2021-2022 BK everything thread

[stoveliker]

The smoke: yes. The paint made my basement"look blue*. This will be common for each fire that is hotter than the previous ones. Just follow the manual, by doing increasingly large fires. Open the windows (2 opposite if possible) while you cure the paint.

The other questions I have to defer to others. But the split lengths should be in the manual or brochure that you can download from the BK site.

The brochure says a width of 20" in front, 18" in the back. So I'd go 17-17.5" or so E/W.
Depth (N/S) is 16.75", so don't go larger than 16".
If you cut all your wood to 16", you'll be fine.

 

[Tron]

I always eyeball the split length. About a foot plus a little more. Yes, the firebox then has 2-3" room in the front near the glass, but so what?

 

[mewop]

That is a presentation I gave during promulgation of the 2015 NSPS. The exposure threshold applies to all catalytic systems with same washcoat processes.

What are the usual max operating temperatures on a KE40? I am curious how much buffer temperature range we have from overfiring if our setup is overdrafting

 

[Highbeam]

I always eyeball the split length. About a foot plus a little more. Yes, the firebox then has 2-3" room in the front near the glass, but so what?

Precise cutting leads to more complete firebox filling which leads to longer burntimes and better utility. Also, it's easier to stack!

I use a mingo marker and get all of my wood to 16". This is a firewood industry standard and allows me to share, sell, or give away extra fuel.

 

[Nealm66]

Man, it’s sure been a mild winter here in the pnw so far. I can’t imagine what it would be like not being able to burn low and slow.

 

[begreen]

Man, it’s sure been a mild winter here in the pnw so far. I can’t imagine what it would be like not being able to burn low and slow.

Try a heat pump. This is ideal weather for it and our lower cost of electricity makes it a great fit. Ours has been loafing with these temps in the 50s. It usually only running in the low and quiet mode. It's supposed to get cooler tonight so stock up the wood bin.

PS: It's been so warm that we have daffodils that are already 8" tall and all our garlic has sprouted and is about 4" tall.

 

[stoveliker]

Or you could try to improve your burntime record. See how close you can get to the 30 hrs

But I agree; 57 here today (), so I was planning on the heat pump (with even free-er electricity due to my solar net metering), but it's not even on...

 

[Highbeam]

Or you could try to improve your burntime record. See how close you can get to the 30 hrs

But I agree; 57 here today (), so I was planning on the heat pump (with even free-er electricity due to my solar net metering), but it's not even on...

At some point, even the low burn rate is too much heat so 30 hours of low burn is way too much heat. We're still burning 3-4 split fires each night after trying to let the house cool down all day. It gets dark around 4 pm this far north so I can burn in stealth mode.

If I had a heat pump, I admit, I would be using it. I burned in the shop last night too, it was 55 inside that building and this allowed my to have a fairly rip roaring fire to charge up the slab before temperatures drop.

Forecast is for many days of 30s at night. Much cooler and finally some lasting snow on the mountain.

 

[Nealm66]

I’ve gotten 30 hours easy with the Idaho press logs with a milder heat output as well. I still have a few but been burning Doug fir snags that I get for free and only had a couple days that got the house too hot. Way too hot lol. Be glad to see the cooler weather. I’ve also been leaving the door open to the insulated 3car garage which helps a little. Got a classic mustang in there so don’t mind keeping it warm. Crazy how much heat a wood stove puts out.

 

[SnowSnob]

Have you tried Woodland stove in Minneapolis?

Thanks. Left them a VM!

 

[stoveliker]

At some point, even the low burn rate is too much heat so 30 hours of low burn is way too much heat. We're still burning 3-4 split fires each night after trying to let the house cool down all day. It gets dark around 4 pm this far north so I can burn in stealth mode.

If I had a heat pump, I admit, I would be using it. I burned in the shop last night too, it was 55 inside that building and this allowed my to have a fairly rip roaring fire to charge up the slab before temperatures drop.

Forecast is for many days of 30s at night. Much cooler and finally some lasting snow on the mountain.

At some point yes. But my point was that warmer than usual weather is a good time to play with the stove. The point where it doesn't make sense anymore differs for each home and occupant.

 

[SnowSnob]

BK just doesn't keep track of dealer inventory so they can't tell you who has one on the shelf. It's really none of their business and I'm glad BK allows their dealers to keep actual inventory levels private.

Another company that makes great stoves and sells direct is Woodstock. They cater to the consumer vs. the dealer so will be able to help you with inventory questions.

I hear your point. Just like any business you make decisions. You can stock units, tie up your cash in inventory and hope they sell, thus taking the risk. Or play safe and order only if there is interest and hope customer can wait. My dealer didn't even show me BK, and suggested non cat insert that cost even more, plus no tax credit. Members of this forum educated me on number of aspects, the dealer didn't take 5 min to discuss any of that. So I have no loyalty in this regard.
Midwest sales rep at BK should know by heart what stores try to stock, I'm clearly wanted one and it should be fair for them give me 1-2 recommendations. Any who... Thanks for all the help and suggestions.

 

[Nealm66]

Crazy times. I just traded in my 3500 for a new one. I really didn’t want half the crap on the new one but you get what you get right now. Finally figured out how to turn the radio on. The fricking mirrors have electrical dimmer some how. Ya, that took a minute. I know it’s frustrating getting a good quality wood stove right now but man, everything is messed up. All I can say is if you can be patient you will be happy with a BK stove in my opinion

 

[Nealm66]

At some point yes. But my point was that warmer than usual weather is a good time to play with the stove. The point where it doesn't make sense anymore differs for each home and occupant.

Would be a good time to play around with different types of wood for sure. I had a cotton wood blow over and I sliced it up and see if how it does just for curiosity. Definitely not something I would burn on a regular but it wasn’t really big

 

[Highbeam]

Would be a good time to play around with different types of wood for sure. I had a cotton wood blow over and I sliced it up and see if how it does just for curiosity. Definitely not something I would burn on a regular but it wasn’t really big

I've actually burned a lot of cottonwood in the BK and it does really well. The ash helps and it makes a lot of ash. You've got to dry it out of course. It also takes a lot of work to process that heavy green wood and you need a lot more of it to match the #s you get from fir. I'd prefer our cottonwood to western red cedar.

Some places in this nation, all they have to burn is cottonwood and those folks stay warm just fine.

Congratulations on the new truck. I have a 2000 F350 diesel which has been the subject of a huge crime wave in our area. People are getting them stolen so much I'm afraid to leave it at the trailhead. They must be really easy to steal.

 

[Highbeam]

I hear your point. Just like any business you make decisions. You can stock units, tie up your cash in inventory and hope they sell, thus taking the risk. Or play safe and order only if there is interest and hope customer can wait. My dealer didn't even show me BK, and suggested non cat insert that cost even more, plus no tax credit. Members of this forum educated me on number of aspects, the dealer didn't take 5 min to discuss any of that. So I have no loyalty in this regard.
Midwest sales rep at BK should know by heart what stores try to stock, I'm clearly wanted one and it should be fair for them give me 1-2 recommendations. Any who... Thanks for all the help and suggestions.

When I picked my BK up at the lumber store the guys forked it down from way up high in a hay loft and set it right in my truck. I didn't have to wait to order one because this guy had room for inventory, but many BK dealers are very small shops.

 

[bholler]

You guys are missing the point. This isn't about what shops want to stock or have room to stock. The stoves just aren't available.

 

[kennyp2339]

What are the usual max operating temperatures on a KE40? I am curious how much buffer temperature range we have from overfiring if our setup is overdrafting

250 deg stove top to 800 deg, that range is hard to wrap your head around considering the range the stove can operate. This is why its important to run the stove within spec of what BK suggests, Draft is key here, mainly because of the cat, when your running the stove the cat should top out at 1400 deg f max, at 1600 it starts to degrade (theres science stuff that I dont even want to type about past 1600 deg f)
The cat becomes active when it hits 500 deg f, how that relates to stove top from what I seen is about 280 to 300 deg f stove top, no the experiment occurs, you could have a brand new cat that is over active and pegs the range of the cat probe but only see a 500 deg stove top or you have a 3 season cat that sits at noon on the cat probe but you have the t-stat set at 3 o'clock with flames and cruising at 650 deg stove top, Its all about your wood dryness, how new your cat is and heat setting of the T-stat. Now if your within the parameters of draft spec (.05wc ft) you could leave your t-stat wide open and burn, prob enter the gates of hell phase of the burn but the t-stat will close enough to keep the stove from over firing and damaging components.
Now for the King, compared to my princess, it will burn the same at the same setting but because the king has more surface area it will let out more heat then the princess, your 25k btu's has a wider range of dispersant then my 25k btu's on the smaller princess model.

 

[Nealm66]

I've actually burned a lot of cottonwood in the BK and it does really well. The ash helps and it makes a lot of ash. You've got to dry it out of course. It also takes a lot of work to process that heavy green wood and you need a lot more of it to match the #s you get from fir. I'd prefer our cottonwood to western red cedar.

Some places in this nation, all they have to burn is cottonwood and those folks stay warm just fine.

Congratulations on the new truck. I have a 2000 F350 diesel which has been the subject of a huge crime wave in our area. People are getting them stolen so much I'm afraid to leave it at the trailhead. They must be really easy to steal.

I know you’ve mentioned it before. Seems like if my memory serves, you mentioned it burning slightly hotter and faster? I know from doing tree service, you can’t pay to get rid of it. I’ve actually had some sawn into planks for a friend that has a lowboy truck to haul huge dozers for centralia steam plant. He said it was soft and the 6” grouzers will snap Doug fir but the soft cottonwood would take it

 

[ABMax24]

I have a 2000 F350 diesel which has been the subject of a huge crime wave in our area. People are getting them stolen so much I'm afraid to leave it at the trailhead. They must be really easy to steal.

Yup, a good thief will be gone in under 30 seconds.

Put a battery isolator switch on each battery, and then shut them off when your not using the truck. Can't steal it if there's no power to start it.

 

[Nealm66]

Crazy times. This ones got the button start. Honks at me when I get out with the key in my pocket while it’s running lol.

 

[Tron]

I've actually burned a lot of cottonwood in the BK and it does really well. The ash helps and it makes a lot of ash.

I currently have a lot of amber tree (rather prevalent around here in terms of hardwoods) in my stash. Same thing, burns well but leaves a lot of ash. Even burning on low all the time, I have to clean out the ashes once a week because it's almost up to the door. But after I'm through that it's mostly pine.

 

[Poindexter]

You guys are missing the point. This isn't about what shops want to stock or have room to stock. The stoves just aren't available.

@SnowSnob , I do think this is the fundamental problem. Chris would be delighted to sell you a stove, but they are simply selling as fast as he can get them to the loading dock at the factory.

Talking to one of my customers today, he wants a new Subaru. The dealer has zero new vehicles on the lot, and everything scheduled to come in on or before March 1, 2022 is already sold. He offered $8k over MSRP (his words not mine) and he was invited to call back on 01-03-2022 to see what was scheduled for delivery in April 2022.

BK makes a good burner. When mine is wearing out I will order another one, no question. I think I have a few years to go, but I will try to order the next one at whatever "soon enough" is to minimize service interuption in my home. Lat time I talked to Chris, a very busy man, he was 10-12 weeks out. If you have a backorder slip you will be in the pipeline and need to get busy stacking your fuel, I don't know of any BK that runs good on cordwood fuel over 20%MC.

 

[kennyp2339]

Talking to one of my customers today, he wants a new Subaru. The dealer has zero new vehicles on the lot

Even worse... call a local auto parts store and ask for a oil filter for a subaru... results may be shocking, I know in NJ there are no oil changes going on if you own a Subaru since there are no oil filters available.

 

[Nealm66]

I read something the other day about Subaru really struggling. A buddy of mine in construction brags his up in slick conditions. He has a new Chevy 4x4 but says the Subaru is definitely the better for slick roads. Seems like anything that’s popular right now is hard to find