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

[Rickb]

My outside air kit is actually about 5 - 6 foot above my stove and has always worked fine.. Other then having to warm the flue for 10 - 20 seconds on a cold start in the spring and fall. I run my stove on as low as it will go 95% of the time.

<----- Basement install

 

[bholler]

My outside air kit is actually about 5 - 6 foot above my stove and has always worked fine.. Other then having to warm the flue for 10 - 20 seconds on a cold start in the spring and fall. I run my stove on as low as it will go 95% of the time.

<----- Basement install

That is against code because there is a possibility that the draft could reverse pulling hot air through the oak which wont have the proper clearances to handle the heat. I dont know how big of a danger it is but there is almost always very good reasons things are prohibited by code. Usually it is in response to problems that have occurred

 

[Frs]

I just found this article on the WEB concerning the use or not of outdoor combustion air. Check it out!! https://woodheat.org/the-outdoor-air-myth-exposed.html

 

[bholler]

I just found this article on the WEB concerning the use or not of outdoor combustion air. Check it out!! https://woodheat.org/the-outdoor-air-myth-exposed.html

All of the concerns listed in that article are easily addressed. Outside air can be helpful in some cases and is absolutly nessecary in others. There are also cases where it really offers little to no benifit. But if installed correctly there is no downside

 

[jetsam]

No stove should have outside air running higher than the firebox.

With that setup, a daft reversal would see the venting of hot flue gasses directly through a piece of (usually) dryer duct which is typically in direct contact with combustibles. Even if the house doesn't catch fire, once the duct goes you're venting a wood stove directly into your basement.

This is why basement stoves usually can't use outside air.

Try the air inlet valve that BKVP suggested...

 

[begreen]

No stove should have outside air running higher than the firebox.

With that setup, a daft reversal would see the venting of hot flue gasses directly through a piece of (usually) dryer duct which is typically in direct contact with combustibles. Even if the house doesn't catch fire, once the duct goes you're venting a wood stove directly into your basement.

This is why basement stoves usually can't use outside air.

Try the air inlet valve that BKVP suggested...

This is why the air gap and no direct connection. It can terminate 1" away from the stove intake and be ok.

 

[bholler]

This is why the air gap and no direct connection. It can terminate 1" away from the stove intake and be ok.

Yes that is what we do when needed.

 

[begreen]

Yes that is what we do when needed.

Our Alderlea is constructed this way. The OAK connection is not direct to the intakes. I've wondered if John Gulland was influential in this design.

 

[Rickb]

That is against code because there is a possibility that the draft could reverse pulling hot air through the oak which wont have the proper clearances to handle the heat. I dont know how big of a danger it is but there is almost always very good reasons things are prohibited by code. Usually it is in response to problems that have occurred

In my install there are no clearance issues. No combustables around it.

 

[Rickb]

No stove should have outside air running higher than the firebox.

With that setup, a daft reversal would see the venting of hot flue gasses directly through a piece of (usually) dryer duct which is typically in direct contact with combustibles. Even if the house doesn't catch fire, once the duct goes you're venting a wood stove directly into your basement.

This is why basement stoves usually can't use outside air.

Try the air inlet valve that BKVP suggested...

I can understand what your saying but I have never gotten any kind of reverse draft at all.. And if something happened and the duct goes, how would that be any different then no oak at all?

 

[jetsam]

I can understand what your saying but I have never gotten any kind of reverse draft at all.. And if something happened and the duct goes, how would that be any different then no oak at all?

Draft reversal without an OAK means the stove is vented directly to the room it's in. It is a serious CO hazard but hopefully not a serious fire hazard.

With an OAK, the same stove is now potentially vented out the OAK duct, if the intake is not decoupled from the stove. In this case the fire hazard is likely much higher. The duct may not be able to withstand flue gasses, and it may be in close proximity to combustible materials. The duct itself may be combustible.

Draft reversal "shouldn't" happen, but it does. House construction, stove location and venting, and local geography and topography all play roles.

Search the forum for people asking why their CO alarms are going off... it's not common but it's not unheard of, either.

All that said- I have never heard of someone actually suffering a situation where their stove vented through their outside air intake, but the potential is there and it's a situation to be avoided.

I just read one "near miss" story on another site (with good advice from @Highbeam in the thread!) where a guy's OAK was run through the attic, and was drafting in the wrong direction. Nothing very bad happened because 1) the flue was drafting fine and not reversing, and 2) his Jotul provided an air gap between the duct and the stove. But imagine if it had been a basement stove in a tight house...

 

[Ashful]

If I recall correctly, one of our Alaska burners had a pretty serious draft reversal incident last year. Poindexter?

 

[Rickb]

If I recall correctly, one of our Alaska burners had a pretty serious draft reversal incident last year. Poindexter?

I believer you are correct and it had nothing to do with an OAK.

 

[bholler]

I can understand what your saying but I have never gotten any kind of reverse draft at all.. And if something happened and the duct goes, how would that be any different then no oak at all?

The difference is with out an oak that runs up from the stove you have no chimney effect pulling suction on that intake.

 

[kennyp2339]

Quick but possibly dumb question here, My local area has had a lot of rain the past few months, my basement dehumidifier has been running none stop set at 60% humidity level, the stove is also in the basement and I have notice so very minor rust on the fins of the convection deck, no biggie but it got me thinking about rust / crud forming on the t-stat, I'm wondering if its ok to hit that with some wd40 to prevent any corrosion from forming, any thoughts on this?

 

[Highbeam]

The weight of that flapper is important. The strength of the spring is fixed. A light, even coating of oil should not hurt.

 

[begreen]

I would hit it with some spray silicone instead. The advantage being that it helps waterproof, but doesn't attract dust.

 

[Alpine1]

Wasn’t an anti seize grease the best option for the t-stat? Am I missing something?

 

[lsucet]

Wasn’t an anti seize grease the best option for the t-stat? Am I missing something?

You are right, it prevents corrosion too but it works better on moving parts, bolts, nuts etc. For what he wants is better a coating of silicone spray as begreen mentioned as protection against humidity and corrosion. It will be a big mess using anti-seize.

 

[Highbeam]

Wasn’t an anti seize grease the best option for the t-stat? Am I missing something?

Anti seize lube is for the tension washers that create friction when you turn the knob. The issue at hand is general corrosion in the butterfly assembly. The flapper is mild steel but the seat casting is some sort of alloy that shouldn't rust. The pivot points of the flapper need to be very low friction to enable free movement.

 

[Alpine1]

Thanks for the clarification! There’s always something to learn here!

 

[BKVP]

I'm in Fairbanks until Monday, then heading to Homer...might have to go out and see if halibut still live there.

 

[jetsam]

Quick but possibly dumb question here, My local area has had a lot of rain the past few months, my basement dehumidifier has been running none stop set at 60% humidity level, the stove is also in the basement and I have notice so very minor rust on the fins of the convection deck, no biggie but it got me thinking about rust / crud forming on the t-stat, I'm wondering if its ok to hit that with some wd40 to prevent any corrosion from forming, any thoughts on this?

In general, keep WD-40 away from anything mechanical. It has a solvent that dissolves grease (bad news for anything lubricated by grease), and once that evaporates, the remaining light oil is sticky and picks up crud (bad news for anything with moving parts).

If you've ever used it on a stiff lock, you'll know... it's great at first, but soon it's worse than it was originally. (Use graphite for locks, alcohol-carrier spray graphite if you need to flush some grit out.)

I would use mineral oil or silicone for something like a mechanical thermostat.

Maybe @Jan Pijpelink can shed some science on this?

 

[Jan Pijpelink]

In general, keep WD-40 away from anything mechanical. It has a solvent that dissolves grease (bad news for anything lubricated by grease), and once that evaporates, the remaining light oil is sticky and picks up crud (bad news for anything with moving parts).

If you've ever used it on a stiff lock, you'll know... it's great at first, but soon it's worse than it was originally. (Use graphite for locks, alcohol-carrier spray graphite if you need to flush some grit out.)

I would use mineral oil or silicone for something like a mechanical thermostat.

Maybe @Jan Pijpelink can shed some science on this?

Agree, mineral oil. Silicone, if it is not too thick/greasy.

 

[Highbeam]

After a successful sweeping and cleaning of the bk after 7 years of service I found some deteriorated floor bricks. I’ve never seen this before. The bk bricks are a low density looking thing but there is usually a lot of ash under the coals. Is everyone else seeing this in their bk stoves?

I know that the bricks are two layers thick on the bottom and I could flip these over if I want.

Oh and the back corner welds look nice and fresh. No sign of corrosion or pitting.