Blaze King Ultra - 1st results are in! (and they are AMAZING)

[hotprinter]

hotprinter and snowleopard,thanks for the info. so if I understand, smaller and almost a house within a house. how would you handle windows or ceiling lights? Strawhouse sounds like something I should look into. We kinda like tiberframes but have never lived in one.

REPLY:
Here is the other trick we did, I have heard it called a scandanavian wall. After you build the walls you then put visqueen vapor barrier over the entire inside with no breaks anywhere. Then you use 2 x 2's and put them horizontally over the vapor barrier every 18 inches. Then you run your wire on that leaving no breaks in the vapor barrier. Then you can have ceiling lights. All your boxes lay sideways. We did that in ours and it really snugged the walls up, the whole house in fact.

 

[rdust]

My name is Dave and my BKK does get a smokey window.

Come on BK guys admit it..you will feel better! lol

Mine isn't perfect but in no need of a razor. This picture makes it look worse than it really is. I burn mine on 2-2.5 before turning mine down I think it helps. I took this tonight when I loaded the stove after a 15 hour burn.

 

[HotCoals]

Yep..most BK owners say the same thing!
I have some ash that is over two years old..mc of 14ish...after being split again.
Still will smoke the glass at times.
I do pretty much the same as you do.
Even 20 year old pine boards with close to 10 mc did it also..worse actually cause it gassed off so fast.
I'll tell it like it is..the good and not so good.
But I would buy this stove over again tomorrow.

 

[bogydave]

hp
Sounds like you like your BK. 2nd year with mine, still doing the job great.
Your wood processing tools are top notch. Quite a few cutting areas near you, have fun cutting.
I get smokey glass when burning on low/med. Basement install.
I get long burn times so I'll take the smokey glass & low NG bills.
Neighbor built a house like you mentioned , 2x6 insulated/vapored , then 2X4 inside walls, warm & quiet.
You guys up north are getting the -30s again, BURRRRR!
-5 for our lows for a while.
Stay warm.

 

[snowleopard]

hotprinter and snowleopard,thanks for the info. so if I understand, smaller and almost a house within a house. how would you handle windows or ceiling lights? Strawhouse sounds like something I should look into. We kinda like tiberframes but have never lived in one.

Many people build timberframe houses with strawbale infill for insulation; other people build strawbale so that it is both insulation and frame (loadbearing). If you want to know more about strawbale housing, these can be some good places to start:

http://www.strawbale.com/
http://www.houseofstraw.com
(broken link removed to http://www.greenhomesforsale.com/strawbale-homes.php)


If you have deep walls, you want the windows set in from the exterior side (more or less flush with exterior walls as opposed to interior walls. Otherwise you're creating a well where moisture builds up. If that well is on the inside, you have I have tji joists between first and second floor, so the open space between them allows for running pipes, wiring, ext. Thus, ceiling lights downstairs. Upstairs, the vapor barrier is right above the ceiling, so the only hole I have in the ceiling is for my stovepipe. My upstairs lighting is all from lamps or wall fixtures.

There are so many variables to home-building. Start with your site; ideally, take the time to get to know its potential and challenges, get to know it at different times of the year, in different weather and light conditions. You'll be able to take advantage of the PA climate in ways that we can't; you may not need double-wall construction; you should certainly be much more able to take advantage of sunlight for passive heating; you should be able to integrate indoor/outdoor living more than can we. Enjoy the adventure.

 

[ohlongarm]

I got my stove March 2011 and only have burned it in totality maybe 5 months sporadically due to a mild fall and so far winter,so far I'm happy. But the real test will be the next 3 months,if I'm not satisfied it will get chitcanned like the 4 stoves before it. Never had a problem selling a good used stove,or getting a replacement under warranty.I'll give my report in April,there may or may not be a year old King for sale on E-Bay,we'll see.

 

[SolarAndWood]

if I'm not satisfied it will get chitcanned like the 4 stoves before it

If the King doesn't satisfy you, it is time to chitcan your expectations :lol: Save the Ebay fees and PM me before you list it ;-)

 

[ohlongarm]

That's a deal.

 

[hotprinter]

My name is Dave and my BKK does get a smokey window.

Come on BK guys admit it..you will feel better! lol

Mine isn't perfect but in no need of a razor. This picture makes it look worse than it really is. I burn mine on 2-2.5 before turning mine down I think it helps. I took this tonight when I loaded the stove after a 15 hour burn.

REPLY:
Nice hearth! You dont have the cat handle on. Is that just because you are just starting it? Your glass is cleaner than mine, somehow my logs are too long to put north south so I fit them in landscape. That may be why the glass soots.

 

[rdust]

Nice hearth! You dont have the cat handle on. Is that just because you are just starting it? Your glass is cleaner than mine, somehow my logs are too long to put north south so I fit them in landscape. That may be why the glass soots.

I always burn a fresh load with the bypass open for 10 minutes or so before closing the bypass even if the cat is still in the active zone when I reload.

I think if I had a King instead of the Princess the glass would soot up more since I'd be on low burn longer.

 

[DBoon]

Another great well-insulated home reference is "The Superinsulated Home Book" by J.D. Ned Nisson and Gautam Dutt. It was published by John Wiley & Sons many years ago. Not sure if it is still in print or not.