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

[webby3650]

You read my mind, Poindexter. Was just Googling the convection deck, fan kit and installation instructions. We do have the heat shield on the back- is this a problem with installing the fans? Also, obvs, the stove is installed. The Blaze King installation PDF recommends installing the fan kit before the stove is installed, in case clearance is an issue. Did you have issues replacing your fan kit with the stove in place? Also, is it a package deal, the convection deck and the fan kit? I'm a little fuzzy on that part.

Is the fan kit about the same level of fan noise as a box fan? I do get burned out on the sound of the fan blowing, I even got burned out on the sound of it in the hallway when we were sitting in the living room, but there's no doubt, it does help move around the BTUs. Using the fan to push that heat from around and behind the stove is insane- it's making all the difference in the temperature in the house. The outside temps are dropping and the inside temps are rising. The bedrooms are even warmer.

So, how would you compare the fan noise from the BK convection deck to a standard box fan? Just so I have that in my head, so my expectations are realistic.

I originally demanded the rear shield over the BK convection deck and fan kit because I wanted the stove to be code compliant and safe when used during power outages. We've since had a whole house generator installed. I'd hate to burn propane to run a generator to power a box fan or a convection fan during a power outage- but if we were using the furnace, we'd burn propane to run the furnace fan, in addition to burning propane in the furnace, so OK.

As soon as I get my head wrapped around what this package involves (fan, deck optional or fan and deck together) how to install, and how much I should expect to pay, I'm going to order one.

Any recommendations on suppliers? There are no BK dealers within 100 miles of us, so I suppose I'll be ordering it online anyway.

Thank you for the input, as always!

The fan kit takes the place of the rear heat shield. It’s either or, the fans don’t have to be running to make it compliant either. You will remove the heat shield and replace it with the fan kit.

The one you posted goes to a BK Briarwood I think, not a princess or king.

 

[webby3650]

Also, what is this? It doesn't look anything like the fan kit shown in the BK manual. ???

https://www.plumbersstock.com/blaze-king-z1714-fan-kit-for-king-princess.html

I’m not sure you can put the fan kit on the parlor? We rarely ever sell anything but the Ultra, I could be wrong, but you may be out of luck anyway.

 

[becasunshine]

I dunno the particulars for deck fan set up on a princess. I am sure someone who does will be along shortly.

On my A30 i was able to replace the fan kit with out disconnecting the flue pipe, but the stove was cold and i had to lay on top of it to get at some of the harder to reach screws.

Good to know.

After Googling about a bit, I think for the time being we are going to rely on the box fans we already have. We have two, so we have a spare. We can move them around. If we need to crank the stove up, we can put the fan beside the stove and blow the heat off of and out from behind the stove. We also experimented with putting the fan in front of the stove for a while. The heat rolled off of it then, and into the living room, to the point where Hubs started to complain of being poached. :D

After I sufficiently poached The Husband, I turned the stove down to midway in the "normal" zone and put the fan back in the hallway, blowing cold air at floor level out of the bedrooms and bathrooms and into the living area. Poached Husband is no longer complaining about the fan being aimed (albeit from a distance of many several feet) into the living room.

We have a 54'F spread between outside temps at 18.5'F and indoor temps in the living room (several feet from the stove) at 72.5'F. Can't complain about this at all.

 

[becasunshine]

The fan kit takes the place of the rear heat shield. It’s either or, the fans don’t have to be running to make it compliant either. You will remove the heat shield and replace it with the fan kit.

The one you posted goes to a BK Briarwood I think, not a princess or king.

Aha! OK. It came up on a Google search for "fan kit Blaze King Princess" but that's no guarantee that the particular search result can be installed on the Princess.

I think I understand the either/or heat shield vs. fan kit, and compliance. If I understand it correctly, either structure/accessory will attenuate some heat and heat transfer from the back of the stove- right?

Well, if I'd known that the fans could be used as attenuation/heat shield for close clearance installation even if they weren't running, I might have opted for the fans, in order to have that option even if we didn't use it all the time. The shop from which we purchased the Princess had just recently started carrying the line when we purchased ours in 2014. If I'm not mistaken, we *might* have been their first Blaze King customers- we drove clear across the state to patronize their shop because we were sold on having a Blaze King- and I know we were the first people to purchase a Princess from them.

One of the shop owners, who headed up the installation team, was so impressed with what he learned about the Princess that he acquired one for his own home after installing ours.

I can't fault the shop for not knowing all of the minute details of the accessories at that time, and honestly, after a few hours of working with the box fan tonight, I'm really quite happy with the results of that. Bonus round, we already own the fan, plus a back up, and if for some reason both box fans fail, replacing both is a lot less expensive and a lot less bother than retrofitting a fan kit on an installed stove (that already has a heat shield on it.)

It's all good! Thank you Peeps as always for helping us. <:3~

 

[aaronk25]

In MN, my less than a1 year old princess has been running 24/7 on high (against the safety limit screw) for the past 4 days and judging by the weather forecast that’s not changing. Not going to hurt the stove.

Heating 2000sq ft split level and it will keep opposite end of house at 68f. With outside temps at -15f! That right there is a 83f temperature differential for a house that was built not last year but in 1990.

Blaze King all the way!


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[Poindexter]

In MN, my less than a1 year old princess has been running 24/7 on high (against the safety limit screw) for the past 4 days and judging by the weather forecast that’s not changing. Not going to hurt the stove.

Heating 2000sq ft split level and it will keep opposite end of house at 68f. With outside temps at -15f! That right there is a 83f temperature differential for a house that was built not last year but in 1990.

Blaze King all the way!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Thank God someone besides me has the gonads to twist the knob.

I tend to stop at the top of the swoosh rather than going all the way to the stop screw. You wont hurt the stove, but the alien technology won't be able to open a little more as the load burns down.

 

[AlbergSteve]

(broken link removed to http://blazeking.com/TestReports/Ashford30.1_OMNI_web.pdf) ...pure geekery! (Interesting that the A30 exceeds .05inwc during testing for you manometer people)"

Just as I was running out of good reading material, now I know what I'm reading this week. Thanks @SuperJ !

 

[DuaeGuttae]

Thanks, all, for continuing to share thoughts on options for our heating situation. I appreciate the input and the resources for becoming more of a stove geek.

I’ve been using some historical records of heating degree days to get an idea of how this winter so far stacks up to previous years (warmer late fall followed by sudden change to slightly cooler winter). We’ve only lived here a couple of months. I’m impressed by anyone who calculates wood input based on an HDD forecast, but I don’t see that in my future.

Our version of the cold here is that it never got out of the 20’s yesterday. We kept all the blinds closed and were glad that we gave our kids some warm slippers for Christmas. All three children who talk expressed at some point yesterday (as they have in previous weeks) that they miss our wood stove. I’m hoping we get above freezing today.

Keep warm, everyone.

 

[Dieselhead]

Becausesunshine when those 2 wood handles mounted on your stove well inside the clearance to combustible spec start to smoke, that’s when you know it’s time to back her off a click or 2

 

[aaronk25]

So are you folks running oak finding your running a higher T-Stat setting when burning hardwoods vs soft wood? To get the same heat? That’s what I’m seeing on the princess. 3’oclock position for pine is same as 4 o’clock for oak....curious


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[MtnBURN]

Most definitely, aaronk. Cottonwood will run us out of the room with the t-stat at 2 o'clock. With oak it's 3 o'clock or more ,...and there's far less heat (like..MUCH less) output...though it will burn far longer. If it's >really> cold out (which it hasn't been here in the mountains of Colorado)...I'll head for the cottonwood before the oak every time. The difference in BTU output in the short term is amazing.

Was 65F here Fri/Sat.....45 Sun...50 yesterday....52 predicted today. I feel for you folks "back East". >No thanks<<<<. Makes me remember why I left...

 

[Ashful]

Thank God someone besides me has the gonads to twist the knob.

I tend to stop at the top of the swoosh rather than going all the way to the stop screw. You wont hurt the stove, but the alien technology won't be able to open a little more as the load burns down.

One of mine ran on high from Fri Dec. 22 until last night, almost ten days. I had to switch back to my normal 12 hour loads today, but other than a partially clogged cat, there was no adverse effect.

 

[Ashful]

Good to know.

After Googling about a bit, I think for the time being we are going to rely on the box fans we already have. We have two, so we have a spare. We can move them around. If we need to crank the stove up, we can put the fan beside the stove and blow the heat off of and out from behind the stove. We also experimented with putting the fan in front of the stove for a while. The heat rolled off of it then, and into the living room, to the point where Hubs started to complain of being poached. :D

After I sufficiently poached The Husband, I turned the stove down to midway in the "normal" zone and put the fan back in the hallway, blowing cold air at floor level out of the bedrooms and bathrooms and into the living area. Poached Husband is no longer complaining about the fan being aimed (albeit from a distance of many several feet) into the living room.

We have a 54'F spread between outside temps at 18.5'F and indoor temps in the living room (several feet from the stove) at 72.5'F. Can't complain about this at all.

If you’re sticking with the fan plan, consider replacing that big box fan with an 8” desktop fan. That’s all you typically need, and it’s much smaller and quieter.

 

[becasunshine]

Becausesunshine when those 2 wood handles mounted on your stove well inside the clearance to combustible spec start to smoke, that’s when you know it’s time to back her off a click or 2

LOLOL!

 

[MissMac]

One of mine ran on high from Fri Dec. 22 until last night, almost ten days. I had to switch back to my normal 12 hour loads today, but other than a partially clogged cat, there was no adverse effect.

I ran my stove on high for a week straight loaded with Jack pine. -40*C will make you want to do that...

 

[AlbergSteve]

Trust, I feel your pain... had to do the same thing on mine. Have you tried using your ash drawer yet?

Well, the AF's been running 24/7 since I've installed it about 3 weeks ago, and for the most part, been pretty happy with it. Still trying to sort out the smoke smell in the middle of the burn...
It got warm enough today to shut it down to do an ash clean-out and a quick inspection. There was about 1/8 inch of light black powdery deposit on the top 3 feet of stove pipe. The top of the firebox, bypass and combustor were really clean. Applied hi temp nickel lube to bypass lever.
This is looking up 12 feet of insulated chimney...


This is the top end of double wall stove pipe...


However, the ash dump/drawer turned out to be a major fail! The hole is right at the back of the drawer so you get a small pile of ash in the drawer, then when you pull the drawer out, the top if the tiny mound in the drawer gets cleaned off and ends up on the floor under the stove. Guess I'll be going back to the ol' ash can for clean-outs!

 

[17vljoe]

Is the sirocco 20.1 supposed to come with a rear heat shield? If so, my stove doesn't have one, and i am seeing temps up to 170 on the wall behind the stove. This was while running the stove wide open for a few hours to warm up the house after returning from work.

 

[SuperJ]

Is the sirocco 20.1 supposed to come with a rear heat shield? If so, my stove doesn't have one, and i am seeing temps up to 170 on the wall behind the stove. This was while running the stove wide open for a few hours to warm up the house after returning from work. View attachment 219553

If you purchased recently it should've come with the mini convection/ deck standard (no added cost). The deck comes forward across the top to about halfway thru the stovepipe. Maybe you got new old stock like me (got a 2015 manufactured stove in October 2017 which miffed me a bit since I wasn't told, and I still had to wait for it to come in a couple weeks).

There is a bigger convection deck that comes further forwards past the stove pipe, that is a paid option. I phoned Blaze King (Canada) in October to ask this question specifically.

 

[webby3650]

Is the sirocco 20.1 supposed to come with a rear heat shield? If so, my stove doesn't have one, and i am seeing temps up to 170 on the wall behind the stove. This was while running the stove wide open for a few hours to warm up the house after returning from work. View attachment 219553

You have to purchase either the rear heat shield or the blowers if you wish to have reduced clearances.

 

[becasunshine]

Is the sirocco 20.1 supposed to come with a rear heat shield? If so, my stove doesn't have one, and i am seeing temps up to 170 on the wall behind the stove. This was while running the stove wide open for a few hours to warm up the house after returning from work. View attachment 219553

We had to add the rear heat shield to the Princess as an accessory item, and we paid a bit extra for it. It wasn't especially expensive, as I recall, but I don't remember what we paid for it.

The decision to add the heat shield was driven by the positioning of the stove. There was/is no fireplace or masonry chimney in this house. We had to add a stainless steel chimney as well as a hearth for the stove. We wanted the stove in a specific place, and we had to zig zag around a ceiling joist and roof truss with the stove pipe and chimney in order to do so. Partially because of the location of the ceiling joist/truss, the stove was either going to have a close clearance, or it was going to be further out toward the middle of the floor than we wanted it. So, we chose the close clearance, to BK close clearance specs and to building code. That informed the stove dealer/installer about the need for a rear heat shield, and our decision to purchase it.

Even with the heat shield and proper clearances, the wall behind our stove was warmer to the touch than I expected when the stove was running on high for several hours. Using the box fan to one side of the stove, blowing at the stove and at the space between the stove and the wall, reduces the temperature of the wall in our case.

It's also pushing that heat out into the house and the house is more comfortable overall.

 

[Ashful]

However, the ash dump/drawer turned out to be a major fail! The hole is right at the back of the drawer so you get a small pile of ash in the drawer, then when you pull the drawer out, the top if the tiny mound in the drawer gets cleaned off and ends up on the floor under the stove. Guess I'll be going back to the ol' ash can for clean-outs!

I had the same problem with my Ashford 30.1's. BK has come up with a fix, which moves the pan farther aft, under the plug hole. It took me 30 minutes to swap out each of mine.

 

[AlbergSteve]

I had the same problem with my Ashford 30.1's. BK has come up with a fix, which moves the pan farther aft, under the plug hole. It took me 30 minutes to swap out each of mine.

Thanks, I've got to call them tomorrow anyways so I'll mention that as well.

 

[AlbergSteve]

Is the sirocco 20.1 supposed to come with a rear heat shield? If so, my stove doesn't have one, and i am seeing temps up to 170 on the wall behind the stove. This was while running the stove wide open for a few hours to warm up the house after returning from work. View attachment 219553

The manual (Pg. 18/19) says the shield (OR fan kit) is only required if the stove is being installed in an alcove or mobile home.

 

[webby3650]

The manual (Pg. 18/19) says the shield (OR fan kit) is only required if the stove is being installed in an alcove or mobile home.

Or to reduce clearances to the minimum.

 

[Ashful]

Is there any recommended method for connecting a manometer to your chimney?

BK spec’s .01 to .05 inches water column, but does not specify WHERE this is to be measured. One would assume in the stove pipe, as close to the flue connection as possible, but this could generate thermal constraints on most manometers and magnehelics.

Any recommendations on connection location? How about fittings for connecting to double-wall stove pipe? I’m thinking of boring a large hole thru outer wall, and then installing a bulkhead fitting in inner wall, but maybe someone has come up with a better method. Getting accuracy near 0.01” WC is not a trivial matter, it’s below the measurement accuracy range of most HVAC instrumentation.