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

[allan5oh]

I doubt the southern Ontario and Quebec areas have smog days that are also heating days. I really don't think it's much of an issue. Just politicians fixing a problem that doesn't exist.

 

[AlbergSteve]

I doubt the southern Ontario and Quebec areas have smog days that are also heating days. I really don't think it's much of an issue. Just politicians fixing a problem that doesn't exist.

That could be true. Unfortunately, on the Island and parts of the Lower Mainland around Vancouver, much of our heating season looks like this...

https://vancouverisland.ctvnews.ca/...ancouver-island-affects-air-quality-1.3711963

 

[allan5oh]

That could be true. Unfortunately, on the Island and parts of the Lower Mainland around Vancouver, much of our heating season looks like this...

https://vancouverisland.ctvnews.ca/...ancouver-island-affects-air-quality-1.3711963

Move to manitoba and you won't have a problem!

 

[begreen]

Fireplaces emissions would be higher but do folks really burn them on a regular bases? When I think of a fireplace in action, I picture special occasions like Christmas Eve and Valantines Day but I could be wrong.

With over 70,000 fireplaces in the city it doesn't take all of them burning to muck up the air. Our neighbor down the street has a fireplace and you know every time they are burning. They tend to burn frequently in colder weather and when they do there's always a grey cloud coming out of their chimney.

 

[AlbergSteve]

Move to manitoba and you won't have a problem!

Could do. I'll put up with the fog - they don't call it Winterpeg for nothin'!

 

[Mark8]

I don't have a problem with everyone having the same regulations to keep the air clean, but I do have a problem with agriculture getting a pass pulling out thousands of acres of orchard trees and setting them on fire, that dwarfs any fireplace emissions.

 

[moresnow]

And we are technically prohibited to make fires outside. BBQ are not regulated by the city but some condo appartements are only accepting electric ones.

Sometimes being in the middle of nowhere feels good! Electric grills actually are cool. I use one occasionally. It burns pellets

 

[coutufr]

Believe me when I say that living in the suburbs is a compromise not an absolute ideal. I cope with it more that I enjoy it. I can’t complain because I made that choice and there are many advantages. Also I have a relatively good access to some kind of nature but having been raised on a small farm, it is hard to be with all kinds of people all the time. Most of the time it is like living in a camping [emoji554]️

 

[Ashful]

The last two pages of this thread are the best evidence I've seen, on the claim that Blaze Kings are downright boring to run.

 

[AlbergSteve]

Yep, 22C in the house right now and haven't seen as much as a spark through the door glass...love boring stoves.

 

[ratsrepus]

The shop that sold me the princess informed me today that he has an ashford 30 in stock, not the color I want or I should say what the Mrs wants, but going to look at Saturday. He says it takes about two weeks to get one.

 

[Mark8]

I might be replacing my wood insert, can any one give me an idea of the prices that these inserts go for, does not need to be an exact price, just a ball park.
Are the BK fans quiet?

Princess insert
Sirocco 25 insert
Ashford 25 insert

 

[jetsam]

No idea on pricing.

I don't even run fans on my princess insert most of the year. It's semi-flush and protrudes into the room a fair bit. When the weather's below freezing, it's fan time; otherwise not.

The fan goes from very quiet on low to loud enough to hear from a couple rooms away (with no closed doors) on high. The fan only goes on high on very cold days when I'm playing catch-up for one reason or another.

 

[begreen]

I might be replacing my wood insert, can any one give me an idea of the prices that these inserts go for, does not need to be an exact price, just a ball park.
Are the BK fans quiet?

Princess insert
Sirocco 25 insert
Ashford 25 insert

Call some local dealers for quotes

 

[kgrant]

I'm thinking about installing an outside air intake on my Princess Ultra.

Went to the dealer to pick up an adaptor, and they talked me out of it for now. They said in our climate (Fairbanks, AK) the OAK will cause more problems with ice and condensation buildup than they're worth.

I know we're not the only place that gets cold so I thought I'd ask for some real world experiences.

I can insulate the air supply pipe easy enough, but will the adaptor and back of the stove build up condensation and ice? My install would be straight through the floor to outside.

I've googled and found a few pictures of icy OAK, not on a Blaze King though.

Thanks

 

[Tar12]

I'm thinking about installing an outside air intake on my Princess Ultra.

Went to the dealer to pick up an adaptor, and they talked me out of it for now. They said in our climate (Fairbanks, AK) the OAK will cause more problems with ice and condensation buildup than they're worth.

I know we're not the only place that gets cold so I thought I'd ask for some real world experiences.

I can insulate the air supply pipe easy enough, but will the adaptor and back of the stove build up condensation and ice? My install would be straight through the floor to outside.

I've googled and found a few pictures of icy OAK, not on a Blaze King though.

Thanks

On those -30 windchill mornings we recently had I noticed a little and I do mean a little frost had creeped in on the exterior of my OAK..1.5-2 inches to the inside of the wall...that was due entirely to my not caulking around the intake and air infiltrating...nothing on the inside because I checked...

 

[allan5oh]

That's unreal the dealer is worried about a bit of frost with the OAK. What about all the extra moisture going up the flue without one?

 

[aaronk25]

I'm thinking about installing an outside air intake on my Princess Ultra.

Went to the dealer to pick up an adaptor, and they talked me out of it for now. They said in our climate (Fairbanks, AK) the OAK will cause more problems with ice and condensation buildup than they're worth.

I know we're not the only place that gets cold so I thought I'd ask for some real world experiences.

I can insulate the air supply pipe easy enough, but will the adaptor and back of the stove build up condensation and ice? My install would be straight through the floor to outside.

I've googled and found a few pictures of icy OAK, not on a Blaze King though.

Thanks

As good as some dealers are, if your like me have you noticed how weather it’s a wood stove dealer, a snowmobile, auto or whatever almost all of them seemed to get hung up on some belief that is unique to them and not documented in the manual?

This is bogus. I have a princess and when debating how to make the OAK look good with the new stone I’m installing I did a test run and in hooked it. I’m in a 2,200 sq ft house and I could tell a difference of smoke spillage on opening with the kit disabled. Also any air that you watch go out of your chimney top, just came from your room air.

Since using room air for combustion has to be replaced, with cold outside air, without the kit the stoves efficiency is reduced. I’d guess by 10%, just a guess but I think it’s close.

The worse point is, if it gets really cold where you are at and you need 100% heat output, under these conditions your stove consumptions air is at max, dumping warm room air up the chimney.

This is when you might need all the available heat.

Just my thoughts. I hooked up the air kit and will keep it.....


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[jetsam]

People always ask how much split size matters for burn time. Today it's warm and rainy, and I'm out of wood in the garage.... so I cleaned out the splitter chips in the bottom of the lawn tractor's trailer.



Here they are on top of hot coals, getting ready to go into bonfire mode. You can see it's not a stoveload but it's enough that getting a low fire out of it would be a challenge for most stoves.



And here they are with the door shut. 75 inside, 54 and pouring rain outside at 10 AM. Will check back in later to see how the wood chips did! (There's a lot of air space in there and not much wood,plus the stuff on the bottom may get smothered as it collapses, so I'm not sure what to expect.)

 

[lsucet]

(broken link removed to https://www.hechlers.com/product/blaze-king-outside-air-adapter/)

Checked this link. I bought mine from them I think, if remember correctly. 3" flexible hose from HD and termination cap.

 

[moresnow]

Here they are on top of hot coals, getting ready to go into bonfire mode. You can see it's not a stoveload but it's enough that getting a low fire out of it would be a challenge for most stoves.

Waste not. Want not. As defined by Jetsam

Should be interesting to hear what you got out of this "load" ! Let us know. I have a sealed 55 gallon garbage can full of the same stuff. Never use kindling anymore. So there it sits. Maybe I'll toss it in.

 

[Mark8]

No idea on pricing.

I don't even run fans on my princess insert most of the year. It's semi-flush and protrudes into the room a fair bit. When the weather's below freezing, it's fan time; otherwise not.

The fan goes from very quiet on low to loud enough to hear from a couple rooms away (with no closed doors) on high. The fan only goes on high on very cold days when I'm playing catch-up for one reason or another.

Thank you for your help, I hate to listen to the noise of a fan so you telling me that you don't need to run the fan on your princess is great info because we don't have extreme cold weather out here and that might work perfect for me, I really like the looks of the ashford but I'm guessing it would not work as well with the fan off because it does not proutrude out into the room, maybe I'm wrong. Of course looks is not as important as efficiency.

Thank you

 

[jetsam]

4 hours into the splitter chip load...



Still going! I don't know how much of a burn the chips would have made alone, but added to the remains of yesterday's fire, it seems like they'll last until nighttime.

It's 74 in and 51 out, still raining.

 

[ratsrepus]

Those chips work great, especially in the shoulder season. A farmer buddy of mine who has a wood processor, that cuts and splits 200 cord annually collects the chips under the processor. makes a dump truck load. and burns them in his outdoor boiler.

 

[Woody Stover]

I don't even run fans on my princess insert most of the year

Question for those who don't always run the blower; How do your flue temps compare with similar fires, blower on vs. blower off? IOW, how much additional heat do you think goes up the flue when not using the blower? And how long does it take to recover house temp, blower vs. no blower, with a similar burn rate?