2017-18 Blaze King Performance Thread (Everything BK)

[kf6hap]

I just undo one of the braces to get the ladder right next to the stack. Not hard at all, for my setup. The Little Giant ladder from Costco compensates for the roof pitch.

 

[lsucet]

The taller the chimney the greatest the pressure differential, making/creating same WC at lower temperatures than a shorter one. Letting you keep lower settings with a BK tstat. I think that the damper opens and closes easier due to a small travel between open and close and the thermostatic coil doesn't need higher temperatures to shuts down and controls the burn. Ok something like that.lol

 

[oldbluedeer]

Just remember that you need to add those stupid looking and leak causing roof braces one you exceed 4 or 5 feet of chimney above the roof. I think it's five feet but I'm not sure. And then, it will be that much harder to service the chimney cap when it's way over your head.

Yes, that is a fact, the reason why I wanted to avoid extending the chimney if possible, and why I tried to look so hard at what a longer flue would provide...

I may go with what BKVP and I discussed, which is to keep an eye on it as the weather gets colder and see if the draft improves sufficiently. There is no smoke-in-the-house issue when starting a fire or reloading, so the incentive at this point is better tstat control at lower temperatures and possibly longer cat burn times at lower temps.

 

[begreen]

Just remember that you need to add those stupid looking and leak causing roof braces one you exceed 4 or 5 feet of chimney above the roof.

Nonsense. We have never had any sign of a roof leak from a properly installed roof brace. A tall unbraced stack looks more stupid, and risky.

 

[Poindexter]

On my 13' 6" first year stack the stove ran great below freezing, but i wasnt going for long low burns.

Now that i am up to 15' 6" -no elbows- i can run the stove on low tsat settings at outdoor temps above freezing.

 

[dh1989]

I'm right around 13' with a slight offset to go around a rafter (still straight enough to see up to the cap). I can run down to about 2 o'clock in 50F temps as long as the wood is dry. The draft does pick up pretty strong when it gets colder.

Note that I do small hot burns in the shoulder season and let the house retain the heat. If I tried to squeeze out a long and slower (>12 hrs) burn it may be different. Every setup is different but I'd be inclined to settle for hotter faster fires until temps cool and draft increases.

 

[Squisher]

Do you know what kind of pipe and offset configuration you have that allows you to see the cap? If you can see it it must be very little of it visible.

 

[ohiojoe13]

Year three of burning an Ashford 30.1. And the third year of the smoke smell. Only on the hinge side of the door. It's like that if its 50 degrees outside or zero.

 

[huauqui]

Finally got to light the stove, for the first time, Thursday evening. What a crazy year! Wednesday was 75 then the cold front came through and by Thursday evening it was about 45 and was 22 Friday night. Prior to lighting the stove and chimney had a good cleaning and I removed the damper and put in a nice new stove to chimney adapter in its place. I have the princess set to what would be approximately 2 o'clock on the dial and the fan on low. She is purring along as I write and should go at least until sometime late tonight. My junk wood just doesn't have the BTU capacity for much longer then 18 hours. I burn mostly chinese elm and other stuff the farmers push over into piles for me I will soon have a large supply of Ash as they begin to be killed off by the emerald ash bores.

Love the warmth a wood stove brings to the house and I am enjoying, once again, the exercise associated with burning from the basement

huauqui

 

[kf6hap]

Year three of burning an Ashford 30.1. And the third year of the smoke smell. Only on the hinge side of the door. It's like that if its 50 degrees outside or zero.

Some theories:

1. Creosote is moving sideways through the gasket by capillary action and re-vaporizing causing the smell.
2. Combustion air is blowing the creosote/smoke through the gasket.
3. The door warps when hot.

A. Gasket replacement will stop the "smell". Proven. I call it smell due to no visible smoke. Annual replacements?
B. Hinge side is a lot stronger than the latch side.
c. I plan on using a Rutledge graphite impregnated gasket this time in attempt to improve things.

The smell does not start until about 1/2 hour into the burn( starting with a cold stove). This points to door warpage. Unproven. I need a way test this.

The chimney system is good. 17'X6".

I did not notice smell last year but now at the start of this year it is back again. Why? ?What changed? Creo creep or did it age and get stinkier? Gasket compression during non-use? It appears to be in great shape sealing all around.

 

[Hardtopseadan]

All the talk about dirty glass and my Princess stalled last night. My fault, I fed her little pieces during the day trying to keep enough coals so I could load for overnight, over did it yesterday " 6 weeks post back surgery " loaded her up 20 minutes till shutdown off to bed. 4:30 am cold. Razor blade and vise grips.[emoji3]

 

[oldbluedeer]

On my 13' 6" first year stack the stove ran great below freezing, but i wasnt going for long low burns.

Now that i am up to 15' 6" -no elbows- i can run the stove on low tsat settings at outdoor temps above freezing.

Questions for you about your long low burns: With your Ashford 3.0 stove fully loaded and a new fire started, typically how many hours do you get from when you first close the bypass (10pm on the cat therm) until the stove has cooled enough where you can comfortably place your hand on the stove top? (since stoves continue to produce heat even after the cat goes into the "inactive" zone, I consider this a more objective test of total heat output that I can test in similar fashion...)

Related question: For your answer above, how many hours of that time does the cat thermometer remain in the "active" zone?

Thanks.

 

[dh1989]

Do you know what kind of pipe and offset configuration you have that allows you to see the cap? If you can see it it must be very little of it visible.

It's a single 30 degree offset. I can see about half the bottom of the cap looking up.

 

[Rangerbait]

Question: how delicate are the bypass retainers? I reloaded after coming in from a cold and rainy trick or treat this evening, and turned the thermostat to high. Ran the little ones upstairs to get them in the bath, and came back down maybe 15-20 minutes later. The firebox was roaring of course, and then I realized I never closed the bypass lever. Did I just screw the pooch?

 

[kf6hap]

ohiojoe13
What is your flue height, any bends and diameter?

 

[ohiojoe13]

I'm right at 15 foot with to offset 45s.

ohiojoe13
What is your flue height, any bends and diameter?

 

[Rangerbait]

ohiojoe13
What is your flue height, any bends and diameter?

30' from the stovetop to the rain cap, with one 30 degree elbow kit. It chooches.

 

[kf6hap]

Wow, that is nice and tall so in both our cases it is not draw that is the problem. In a few days I will be burning again. I intend to try to measure the distance of the loading door to the stove body to try and see if it is warping away. The measurement will be tiny and I am not sure if it can be done with enough accuracy.

 

[lsucet]

Question: how delicate are the bypass retainers? I reloaded after coming in from a cold and rainy trick or treat this evening, and turned the thermostat to high. Ran the little ones upstairs to get them in the bath, and came back down maybe 15-20 minutes later. The firebox was roaring of course, and then I realized I never closed the bypass lever. Did I just screw the pooch?

I don't think so just be careful. You said was a reload. If when you reload the cat still into the active zone, close the bypass also after you shut the door. I think you are OK.

 

[jetsam]

Question: how delicate are the bypass retainers? I reloaded after coming in from a cold and rainy trick or treat this evening, and turned the thermostat to high. Ran the little ones upstairs to get them in the bath, and came back down maybe 15-20 minutes later. The firebox was roaring of course, and then I realized I never closed the bypass lever. Did I just screw the pooch?

I've burned a couple loads 8-12 hours with the bypass open by accident. It still seems okay.

 

[Poindexter]

Questions for you about your long low burns: With your Ashford 3.0 stove fully loaded and a new fire started, typically how many hours do you get from when you first close the bypass (10pm on the cat therm) until the stove has cooled enough where you can comfortably place your hand on the stove top? (since stoves continue to produce heat even after the cat goes into the "inactive" zone, I consider this a more objective test of total heat output that I can test in similar fashion...)

Related question: For your answer above, how many hours of that time does the cat thermometer remain in the "active" zone?

Thanks.

1. Depends on the tsat setting. I am doing a lot of cold starts this year. Typically i start 24/7 burning the first week of september, did a cold start today after church.

I am running spruce at 10-12 % mc. Very short coaling stage. With my stack, the tsat at smack in the medium middle, with daytime highs around +35 and over night lows around +25dF i am keeping the stove room at +75 to +85 dF (3 star plus eficient envelope, 1200sqft), twelve hour burns are a snooze.

Generally this shoulder season i carry up two cloth carriers of splits after work. I run a full stove over night, about 1.5 cloth carriers, and then load the remainder, about 1/3 of a firebox in the am. In the am i am loading my remainder on hot coals and an active cat.

In the evening i generally come home to a warm stove with the cat halfway through the inactive area and no live coals.

Imma fire up my laptop to get a bigger kn than is on my phone. Brb.

 

[Poindexter]

I don't generally lay my hand on the stove top, can't answer that one.

Cat staying active is a kinda tricky one. About half the local evaluators rate my home four star energy eff, the other half give me three. to get a solid four stars and be pushing five stars I would need to raise all my rafters up, insert a knee wall and then add blown in cellulose, plus $30k in upgraded windows from the triple pane I already got.

At -20dF to -35dF +/- I keep my cat active for weeks on end on 12 hour reloads with spruce. It fits my work schedule. Figuring out exactly how long (16 hours?) my cat would stay active is not something I am willing to make time for. AT -50dF with the tsat on high and the convection deck fan kit on high I can burn down a box full of spruce in 4 hours flat. Two other 10 hours burns with that of other spruce each 24 hour day and my wife is dressed in outfits I find suitable.

FWIW the wife and I are both allergic to various birch components, so I burn spruce only. If I go to Rutgers or Yale for grad school I'll get hold of @BKVP for a dealer and carry on with that amazing selection of trees. For the first winter I would be running oak, hard maple and hickory with the long coaling stages in shoulder season to keep in 24 hour burns as long as possible, and then switch to soft woods with short coaling stages like pine and soft maple for the cold weather so I don't have to deal with a buildup of coals in the floor of the firebox while submitting to 12 hour reload regimen.

The BK stoves are designed around the softwoods commonly available in the PNW.

 

[Ashful]

I don't generally lay my hand on the stove top, can't answer that one.

Figuring out exactly how long (16 hours?) my cat would stay active is not something I am willing to make time for.

I also tried answering that post, but came to the same two conclusions. However, I can say that it is easy to have these Ashfords still putting out appreciable heat 36 hours past reload, and I know I’ve had active cat at 30 hours past reload, when running on lower settings than I normally use. I burn mostly oak and ash, but also occasionally some hickory and maple.

For me, the real advantage is being able to mark spots on the dial that will give me pretty consistent 12 and 24 hour burn times, as that’s what fits my work and family schedule. Load, set it for 12 or 24 hours, and leave it. The oil-fired boiler will pick up any slack if that setting is too low, and I can delay the next reload if that setting was too high.

Now, what’s this talk of Yale and Rutgers? Major? Is this just an excuse to try some of our eastern hardwoods?

 

[SuperJ]

Questions for you about your long low burns: With your Ashford 3.0 stove fully loaded and a new fire started, typically how many hours do you get from when you first close the bypass (10pm on the cat therm) until the stove has cooled enough where you can comfortably place your hand on the stove top? (since stoves continue to produce heat even after the cat goes into the "inactive" zone, I consider this a more objective test of total heat output that I can test in similar fashion...)

Related question: For your answer above, how many hours of that time does the cat thermometer remain in the "active" zone?

Thanks.

So far I've found 24hrs to be easy to obtain in the shoulder season., and even then I reloaded because of my schedule, not because it was dead.
One thing I've noticed is that you don't want to turn the stat down too far. On my Ashford 30 when its room temperature I think you can feel the thermostat close somewhere around 1 o'clock on the dial. This tells me that in operation it will likely be fully closed at a higher setting due to the heated flue gases. You need to give the thermostat some room to open in the final stages or it will die before consuming all the coals. For me this setting seems to be somewhere around 2 o'clock +/-.
It will run on absolute low (thermostat fully closed) for hours and hours but will leave chunks since the stat can't open (cause it's pinned so far closed that the thermostat spring can't overcome) to compensate for falling flue temps as the fuel runs out at the end.
I'm still learning but now when it's good and hot at the start of a burn I slowly turn it down till I hear the thermostat fully close (this might be a little more than 3 o'clock. ) Then I turn it down a bit more (probably ends up a 2 o'clock).
The actual usable range of good thermostatic control seems to be the bottom 2/3's of the dial.

Eventually i'll mark the full closed when cold position on the dial (no point exceeding this position), and a couple other positions.

 

[Ashful]

So, when I had my stoves cleaned out this past summer, the guys doing the job commented that my one stove was the biggest mess of creosote they’ve ever seen. They literally had to spend more than an hour with hammer and chisel, chiseling the bricks out of the rear corner, which were glued into the stove with creosote. The job was more than half finished before I got home (they arrived much earlier than scheduled), but given the racket they were making with the hammer and chisel, I just hope no welds were broken on that relatively thin steel box.

While the firebox was a mess, the chimney was clean, indicating the cat was doing its job, and that my burning habits aren’t all THAT bad. Also, I have two of the same stoves at opposite ends of the house, and the other Ashford was “normal”, in their words. Only one was badly gunked up, and it seemed to be concentrated in the rear of the firebox.

Summary of the two stoves:

Dirty stove (hereafter “stove #1”): Installed on 15 feet of pipe, run on 24 hour reloads, heating < 2000 sq.ft. Located in a deep exterior stone fireplace, with approximately 1 foot of space behind stove to rear wall of fireplace.

Clean stove (hereafter “stove #2”): Installed on 30 feet of pipe, run on 12 hour reloads, heating 4000 sq.ft. Located in shallow exterior stone fireplace, such that back of stove is only 4” from rear wall.

Without boring everyone with every detail of my reload and operational procedure, I’ll point out a few things that I think might be contributing:

1. I leave my fans running, on a very low setting, all of the time. I do not shut them down when reloading. I had previously thought the only reason for shutting off the fans would be to get a more accurate cat probe reading (fans blow across probe shaft on the Ashford 30), and I really don’t need a more accurate cat probe reading, my clean chimney being good evidence that I’m getting good cat response.

2. I typically run the stove on high for 15 minutes before closing the bypass damper, while the fire gets going, and then another 20 minutes after. This is based on the manual instructions to “run the stove on high 20 - 30 minutes, or until the fire is well established.” After this, I turn the t'stat to about 4-o'clock, which is what gives me a 24-hour burn.

3. This stove is run every day, all day, on cycles of at least 24 hours. In the shoulder seasons, I will sometimes run it on 30 - 36 hour cycles, or whatever I can get out of it. During the bulk of the winter it’s loaded every 24 hours, and run down to coals between loads.

Knowing there is (or at least was, before all that hammering of chisels) no leak in the firebox, as evidence by my ability to maintain 30+ hour burn times, I am beginning to suspect that running the fans during that 20 - 30 minute wide-open burn are the cause of this mayhem. Could they be cooling the outer steel of the firebox sufficiently, to prevent any creo that collects between the bricks and steel to not burn off, as intended?

Should I become more concerned with my wood quality? I haven't MM'd the wood in several years, knowing it's been stacked > 2.5 years outdoors, and top-covered before our fall rains start each year. It seems dry to me, and the cats always light-off without issue, but maybe it's not dry enough for 24+ hour burning.

Or, is this just what anyone would expect, when a stove is run day-in / day-out on long 24-hour burn cycles, and never pushed any harder? Now, before you King guys answer, and say 24 hours is nothing, remember this is a much smaller stove, so the burn rate I have to maintain for 24+ hour burns might be more like your 40+ hour burn rates.

Thanks!