typically cause on a cat stove like a BK? Just the inability to burn as low and possible smoke issues when opening the door?

I've only got an external chimney that is only 13' from firebox floor to the top, and the Ashford 25 calls for 15' from top of insert, so about 17' from bottom of firebox. Just curious what kind of issues I might expect if running below the minimum.

 

[lsucet]

What performance issues will low draft typically cause on a cat stove like a BK? Just the inability to burn as low and possible smoke issues when openi

When is true you can have those dificiencies with short chimney sometimes is hard to predict. Also is hard to predict if the 15' recommended by the manufacturer will perform like it should. Everything depends on many factors but it is a good starting point and go from there.

 

[WoodyIsGoody]

What performance issues will low draft typically cause on a cat stove like a BK? Just the inability to burn as low and possible smoke issues when opening the door?

I've only got an external chimney that is only 13' from firebox floor to the top, and the Ashford 25 calls for 15' from top of insert, so about 17' from bottom of firebox. Just curious what kind of issues I might expect if running below the minimum.

It depends upon the install. Some will handle a shorter flue. If you don't have enough you might get easy back-drafting, difficulty getting blaze going, stalling of the cat at low settings and coals that don't burn out.

 

[WoodyIsGoody]

Kick the load off at once on your BLAZE KING. Perfect for me. I am not worried about over firing my stove, I understand that. I don't have to worry about emissions at all (my sauna stove is only 9 feet from top of flue and smokes out my Marxist squatter neighbors), but it is good to know that as a system the BK stoves can operate like that. I'm feeling better for spending more money on a BK

I don't have to worry about emissions either. But I've always taken pleasure in burning cleanly and efficiently. I build the quick starting, HOT fire because it's FUN. It only takes an extra minute vs. just packing it full and letting it take it's natural time. Did I say it was fun? X2

 

[Poindexter]

In really cold weather running wide open you will probably do fine with a shorter stack. For low or medium low burns in shoulder season wont have a leg to complain on until your stack height meets minimum spec.

 

[Highbeam]

Also, the folks that have complained about smoke smell in the house or around the stove usually have low draft. My pipe meets minimum spec exactly and I'm happy with how it burns in very warm outdoor temperatures. Sometimes it's even warmer outside than inside! With a shorter flue it is even more important that the flue be well insulated, all vertical, and internal to the home as much as possible. In other words, make it a good one!

 

[WoodyIsGoody]

Your stove won’t overfire unless the door gasket is bad or you leave the bypass open.

Or the thermostat is not functioning.

 

[Ashful]

What performance issues will low draft typically cause on a cat stove like a BK? Just the inability to burn as low and possible smoke issues when opening the door?

The primary issue is a limit on how low you can burn. I see enormous difference between my two stoves, in this regard, having 30' and 15' chimneys on the same model.

Any stove will have issues with smoke out the door, if draft is not sufficient. This can usually be managed by not opening the door in the middle of a burn (I only open the door when it's time to reload), and opening the door very slowly, when you need to do it. This issue is not unique to BK, in fact having a bypass damper to open likely makes it better than most non-cats, with regard to this particular issue.

 

[Highbeam]

Your stove won’t overfire unless the door gasket is bad or you leave the bypass open.

Or if you broke the glass, or used a torch to cut a hole in the side. We have to assume that all of our appliances are functional and working as designed. If so, only a bad door gasket or open bypass can cause problems as webby said. It's a really nice feature that I never have used. You can feel safe walking away from the stove as it ramps up to full boogie!

 

[black smoke signals]

Highbeam ?. You can feel safe walking away from the stove as it ramps up to full boogie![/QUOTE] Correct me here are you saying after you set t-stat
to lets say just till the flame goes out you are not required to control the blazing orange cat glow with the t-stat or just walk away and go polish hot rods?

 

[jetsam]

HCorrect me here are you saying after you set t-stat to lets say just till the flame goes out you are not required to control the blazing orange cat glow with the t-stat or just walk away and go polish hot rods?

You set the thermostat for the burn rate you want and go away. The thermostat turns the air up and down to meet that burn rate.

As a new stove owner it's a little confusing and you feel like you need to adjust the dial sometimes, but once you get used to the stove you will probably not touch it other than to reload.

In the winter I usually adjust mine twice a day (a lower setting in the morning, and higher at night).

 

[WoodyIsGoody]

We have to assume that all of our appliances are functional and working as designed. If so, only a bad door gasket or open bypass can cause problems as webby said.

I would NEVER assume a woodstove is working as designed. Periodic inspections are important safety checks. All it takes is a leaky door gasket or something broken or cracked to over fire and become a serious hazard.

Thankfully, problems are rare but it's better to catch them earlier vs. later.

 

[lsucet]

Highbeam ?. You can feel safe walking away from the stove as it ramps up to full boogie!

Correct me here are you saying after you set t-stat
to lets say just till the flame goes out you are not required to control the blazing orange cat glow with the t-stat or just walk away and go polish hot rods?[/QUOTE]
Even At wide open throttle, the thermostat will close at certain temp and at some percentage avoiding overfire condition. There are members here that run their kings at full throttle, cause of the location of the stove in their house plus the way they distribute the heat. The manual says adjust the tstat to your need. That need can be wide open too.

 

[Highbeam]

You set the thermostat for the burn rate you want and go away. The thermostat turns the air up and down to meet that burn rate.

As a new stove owner it's a little confusing and you feel like you need to adjust the dial sometimes, but once you get used to the stove you will probably not touch it other than to reload.

In the winter I usually adjust mine twice a day (a lower setting in the morning, and higher at night).

Yep. The thermostat is an active device designed to do safely regulate the temperature. This is not unlike people with regular furnaces going to sleep at night while their furnaces turn on and off.

 

[kf6hap]

Seasoned burners sometimes have difficulty believing the thermostatic control actually works when stoves of the past would rage out of control every time you stood up to change the channel.