2018-19 Blaze King Performance Thread Part 2 (Everything BK)

[Woody Stover]

Lots of people have smokey houses as well. I go into lots that smell of smoke pretty badly.

I was the undisputed champ of the smoky house. I had connector pipe all the way to the top. It would rust through and smelly creo juice would run down the outside of the pipe. Yuk!

I am pointing out that the gasket is charred and discolored in one spot only, rest of gasket is clean, this spot coincides with the exact location of smoke / creosote seepage from stove, why is the smoke gravitating to this one spot on the gasket is the question.

I haven't looked at a lot of plate-steel stoves; Do they mostly have those knife-edge door seals? If so, why haven't we heard of other brands with smoke smell escaping, is it somewhat unique to BKs?
The Buck 91 door gasket had no knife-edge; It pressed flat to the face of the stove. That glass would get a little dirty in the corners, so the gasket didn't seal totally but I wonder if that would be a better system overall if you have a front-loader.
My stove is a side-loader with a low knife-edge..

Really?

Really???

Well, there might be a couple or three guys nationwide that would pay enough attention to detail..

 

[darktower007]

So question on reloading on coal bed.
I had a solid bed of coals on the Ashford 25 insert. Opened the bypass, turned the air up and loaded dry as I have hickory. (18-19%mc) the wood isn’t catching a flame... just turning to coals. The bypass is still open as the cat is not in active zone and the stove isn’t putting out much heat.

What am I doing wrong here?


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[showrguy]

So question on reloading on coal bed.
I had a solid bed of coals on the Ashford 25 insert. Opened the bypass, turned the air up and loaded dry as I have hickory. (18-19%mc) the wood isn’t catching a flame... just turning to coals. The bypass is still open as the cat is not in active zone and the stove isn’t putting out much heat.

What am I doing wrong here?


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Shoulda caught by now..
Is/was your wood frozen by any chance ??

 

[jetsam]

So question on reloading on coal bed.
I had a solid bed of coals on the Ashford 25 insert. Opened the bypass, turned the air up and loaded dry as I have hickory. (18-19%mc) the wood isn’t catching a flame... just turning to coals. The bypass is still open as the cat is not in active zone and the stove isn’t putting out much heat.

What am I doing wrong here?


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1) bypass is open, cat will never warm up
2) wood not catching fire on top of coals, air set too low and/or wet wood
3) fan possibly on, creating false low cat temp reading
4) cat probe miscalibrated / insulated with crud

Crank it up and close the bypass.

(Hah, and I just figured out why the BK manuals say to turn the fan off when reloading... this is the reason!)

 

[darktower007]

Nope. Ok it just caught 45 min after reloading. I guess I was expecting it to go to soon? In new at this so...


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[darktower007]

1) bypass is open, cat will never warm up
2) wood not catching fire on top of coals, air set too low and/or wet wood
3) fan possibly on, creating false low cat temp reading
4) cat probe miscalibrated / insulated with crud

Crank it up and close the bypass.

Okay so on reload if it’s out of active zone close cat when reloading on coals? The wood was a standing dead tree of 2 years cut this summer in small 12 inch splits.

So the fan should be off?


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[jetsam]

Okay so on reload if it’s out of active zone close cat when reloading on coals? The wood was a standing dead tree of 2 years cut this summer in small 12 inch splits.

So the fan should be off?

If you want to look at the cat probe, the fan should be off and stay off for 7+ minutes before consulting the thermometer.

If I have a hot stove and a bed of coals, wood goes in, door closes, bypass closes, elapsed time ~30 seconds.

With wet wood there may be a babysitting period where you have the air on high waiting for the wood to catch. Creating airspace underneath the bottom splits (with some sticks or lumpy coals or tiny splits) can really help.

With dry wood there is no wait. It's on fire before the door is closed, usually.

 

[bholler]

I was the undisputed champ of the smoky house. I had connector pipe all the way to the top. It would rust through and smelly creo juice would run down the outside of the pipe. Yuk!
I haven't looked at a lot of plate-steel stoves; Do they mostly have those knife-edge door seals? If so, why haven't we heard of other brands with smoke smell escaping, is it somewhat unique to BKs?
The Buck 91 door gasket had no knife-edge; It pressed flat to the face of the stove. That glass would get a little dirty in the corners, so the gasket didn't seal totally but I wonder if that would be a better system overall if you have a front-loader.
My stove is a side-loader with a low knife-edge..


Well, there might be a couple or three guys nationwide that would pay enough attention to detail..

No honestly most guys I know in the feild care enough to do gasket right

 

[ratsrepus]

I think ya all gone crazy.

 

[chemie]

Had to shorten some splits tonight so hand picked a few of the good ones.

View attachment 237995

Not much of a difference I guess.

 

[kennyp2339]

Nope. Ok it just caught 45 min after reloading. I guess I was expecting it to go to soon? In new at this so...


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Way to long to catch, imo next time take some splits and re-split to kindling size, once you get a good ash bed in the stove things should get easier.

 

[darktower007]

Well it took off and was rolling! Got hot as heck in here so I cut the air and it slowed down. Cat was glowing like crazy. Guess I just never had a hot fire before.. lol


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[Woody Stover]

18-20% isn’t semi dry, it’s dry if it’s being check on a fresh split at room temperature.
Honestly I have no idea how people post here about such low moisture content. For kicks I just split an oak chunk that was a 5x6 rectangle from 2013 that’s been inside since last night. In my environment I don’t think I can do much better than this.

Most locations in the US can't do much better. Not sure how they are getting some of those numbers. I've posted this before but I guess they missed it.
http://www.woodweb.com/knowledge_base_images/zp/equilibrium_moisture_content.pdf

The wood was a standing dead tree of 2 years cut this summer in small 12 inch splits.

Nonetheless, Hickory still dries slowly..

Way to long to catch, next time take some splits and re-split to kindling size, once you get a good ash bed in the stove things should get easier.

Agreed, too long for a reload to catch, but he did load on a bed of coals, right?

No honestly most guys I know in the feild care enough to do gasket right

OK, then. I haven't hired much out but whenever I do, I get a hack job. Maybe I just don't know how to find the good guys..

Well it took off and was rolling!

Classic wet wood scenario..long time to burn off the moisture, but eventually it takes off.

 

[kf6hap]

Well, the guys from A-1 Stoves here in Grass Valley cured my smoke smell issue, last year just by changing out the door gasket. Good neat job. No complaints here.

 

[lsucet]

I have a question and see if someone has an answer for it.
Let's say that a flue without fire going on, door closed, bypass closed and intake wide open, I have under these conditions 0.03 WC. The question is, is it supposed to count against the final draft measured?

 

[Ashful]

Huh, I always thought that backpuffing was due to a combination of not enough draft and negative pressure in the house pulling smoke into the room.

backdrafting = constant, due to cold chimney or negative pressure in house

backpuffing = an explosive puff, not constant. the behavior I described previously.

Question:
I have suspect semi dry oak at 18/20% mc
When I cold start or pack on coals it doesn’t really “catch” or engulf in flames. It takes a while to start, and per the manual... once it all catches and chars it should be ready to close bypass.

Should I buy a pack of kiln dried wood and replicate the process to see its my wood?
It eventually catches and burns fine, but takes a good hour to get going well.

Nope. Ok it just caught 45 min after reloading. I guess I was expecting it to go to soon? In new at this so...

Your MC%, assuming it was measured correctly, is totally fine. But let's hear exactly how it was measured, before closing the book on that.

Oak is one of the slowest woods to light, but 45 minutes is ridiculous. I just loaded both of my stoves on very weak coals after returning home 2.5 hours later than intended, all oak. I left the door cracked (closed against the latch) on each stove for 2 minutes, and it caught. Closed the door, 12-15 minutes in bypass, then closed the damper. I'm burning oak that was stacked outside uncovered since early 2015 (almost exactly 4 years), and then tarped this September.

I did put one 2x4 split down the middle under the load in one stove, as it has a short chimney (weak draft) and I was sure the coals were too weak to start oak directly. If you're having trouble getting oak to go, a few splits of softwood is a great tool.

 

[Woody Stover]

Let's say that a flue without fire going on, door closed, bypass closed and intake wide open, I have under these conditions 0.03 WC. The question is, is it supposed to count against the final draft measured?

No, it's included. They are only concerned with total draft; Doesn't matter if it's due to a warm house from the sun shining in your windows, from roasting chilis in your oven to make green sauce, or whatever.

Oak is one of the slowest woods to light,

He said Hickory, but regardless, all dense woods take longer to get burning. White Oak, Black Locust, Dogwood etc. all need a good coal bed to help them along. I dunno, maybe Pinon lights quicker, with all that sap..?

 

[kennyp2339]

Agreed, too long for a reload to catch, but he did load on a bed of coals, right?

@darktower007 I believe so, I've had my best luck on reloads when there's almost an inch ash or more in the firebox with the coals raked forward. Perhaps he didn't have a big volume of coals, they were not raked forward, or the air wasn't turned all the way up.
Sometimes I'll load and have to keep the door open sitting on the latch to help get things going, or sometimes the door will be shut and I'll see no flames but smoke being pushed downward (air wash effect) I'll then open the door and toss a lit match in there or hold my torch to the front and get things going so it isn't smoking crazy for a long period of time.

 

[zvholk]

Can someone tell me the proper way to check moisture with a meter? I just bought a meter and what to make sure I’m doing it right.
I’ve been burning wood for 20 years and have always tested wood by hitting 2 splits together. If they sound like a baseball bat it’s good to go.

 

[darktower007]

So ideas on how to get the glass clean naturally on the Ashford 25?
So far I have:
*Raked coals forward
*Had hot fires

The manual says a good hot fire will do it. But the middle where the air enters is cleaner than the black sides.

Should I run the stove wide open for longer to clear it up? If so how long? I don’t want it to run away on me.




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[Woody Stover]

Can someone tell me the proper way to check moisture with a meter? I just bought a meter and what to make sure I’m doing it right.
I’ve been burning wood for 20 years and have always tested wood by hitting 2 splits together. If they sound like a baseball bat it’s good to go.

If you knock splits together and they ring like a bell, instead of a more muted "thud," that can be a good sign. But I've also had wood that sounded good, but wasn't very dry at all.
To test with a meter, have the wood at room temp for a day, re-split and test on the freshly-exposed face, not too close to the end. Push the pins in firmly. Some say parallel to the grain but I get similar readings either way.

 

[kennyp2339]

Can someone tell me the proper way to check moisture with a meter? I just bought a meter and what to make sure I’m doing it right.
I’ve been burning wood for 20 years and have always tested wood by hitting 2 splits together. If they sound like a baseball bat it’s good to go.

take a room temp split, resplit, take moisture meter press (make sure its set to wood if its a multi type) press pins into wood (you may have to be firm) on the fresh face going with the grain

 

[Woody Stover]

So ideas on how to get the glass clean naturally

White vinegar on a rag or paper towel. For stubborn stuff, vinegar on a scrubbing pad that's safe for ceramic cook tops.

 

[jetsam]

Can someone tell me the proper way to check moisture with a meter? I just bought a meter and what to make sure I’m doing it right.
I’ve been burning wood for 20 years and have always tested wood by hitting 2 splits together. If they sound like a baseball bat it’s good to go.

Honestly, that works fine for me unless the wood is frozen (then you get a false reading every time).

With a probe type meter, bring the wood in and let it warm up to room temp. After it is room temp all the way through, split it once and test it on the fresh split.

 

[lsucet]

Well, is snowing here since last night, expected accumulation can be between 8 to 10 inches. At least temperature are low 30s right now. Not bad. 3rd week without can do nothing outside. From snow to mud and back to snow.