2018-19 Blaze King Performance Thread Part 1 (Everything BK)
- Thread starter Ashful
- Start date
-
Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.
We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.
We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
- Status
Symmetry is good on the glass and the fuel burn. Also when you go from full throttle during cat warm up to your lower cruise setting that rapid chop of the intake butterfly really puts a suck on the firebox. Look for jets of flame.
I just did the dollar bill check on my door over the weekend and I still don’t feel like I know how tightly the bill should be held. It was never easy to remove but some places were harder than others.
kennyp2339
Minister of Fire
I also do that a few times during the season, I to experience some spots that make it feel like if I pull any harder the dollar is going to rip, other spots it pulls out with some decent resistance, I guess there's nothing to worry about until the dollar can be easily pulled through.
lsucet
Minister of Fire
26h., that is impressive. I average 18h on a load of hemlock (3/4 full). The reloads are throwing me off however. 12 on 12 would be logical or 24 on 24.
Look at that muscle-man reflection is the third picture!
lsucet
Minister of Fire
It’s okay to load fresh fuel at 12 hours on top of 1/3 full firebox. I need to do that when temps fall into the single digits. Just beware that smoke spillage through the loading door is very likely without preventive measures.
Yes. Crack a door open.
Following this thread for about two yrs made my learning curve on this stove too easy. BORNIG!!
I am in the city now reloading my (thanks to this forum) predictable VC every 8h.
I am heating an enormous space, by the standards of heating with wood stoves, and I'm hitting those burn times with a smaller stove. I don't think it's your small rooms that are getting you there!
Okay, after a 2-week observation period, I'm ready to report flue temps. All are given as probe in 30 feet of 6 inch double wall. Temps on outside of single wall seem to hold almost exactly half these numbers.
Peak temperature after 30 minutes on high, during start-up phase: 900F
15 minutes after turning down: 400F
30 minutes after turning down: 350F
From 1 hour to 12 hours: 300F
@ 22 hours: 175F
We've been having warm days, so I haven't (intentionally) had any fires over 24 hours yet this year. I'm doing short loads, 40% - 80% of stove capacity. How much I fill the stove doesn't seem to affect the flue temps, other than falling off quicker after 12 hours.
Ashful how low are you turning it down. I’m new to this but my probe temp when running low is definitely cooler than yours.
kennyp2339
Minister of Fire
Each setting will be different for each individual, the reason is micro climate, draft strength, type of wood being consumed and moisture content.
Yes but if you arent keeping temps above 212 at the top of the chimney you are going to have problems. And at 300 internal it is probably pretty close to that.
I agree. Several sweeps I suppose.
In the middle of a burn my probe (18” above the stove) sits around 200. I bet it is 1/2 that at the cap.
kennyp2339
Minister of Fire
I agree with that for the first three stages of fire, incipient, growth, and fully developed, but for the decay stage pretty much all the volatiles are burnt off.
For another data point, my low cruise results in probe temperatures 18” up of 400.
What might cause my higher low temperature is that I don’t run the cat on the ragged edge of stall but a little higher to keep the exhaust clear. Maybe more importantly is that I’m burning evergreens.
What might cause my higher low temperature is that I don’t run the cat on the ragged edge of stall but a little higher to keep the exhaust clear. Maybe more importantly is that I’m burning evergreens.
lsucet
Minister of Fire
One more time it comes down to the way of how it works. As long the cat stays on the active zone that all what matters.AT LEAST TO ME. When monitoring flue temp is good for many reasons, the manufactures provided cat probe not flue probe. i use them but i think at some point it is just there. All what i care is what is the status of the cat. if i go for how low the flue temp is, i am not using the full capability of the stove to run real low when needed. Quality of the wood ( about being seasoned, not species) and a good char of the wood, is more important than flue temp. Is 500df vs 1100df. if the cat is active i shut door, bypass regardless what is the flue temp. If fire is going on in there to the point of the cat gets active, for me it means there is draft.
The problem with that is you can have the cat active but still not have enough temperature to prevent condensation at the to of the chimney. That will lead to creosote buildup (which i am seeing much more of from the princess than i did from the regency).
And creosote buildup can lead to a chimney fire which can be dangerous.
So stack temps do matter.
And yes moisture content is the most important thing. But different species burn differently so species absolutly matters. Soft woods in general off gas faster which changes how the stove acts.
I guess what I was worried about is my probe which is actually 37” above stove top spends a lot of its time between 200-250. The prob is that high because 18” would of meant going through all 4 layers of the telescoping pipe. I’m burning mostly spruce that is at least three years old now so it is dry. I do char the wood good at the beginning of the burn and my probe usually gets up between 600 and 750 but rapidly drops when shut down. I guess I thought as long as it was active I was ok but maybe that’s not true?
- Status
Similar threads
