2020-21 Blaze King Performance Thread (Everything BK)

[Alpine1]

Eh... BKs are boring stoves: load it and forget about it for the next 12/24/30 hours. Welcome to the kingdom of boredom for stove tinkerers!
And let’s not forget the black box mode!

 

[jetsam]

You're allowed to open the door and poke the fire and throw a couple sticks in just because you feel like it. Sometimes I do! It's an optional activity, though.

 

[Highbeam]

Gotta check fuel remaining with a flashlight.

 

[MNWade]

Gotta check fuel remaining with a flashlight.

Lol. I did that this morning. Had to resist the urge to add wood. Trust the alien technology.

 

[Dustin]

Gotta check fuel remaining with a flashlight.

Soooo... I’m not the only one doing this? Sometimes when I turn it down and can’t see a glow through the dirty glass I freak out and look with a flashlight... if it’s that low it’s okay?!

 

[moresnow]

1:50 AM. Couldn't sleep. Just checked the stove. With my flashlight Normal stove operation tool. They should come with one!

 

[kennyp2339]

Coming from a very high maintenance, needy top down burner, ..... I don‘t know what to do with my time. I am stuck between being in awe and being board.

This is the reason why some of our posts in this thread goes off the rails, boredom, non BK owners sometimes dont understand this, FYI I'm also burning a princess free stander, shoulder seasons are the best with this stove, your be able to switch to 12hr cycles once the temps dip into the lower 20's for high temps.
BTW @BKVP went millennial on you guys, made the meatballs but the woman in my life wanted to try zucchini veggi balls, made it and they were awesome.

 

[BKVP]

This is the reason why some of our posts in this thread goes off the rails, boredom, non BK owners sometimes dont understand this, FYI I'm also burning a princess free stander, shoulder seasons are the best with this stove, your be able to switch to 12hr cycles once the temps dip into the lower 20's for high temps.
BTW @BKVP went millennial on you guys, made the meatballs but the woman in my life wanted to try zucchini veggi balls, made it and they were awesome.

You mean you eat those zucchini things? I tried to give them to my neighbors, but now they won't talk to me...sun's about to rise. I'm on a ridge and hear a rooster pheasant off in the dark....

 

[MacinJosh]

I grew up in other places, so we possibly have very different definitions of urbanization. I can't see another house from my house, but I can always hear traffic... almost 20 years in and I still haven't acclimated to that.

The Home Depot in Riverhead carries a Rheem heat pump water heater for $1300, and LIPA will cut you a $650 rebate check on that puppy. Sell your old oil fired water heater on craigslist (I got $500 for mine), and it's almost free. I spent another $75 on pipe and parts, and ended my oil bill forever for around a $200 investment. Put it in heat pump only mode, and you'll barely even see it running on your usage graphs. Pretty sure it paid for itself in the first month or two.

I run my BK on ~12 hour cycles most of the heating season, with short hot burns as needed in winter. Crazy thing can go 24 hours with a full load and dry wood, though.

My favorite burn is the catch-up burn where I pack her full of pine during a cold snap and let her rip. You get a fun transformation from a black box that pumps out heat to a little inferno in the living room. I guess I'll be seeing that a lot less this year.

I love my Rheem heat pump water heater!

 

[vwmike]

First 24 hour burn with my new Princess. Stacked it full at 5pm last night, opened the door at 4:45 tonight. ( close enough ). Coming from a very high maintenance, needy top down burner, ..... I don‘t know what to do with my time. I am stuck between being in awe and being board. LOL. Burning dry, cured oak slab wood. Yes it is 60% smaller splits, but if I Tetris them in there, almost no air space and equals a couple very large splits. Pretty sure i could have gone another 4-6 hours on this load. This stove has the potential to use half as much wood as my last stove. Also, love the constant even heat, no up and down heat cycles.

lol I’m at about the same stage in my relationship with my princess! Still amazed when I walk bye and the box is black but the eco fan is still going and I haven’t added wood in 16hrs....

 

[jetsam]

I think if you grew up heating with lesser stoves and fireplaces, there is sometimes an emotional need to open the door and poke the fire. And that's OK. (Bad for efficiency, but satisfying.)

 

[Nelson]

Hi-

Working on my Princess install and I'm looking for some confirmation on how to seat the telescoping double wall stove pipe to the stove collar. The pre-drilled holes on the Princess are toward the top of the collar and do not line up with the pre-drilled holes on the double wall. My plan is to seat the double wall pipe flush with the top of the stove and then drill new holes in the stove collar. Is that the right thing to do? Or should I keep the stove pipe raised and try to drill new holes in the stove pipe to match the pre-drilled holes on stove collar?

Edit: Sorry, thanks for moving this

Thanks!!
Andy

 

[begreen]

The stovepipe should be fully seated in the flue collar. Either drill the flue collar or the stove pipe. I did the latter. For the stove pipe - mark the flue collar hole locations on the stovepipe edge with the pipe elevated. Measure the flue collar hole height above the stovetop. Figure out what size sheet metal screw you will need to tap into the flue collar holes (#10 x 3/4'?) Then lower the stove pipe in place and mark the hole locations using the measurement off the stovetop done previously. Drill new holes in the stovepipe that now align with the flue collar holes. Put in the screws and tighten until they just touch the stove pipe, but don't pucker in the edges.

 

[Nelson]

The stovepipe should be fully seated in the flue collar. Either drill the flue collar or the stove pipe. I did the latter. For the stove pipe - mark the flue collar hole locations on the stovepipe edge with the pipe elevated. Measure the flue collar hole height above the stovetop. Figure out what size sheet metal screw you will need to tap into the flue collar holes (#10 x 3/4'?) Then lower the stove pipe in place and mark the hole locations using the measurement off the stovetop done previously. Drill new holes in the stovepipe that now align with the flue collar holes. Put in the screws and tighten until they just touch the stove pipe, but don't pucker in the edges.

Thanks begreen! Something doesn't feel right about drilling into the stove collar so I think I use the approach you described.

 

[Highbeam]

It’s odd that you were able to drop the outer wall onto the stove top. Does it feel like the tapered inner wall of the flue pipe is tightly pressed into the stove collar? I had to use a short piece called an appliance adapter between the stove and the double wall.

 

[Blazing]

First fire of the year and some food for something exciting.

 

[BKVP]

Houston...we have ignition!

 

[Nelson]

It’s odd that you were able to drop the outer wall onto the stove top. Does it feel like the tapered inner wall of the flue pipe is tightly pressed into the stove collar? I had to use a short piece called an appliance adapter between the stove and the double wall.

The inner pipe of the double wall is straight and it does seat nicely inside of the collar. It's a telescoping piece so not sure if that matters?

I bought my pipe from Rockford Chimney Supply - The brand of the pipe is Ventis I believe. Per Rockford Chimney a stove adapter is only needed if the thickness of the collar is greater than 1/4".

From the Rockford Chimney website description for the stove adapter - "The inner pipe will fit into the opening and the outer pipe will fit flush to the unit. Use the Stove Adapter if the collar thickness on the exhaust hole is more than 1/4" thick. If the collar thickness on the exhaust hole is less than 1/4", the inner pipe of the double wall stove pipe will fit inside the exhaust hole in most cases. "

 

[Dustin]

Houston...we have ignition!View attachment 264969

!

Damn, that turned out nice.

 

[BKVP]

!

Damn, that turned out nice.

Thanks...my wife selected everything and colors. I just get to use it.

 

[Highbeam]

The inner pipe of the double wall is straight and it does seat nicely inside of the collar. It's a telescoping piece so not sure if that matters?

I bought my pipe from Rockford Chimney Supply - The brand of the pipe is Ventis I believe. Per Rockford Chimney a stove adapter is only needed if the thickness of the collar is greater than 1/4".

From the Rockford Chimney website description for the stove adapter - "The inner pipe will fit into the opening and the outer pipe will fit flush to the unit. Use the Stove Adapter if the collar thickness on the exhaust hole is more than 1/4" thick. If the collar thickness on the exhaust hole is less than 1/4", the inner pipe of the double wall stove pipe will fit inside the exhaust hole in most cases. "

See the photo above your post. Notice the outer wall not against the stove top . Just like mine but if you feel good that the inner tapered pipe is nice and tight then it’s all good.

 

[BKVP]

My DuraVent slip joint goes down on my flue collar to. Used it this way for 18 years on my 1107.

 

[Dustin]

 

[BKVP]

Might be time for another pet contest...

 

[spudman99]

I call fake news on @BKVP.

Looks to me like a brochure photo that is cropped and used in this site. He probably is burning a Regency since the BK unit does not throw off enough heat. Yes they burn slow and steady but peak heat is just not enough for his building envelope. I recall he is on a slight hill and has some wind. I think he tried a BK and it just didn't do the job well enough.

**all in jest and for humor only the above...hehe**