That is on high with the bypass closed I talked to BK themselves. I had the local dealer come out and put the new cat in and see how we were operating it to see if it was operator error. After the new cat was installed it did give off a little more heat in the bypass mode. But however it still does not give off hardly any heat and the dealer said the stove is doing exactly what it is supposed to. And yes of course we burn seasoned wood the dealer was surprised at how low of a moisture content it has. All I know is with the BK on high and the bypass closed I can stoke it up at midnight and by 8 there will be a nice coal bed but the house is down in the low 60's. With the fisher I will stoke it up and 8 hours later there might be fewer coals than the BK but enough to start small wood again and the house is in the low 70's.
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That is on high with the bypass closed I talked to BK themselves. I had the local dealer come out and put the new cat in and see how we were operating it to see if it was operator error. After the new cat was installed it did give off a little more heat in the bypass mode. But however it still does not give off hardly any heat and the dealer said the stove is doing exactly what it is supposed to. And yes of course we burn seasoned wood the dealer was surprised at how low of a moisture content it has. All I know is with the BK on high and the bypass closed I can stoke it up at midnight and by 8 there will be a nice coal bed but the house is down in the low 60's. With the fisher I will stoke it up and 8 hours later there might be fewer coals than the BK but enough to start small wood again and the house is in the low 70's.
BKVP
Minister of Fire
Yes I will. I told the BK dealer to test the thermostat because I have always suspected that was the cause of the lower heat output. And he confirmed that the thermostat indeed was playin up and not alowing enough air to burn the fire on the high setting he said it was stuck on the med-low setting. Now it's fixed it definitely burns hotter not quite as hot as a fisher but it definitely has a longer burn. So there are trade offs.
I wanted to give an update on my experience with the Grandma bear III wood stove. All I can say is what a great heater! I have had it in my home now for a fair bit and it keeps it nice and toasty. I can keep a load of pine for about 6 hours on average that is with 3 logs and 4 quarters on top. 8 hours rolls around and I can still throw kindling in and it will start on its own and the house will drop down to about 68. I have my furnace set at 66 and since I have been burning the grandma bear it hasn't kicked on. My wood consumption hasn't really increased or decreased from the BK. My propane usage has defiantly gone down because the furnace does not kick on now. With the BK it would kick on from about 2 am till 8. I gave my BK stove to my brother who has a 3,000 square foot shop that is very well insulated and with the new cat and thermostat it works ok. It defiantly will keep log smoldering for longer and doesn't have the spikes the fisher does, but it just doesn't put out the heat like the good ol fisher. Now this has been my experience and there will be some who wont agree and say that I was running the BK wrong but we had the BK dealer come out and show us how it's supposed to run and we were running it just as we were directed from BK. All in all I am super happy with this old fisher and can't wait to install the two xls I have in my arena!
Thanks for that update. Very much the same experience I had comparing to a Lopi Endeavor in identical log cabins with a neighbor.
He even tried an outside air intake at my suggestion and added another chimney section. He needed electric heaters to supplement his new Lopi. I have no other heat source, not connected to the grid and we both agree my place is warmer. My stove is in the center of cabin and his is against a wall using blower to distribute heat. He has a problem boiling water on his stove top, mine is the only cooking appliance I have there. A year ago he bought another home with a Grandma downstairs. He left his Lopi there for the new owner. His stack is now all black and smokes like crazy. He must be burning like it's an old stove. Police officer in NYC that comes up once every few weeks to smoke out the neighborhood.
At my home I started with a Fisher Goldilocks that is essentially a Grandma with a 6 inch outlet on a pedestal base. Something like 20 years later I doubled the size of the home. Since I didn't run the oil burner in those 20 years, I didn't do anything to duct the existing system into the new side of the home. It isn't even connected to an oil supply or chimney anymore. When I opened up the structure to double the square footage to 1850 square feet I connected a Mama Bear to the same chimney in the middle of the kitchen. That stove was rated for up to 1500 but did just OK with an added baffle. Cold nights below 10* someone would have to get up to reload overnight. Papa Bear cured that. The difference between double door Fisher models and the single door Bear Series was the ease in starting, much faster heat up, double the cook top (in the center of kitchen they were cooked on all winter to save propane). They are also more efficient with a 6 inch flue than your 8, and wood simply fits the long narrow firebox better than burning across the doorway. Air going down the length of the logs is a much better design than a wider door for fire viewing. That's the only thing you can't do with the single door Bear Series but in my opinion they are far superior in all other ways.
He even tried an outside air intake at my suggestion and added another chimney section. He needed electric heaters to supplement his new Lopi. I have no other heat source, not connected to the grid and we both agree my place is warmer. My stove is in the center of cabin and his is against a wall using blower to distribute heat. He has a problem boiling water on his stove top, mine is the only cooking appliance I have there. A year ago he bought another home with a Grandma downstairs. He left his Lopi there for the new owner. His stack is now all black and smokes like crazy. He must be burning like it's an old stove. Police officer in NYC that comes up once every few weeks to smoke out the neighborhood.
At my home I started with a Fisher Goldilocks that is essentially a Grandma with a 6 inch outlet on a pedestal base. Something like 20 years later I doubled the size of the home. Since I didn't run the oil burner in those 20 years, I didn't do anything to duct the existing system into the new side of the home. It isn't even connected to an oil supply or chimney anymore. When I opened up the structure to double the square footage to 1850 square feet I connected a Mama Bear to the same chimney in the middle of the kitchen. That stove was rated for up to 1500 but did just OK with an added baffle. Cold nights below 10* someone would have to get up to reload overnight. Papa Bear cured that. The difference between double door Fisher models and the single door Bear Series was the ease in starting, much faster heat up, double the cook top (in the center of kitchen they were cooked on all winter to save propane). They are also more efficient with a 6 inch flue than your 8, and wood simply fits the long narrow firebox better than burning across the doorway. Air going down the length of the logs is a much better design than a wider door for fire viewing. That's the only thing you can't do with the single door Bear Series but in my opinion they are far superior in all other ways.
Fort Wisers
Burning Hunk
Piney
Burning Hunk
Our grandma almost always goes 8 hours on a load of pine unless it drops 25 below freezing or more cuz then we burn hotter. 12 hours can be done too with the baffle and the right loading but that's for around freezing and just under.
And no that was not a comment on burning pine. I know that is fine. It was a comment on how much it would need to be shut back to burn that long
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