2017-18 Blaze King Performance Thread PART 2 (Everything BK)

[lsucet]

Did we miss pictures of splitter? Looks good you have a nice setup there I bet you keep busy.

I have to pick it up this Friday cause they run out of them on black Friday but they raincheck one for me and is showing up on Thursday.
At Tractor Supply Company

 

[oldbluedeer]

Since my previous post on October 27, I have added 3' of chimney pipe for a total of 16'. This seems to have resolved the issue of not having enough damper control at lower stove temperatures (and insufficient draft).


Here is a typical burn in my Sirocco 2.0 stove: After bringing it up to full operating temperature, with a ¾ stove-full load of dry mixed hard and soft wood, the stove will burn 12-14 hours with the cat “active” (first 6-7 hours with the damper set on “2”, and the second 6-7 hours with the damper set on “3”). After that, the cat temperature will slowly decrease into the “inactive” zone. Heat output of stove will slowly decrease until somewhere in hours 18-22 when it becomes cool enough to touch with your hand. During this time, outside temps are in the 30s, while inside temps are in the 70s trailing off into the upper 60s when the stove is cool enough to touch. House is small, with mediocre insulation. Stove door stays clean, except in outside lower corners. I would get a little better burn times, if my wood was cut more exactly to fit interior of stove...


Does this sound like a reasonable burn to you more experience Blaze King operators?

 

[Alpine1]

I can’t say I’m an “experienced” BK burner, but my results are more or less like yours, save for longer burn times (Ashford 30 here, bigger box, more wood= longer burn time ). I think you’re operating your stove the way it should. OR... we both are doing something wrong lol

 

[Highbeam]

Since my previous post on October 27, I have added 3' of chimney pipe for a total of 16'. This seems to have resolved the issue of not having enough damper control at lower stove temperatures (and insufficient draft).


Here is a typical burn in my Sirocco 2.0 stove: After bringing it up to full operating temperature, with a ¾ stove-full load of dry mixed hard and soft wood, the stove will burn 12-14 hours with the cat “active” (first 6-7 hours with the damper set on “2”, and the second 6-7 hours with the damper set on “3”). After that, the cat temperature will slowly decrease into the “inactive” zone. Heat output of stove will slowly decrease until somewhere in hours 18-22 when it becomes cool enough to touch with your hand. During this time, outside temps are in the 30s, while inside temps are in the 70s trailing off into the upper 60s when the stove is cool enough to touch. House is small, with mediocre insulation. Stove door stays clean, except in outside lower corners. I would get a little better burn times, if my wood was cut more exactly to fit interior of stove...


Does this sound like a reasonable burn to you more experience Blaze King operators?

Why are you turning it up from 2 to 3 at 7 hours? That’s way too much work.

You are getting more than 3/4 of the rated burn time from just a 3/4 load. This tells us that you are certainly not running it too hot. If anything, maybe too low.

So long as the cat stays active while there is fuel you’re doing it right.

 

[lsucet]

Since my previous post on October 27, I have added 3' of chimney pipe for a total of 16'. This seems to have resolved the issue of not having enough damper control at lower stove temperatures (and insufficient draft).


Here is a typical burn in my Sirocco 2.0 stove: After bringing it up to full operating temperature, with a ¾ stove-full load of dry mixed hard and soft wood, the stove will burn 12-14 hours with the cat “active” (first 6-7 hours with the damper set on “2”, and the second 6-7 hours with the damper set on “3”). After that, the cat temperature will slowly decrease into the “inactive” zone. Heat output of stove will slowly decrease until somewhere in hours 18-22 when it becomes cool enough to touch with your hand. During this time, outside temps are in the 30s, while inside temps are in the 70s trailing off into the upper 60s when the stove is cool enough to touch. House is small, with mediocre insulation. Stove door stays clean, except in outside lower corners. I would get a little better burn times, if my wood was cut more exactly to fit interior of stove...


Does this sound like a reasonable burn to you more experience Blaze King operators?

You are doing great. Congratulations.

 

[oldbluedeer]

I can’t say I’m an “experienced” BK burner, but my results are more or less like yours, save for longer burn times (Ashford 30 here, bigger box, more wood= longer burn time ). I think you’re operating your stove the way it should. OR... we both are doing something wrong lol

Good to hear!

 

[oldbluedeer]

Why are you turning it up from 2 to 3 at 7 hours? That’s way too much work.

You are getting more than 3/4 of the rated burn time from just a 3/4 load. This tells us that you are certainly not running it too hot. If anything, maybe too low.

So long as the cat stays active while there is fuel you’re doing it right.

That's good feedback. If I get up at night and see that the cat is on the border between active/inactive, I tend to increase the damper a bit to keep it in the active zone longer. My wood supply is a mixture, from oak, to madrone, fir and alder. The variety of wood types and lengths makes operating the BK as much an art as science, and so I adjust it more often than if I had a uniform supply of one type of wood. I'll keep playing around with it, as I learn more about what the stove can do...

 

[oldbluedeer]

You are doing great. Congratulations.

Thank you!! A month or so of learning, but I am getting the hang of it.

 

[SuperJ]

That's good feedback. If I get up at night and see that the cat is on the border between active/inactive, I tend to increase the damper a bit to keep it in the active zone longer. My wood supply is a mixture, from oak, to madrone, fir and alder. The variety of wood types and lengths makes operating the BK as much an art as science, and so I adjust it more often than if I had a uniform supply of one type of wood. I'll keep playing around with it, as I learn more about what the stove can do...

I've learned that if I have to turn it up part way thru, I probably had it set too low to begin with.
Once the air intake is pinned shut (listen for the quiet click) turning it too much more closed is just going to block it from opening as the stove cools off and leave unburnt fuel. For me this position is somewhere between 3 and 4pm (closer to 4pm in warmer whether).

At first I though I'd have to have it at 1pm or so to get a full burn but kept having left over fuel since the stat would never be able to open. at 1pm the stat is clicked closed even when stone cold for me.

 

[Highbeam]

That's good feedback. If I get up at night and see that the cat is on the border between active/inactive, I tend to increase the damper a bit to keep it in the active zone longer. My wood supply is a mixture, from oak, to madrone, fir and alder. The variety of wood types and lengths makes operating the BK as much an art as science, and so I adjust it more often than if I had a uniform supply of one type of wood. I'll keep playing around with it, as I learn more about what the stove can do...

Ah then you’re bumping up the stat setting at the halfway point to prevent cat stall. I think what you will find is that the cat approaches inactive temperatures because it is failing to burn the smoke and dying. Avoid that near stall entirely to keep the cat happy, healthy, efficient, and emissions low. Cat stalls, or near stalls are to be avoided.

I recommend bumping up the stat setting to the setting that keeps the cat active for the whole burn. With such a new stove, the cat meter should spend most of the burn cycle in the upper part of the active zone.

I too burn alder, fir, maple, cedar, even cottonwood and the bk design handles it all just fine. Very predictable once too find your stove’s dependable lowest setting.

 

[oldbluedeer]

I've learned that if I have to turn it up part way thru, I probably had it set too low to begin with.
Once the air intake is pinned shut (listen for the quiet click) turning it too much more closed is just going to block it from opening as the stove cools off and leave unburnt fuel. For me this position is somewhere between 3 and 4pm (closer to 4pm in warmer whether).

At first I though I'd have to have it at 1pm or so to get a full burn but kept having left over fuel since the stat would never be able to open. at 1pm the stat is clicked closed even when stone cold for me.

That could be. I will play with setting it a little higher initially, and see how it looks halfway through. As far as the air intake, it was my understanding that a feature of BK stoves is a thermostatic damper. I was guessing that would mean the amount of air entering the stove changes automatically based upon the temperature, within a given range as determined by where the damper is manually set. I do notice the "click" you are talking about, but I seem to remember that happening at different points on the dial, depending upon conditions in the stove when I adjust the damper. I will pay closer attention to that in the future.

 

[oldbluedeer]

Ah then you’re bumping up the stat setting at the halfway point to prevent cat stall. I think what you will find is that the cat approaches inactive temperatures because it is failing to burn the smoke and dying. Avoid that near stall entirely to keep the cat happy, healthy, efficient, and emissions low. Cat stalls, or near stalls are to be avoided.

I recommend bumping up the stat setting to the setting that keeps the cat active for the whole burn. With such a new stove, the cat meter should spend most of the burn cycle in the upper part of the active zone.

I too burn alder, fir, maple, cedar, even cottonwood and the bk design handles it all just fine. Very predictable once too find your stove’s dependable lowest setting.

I will have to play around with that. I have not been having chunks left over after the burn, only ash. At some point as the wood burns down to coals, and the coals turn to ashes, there simply isn't enough burning happening to keep the cat alive, regardless of damper setting. It is my understanding that it is acceptable to burn with the cat temperature at the lower end of the active zone on the thermometer (around 10 AM), as long as it stays active. Maintaining it at a higher point on the thermometer (12 noon and above) would make my house hotter than I need it, and reduce burn times, and I can't see a good reason for doing that, even if the cat is new.

 

[drz1050]

Oak will burn much longer than alder, white oak even longer than red.. Hickory, beech, locust all burn super long too. I just loaded up my Ashford 30 after 24 hrs with a load of beech.. still a bunch of big coals left, and one chunk of burning wood. A couple weeks ago I was burning cottonwood (poplar), and was getting about the same results after 12 hrs.

 

[SuperJ]

That could be. I will play with setting it a little higher initially, and see how it looks halfway through. As far as the air intake, it was my understanding that a feature of BK stoves is a thermostatic damper. I was guessing that would mean the amount of air entering the stove changes automatically based upon the temperature, within a given range as determined by where the damper is manually set. I do notice the "click" you are talking about, but I seem to remember that happening at different points on the dial, depending upon conditions in the stove when I adjust the damper. I will pay closer attention to that in the future.

To find your sweet minimum. Fire it up good and hot and then turn it way down and leave it for a couple hours to settle into a nice low steady burn. On a full load of dry wood it should have no problem staying active on absolute minimum. Then open it and close it right away listening for the click. I usually leave it closed just past the cruising click. That way as soon as it starts to die off in the coaling phase it will start opening and keep the heat consistent without blowing thru fuel early on. You can predict your cruising spot with practice and go straight there after your initial charr on reload.

 

[Highbeam]

Simply, if you have to adjust the stat during a burn to prevent the cat from stalling then your starting setting was too low. People tend to try and make this harder than it has to be.

 

[oldbluedeer]

Oak will burn much longer than alder, white oak even longer than red.. Hickory, beech, locust all burn super long too. I just loaded up my Ashford 30 after 24 hrs with a load of beech.. still a bunch of big coals left, and one chunk of burning wood. A couple weeks ago I was burning cottonwood (poplar), and was getting about the same results after 12 hrs.

Yeah that is good to know. Makes it interesting when burning mixed loads of wood, especially if one tries to stay on a schedule.

 

[Bullyboy]

With such a new stove, the cat meter should spend most of the burn cycle in the upper part of the active zone.

Ok, so now I'm questioning how I'm doing things. New stove burnt a bit in april and pretty much 24/7 for the last 5 or 6 weeks. I have no problem cruising 20 plus hours with the thermostat anywhere from 1 to 3oclock depending on outside temp. My cat prob will be rock solid at around 10 oclock. The last 5 or 6 hours I usually crank the stove because room temp is dropping a bit but not because the cat is stalling. I usually always reload on coals. She fires right up and cat goes to 2 to 4 oclock. I char the load for 30 plus and then start dialing it back. What should I be doing different to keep the cat in the upper end?

 

[Bullyboy]

Ohh, I should add it usually takes around 2 hours after I have dialed the thermo down for the cat to go from say 2 down to 10.

 

[oldbluedeer]

To find your sweet minimum. Fire it up good and hot and then turn it way down and leave it for a couple hours to settle into a nice low steady burn. On a full load of dry wood it should have no problem staying active on absolute minimum. Then open it and close it right away listening for the click. I usually leave it closed just past the cruising click. That way as soon as it starts to die off in the coaling phase it will start opening and keep the heat consistent without blowing thru fuel early on. You can predict your cruising spot with practice and go straight there after your initial charr on reload.

Thanks, that sounds promising. It would be a useful rule of thumb to use. I'll give it a try....

 

[SuperJ]

Ok, so now I'm questioning how I'm doing things. New stove burnt a bit in april and pretty much 24/7 for the last 5 or 6 weeks. I have no problem cruising 20 plus hours with the thermostat anywhere from 1 to 3oclock depending on outside temp. My cat prob will be rock solid at around 10 oclock. The last 5 or 6 hours I usually crank the stove because room temp is dropping a bit but not because the cat is stalling. I usually always reload on coals. She fires right up and cat goes to 2 to 4 oclock. I char the load for 30 plus and then start dialing it back. What should I be doing different to keep the cat in the upper end?

The only thing you have to worry about with respect to the cat is to keep it active. As long as it’s active, adjust the thermostat to keep your room comfortable. Sounds like you’ve figured out a method that works for you.

 

[oldbluedeer]

Ohh, I should add it usually takes around 2 hours after I have dialed the thermo down for the cat to go from say 2 down to 10.

Okay, good to know. That lines up with what Super J suggested

 

[Bullyboy]

Ok, great. Thanks. I was wondering if I was missing something that would make it burn better then it already does. I'm still sorting thru some install problems but as for burning this thing is amazing. Couldn't be happier with that aspect.

 

[Highbeam]

Cat stalling means the meter falls inactive. If that doesn’t happen then you’re fine.

 

[moresnow]

the stove will burn 12-14 hours with the cat “active”

I get similar results. Same stove.

 

[SuperJ]

My Ashford 30 is installed in a corner with not much extra room beyond the minimum clearances (the corner of the stove to wall being the critical clearance). I'm considering getting the fan kit, but it protrudes out the back a ways. Does this mean I would have to move the stove forward to maintain my clearances? Or, is the fan shroud not considered a critical item to maintain clearance off of?
I don't really want to go there, since I would have to add an offset to chimney and things would quickly snowball in complexity and cost.