2019-20 Blaze King Performance Thread Part 1 (Everything BK)

[BKVP]

Ke1107. Will follow up as the install progresses...

I sent you a PM seeking your phone number so could answer any questions you may have....

 

[webby3650]

Weird. I immediately take the ashes out and dump them in the garden. I thought it was a well known CO danger to have a bucket full of smoldering coals in the house.

In the ashpan? I can’t see that being a real concern. It’s not full of coals anyway, only a few buried in ashes. Buckets full of coals to help heat the old drafty farm house, that’s not a good idea. I can agree with that.

 

[Woody Stover]

Weird. I immediately take the ashes out and dump them in the garden. I thought it was a well known CO danger to have a bucket full of smoldering coals in the house.

In the ashpan? I can’t see that being a real concern

I think he was talking about Poindexter's post..back in the day they had a tray of coals under the covers at night. They probably figured, like I do, that dying from CO would be better that waking up with cold feet. When I've got the bedroom door almost closed and it's low 60s out there, I wear wool ankle socks to bed. I'm an old man and my blood has pretty much stopped circulating.

 

[Ashful]

I err on the side of caution, after all it’s dangerous enough to invite fire into your home, which our families and pets live in. Will we be home when the CO detector goes off? I don’t know. My pets will be though. In my line of work I have seen so many senseless and preventable deaths due to fire, and CO, I like to keep the chances down to an absolute minimum.

Nothing wrong with erring in the side of caution. But I’ve been putting 10-14 cords of wood thru my two stoves every year since 2011, likely right around 100 cords sum total, and have been doing this the entire time with no issue. I have 7 CO detectors, including one within 30 feet of each stove, and they have never indicated any issue with the handful or two of pea-sized hot coals that make it thru my grate and into the pan on any given cleaning. I clean one stove 2x per week, the other 1x per week, which works out to nine cleanings per cord of wood used, if I’m doing the quick math in my head correctly.

Do what makes you sleep best at night, but I have personally settled any of my initial concern with doing it this way. If webby is going the same, in his smaller and tighter house, I’m even more confident it’s a non-issue for me.

 

[Dieselhead]

Nothing wrong with erring in the side of caution. But I’ve been putting 10-14 cords of wood thru my two stoves every year since 2011, likely right around 100 cords sum total, and have been doing this the entire time with no issue. I have 7 CO detectors, including one within 30 feet of each stove, and they have never indicated any issue with the handful or two of pea-sized hot coals that make it thru my grate and into the pan on any given cleaning. I clean one stove 2x per week, the other 1x per week, which works out to nine cleanings per cord of wood used, if I’m doing the quick math in my head correctly.

Do what makes you sleep best at night, but I have personally settled any of my initial concern with doing it this way. If webby is going the same, in his smaller and tighter house, I’m even more confident it’s a non-issue for me.

Great. Just as long everybody else out there with their own particular situation does not do the same that’s the point.

 

[Highbeam]

In the ashpan? I can’t see that being a real concern. It’s not full of coals anyway, only a few buried in ashes. Buckets full of coals to help heat the old drafty farm house, that’s not a good idea. I can agree with that.

I think you’re right that the handful of coals that fall into the ash pan is not a significant source of co when left in the house. There’s no harm in immediately taking them outside but no urgent need to. If it smells in the house I’m taking them out!

 

[webby3650]

The Smoldering coals will not be able to vent into the stove/flue and the CO from said coals can potentially creep into your living space. I’d be wary of doing it this way. Not to mention the heat produced from the smoldering coals will put heat a lot closer to potential combustible floor framing/etc then if they were sitting in your firebox.

I err on the side of caution, after all it’s dangerous enough to invite fire into your home, which our families and pets live in. Will we be home when the CO detector goes off? I don’t know. My pets will be though. In my line of work I have seen so many senseless and preventable deaths due to fire, and CO, I like to keep the chances down to an absolute minimum.

Well, the stove is tested and approved to be used on a non combustible surface. Hot coals in the pan would be considered normal use, so it’s not unsafe in this manner. It’s a minimal amount of coals we are talking about anyway. It’s never a bad idea to err on the side of caution, it’s also not bad to err on the side of common practical sense.

 

[Highbeam]

Does the owners manual discuss? Like the manufacturer, it does not pay to take unnecessary risk for no reward.

 

[SpaceBus]

The guy who rented me the scaffolding said you can't use the ends as a ladder, but I still do, and so does he. Of course the manual would never broach such a controversial topic. Most have no definition of overfire.

 

[Woody Stover]

I think you’re right that the handful of coals that fall into the ash pan is not a significant source of co when left in the house. There’s no harm in immediately taking them outside but no urgent need to. If it smells in the house I’m taking them out!

Does that happen to you? To me, a big feature of an ash dump is that you don't have to take a pan full of hot coals out immediately, but if you smell smoke after dumping ash/coals, that's no good. I imagine that could happen using any stove with an ash dump that seals with a plug or lid, although I don't recall ever reading about that problem here.
My pan can't emit anything into the room, be it odor or CO, since there's a 1/4" hole in the ash pan housing and any emissions would be pulled into the stove box by the draft, through the grate in the floor of the stove.

 

[Dieselhead]

It’s an ash pan not a coal pan. The bottom of the stove is 11” off the floor the pan is 2”. Not sure why Im wasting my time here....

 

[webby3650]

It’s an ash pan not a coal pan. The bottom of the stove is 11” off the floor the pan is 2”. Not sure why Im wasting my time here....

No one is wasting time here. It’s simply personal preference. Plain and simple.

 

[Highbeam]

No one is wasting time here. It’s simply personal preference. Plain and simple.

it’s okay to have different opinions or preferences with this one. Some people don’t want the co risk at all and some are okay with this amount of co in their house. Lots of things release co into the living space like a gas oven, people smoking things, or even burning candles. It is a cumulative poison so I fall into the “don’t want any extra” camp and all of us will eventually have to take those ashes outside anyway so I do it promptly.

this is a bk thread. If your ash pan door has a gasket then you are in the wrong thread.

 

[webby3650]

this is a bk thread. If your ash pan door has a gasket then you are in the wrong thread.

If you’ve got a gasket on the ashpan, it’s time to step it up to a BK!

 

[Rob711]

Anybody backlight the cat gauge. I have a Ashford insert, the cat go/ no go gauge
is low on the front surround. I’m thinking about one of those pads from the cheap eco fans to a led on the gauge. Not sure what’s behind it if it would work.

 

[BKVP]

Anybody backlight the cat gauge. I have a Ashford insert, the cat go/ no go gauge
is low on the front surround. I’m thinking about one of those pads from the cheap eco fans to a led on the gauge. Not sure what’s behind it if it would work.

So that's a clear lens on solid body. I think it would be hard to get it much light.

 

[Tegbert]

Anybody backlight the cat gauge. I have a Ashford insert, the cat go/ no go gauge
is low on the front surround. I’m thinking about one of those pads from the cheap eco fans to a led on the gauge. Not sure what’s behind it if it would work.

That’s my biggest complaint with the ashford insert. That gauge is a pain to see especially in low light.


Lopi Rockport
Blaze King Ashford 25

 

[bholler]

Weird. I immediately take the ashes out and dump them in the garden. I thought it was a well known CO danger to have a bucket full of smoldering coals in the house.

It is yes

 

[Ashful]

I’d argue you’re much more likely to burn your house down as a result of hauling a pan full of hot coals thru the house twice per week, than I am to suffer from CO as a result of leaving them in there. We see a handful of local homes burned down locally every year, almost always from improper handling or disposal of hot coals in the ash.

 

[Ashful]

Weird. I immediately take the ashes out and dump them in the garden. I thought it was a well known CO danger to have a bucket full of smoldering coals in the house.

A bucket full of hot coals, sure. But no one is discussing that here. Let’s lot equate a few pea-sized or marble-sized hot coals in a full pan of dead ash with a bucket full of hot coals.

I don’t know about the rest of you, but i endeavor to keep all of the hot coals in the stove, when I’m dumping ash. The few coals that make it into the pan don’t amount to much, in my case.

 

[Ashful]

Just noticed my flame shield fell out in one of my BKs! Luckily it didn’t hit the glass, it’s just leaning against the side of the firebox. Loaded at dinner time last night, and it’s only 60% thru as of noon today, so I’m leaving it lay until reload time tonight.

The Ashford flame shields tend to sag, since they’re just an in-reinforced flat sheet of perforated steel. I got tired of pounding them both flat every year, so I didn’t bother when I did this summers’ cleaning, and I guess this is what happens when you don’t!

 

[moresnow]

Just noticed my flame shield fell out in one of my BKs! Luckily it didn’t hit the glass, it’s just leaning against the side of the firebox. Loaded at dinner time last night, and it’s only 60% thru as of noon today, so I’m leaving it lay until reload time tonight.

The Ashford flame shields tend to sag, since they’re just an in-reinforced flat sheet of perforated steel. I got tired of pounding them both flat every year, so I didn’t bother when I did this summers’ cleaning, and I guess this is what happens when you don’t!

Yea! We have turned the corner.

Maybe we can leave that bad stinky ash topic...… Behind

 

[MTASH]

I'm to get my BK installed next month. I have an existing clay liner (never used) in the chimney stack. The idea is to drop a liner down. However, I am told that an insulated liner will not fit and we will simply forgo insulation. I understand this is perhaps not the best idea. The ID of the clay liner (rectangular) is 9"x6.9". What should I do?

From ground level (the hearth pad) the chimney is approximately 22 feet in height. Half of it is exposed to the elements. I am in Canada.

Thank you.

Is it a straight shot through your chimney? If so check out Duravent's ovalized rigid Duraliner. The 6" version will fit in your chimney without breaking out the clay.

(broken link removed to http://www.duravent.com/Product.aspx?hProduct=6)

 

[jetsam]

Yea! We have turned the corner.

Maybe we can leave that bad stinky ash topic...… Behind

Every year there's one thread where someone asks how to get rid of ash, and twenty people say "Put it in a bucket and take the bucket outside".

The ash pan threads are never that simple. But I will still take them over the threads where we argue over what is and is not a garage.

 

[Diabel]

A bucket and shovel works great. 10sec job.