Blaze king disappointment

[lsucet]

I will try not to run it on high after I get it up to Temp and the wood is char enough. I did the same mistake when I switched to BK from the englanders. Used to feel all that radiated heat from the englanders it did look like BK put no heat out.
I think there is a point when at wide open throttle that all the heat is going up the chimney. I learned to dial down about 3 o'clock or so ( 4 o'clock max ) after I bring it up to temp. I used to run it like that to bring the house up to Temp quick cause the house was alone/empty for days but it was a mistake run it like that.
I learned to turn it down to the point that flue temp start going down and I can tell that it is a big difference. Try turn it down some and not wide open all the time and see if it makes a difference.

 

[Highbeam]

Here's that review I was talking about. I feel the same way this guy does!

FWIW - I have both types of stoves and burn only seasoned red and while oak. A Blaze King Ultra cat stove for a 3200 sf house and a Lennox/Country Canyon ST-310 (Ironstrike) secondary burner stove (which is now in a large garage). The Blaze King is a pain in the ass, requires attention on every fill up, has a dirty chimney at the end of every season, gives a good 8 hour burn time, but the heat diminishes in the last 4 hours. The Lennox is very easy to use, doesn't require much attention, leaves a very clean chimney in fact so clean, that I normally only have to brush out the stovepipe and not the chimney itself, and it gives about a 6 hour burn time with the heat diminishing in the last 3 hours. The Lennox required about 7/8 cords per year to heat the 3200 sf house and the Blaze King requires about 5/6 cords per year to heat the 3200 sf house. The Lennox gives more intense heat early on and less in the end of the burn cycle. The Blaze King gives less intense heat early on but stays fairly steady for several hours before diminishing in the end of the burn cycle. I purchased new stainless burner tubes for the Lennox. I am installing them this year and going to modify the air inlet with a bi-metal air intake device where I can close off the air in the beginning of the burn cycle and then let the bi-metal device open the air gradually during the later stages of the burn cycle. If this works out next year where the garage is more efficiently heated than the house, the Lennox will be moved back into the house and the Blaze King will get demoted to the garage. I'll try to post my findings in a year from now.
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You’ve got to kind of read carefully. The guy was putting 33% more wood through the Lennox ( 6 up to 8) as well as getting much shorter burn times so you bet it’s going to feel hotter!

Cat stoves, heck any stove, delivers much better performance when sized properly to do the desired job at medium settings.

 

[jetsam]

We have people here heating similar sized houses in Alaska with a BK half the size of your stove (the princess).

Any time you have a stove that you always have to run flat out, the stove is too small for your envelope.

In your case, since you are running the best stove out there flat out and it's not keeping up... doing anything other than insulation and windows is really punishing yourself (and whichever stove you end up with).

 

[begreen]

since you are running the best stove out

Subjective. Best is a relative term. It is not the best for every home, person or environment. It is not the best looking nor the best stove for a 6" flue (if that is what pre-exists). No stove universally is the best.

 

[Highbeam]

Subjective. Best is a relative term. It is not the best for every home, person or environment. It is not the best looking nor the best stove for a 6" flue (if that is what pre-exists). No stove universally is the best.

Maybe he meant “biggest”? It is one of the most efficient and very large. Point is/was that the stove can make major heat for a single stove but why isn’t it enough?

 

[Woodheat58]

I’m going to try not running it wide open. Will report back.
Installing another stove is not an option. I have a propane furnace that is the secondary heat source. The cost is around $175-280 a month depending on the weather and propane costs. That’s what that costs running it 24/7 as opposed to the stove.
I can get a picker truck of wood for $500 and that will last a lot longer than paying for that stupid propane.

 

[jetsam]

Well, the OP was happier with a smoke dragon because he needs insane heat output.

His definition of best would shift pretty fast if he made some improvements to his envelope, though.

I do like that the two worst attributes begreen could come up with were cosmetics and an 8" flue, though. Maybe the king really IS the best!

 

[maple1]

IMO $175-280/mo heating just on LP doesn't seem all that extreme?

 

[Highbeam]

IMO $175-280/mo heating just on LP doesn't seem all that extreme?

And it’s not one or the other. Do the best you can with wood and lpg can pick up the rest.

 

[Joyboy]

We have people here heating similar sized houses in Alaska with a BK half the size of your stove (the princess).

Any time you have a stove that you always have to run flat out, the stove is too small for your envelope.

In your case, since you are running the best stove out there flat out and it's not keeping up... doing anything other than insulation and windows is really punishing yourself (and whichever stove you end up with).

There are quite a few stoves out there that put out more heat than the king at the top end. This is the first I’ve ever heard that someone says they are the best at this.

If he’s willing to go through the wood then there are higher output stoves but at the cost of shorter burn times.

I agree spending 3 grand on insulation and air sealing can make a huge difference and pays dividends year after year. And you can do it a little at a time.

 

[MTY]

We have two stove operators here. I load the thing up, and shut the thermostat down to the horizontal position after things are going good. The wife throws a chunk in, cranks the the knob almost all the way to the right, and is throwing another chunk in shortly there after. Either way the house gets heated, but the heat is more constant, and I believe it uses less wood the way I do it. So far I have not been brave enough to suggest she try my method.

We had an older stove, made about 91 or 92 by a local company, prior to putting the BK king in. She still uses the methods employed when we had the older stove. Nine years later, she still misses the blast furnace quick heat of the old stove. She remarked just a couple of days ago that she really liked the heat put out by our Hearthstone. It is not as intense as the old stove, but is noticeably different than the BK.

The BK is my second cat stove and her first.

 

[ShawnLiNY]

I’m going to try not running it wide open. Will report back.
Installing another stove is not an option. I have a propane furnace that is the secondary heat source. The cost is around $175-280 a month depending on the weather and propane costs. That’s what that costs running it 24/7 as opposed to the stove.
I can get a picker truck of wood for $500 and that will last a lot longer than paying for that stupid propane.

Apology if I missed the answer , have you allowed a typical piece to get to room temp and than tested a freshly split face for MC? New stoves Cannot heat with truly dry wood . Please follow others direction and advice on testing , get palletwood or try a few packages of bio bricks , read the manual for when to close down air ( avoid using your past experience to determine if your wood is suitable , test it ) my stove is older I can burn anything and get decent heat providing I run the right amount of air or split smaller . What are your stove top temps when you believe you are at maximum burning , but heat output is not adequate ?

 

[ShawnLiNY]

Cannot heat without truly dry wood

 

[Chimney Smoke]

Ok the "official measurement is 66 from King to ceiling, another 60 to the roof, and without getting on the roof, theres at least 4 ft because that sucker is tall.
I've never measured a fresh split cord. I'll try that.

Here's your problem. If you're measuring 21%+ on unsplit wood, your wood isn't dry. How long has it been split and stacked?

 

[2fireplacesinSC]

And I read something about a truckload of wood, as if it was ready to burn? Not even close unless you have a kiln dryer you’re buying from.

 

[2fireplacesinSC]

The truckload was regarding burning vs propane.

$300 propane at $2.37 gallon is 126.5 gallons of propane. At 91,600 btu per gallon, 30 days, 24/7 heating, that is an average of 16,100 btu per hour over 30 days.

Seems like he should be able to heat with the king.

 

[ShawnLiNY]

And I read something about a truckload of wood, as if it was ready to burn? Not even close unless you have a kiln dryer you’re buying from.

Totally agree.From reading the responses it seems like he is using the past experience of successfully burning the same “seasoned wood” in the old stove where 3-4% more moisture won’t affect heat output too drastically

 

[Woodheat58]

I'd like to thank everyone for their help. I'm going to try some "true" dry 2x4's or pallet wood and see that the difference is.

$275 a month for propane is just insane to me. I feel like I'm just giving the gas company money and I don't like that.
Hence the wood.
After reading everything here the King is more of a radiant high heat output monster, good high heat over a long period of time. My old Timberline was a fire breather in that it put out a ton of heat in a short time, allowing me to heat my place very fast. Now the difference here is my s***** insulation allows the King's heat to go right out the walls or through the ceiling into the attic and gone. So, my solution is to spend a few grand on insulation and keep the King, go back to a Timberline or Fisher or something of the antique era and pony up for more wood. That's about what I can do.

 

[maple1]

$275 a month for propane is just insane to me. I feel like I'm just giving the gas company money and I don't like that. Hence the wood.

Well, yes, it sort of is, if you compare it to being able to get wood for nothing.

But it is not really terribly out to lunch for a monthly fossil fuel or electric heating bill, relatively speaking. Which is kind of telling me that maybe your house could be better, but it isn't 'bad bad'. Would also seem to indicate that the BK should be doing better heating the place - for whatever reason.

I have an electric boiler for backup heat. If I had to use it full time, it would likely cost me somewhere around $25/day when it is cold out. My father has oil and a pretty tight house - he'd be over $300/mo.

 

[paulnlee]

You post convinced me to re-furb my Harmon. I want heat and the Harmon delivers it. Don't GAS about what's contaminating the world, I want heat and these new stoves are all part of the global warming BS

 

[showrguy]

You post convinced me to re-furb my Harmon. I want heat and the Harmon delivers it. Don't GAS about what's contaminating the world, I want heat and these new stoves are all part of the global warming BS

Well,,,,,, is'nt that special ??

 

[Woodheat58]

Stove temps:
566 on top

back behind the flue
480

side of stove
467

pipe starts at 363 to 233 at ceiling

Does this help diagnose any problems??

 

[begreen]

Sounds like the stove is burning well.

I am a bit concerned about the stove clearances. The right back corner appears to be almost touching the brick. Are there no side shields?

 

[showrguy]

Stove temps:
566 on top

back behind the flue
480

side of stove
467

pipe starts at 363 to 233 at ceiling

Does this help diagnose any problems??

Was it this stove or your last one that has the paint cooked and curled on the lower left hand side of your window trim ??
That stove should have the side shields attached..

 

[Woodheat58]

Was it this stove or your last one that has the paint cooked and curled on the lower left hand side of your window trim ??
That stove should have the side shields attached..

The Timberline did that. It was like that before I bought the house. Begreen...I'm not sure what side shields are