2021-2022 BK everything thread

[spudman99]

So I have a question for the masses:

My princess insert is now on its 3rd season. I have done nothing to it other than to lube the thermostat and blow clean the fan. It has not required any maintenance. My door closes normally but there is very little resistance on the handle when I lock it down on the latch. Like I can close it with 2 fingers and a push. I don't have any smoke odor, however that may be due to my high draft. I installed a key damper in Nov, now my Magnehellic reads 0.18 on high burn instead of 0.21wc. No way possible to get it into the desired spec (at least not this year).

Is this type of tension on the door handle and latch typical? After 3 years shouldn't I have to tighten the latch nut a bit?

Not looking for an answer to a non-problem, just leaning on your experience. TIA

 

[rdust]

So I have a question for the masses:

My princess insert is now on its 3rd season. I have done nothing to it other than to lube the thermostat and blow clean the fan. It has not required any maintenance. My door closes normally but there is very little resistance on the handle when I lock it down on the latch. Like I can close it with 2 fingers and a push. I don't have any smoke odor, however that may be due to my high draft. I installed a key damper in Nov, now my Magnehellic reads 0.18 on high burn instead of 0.21wc. No way possible to get it into the desired spec (at least not this year).

Is this type of tension on the door handle and latch typical? After 3 years shouldn't I have to tighten the latch nut a bit?

Not looking for an answer to a non-problem, just leaning on your experience. TIA

Check it with a dollar bill and go from there. If it passes you’re good, if it pulls out easy snug it up until it has some resistance.

 

[Highbeam]

So I have a question for the masses:

My princess insert is now on its 3rd season. I have done nothing to it other than to lube the thermostat and blow clean the fan. It has not required any maintenance. My door closes normally but there is very little resistance on the handle when I lock it down on the latch. Like I can close it with 2 fingers and a push. I don't have any smoke odor, however that may be due to my high draft. I installed a key damper in Nov, now my Magnehellic reads 0.18 on high burn instead of 0.21wc. No way possible to get it into the desired spec (at least not this year).

Is this type of tension on the door handle and latch typical? After 3 years shouldn't I have to tighten the latch nut a bit?

Not looking for an answer to a non-problem, just leaning on your experience. TIA

You don’t want it super duper tight to latch. Mine is about two fingers plus a thumb on the pivot to shut. Too tight and you crush the mooshiness out of the gasket material.

Fully closed damper only drops you three hundredths? Wow. Must be quite the chimney.

 

[rdust]

Single digit night.

 

[kennyp2339]

Little warm shot here yesterday, got up to 35deg f, burnt the firebox down all day, then took my hand rake and moved the coals to one side, scooped ash out, moved coals to the other side, scooped some more, got about 1.5 gal worth of ash removed, spread the coals out and loaded on top of them in time for the arctic cold front, temps are crashing, 24 deg f today, 0 tonight and 5 tomorrow, having a deep belly stove alone is like an insurance policy,

 

[jdonna]

Coldest day this winter so far

Coldest day this winter so farView attachment 289414

That takes the cake! I wouldn't rely on my propane at that temp! Thank goodness for wood heat.

 

[kennyp2339]

The other happy customer in this house

 

[sprawlnstall]

That takes the cake! I wouldn't rely on my propane at that temp! Thank goodness for wood heat.

I had -32 below yesterday in Northern MN. A few days last week it was even colder. I've been sleeping in the stove room for overnight reloads, Lots of hot cleanouts before work so the stove can be packed to the Gils. I can get 8 hours of heat but will come home to a 60 degree house. I don't think a bigger stove would help.

 

[stoveliker]

I had -32 below yesterday in Northern MN. A few days last week it was even colder. I've been sleeping in the stove room for overnight reloads, Lots of hot cleanouts before work so the stove can be packed to the Gils. I can get 8 hours of heat but will come home to a 60 degree house. I don't think a bigger stove would help.

A bigger fuel box would give you longer burn times (at the same heat output).

 

[kennyp2339]

I had -32 below yesterday in Northern MN. A few days last week it was even colder. I've been sleeping in the stove room for overnight reloads, Lots of hot cleanouts before work so the stove can be packed to the Gils. I can get 8 hours of heat but will come home to a 60 degree house. I don't think a bigger stove would help.

A king has more surface area to radiate more heat, it would certainly do a better job.
I noticed a big improvement with my princess when I added the convection deck with the blower, but we simply dont get temps like you guys up there, I can only imagine what thats like living day to day in that stuff. Lowest I think I ever saw at my place was -8 deg F.

 

[Todd]

I had -32 below yesterday in Northern MN. A few days last week it was even colder. I've been sleeping in the stove room for overnight reloads, Lots of hot cleanouts before work so the stove can be packed to the Gils. I can get 8 hours of heat but will come home to a 60 degree house. I don't think a bigger stove would help.

Yeah, I’ve been seeing the same temps and it can be frustrating with any stove figuring a good burning schedule to fight these temps. Luckily I’m retired and can reload every 4-6 hours to keep my stove hot and my place above 70.

 

[Tron]

Even with our rather mild (30s-50s) temperatures right now I usually need to reload after 6-8 hours. It's just pine after all, plus a few splits are of questionable quality, they weigh close to nothing and feel like balsa wood. I admit that I had some dead standing trees in my stash that the insects got into before I cut it down...

 

[Dieselhead]

Here’s all I could muster for the Tetris challenge. I don’t have many smalls in the current load in my wood rack to draw from so a void or 2 was inevitable.

The coals left were from a load 27hrs earlier.

 

[stoveliker]

Oak Tetris. No small pieces nearby for on the top.

 

[JKanor]

Guess I'll play Tetris, not my best work but it's what I had in the house. Mostly white oak with a piece or 2 of red.

9* right now in Northeast PA and keeping my tri-level 73 downstairs and 70 up on 18-20 hour burns at this rate.

 

[jdonna]

I had -32 below yesterday in Northern MN. A few days last week it was even colder. I've been sleeping in the stove room for overnight reloads, Lots of hot cleanouts before work so the stove can be packed to the Gils. I can get 8 hours of heat but will come home to a 60 degree house. I don't think a bigger stove would help.

Yea our state, MN , has seen some pretty brutal temps this winter, but man that pic of -50f takes the cake !

 

[shgRUSS]

Yea our state, MN , has seen some pretty brutal temps this winter, but man that pic of -50f takes the cake !

Gets colder here but usually when we get really cold it is relatively calm and sunny (super strong high pressure). The worst I seen was about 15yrs ago we had -50*f with crazy wind for a full week. My diesel service truck gelled up twice, went to the gas station to tell them their diesel was questionable and the pump had gelled off also. The house takes much more to heat when it is -30*f cloudy and windy (can get weeks in a row of this).

 

[sprawlnstall]

A bigger fuel box would give you longer burn times (at the same heat output).

I've considered this. Not a lot of stoves are bigger that run on a 6 inch flue. The drolet and Ht300 and Englander NC30 may be good options but not sure if it would be better than a princess.

 

[stoveliker]

I've considered this. Not a lot of stoves are bigger that run on a 6 inch flue. The drolet and Ht300 and Englander NC30 may be good options but not sure if it would be better than a princess.

I can't say. But the ease of use and stability of the BK would make me hesitant to change if you don't want to pay for an 8" flue (King).

But I know the solution: get a second BK. Same burn times, and you'll be higher than 60 F inside...

 

[Highbeam]

I've considered this. Not a lot of stoves are bigger that run on a 6 inch flue. The drolet and Ht300 and Englander NC30 may be good options but not sure if it would be better than a princess.

Ugh. I believe BKVP told us that princess is his top seller in Alaska! I've got to think that the 6" flue is a big reason.

I have the NC30 and burn both it and the princess. The NC30 is a fine stove but it's a noncat and that larger firebox is quickly eaten up. More heat over less time which sometimes is fine if you are trying to make major btu short term which is what I bought it for.

The princess is great, better I think, for keeping a house warm if the heat load is more typical and falls within it's output range.

 

[Nealm66]

Finally cleaned out the stove. Was an inch of concrete like ash buildup that was so hard I thought it was the brick the last time I cleaned it lol. Not bad really considering I think it’s only the 3rd time I’ve cleaned it out since new last season.

 

[Highbeam]

Finally cleaned out the stove. Was an inch of concrete like ash buildup that was so hard I thought it was the brick the last time I cleaned it lol. Not bad really considering I think it’s only the 3rd time I’ve cleaned it out since new last season.

View attachment 289787

Nice red fir. The fir seems pretty good at making those clinkers or slabs of weak cement like stuff in the ash. But so little ash.

 

[Nealm66]

Ya, it was weird. I’m new to BK but been burning pretty much all my life. Never seen that before. Brick protector lol

 

[charger4406]

I get some really hard clinkers when burning sugar maple
that still have the bark on, these are all over a century
old trees with thick bark, I don't get any clinkers with the smoother
bark/debarked trees.

 

[Highbeam]

Ya, it was weird. I’m new to BK but been burning pretty much all my life. Never seen that before. Brick protector lol

Be careful with those clinkers. They can fuse onto the soft foam bk bricks and when you try to clean the clinkers out you end up taking chunks of brick. I’ve lost quite a bit of brick thickness this way.