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

[Highbeam]

Control is of less interest than fines. Why would they want to lock down your stove, when simply monitoring and fining you are so much easier and more lucrative?

Highbeam’s days of stealth burning thru burn bans would be over.

I would never burn during a ban. The smoke police are always out so smoke free is (aka stealth) is always important.

There are different burn ban levels too. Stage 1 bans only prohibit non epa certified stuff. I am allowed to burn my modern stoves cleanly during those burn bans.

 

[jetsam]

There ya go, Jetsam! I "beautified" our Princess.
View attachment 221307

Also, your Princess is alarmingly tidy!

 

[ratsrepus]

I would never burn during a ban. The smoke police are always out so smoke free is (aka stealth) is always important.

There are different burn ban levels too. Stage 1 bans only prohibit non epa certified stuff. I am allowed to burn my modern stoves cleanly during those burn bans.

Never heard of burn bans before, is an out east somewhere thing? Are there really smoke police?

 

[Highbeam]

Never heard of burn bans before, is an out east somewhere thing? Are there really smoke police?

Lots of western states and areas have them. They order us to stop burning when the air becomes too polluted. Unfortunately they abuse the system in an effort to push their agenda.

This summer they banned barbecuing for many days!

 

[kf6hap]

Heck, the side panels on my ashford don't even get really hot.

One reason for this is cold air enters the bottom, becomes heated and rises up and out of the stove. This keeps the cladding cooler. The rising heated air heads to the ceiling and diffuses laterally to heat other rooms. A natural convection heater. A very pleasant way to spread heat to other rooms.

 

[drz1050]

All of the cast iron panels on the Ashford are removable, so you can get a radiant blast if you need it during super cold spells... just looks like a bit of a Frankenstein stove without them, bolts sticking out of its head and whatnot

 

[Ashful]

All of the cast iron panels on the Ashford are removable, so you can get a radiant blast if you need it during super cold spells... just looks like a bit of a Frankenstein stove without them, bolts sticking out of its head and whatnot

Exactly. Also, let’s remember that any heat not doing up the flue is going into your house. BTU in =BTU out, at same efficiency and interval. Thin steel single wall vs cast cladding has no bearing on this, it only shifts the ratio of the mechanisms by which the heat is transferred.

 

[shoot-straight]

Fan noise myth busters:

Did by an app on my phone. Set phone on floor in front of stove and left it there for duration of test. Hairdryer was plugged in and placed blowing out as close to the fan motor as I could get it. Sorry, best I could do. In between each test, dB was noted to see if it returned to the baseline level. It did. Then I did the test over again and got very similar results. (Plus or minus less than 1 dB).


The results are in-

Baseline- 46db. no fans no nothing just background stuff.

Fan on lowest setting- 53db.

Fan on highest setting- 63db.

Hairdryer on low setting- 69db.

Hairdryer on high setting-73db.

Ashford in alcove setup in oversized masonry fireplace. See avatar for setup.

I have always thought the fans were pretty quiet. The hairdryer comment is unfounded based on these results. Of course your results may vary.

 

[AlbergSteve]

All of the cast iron panels on the Ashford are removable, so you can get a radiant blast if you need it during super cold spells... just looks like a bit of a Frankenstein stove without them, bolts sticking out of its head and whatnot

Hmmm...with my 4" clearance to my corner install and wall temps over 150F, not sure my insurance agent would be happy with a stripped stove.

 

[becasunshine]

Note that by mechanical code the return intake grille is supposed to be at least 10ft away from the stove.

Really?

Not doubting you, but it was a professional installation by the stove shop owner/NFI certified installer and approved/signed off by our county building inspector on the day of installation, while the NFI certified shop owner/installer and his crew were still here on site. (Permits filed beforehand by the shop owner/installer and everything.)

I left the code stuff up to them, and neither of them said a word about the HVAC returns.

I remember that there was a code about mechanical intakes, windows and vents for the pellet stove's exhaust, but I don't remember seeing anything about the household HVAC returns. IIRC, please do NOT quote me on this, I no longer have the pellet stove manual and I very well might be wrong, but "around the corner" didn't count in terms of feet of clearance to the pellet stove's exhaust.

Well, as it goes, that lower intake is not in use anyway. We have that filter and opening blocked off.

 

[becasunshine]

View attachment 221313

Also, your Princess is alarmingly tidy!

The perennial and prerequisite 1" coating of dog hair on the floor is simply not visible in this picture... but thank you.

 

[drz1050]

Exactly. Also, let’s remember that any flue not doing up the flue is going into your house. BTU in =BTU out, at same efficiency and interval. Thin steel single wall vs cast cladding has no bearing on this, it only shifts the ratio of the mechanisms by which the heat is transferred.

That's something I'd be interested in.. flue temps of both stoves at high/ med/ low burns.. At low I'd expect them to be almost identical, but at high, maybe with the iron cladding that forces a bit more heat up the flue? Easiest free path and all that.
Of course to get an accurate test you'd need an identical flue, identical BTU load and all that.. I'm not holding my breath. Just know on high burn the Ashford flue does get mighty hot.

 

[becasunshine]

View attachment 221313

Also, your Princess is alarmingly tidy!

LOL, DOOD- I just caught that your Princess tattoo is different from ours! Princess Party, indeed! =D

 

[BKVP]

This looks mighty dark for the wood stove industry, BK will do fine though. The Ashford at .8 G/Hr is still well below specs.

Niko,
That looks normal to me, it's just about exactly the way mine works, it'll be slightly different with a warm stove..
There's a pin in the cover so the flapper can't open as far as you pushed it..
Make sure the flapper is completely closed when you put the cover back on, otherwise the pin could prevent the flapper from closing, and you'd have a runaway fire..

Ugh! And thank you.

 

[BKVP]

This looks mighty dark for the wood stove industry, BK will do fine though. The Ashford at .8 G/Hr is still well below specs.

All of the cast iron panels on the Ashford are removable, so you can get a radiant blast if you need it during super cold spells... just looks like a bit of a Frankenstein stove without them, bolts sticking out of its head and whatnot

Guys, doing this would change clearances...Please don't suggest something, even jokingly, because someone will do it!

 

[diverscale]

Lots of western states and areas have them. They order us to stop burning when the air becomes too polluted. Unfortunately they abuse the system in an effort to push their agenda.

This summer they banned barbecuing for many days!

My god are you serious. This infuriates me, I would look to moving somewhere else if they ever did something like this here in quebec

 

[begreen]

My god are you serious. This infuriates me, I would look to moving somewhere else if they ever did something like this here in quebec

Best not look at Montreal Quebec then. Looks like this goes into effect this year.
Under the new bylaw:

• Any wood-burning stoves or fireplaces must be certified to show they emit 2.5 grams of fine particles per hour or less by Oct. 1, 2018 (older models typically emit between 10 and 20 grams an hour). Models that do not conform do not have to be removed, but they can’t be used as of that date. Inspectors will be hired to check.
  
• No wood-burning appliances can be used on smog days (Montreal has between 10 and 20 smog days a year)
  
• Owners of the appliances must report them to the city within 120 days after the bylaw is adopted. The city already knows where most exist due to its municipal evaluation reports.
  
• Appliances that do not conform can be used during power outages lasting more than three hours.
  
• Businesses that use wood-fired ovens are exempt.

http://montrealgazette.com/news/loc...w-bylaw-on-wood-burning-stoves-and-fireplaces

 

[Ashful]

The mere thought of that sort of thing coming this way is irritating.

 

[Ashful]

At low I'd expect them to be almost identical, but at high, maybe with the iron cladding that forces a bit more heat up the flue?

BK already did the work for us. That's those 88% and 81% published efficiency numbers. The Princess takes the win, there... but by razor thin margin.

 

[jetsam]

Meanwhile, in the 1940s...

 

[diverscale]

Best not look at Montreal then.

I moved out, up north of Montreal 15 years ago because of the lack of living space, coupled with the overinflated price of housing compared to our salary after our huge tax burden.

I have read about this earlier this year, it infuriates me to see this going on here believe me. They don't even accept most EPA stoves, since they are over 2.5 g/h. You pretty much have to run a pellet stove in montreal, good luck during a power outage.

And then you add the cost of gas, electricity, propane going up across canada because of the "carbon taxes", thank you Trudeau. Anyway, for now, out in the country we are ok, lot of people heating with wood around as we get very cold temperature for 4-5 months a year up here. I see subzero temperature from december through mars if we are lucky. If such regulation would hit us even up here, I would be the first to search for a job in alberta and move my ass away. But I assure you, nothing could make me move back to montreal because of regulations like this.

 

[Ashful]

Reached a milestone yesterday. I cut the last stick of roughly 25 cords of wood that was CSS'd too long for my Ashford 30's. This wood was all cut 2013 - 2015 for my Jotul Firelights, and the thought of re-cutting that much wood (in split form) was almost enough to put me off buying the Ashfords.

Well, 2-1/2 seasons in, I've blown thru it. Just hauled the last 3/4 cord of it up to the house Saturday morning.

In related news, I threw a quarter cord of the newer (2 summers CSS'd) stuff on top of this trailer, I had mentioned a few pages back. This is in reference to folks claiming 3 years was not required to season red oak. Well, I can say that here in SE PA, 3 years is definitely required. Just one day on the younger stuff, and I've had lots of hissing and sizzling come from each reload. It's going to be rough burning this stuff, when I know I have better 3-year wood sitting in the back yard.

 

[coutufr]

I live in Montreal. I own the Ashford and comply with the new regulation. I am not allowed to use it on smoggy days but because the conventional wood stove are prohibited this automn we should have a lot less of those. The problem is not the wood stoves but what people are burning in them. Most people have no idea what seasonned firewood is... one bad wood burner in a populated neighborhood is really impacting the quality of life of a lot of people. I am thinking of cardiac people and asmatic children. Luckily they haven’t prohibited all wood stoves... (yet?)

 

[jetsam]

Reached a milestone yesterday. I cut the last stick of roughly 25 cords of wood that was CSS'd too long for my Ashford 30's. This wood was all cut 2013 - 2015 for my Jotul Firelights, and the thought of re-cutting that much wood (in split form) was almost enough to put me off buying the Ashfords.

Well, 2-1/2 seasons in, I've blown thru it. Just hauled the last 3/4 cord of it up to the house Saturday morning.

In related news, I threw a quarter cord of the newer (2 summers CSS'd) stuff on top of this trailer, I had mentioned a few pages back. This is in reference to folks claiming 3 years was not required to season red oak. Well, I can say that here in SE PA, 3 years is definitely required. Just one day on the younger stuff, and I've had lots of hissing and sizzling come from each reload. It's going to be rough burning this stuff, when I know I have better 3-year wood sitting in the back yard.

For those who haven't been keeping track, the two stoves and 10 cords a year are used to reduce his oil bills somewhat.

Let those of us who don't live in Ashful's house share a moment of quiet gratitude.

 

[Ashful]

Any wood-burning stoves or fireplaces must be certified to show they emit 2.5 grams of fine particles per hour or less by Oct. 1, 2018 (older models typically emit between 10 and 20 grams an hour). Models that do not conform do not have to be removed, but they can’t be used as of that date. Inspectors will be hired to check.

begreen, this is different from the language I'm used to seeing, which typically grandfathers existing installations, and imposes requirements only on new installations (modifications, additions, etc.).

Is this difference because it's Canada, versus the US, or is it a sign of things to come elsewhere?