2021-2022 BK everything thread

[Highbeam]

Also, if your is strong enough to keep smoke from rolling out of the open loading door with the bypass closed then you are probably way over spec. You can have too much draft.

Not only must you open the bypass before opening the loading door but you should open the bypass a few minutes early if the cat is really hot in an effort to cool the cat a bit. Take care of your cat so that takes care of you.

 

[Nealm66]

Just to help, when you open the bypass, you are then bypassing the cat. If you don’t open the bypass, you’re exposing it to cool temperatures and causing harm and should be putting smoke in the room

 

[TheElementalCashew]

First year burning with a BK. It’s a way nicer/easier stove than my old VC Defiant Encore, and I’m still trying to get used to being able to safely load up the stove completely with wood.

 

[ohlongarm]

First year burning with a BK. It’s a way nicer/easier stove than my old VC Defiant Encore, and I’m still trying to get used to being able to safely load up the stove completely with wood.

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Great looking parlor , mine has the silver legs fifth year burning mine 24/ 7 no issues.

 

[Diabel]

First year burning with a BK. It’s a way nicer/easier stove than my old VC Defiant Encore, and I’m still trying to get used to being able to safely load up the stove completely with wood.

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Nice set up.

Both of my stoves are nicely dialed in. Both work very similarly with exception of burn times due to fuel talk size.

 

[Nealm66]

First year burning with a BK. It’s a way nicer/easier stove than my old VC Defiant Encore, and I’m still trying to get used to being able to safely load up the stove completely with wood.

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It looks really good. Don’t be afraid to stuff it full. It does what it needs to. Just set the dial. Once you get it figured out, I’d put a mark on it for a reference.

 

[kennyp2339]

First year burning with a BK. It’s a way nicer/easier stove than my old VC Defiant Encore, and I’m still trying to get used to being able to safely load up the stove completely with wood.

Its like a fine wine, gets better with time, the more you use it, the better it is, the hardest thing about these stoves is letting go and let them do its own things. Confidence is hard to build before you trust something, but let that glass get black and get that cat glowing orange, the rest will fall into place.

 

[Dieselhead]

Is it better to keep bypass closed when adding wood? Manual states "you may want to open bypass" to keep smoke puffing to minimum. My stove draws very good so I see no reason to open it. Correct?

Only if you like to spend money on replacing your cat prematurely.

 

[estepracing]

I replaced the cat this week I replaced the combustor this week, and I must say what a difference it makes. I went with the ceramic, the old one was pretty matted over and plugged up when I took it out. Last winter when I had some problems with the old one I took it out cleaned it all up really well put a new gasket on and reinstalled it, apparently it just needed replaced.

 

[Larch]

Hello everyone, I'm new to this forum hopefully this is in the right place, it said everything blaze king.I've been burning wood for full-time heating for 30 years total and 14 years in current home setup with a pacific energy alderlea T5 with good results except for burn times on cold days, now that situations have changed( kids grew up and wife decided to go back to work) and no one will be home during the coldest days to reload the stove we decided to upgrade. Local dealer talked me into the sirocco 30.2. With a one month free trial exchange because my chimney setup is questionable for this stove. The chimney goes up 6 feet from top of stove thru wall using 2 45° elbows(single wall), then of course goes to the insulated stainless steel setup for another 20 feet, the setup is with a 7" pipe from stove top all the way. I have zero draw problems resulting in smoke spillage at any point , not starting, loading lowburns, nothing. The problem I have is with moisture, I am assuming the bigger pipe makes it to lazy and the steam condenses. I was going to exchange it and go with a non cat stove but have decided that this stove will be worth the hassle of replacing the setup to 6" and building a insulated chase for exterior if necessary in the spring. I've been running the blaze king for about a month and a half now and love it except for the water. Have checked chimney pipe for cleaning multiple times and is incredibly clean, the moisture I get out of it is fairly clear, has not been very cold yet but on the cold mornings around-5 Celsius next to no moisture if any because warmer faster flue I'm assuming. Wood is mostly Douglas fir, a little jack pine and larch, I tested it for moisture content and at worst it was 16% but almost all was at 12%.
My question is will this setup get me through the winter or will I probably have major ice problems? I'm going to keep my old stove just in case I need it to get thru the winter.
I have a 2000 Sq home total , 1000 Sq per floor with tall ceilings, I am now also wondering if I upgrade the chimney should I just go 8 and get the king for the longer burn times? The local dealer has been great, it wouldn't happen until the spring and I'd have to trade the sirocco for a loss but might be worth it.

 

[Highbeam]

Hello everyone, I'm new to this forum hopefully this is in the right place, it said everything blaze king.I've been burning wood for full-time heating for 30 years total and 14 years in current home setup with a pacific energy alderlea T5 with good results except for burn times on cold days, now that situations have changed( kids grew up and wife decided to go back to work) and no one will be home during the coldest days to reload the stove we decided to upgrade. Local dealer talked me into the sirocco 30.2. With a one month free trial exchange because my chimney setup is questionable for this stove. The chimney goes up 6 feet from top of stove thru wall using 2 45° elbows(single wall), then of course goes to the insulated stainless steel setup for another 20 feet, the setup is with a 7" pipe from stove top all the way. I have zero draw problems resulting in smoke spillage at any point , not starting, loading lowburns, nothing. The problem I have is with moisture, I am assuming the bigger pipe makes it to lazy and the steam condenses. I was going to exchange it and go with a non cat stove but have decided that this stove will be worth the hassle of replacing the setup to 6" and building a insulated chase for exterior if necessary in the spring. I've been running the blaze king for about a month and a half now and love it except for the water. Have checked chimney pipe for cleaning multiple times and is incredibly clean, the moisture I get out of it is fairly clear, has not been very cold yet but on the cold mornings around-5 Celsius next to no moisture if any because warmer faster flue I'm assuming. Wood is mostly Douglas fir, a little jack pine and larch, I tested it for moisture content and at worst it was 16% but almost all was at 12%.
My question is will this setup get me through the winter or will I probably have major ice problems? I'm going to keep my old stove just in case I need it to get thru the winter.
I have a 2000 Sq home total , 1000 Sq per floor with tall ceilings, I am now also wondering if I upgrade the chimney should I just go 8 and get the king for the longer burn times? The local dealer has been great, it wouldn't happen until the spring and I'd have to trade the sirocco for a loss but might be worth it.

Your chimney sounds fine. Double wall interior pipe would be an upgrade. I burn the same Doug fir fuel in a similar climate and never get water outside of the flue. How is this water escaping your flue? It should be built so that any liquid water runs down into your stove.

These BK stoves are very popular is Alaska, so the cold ambient temperatures are not a problem. Mostly because you will be burning a little hotter and flue temps should be higher.

Are you sure you’re running hot enough to keep the cat meter well into the active part of the gauge?

 

[spudman99]

I had some time this morning and thought I might add this little tidbit that I used during prep to get my insert ready for use this year.

The Princess box has what I call a deflector plate on either side just above the angle irons that hold the fire brick in place. They provide a rough 1" or so gap off the side of the unit. During the burning season my gap collects plenty of creosote in this space, typically flakey shiny stuff. I know you can burn that up with a high heat run, but I like to get it all out.

This gap is hard to get tools into to vacuum or scrape. I used this tool that is very flexible to dislodge the flakes, then pull them forward into the box where I can easily vacuum them up. It costs maybe $4 and did the job well.

I know this is an out of season post but I just did this service about a month ago and finally got around to writing this up.

 

[Larch]

Your chimney sounds fine. Double wall interior pipe would be an upgrade. I burn the same Doug fir fuel in a similar climate and never get water outside of the flue. How is this water escaping your flue? It should be built so that any liquid water runs down into your stove.

These BK stoves are very popular is Alaska, so the cold ambient temperatures are not a problem. Mostly because you will be burning a little hotter and flue temps should be higher.

Are you sure you’re running hot enough to keep the cat meter well into the active part of the gauge?

My cat prob tends to read around the 12 o'clock to the 4 o'clock sometimes higher but mostly hangs around 2 to 3 o'clock for first part of burns and noon to one on later parts, it only gets near inactive zone when almost out.
The water builds up and drips out of the outside stainless steel insulated cleanout T
Thanks for the reply

 

[Diabel]

My cat prob tends to read around the 12 o'clock to the 4 o'clock sometimes higher but mostly hangs around 2 to 3 o'clock for first part of burns and noon to one on later parts, it only gets near inactive zone when almost out.
The water builds up and drips out of the outside stainless steel insulated cleanout T
Thanks for the reply

I get the exact same thing/condensation. Initially I thought it was rain coming in via the cap but now I believe it is condensation. It builds up in the cleanout T and then freezes. Your description of the cat probe behaviour resembles mine exactly.

 

[Larch]

I get the exact same thing/condensation. Initially I thought it was rain coming in via the cap but now I believe it is condensation. It builds up in the cleanout T and then freezes. Your description of the cat probe behaviour resembles mine exactly.

OK thanks, from threads I read I was starting to think I was the only one. Hopefully that means I'll be good for the winter and build a insulated chase next summer if need be, highbeam's response make me hope the 7" size is fine

 

[kennyp2339]

Yesterday was a great BK test for me, we had almost 56 deg f out, a strong cold front blew through right around 1pm, I notice temps tanking, mid 40's by 2pm, loaded the stove up, got called into work at 3pm, added a couple splits, then set it down for a low and slow.
Got home at 6:30 this morning, plenty of coals, outside it was 28deg f, inside it was 70 deg f, loaded the princess up again with just maple, took a shower and went to bed. 43 outside at noon, grey and damp (weather people saying first flakes this evening here) The BK is chugging along, mostly running black glass w/ exception of a 4" V dead center, I'm always amazed with this stove, especially in the beginning of every burn season.

 

[Larch]

Yesterday was a great BK test for me, we had almost 56 deg f out, a strong cold front blew through right around 1pm, I notice temps tanking, mid 40's by 2pm, loaded the stove up, got called into work at 3pm, added a couple splits, then set it down for a low and slow.
Got home at 6:30 this morning, plenty of coals, outside it was 28deg f, inside it was 70 deg f, loaded the princess up again with just maple, took a shower and went to bed. 43 outside at noon, grey and damp (weather people saying first flakes this evening here) The BK is chugging along, mostly running black glass w/ exception of a 4" V dead center, I'm always amazed with this stove, especially in the beginning of every burn season.

Yes I've only had my blaze king for about a month and a half but it's been amazing me also, it's been hovering around the freezing temperature here and in my sirocco with Douglas fir I get 24-28 hours easy and with the jack pine about 16-19 hours, my whole life with wood heat and nothing else has ever come close. You'd get cooked out for 5 hours then drastically start cooling off.

 

[Nealm66]

Man I sure have had to rebuild a fire a lot this year. Pineapple Express they cal them. Warms up like crazy, then cools back down. Even on low it’s just too much. PITA

 

[Diabel]

If I spend more than 4/5 days running the Princess, the 1100sqf space it sits in gets too warm even in the dead of winter. The upper level is nice and comfortable. The temps really dropped here 36 avg. and we had a thin/wet blanket of snow this morning.

 

[Nelson]

Hey everyone - my thermo knob started spinning past the point it is supposed to (in hindsight, I should have realized it was getting loose when turning the knob to the high setting was taking it past 6 oclock to 8 oclock). I've got it lined up again but was curious as to how tight I should tighten the set screw. I screw it in fairly tight and it's back working the way it should. Should I crank it down a bit more? How often are folks noticing the set screw coming loose?

Thanks!

 

[begreen]

Man I sure have had to rebuild a fire a lot this year. Pineapple Express they cal them. Warms up like crazy, then cools back down. Even on low it’s just too much. PITA

It's nuts to be burning when it's 55-60º outside. Temp started dropping around noon here and I started a fire a few hours ago. Temp now is 44º and still falling.

 

[Nealm66]

If I spend more than 4/5 days running the Princess, the 1100sqf space it sits in gets too warm even in the dead of winter. The upper level is nice and comfortable. The temps really dropped here 36 avg. and we had a thin/wet blanket of snow this morning.

It’s really weird how long it takes for my house to cool down in these warm weather events. No big deal to open some windows and it’s saving some wood for sure. Just never realized how much warmth is stored.

 

[Nealm66]

It's nuts to be burning when it's 55-60º outside. Temp started dropping around noon here and I started a fire a few hours ago. Temp now is 44º and still falling.

Ya, I didn’t know it was going to get so warm. Reloaded Sunday morning and set it on a low simmer and it just chugged along , well , you know.

 

[Tron]

It's nuts to be burning when it's 55-60º outside.

Why not? Burning season is not that long down here, and if I fire up the stove in the 50F mornings with highs today around 70F, I can prevent the furnace from running all day with the BK set to low.
True, one must be careful to a) keep the cat at temperature and b) not get roasted out of the house.
Cat temperature gauge then usually hovers around the 10 o'clock mark.

 

[clancey]

Yea I imagine Tron you take the damp chill off the air and you feel comfortable...in MS its the chill and damp factor that make you cold and a nice wood heater is just perfect..even at 50 degrees...which to me a old clancey feels "cold"...lol clancey