learnin to burn said:
Gotcha, thanks. Must be the temp of the firebox, not the cat? When I turn the fans on, the cat seems to cool down but I don't see any compensation in the firebox.
Blaze King First Fire
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Gotcha, thanks. Must be the temp of the firebox, not the cat? When I turn the fans on, the cat seems to cool down but I don't see any compensation in the firebox.
So far yes I am real happy. First fire was a few days ago and it is still burning keeping the house warm. I'll be much happier when I get the 2 issues mentioned above taken care of. Then I can start my 2nd fire. 
I'm really curious to see how mine will work out with the 6" flue and short rise out of the stove. I know BK says NO!, but I'm still hopeful it will be okay based on all the others running 6" with this stove. The short rise is what worries me. I have to admit, you have me concerned based on your issue, but I'm hoping my 35'+ flue makes up for it. We'll see... I'm also interested to see how the two 45's compare to the 90 in your case. One of the reasons I went with the Selkirk is because they have a smoother flowing 90, I didn't have room for the two 45's. I guess if I have smoke coming out the door during reloads, I'll just have to live with it (or put a fan in the flue).learnin to burn said:
I have mine hooked up out in the garage so I can't tell you the area of the bypass. I'll be more than happy to measure it when I disconnect it and bring it in the house. I'd disconnect it now, but I might need the heat out there at some point and it's looking like mine wont be coming in real soon. With that said, I didn't study it, but I seem to recall the bypass was about the same size as the 8" collar. Am I mistaken?
The air from the fans blows across the top of the stove. The air movement cools the coil under the catalytic thermometer giving a bit of a false reading. When I turn my fans off, the needle climbs instantly. I found an old crank bearing from a sbc 350 and set it on top of the stove to block the air and now I get much more accurate readings. (Blaze King knows about this and recommended leaving the fans off for 5 minutes to take a reading.)
When I bought my King, I burned it outside with 3 small fires about 4 hours each. I noticed the color change took place right about where the catalyst is built into my King. I had a few more hot fires and then moved it in. Unfortunately, the pipe too needed to be burned and my double wall stove pipe from DuraVent put off an odor for about a month....but it was minor.
I originally had single wall 8" pipe, but when I bought the double wall pipe, the draw improved and the smoke issue when reloading all but vaporized.
Nice install...stay warm.
When I bought my King, I burned it outside with 3 small fires about 4 hours each. I noticed the color change took place right about where the catalyst is built into my King. I had a few more hot fires and then moved it in. Unfortunately, the pipe too needed to be burned and my double wall stove pipe from DuraVent put off an odor for about a month....but it was minor.
I originally had single wall 8" pipe, but when I bought the double wall pipe, the draw improved and the smoke issue when reloading all but vaporized.
Nice install...stay warm.
BBC - Thanks for the info. The Crank Bearing trick is something I might just try.
Wet1 - I'm hoping a few inches is enough room to get the 45's in place. If not then I'll have to put my first 45 just above the stove adapter and the run my telescopic pipe up to the 2nd 45 then right into the thimble. As it sits now I found if I let the thermometer drop to just about the in active zone then I can open the door with no smoke but I have to load real fast because the first few pieces of wood will start to smoke. While there is still a few pieces of wood left if I just crack the door and open it real slow just enough to get a split it then I can limit the amount of back puffing.
Wet1 - I'm hoping a few inches is enough room to get the 45's in place. If not then I'll have to put my first 45 just above the stove adapter and the run my telescopic pipe up to the 2nd 45 then right into the thimble. As it sits now I found if I let the thermometer drop to just about the in active zone then I can open the door with no smoke but I have to load real fast because the first few pieces of wood will start to smoke. While there is still a few pieces of wood left if I just crack the door and open it real slow just enough to get a split it then I can limit the amount of back puffing.
I leave my bypass deal open for about 10 minutes with the front door closed. My flue temp increases and the draw is much better. When I left the door open, the temp did not increase as fast or as high...room air must have made it cooler.
Hey Learnin I'm thinking that the Blaze King folks may be surprized by how well your stove is working considering your not up to their specs.Putting in the two 45's hopefully will help the back puffing.It was also mentioned that the double wall helps.I don't have double wall or 45's just adjustable 90's though I did put on a vacu-stack which worked for me.learnin to burn said:
Got the Princess insert installed and followed the "first Fire" instructions and closed the bypass when the cat temp was in the active zone. I then went outside and saw white smoke rolling out of the chimney. Tstat was set to high per the instruction. I was burning Ask splits that were really nice and dry. I then turned down the tstat and allowed plenty of time for it to adjust.
Both of my smoke detectors in the house started going off from the paint curing on the stove. I had to pull the smokes and set them by an open window to clear the alarms. The smell was only bad on the insert for a few hours. I then reloaded with the tstat set in the middle temp range, I once again noticed a the white smoke coming from the chimney after the reload, is that normal? I thought the cat would eliminate all the smoke?
I then reloaded before bed with some big splits and the insert is still producing usable heat 10 hours later. I woke up to 75 to 80 degree temps in the living room of my small 1,500 sf. house. Temp outside is 35 degrees and its getting colder and its getting ready to snow.
I was always messing around with my Century insert. I can now sleep all night with out getting up for feedings. Very happy, I did open some windows, its kinda warm in the house. I know the true test is when its 20 below but this thing rocks! Jim
Both of my smoke detectors in the house started going off from the paint curing on the stove. I had to pull the smokes and set them by an open window to clear the alarms. The smell was only bad on the insert for a few hours. I then reloaded with the tstat set in the middle temp range, I once again noticed a the white smoke coming from the chimney after the reload, is that normal? I thought the cat would eliminate all the smoke?
I then reloaded before bed with some big splits and the insert is still producing usable heat 10 hours later. I woke up to 75 to 80 degree temps in the living room of my small 1,500 sf. house. Temp outside is 35 degrees and its getting colder and its getting ready to snow.
I was always messing around with my Century insert. I can now sleep all night with out getting up for feedings. Very happy, I did open some windows, its kinda warm in the house. I know the true test is when its 20 below but this thing rocks! Jim
The vapor was probably moisture. And if you see it right after you reload, the first period of time will be boiling out any mositure in the wood. My King has a little smoke right after I reload or stir the coals. I think because I have opened the loading door and let 75 degree room air into the firebox and cooled the catalytic deal, it just take time to get back up to temp.
As for sleeping through the night...you're dead on! I even use to wake up from time to time when my old Lennox furnace went on and off. No longer. I just load and sleep. You may find the paint smoke will happen again when it's 20 below because you'll run the stove even hotter. That happened to us at home because the pipe was never fully cured. But after a real blazing fire when it was frigid, it never happened again.
Enjoy!
As for sleeping through the night...you're dead on! I even use to wake up from time to time when my old Lennox furnace went on and off. No longer. I just load and sleep. You may find the paint smoke will happen again when it's 20 below because you'll run the stove even hotter. That happened to us at home because the pipe was never fully cured. But after a real blazing fire when it was frigid, it never happened again.
Enjoy!
BigBlockChevy said:
BBC,
4 questions for you Sir........
What have your average burn times been?
What type of fuel are you using?
How much wood do you burn in an average year?
And what length and width are your splits?
Thank you,Hiram
Hiram Maxim said:
That is the real question. I have some 20-24" diameter locust rounds that need to be split. I am thinking about making some 8x8s for 2 or 3 years from now.
SolarAndWood said:
Most of my wood that was cut/split/stacked last year is an average 20" long and 7"x8" wide. This year anticipating a different stove to feed,I changed it up and went an average 15"-16"long and three widths 3x4,6x6, and 8x8.
Lanning - It is possible that there was so much smoke that the catalyst couldn't handle it all. That can happen for a little while after a change in the t-stat. As Wet1 said it could of just been steam. Give it a good 30 - 45 minutes after the t-stat change before you check for smoke.
Wet1 - I may have solved the smoke issue but I have only tested it once - Procedure - Open bypass give it a few minutes to clear what smoke is in there. Crack door so the fire can adjust with the extra air. Close T-Stat to 1 which closes air damper eliminating air flow to the air wash. Then open door slowly. Load stove, close door, Turn T-stat to high. I did get a little wood burning order but no smoke.
Update - Loaded stove at 12:30 AM, Upstairs temp was 76 with a window open. Ran on High till 1:25 AM then backed it down to 3. At 2 AM backed it down to 2.5, At 2:30 Am backed it down to 2 then to 1.75 at 3 AM. Closed window and went to bed. Upstairs temp 76 in main living area, 69 in bedroom. Wake up 9AM Bedroom is 68, main living area 72. Stove top temp 233 (with IR Gun) Stove pipe outer shell was 90 degrees.
Wet1 - I may have solved the smoke issue but I have only tested it once - Procedure - Open bypass give it a few minutes to clear what smoke is in there. Crack door so the fire can adjust with the extra air. Close T-Stat to 1 which closes air damper eliminating air flow to the air wash. Then open door slowly. Load stove, close door, Turn T-stat to high. I did get a little wood burning order but no smoke.
Update - Loaded stove at 12:30 AM, Upstairs temp was 76 with a window open. Ran on High till 1:25 AM then backed it down to 3. At 2 AM backed it down to 2.5, At 2:30 Am backed it down to 2 then to 1.75 at 3 AM. Closed window and went to bed. Upstairs temp 76 in main living area, 69 in bedroom. Wake up 9AM Bedroom is 68, main living area 72. Stove top temp 233 (with IR Gun) Stove pipe outer shell was 90 degrees.
BBC,
4 questions for you Sir….....
What have your average burn times been? In my King Parlor..this time of year about about 16 hours+
What type of fuel are you using? Right now an old walnut tree that I fell two years ago...But mostly western larch
How much wood do you burn in an average year? 4 cords in my 3,000 sq.ft. house built in 1895! More leaks that the Titanic
And what length and width are your splits? 17" long and 20" across
Thank you,Hiram
You're Welcome!
4 questions for you Sir….....
What have your average burn times been? In my King Parlor..this time of year about about 16 hours+
What type of fuel are you using? Right now an old walnut tree that I fell two years ago...But mostly western larch
How much wood do you burn in an average year? 4 cords in my 3,000 sq.ft. house built in 1895! More leaks that the Titanic
And what length and width are your splits? 17" long and 20" across
Thank you,Hiram
You're Welcome!
"Lanning - It is possible that there was so much smoke that the catalyst couldn’t handle it all. That can happen for a little while after a change in the t-stat. As Wet1 said it could of just been steam. Give it a good 30 - 45 minutes after the t-stat change before you check for smoke."
OK, is the procedure to move the t-stat to "high" after a reload or just load with the T-stat on low or what ever setting you are at?
I know your suppose move the t-stat in 20 minute intervals on the way down to a lower setting but can you move it from a lower number to the high setting with out waiting, to increase the air flow at the beginning of a burn cycle? My guess would be yes but am learning about this machine.
At 8 am I reloaded and have been moving the setting of the t-stat down to low. The door glass has darkened down but I can see glowing embers in the the bottom of the fire box. The cat is glowing, and towards the top of the temp scale. I wonder how long the insert will last with this load of wood set on low. Whispers of white smoke are coming out of the chimney. My house is 78 degrees, outside temp is 38 degrees and a very damp cold.
OK, is the procedure to move the t-stat to "high" after a reload or just load with the T-stat on low or what ever setting you are at?
I know your suppose move the t-stat in 20 minute intervals on the way down to a lower setting but can you move it from a lower number to the high setting with out waiting, to increase the air flow at the beginning of a burn cycle? My guess would be yes but am learning about this machine.
At 8 am I reloaded and have been moving the setting of the t-stat down to low. The door glass has darkened down but I can see glowing embers in the the bottom of the fire box. The cat is glowing, and towards the top of the temp scale. I wonder how long the insert will last with this load of wood set on low. Whispers of white smoke are coming out of the chimney. My house is 78 degrees, outside temp is 38 degrees and a very damp cold.
Yeah you can jack the tstat righ back to high without waiting. In about a month or so you'll have the whole thing down to a science.
The glowing of the catalytic converter is cool, eh? According to Mr. Daniels ay SudChemi, the glowing is not tied in any way to the amount of fuel or the firebox temps. The glowing happens when larger volumes of unburned gases are passing through the cells of the converter.
Daniels says it will glow at times even when there is little or no wood and at other times when the box is full. It's amazing to see that much heat & energy created when there is no plug attached. Sometimes mine will glow for several hours and then not glow for several more. All the same, the stove is still working.
Only only wish my cars were as efficient!
The glowing of the catalytic converter is cool, eh? According to Mr. Daniels ay SudChemi, the glowing is not tied in any way to the amount of fuel or the firebox temps. The glowing happens when larger volumes of unburned gases are passing through the cells of the converter.
Daniels says it will glow at times even when there is little or no wood and at other times when the box is full. It's amazing to see that much heat & energy created when there is no plug attached. Sometimes mine will glow for several hours and then not glow for several more. All the same, the stove is still working.
Only only wish my cars were as efficient!
Lanning - You can turn the t-stat up to high at any point without an issue. It's turning it down that takes a little bit of time. The glass getting dark is due to the T-stat being turned down to fast. I still have a ton of creosote on my glass from my original start up because I did that with some less then ideal wood. In your manual you should have an "Addendum to First fire" In that it says to burn on a medium setting for an hour or so before going to lower settings.
For sure when you turn down the tstat you decrease the amount of air washing over the glass...see the slot above the door opening?) and that means the crud can stick to the glass. In my King, if I run it on high for a few hours it burns off most of the crud.
My dealer told me that I can get a door without glass. I may buy one for every day use and then clean my glass door and save it for when we have visitors....
My dealer told me that I can get a door without glass. I may buy one for every day use and then clean my glass door and save it for when we have visitors....
BigBlockChevy said:
What are your burn times like in the middle of winter?
Good God those are some monster splits! :lol:
My goal is to try and burn between 2 & 3 cords in an average Winter...... ;-P
Seriously thanks for your input!
Hiram
What are your burn times like in the middle of winter?
Usually 12 + hours on medium high burns in an old draft house and in the teens during the days/nights.
Good God those are some monster splits!
That's why I have two teenage sons!
My goal is to try and burn between 2 & 3 cords in an average Winter…...
Good luck, I average about 4, but my wife likes the house warm.
Seriously thanks for your input!
Hiram
Usually 12 + hours on medium high burns in an old draft house and in the teens during the days/nights.
Good God those are some monster splits!
That's why I have two teenage sons!
My goal is to try and burn between 2 & 3 cords in an average Winter…...
Good luck, I average about 4, but my wife likes the house warm.
Seriously thanks for your input!
Hiram
Update 2 - I think I wasted some money on the 45's. When I went to change the 90 to 45's I was about 3 inches to high. So I was dumb enough to try putting the first 45 right on top of the stove adapter, ran my telescopic length up and put the 2nd 45 right into the wall thimble. (BK said it wouldn't work now I know why) (Pic below) Started a kindling fire and it seemed to be going pretty good so I added a few splits. I still had the door cracked a bit and let it get going a little better then closed the door. By-pass is still open. I gave it another 10 minutes and everything seemed to be fine so I tossed a few more splits in making close to half a load and closed the door. All still seemed well although I was seeing periods when the box would fill with smoke for a few minutes and then clear out. The cat got up to temp so I closed the by-pass engaging the cat. Over a period of 15 minutes the fire slowly died down till all I had was a bunch of hot coals and a lot of smoke in the box. 30 seconds later the smoke lit off, smoke billowed out around the door and through the air intake in the back of the stove. (Talk about your back drafts) This happened 3 time then the wood started burning again. T-stat was and still is on high. I did turn the t-stat down to 3 and watched the fire die down again so I turned it on high and left it there.
Sorry for the rant but figured this info would help some one.
Question - Can you hook single walled stove pipe to double walled stove pipe? My thought is my 12 inch section of pipe is too long to work with the 2-45's put together, my 8 inch section is too short to give me enough height for the 45's. If I take a short section of single wall right to the stove collar and then hook the double wall to it I should be able to use the 45's.
Sorry for the rant but figured this info would help some one.
Question - Can you hook single walled stove pipe to double walled stove pipe? My thought is my 12 inch section of pipe is too long to work with the 2-45's put together, my 8 inch section is too short to give me enough height for the 45's. If I take a short section of single wall right to the stove collar and then hook the double wall to it I should be able to use the 45's.
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