BK Princess need help

[Stump shot]

I've also noticed that the wood burns front to back. I load it completely side to side and the front will burn down way faster than the rear. I imagine this is because of the cat. Is this normal?

Yes, it is normal. The combustion air washes across the glass to help keep it a little cleaner. So the wood will burn front to back. I think you will not see the burn times some of use can get. Your house is loosing an Incredible amount of heat overnight. Some time spent on sealing it up some will be a big help to you. Less wood to CSS and feeding the stove.

 

[rdust]

That's because the air enters in the front, mine used to form a horseshoe

x2, mine tends to burn from the middle out.

 

[Illinois burner]

I don't understand why I wouldn't get the same burn times. It's a sealed unit. I might not experience the same in heat.

 

[Illinois burner]

Now that the new thermostat is in it will run at lower settings. It doesn't seem to have much heat difference on low versus high. I'm beginning to think that this is caused by having the rear and side shields for close clearance. It doesn't allow the stove to radiate as much heat as some other installations. I think I'm finally getting my head wrapped around this thing. It's to bad the blower doesn't deflect the heat off the sides as well

 

[Highbeam]

Now that the new thermostat is in it will run at lower settings. It doesn't seem to have much heat difference on low versus high. I'm beginning to think that this is caused by having the rear and side shields for close clearance. It doesn't allow the stove to radiate as much heat as some other installations. I think I'm finally getting my head wrapped around this thing. It's to bad the blower doesn't deflect the heat off the sides as well

So you asked about heat range from 1 to 3. I can only run down to 1.75 without stalling the cat and at that setting it has been cruising at 400 for many many hours. I have used the 3 setting for one hour straight and the stove top seemed to rise to 650 and hold. These stoves, especially these, aren't meant to be run hot and then cold to maintain house temps. They are meant to be loaded full and burned steady to maintain house temps. I am very happy with the ability to select between 400 and 650 to suit the heating needs.

The blower doesn't need to blow over the sides of the stove since there isn't much heat there normally. This is a cat stove. The cat makes the heat and the cat is on top. During normal operation, the sides are relatively cool.

Give the stove some time to adjust to your stat setting changes. It takes longer than a smoke dragon to go from cold to hot.

 

[Illinois burner]

That's kind of what I figured. I'm trying to find the sweet spot that maintains. Luckily I have some time up to watch it

 

[Illinois burner]

I'm out of ideas. I can barely keep my house at 70 running this stove on high. It was a high of 20° outside with 10 mph winds. I closed off two additional rooms today leaving right at 900 sqft to heat. I did find some wood, once split, testing at 18%. This was deeper in the pile. Tomorrow I'm going to get some wood that's been kiln dried to try. The stove top is only getting to 400° on high. That's at the hottest point. Everything is burning down to nothing so I know it's burning clean. The house doesn't feel drafty. All welds look fine that I can find. If the other wood doesn't change anything I'm will be at a wall.

 

[Rickb]

I am 400-480 on my sirocco 2 hours after a new load stove top on lowest setting and get 8 hours of heat on a good load. 750sqft basement livingroom. Is at 76 and 750sqft main floor is 68-71.

Either you have a ton of heat loss or your not getting the heat out of the stove.

 

[Rossco]

Man am sorry about your situation.

You hear so many success story's regarding BK's. I even have my own.

Am 1200 up, 1200 basement (Stove location) and can manage the heat even at silly arctic temps.

Tell BK you want a completely new stove.

 

[rdust]

I'm out of ideas. I can barely keep my house at 70 running this stove on high. It was a high of 20° outside with 10 mph winds. I closed off two additional rooms today leaving right at 900 sqft to heat. I did find some wood, once split, testing at 18%. This was deeper in the pile. Tomorrow I'm going to get some wood that's been kiln dried to try. The stove top is only getting to 400° on high. That's at the hottest point. Everything is burning down to nothing so I know it's burning clean. The house doesn't feel drafty. All welds look fine that I can find. If the other wood doesn't change anything I'm will be at a wall.

Do you get any smoke spillage when you're loading/reloading? With the stove only getting to 400* on high and the wood testing at 18% I'm betting the chimney isn't drawing enough air through the stove to get higher temps. Does the CAT stay active until all the wood is consumed if you turn the stove down to 1.5? Has your dealer been out to inspect everything?

Do I have your chimney set up correct? You only have a 2' rise off the stove before 2 45's, then a 2' horizontal run through the wall before the 90 into the chimney which is 15' up?

Can you document a burn for us with pictures showing load size, pictures of the burn, stove/house temps and t-stat settings?

 

[Rossco]

Do you get any smoke spillage when you're loading/reloading? With the stove only getting to 400* on high and the wood testing at 18% I'm betting the chimney isn't drawing enough air through the stove to get higher temps. Does the CAT stay active until all the wood is consumed if you turn the stove down to 1.5? Has your dealer been out to inspect everything?

Do I have your chimney set up correct? You only have a 2' rise off the stove before 2 45's, then a 2' horizontal run through the wall before the 90 into the chimney which is 15' up?

Can you document a burn for us with pictures showing load size, pictures of the burn, stove/house temps and t-stat settings?

Yeah well I have 3' - 45* - 12" - 45* - 2' then up 18' of excel and have no problems with draft, performance or output. Something up with the burner IMO.

 

[Dieselhead]

Got to be sneaking by the bypass to get such low stove top temps running wide open its really the only way no? Do you close the bypass, then give it the final 1/4 turn to click it completely closed?

 

[rdust]

Yeah well I have 3' - 45* - 12" - 45* - 2' then up 18' of excel and have no problems with draft, performance or output. Something up with the burner IMO.

The stove isn't getting up to temp and he's burning through wood at a silly rate. The heat has to be going somewhere, if it's not going in the house it must be going up the chimney. At the very least the dealer should be involved at this point, something is surely not adding up.

 

[Rossco]

The stove isn't getting up to temp and he's burning through wood at a silly rate. The heat has to be going somewhere, if it's not going in the house it must be going up the chimney. At the very least the dealer should be involved at this point, something is surely not adding up.

Yeah you bet. He must have a decent draft to suck all that wood up at that rate.

I:E the stove sounds defective.

I know of a few here with BK's that have all kinds of chimneys. Most are through the wall but I know a guy with a straight up 12' pipe and his units performs excellent.

 

[cannon]

Make sure your bypass door gasket is in place,check your glass in the door for looseness, make sure the gasket is in place around the cat,you have to find out what the flue temps are when burning,I bet they are quite high.What are the cat temps compared to the stove top temps,when my princess cat therm. is 1400deg. the stove top is 650 pushing 700 about 4in.to the right of the cat therm.Right now the cat therm. is at 1000deg. and the stove top is at 450 it's at the end of a burn and it's been like that for hours.When you are burning do you have smoke out the chimney with the cat engaged?If so you could be pulling smoke through the cat so fast that it doesn't have a chance to burn all the smoke,smoke out the chimney equals heat loss.That would explain the low stove top temps.Or you could have a bad cat.

 

[rdust]

Yeah you bet. He must have a decent draft to suck all that wood up at that rate.

I:E the stove sounds defective.

I know of a few here with BK's that have all kinds of chimneys. Most are through the wall but I know a guy with a straight up 12' pipe and his units performs excellent.

Every install is different, the BK stoves are very particular with the chimney. We've seen it here where an extra 4' section changes the stove completely. Some people with borderline chimney's can't run the stove on low(1) without stalling the cat. I have 27' worth of insulated liner with 3' of DW stove pipe inside. I was getting smoke spillage until I changed out the 90* inside for 2 45's.(30" rise before an elbow, BK recommends 36") With my previous non cat stove the chimney never gave me any trouble.

I'll honestly be surprised if it's the the stove. If it's a problem with the stove is should be very obvious. It would have to be the bypass or the cat and either one should result in a smokey burn.

 

[Rossco]

Every install is different, the BK stoves are very particular with the chimney. We've seen it here where an extra 4' section changes the stove completely. Some people with borderline chimney's can't run the stove on low(1) without stalling the cat. I have 27' worth of insulated liner with 3' of DW stove pipe inside. I was getting smoke spillage until I changed out the 90* inside for 2 45's.(30" rise before an elbow, BK recommends 36") With my previous non cat stove the chimney never gave me any trouble.

I'll honestly be surprised if it's the the stove. If it's a problem with the stove is should be very obvious. It would have to be the bypass or the cat and either one should result in a smokey burn.

Oh yeah they are very picky with chimneys and other factors but pouring the coals to it should get them temps up.

I was always under the impression that a BK needs good operating parameters to get long steady burns.

Throw a $500 box store stove
In there and it should pour heat out for a while at full tilt.

From what I've read here, even at full pelt its not performing never mind the legendary 24hr burns.

Hope the OP gets it figures out. IDE be very un-happy if mine wasn't performing especially with the record low November gone.

 

[Tenn Dave]

I'm out of ideas. I can barely keep my house at 70 running this stove on high. It was a high of 20° outside with 10 mph winds. I closed off two additional rooms today leaving right at 900 sqft to heat. I did find some wood, once split, testing at 18%. This was deeper in the pile. Tomorrow I'm going to get some wood that's been kiln dried to try. The stove top is only getting to 400° on high. That's at the hottest point. Everything is burning down to nothing so I know it's burning clean. The house doesn't feel drafty. All welds look fine that I can find. If the other wood doesn't change anything I'm will be at a wall.

Definitely try the kiln dried wood. My stove is not a BK, but it is a cat stove and I had the same stove temp problem you are having my first year of burning. My wood was 2 year old oak and hickory with an average moisture content of 21%. I could never get the stove above 400*. However, my burn times were pretty long and I did get plenty of heat. This year my wood is 3 years seasoned and my stove temps are averaging 550* and I can easily get it up to over 600* by allowing the secondaries more air. My stove top temp problem was completely caused by the moisture in my wood. Good luck.

 

[Illinois burner]

Well I loaded it at 11:30. Here are some pics of the coal bed I started with to 45 minutes in. My furnace kicked on during this. I notice smoke at the load but haven't paid a lot of attention to during the burn. I will get pics of the outside tomorrow in the daylight. These are all on high temp setting. Otherwise my furnace is going to run and that drives me crazy

 

[Illinois burner]

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[Tenn Dave]

At this point I would request a factory rework of your stove, or a new replacement unit.

 

[1ruralmailman]

sorry to hear of your woes,but looking at those photos screams to me that the bypass is not closing,or functioning correctly.i no longer have a cat stove,but the one we had there was no way to get that big of a flame with the bypass closed.with that large of a flame if that cat was working correctly it should be way over the safe limit.makes me wonder,what is your stack temp?the difference between open,and bypass would be interesting to see.

 

[Illinois burner]

This is only 3 weeks old. I'm still going to try the other wood tomorrow. I've given my buddies a couple loads of the wood I have and they love it. However they don't own cat stoves. I really appreciate everyone on here taking time to give a guy a hand. I had 12 feet of pipe outside before to give me all my clearances. I added the 3 feet to make it 15 outside total. That gives me just over 5 feet over the peek. I checked everything out when I changed the thermostat. Gaskets look good. Bypass seemed to close okay. Nothing looked warped. It's had for me to tell considering this is the only one I have seen. Door and window seem good. I did silicone the ash plug, which is not my favorite thing. What's the point in having an ash pan if you can't use it. I really want this to work out. I do like the idea of the stove. Just had higher expectations I guess. That's a chunk of money for some of us to spend and not see what others are getting.

 

[Illinois burner]

I'm tempted to put my single wall stove pipe back in so I can monitor the flue temp better

 

[BKVP]

I'm tempted to put my single wall stove pipe back in so I can monitor the flue temp better

Can you add 2-4' of chimney? Dealer may have a used section you can borrow. Your stove is fine. Wood looks fine...and yes, draft has made huge gains in peak heat production which allowed for more effective range in low burn rates. Search a blog by Zanny and you can read the first hand account. In fact, it reads like this one with all the same suggestions.