Ugly Blaze Kings

[firecracker_77]

It sounds like you're dealing with the typical stove dealer, willing to bend the truth to suit their sale. I just had one stove dealer try to tell me the Jotul 12 is not EPA compliant, and that VC is currently in bankruptcy. Both incorrect. I just bought a new cat for my big 3.0 cu.ft. stove 8 months ago, and it was $155. The one it replaced was 19 years old, and still working well, but had been distorted by overfiring with the previous owner burning the stove with the ash door ajar (ash tray was so packed with ash it couldn't be closed!).

Furthermore, I have never seen any cat stove manufacturer recommend drying your wood 2- 3 years. Some here do it, but that may be more a case of them having a surplus of wood, or poor local drying conditions, than a typical requirement. I have seen recommendations in cat stove manuals of 9 months for softwoods and 18 months for hardwoods. These numbers vary wildly depending on species and local drying conditions.

So, who's trying to tell you cat's are $400 a pop? Name? Source? I have something I'd like to sell that guy.

I don't know about 2-3 years, but the Blaze King company produced sales video says 12-18% moisture. I watched that on Sunday, so I remember that clearly.

 

[Ashful]

I don't know about 2-3 years, but the Blaze King company produced sales video says 12-18% moisture. I watched that on Sunday, so I remember that clearly.

You can get to those moisture levels with some species in mere weeks, with the right drying conditions.

Bottom line, cat stoves are less tolerant of wet wood than non-cats, but I don't think this is a very big problem for most cat stove owners past their first year with the stove.

 

[neumsky]

It sounds like you're dealing with the typical stove dealer, willing to bend the truth to suit their sale. I just had one stove dealer try to tell me the Jotul 12 is not EPA compliant, and that VC is currently in bankruptcy. Both incorrect. I just bought a new cat for my big 3.0 cu.ft. stove 8 months ago, and it was $155. The one it replaced was 19 years old, and still working well, but had been distorted by overfiring with the previous owner burning the stove with the ash door ajar (ash tray was so packed with ash it couldn't be closed!).

Furthermore, I have never seen any cat stove manufacturer recommend drying your wood 2- 3 years. Some here do it, but that may be more a case of them having a surplus of wood, or poor local drying conditions, than a typical requirement. I have seen recommendations in cat stove manuals of 9 months for softwoods and 18 months for hardwoods. These numbers vary wildly depending on species and local drying conditions.

So, who's trying to tell you cat's are $400 a pop? Name? Source? I have something I'd like to sell that guy.

Joful...it wasn't the dealers telling me it's important to dry your wood for 2-3 years...it was some of the people on here telling us that...and I will not dispute that it's not better...it's just that I can't have a sissy stove(haha) that if I don't hold my mouth just right...things are not going to function after awhile. I just don't have the room to dry all that wood. I no longer live on a lot of property. I live on a postage stamp size lot. So I can have enough wood for a year. I do know that the dealers around here...and that's pretty much most of them don't want to hastle with the cats anymore. I will not name companys...I like them all. To refer to your statement companies don't recommend drying wood 2-3 years...when Company ugly(blazeking) says they suggest wood being of 18% humidity or lower would take how long??? I'm thinking(obviously dependent on type and size, climate) 2 years at least? I'm really jealous of 12...14...16 hour burns...but....

 

[Todd]

The whole thing about 2-3 year old ultra dry wood will soon be a moot point when manufactures switch over to the new steel cats. They can burn wet wood better than a non cat but it's still recommended to use dry fuel in any type of stove.

Although we saw some problems with steel cats last year Woodstock and their supplier took the bull by the horns and made improvements which should be out soon. They even contacted some hearth.com members to find out more info and help solve the problems.

Cats also have a warranty of free replacement up to the first 3 years then prorated for 3 more so it's not like you have to dish out megga bucks out every year for a new cat.

 

[Sprinter]

think of it this way....sometimes you go on a date with someone that you do not find that attractive at first, but, after spending some time with the person you find them way more attractive....

I'm sure glad my wife felt the same way (who, by the way, is both beautiful and a great domestic).

A person can't help what they look like, but for a man-made item like a stove, it is possible to have both form and function. It's just that when you are the designer, you should have a good sense of aesthetic...

 

[daleeper]

People buy cars and choose partners based on looks ,so why not wood stoves. Looks matter,i probably would NOT buy one no matter HOW well they performed. They are downright homily in pictures. That said i just bought a stove based almost exclusively on looks and was very surprised that it performed so well.

People trade cars and partners. I'm keeping my Blaze King.

 

[rdust]

Local stores quit carrying them due to these catalysts going out or is not as efficient after a couple of years...and there saying there not 250 dollars a pop. There more in the 400 dollar range.

http://www.firecatcombustors.com is the online source BKVP posted before. I wouldn't be surprised if a dealer sold them for 400 though. I may order a back up before fall just so if/when I need to swap one out I won't be down for any amount of time.

As Todd said they also have a warranty but while waiting for that to work out having a back up can't be a bad idea.

BKVP has posted before if the wood is less than ideal just to burn it longer with the bypass open. I think he's stated before the majority of water is consumed during the first hour?? so after that if you close it up you'll probably limit the damage done to the cat.

I'm really jealous of 12...14...16 hour burns...but....

18...20...22...24...26...28....30 etc...Just sayin'

 

[neumsky]

http://www.firecatcombustors.com is the online source BKVP posted before. I wouldn't be surprised if a dealer sold them for 400 though. I may order a back up before fall just so if/when I need to swap one out I won't be down for any amount of time.

As Todd said they also have a warranty but while waiting for that to work out having a back up can't be a bad idea.

BKVP has posted before if the wood is less than ideal just to burn it longer with the bypass open. I think he's stated before the majority of water is consumed during the first hour?? so after that if you close it up you'll probably limit the damage done to the cat.



18...20...22...24...26...28....30 etc...Just sayin'

Just sayin...it's STILL UGLY! haha

 

[Todd]

I don't mind the looks of the parlor model but it doesn't pass the wife test. Maybe she will like the new cast stove but ever since she got turned onto soapstone it's hard to convince her of anything else.

 

[BrotherBart]

Never call a man's wood stove or his wife ugly.

 

[neumsky]

Never call a man's wood stove or his wife ugly.

C'mon...BB...were just having fun...I think I can think of alot more things than that that just shouldn't be called ugly! haha car...boat...airplane...house...beauty is in the eye of the beholder! Butt...when the proof is in the pudding as in the poll above...

 

[BrotherBart]

Only if the poll included "I think the Blaze King is gorgeous.". I came real close to adding that for you last night. Slanted polling questions are a crock.

Kinda like "Do you still beat your wife?"

 

[neumsky]

Only if the poll included "I think the Blaze King is gorgeous.". I came real close to adding that for you last night. Slanted polling questions are a crock.

Kinda like "Do you still beat your wife?"

How did you know that?

 

[simple.serf]

My truck is ugly, my tractor is uglier, and my house, well, Vomit green apparently looked good to the previous owner. If my local dealer carried BK, there would probably be one in my house.

Yes, they are ugly.

(leaving my wife out of this...)

 

[neumsky]

Too funny Simple... That's me too... drive a Goldwing in which my wife & my daughter don't want to be caught on or the same can be said of my VAN...yeah... I'm cool haha. But they can't say anything about the comfort of either. But still...it's like my boss says...you got a cool stove right??? haha

 

[rtljr]

The whole thing about 2-3 year old ultra dry wood will soon be a moot point when manufactures switch over to the new steel cats. They can burn wet wood better than a non cat but it's still recommended to use dry fuel in any type of stove.

Although we saw some problems with steel cats last year Woodstock and their supplier took the bull by the horns and made improvements which should be out soon. They even contacted some hearth.com members to find out more info and help solve the problems.

Cats also have a warranty of free replacement up to the first 3 years then prorated for 3 more so it's not like you have to dish out megga bucks out every year for a new cat.

The combustor warranty runs from the original date of sale per Woodstock. We received a no charge stainless steel replacement for our original ceramic cat (crumbling issue) free of charge. With two years on the stainless cat, it had to be replaced due to plugging and we are being charged as if the stainless steel cat was the original cat; i.e. the second replacement is prorated from the date of sale of the stove, not actual in service time for the combustor.

 

[North of 60]

Over 90 posts on this? Couldn't see a spot to vote that says
I Have A BK In My Home And Love The Utilitarian Look of It.
Allot of the useless commments are coming from people whose
winters are just my shoulder season. Tractors are built a certain way to get the job done.
I need a tractor to heat my home @ -40 and -50 with pine, spruce and poplar when I am away for a long day.
The tractor looks great in my home. Bold is beautiful.

 

[neumsky]

I don't know about 2-3 years, but the Blaze King company produced sales video says 12-18% moisture. I watched that on Sunday, so I remember that clearly.

Does anyone know on an average... How long it takes to get wood down to 12% moisture content?

 

[Ashful]

Does anyone know on an average... How long it takes to get wood down to 12% moisture content?

This is very dependent on species and the size of your splits, but I believe that in many climates, you will never hit 12% moisture content with air drying outdoors. I believe you need average relative humidity below 70% to ever hit 12% moisture content, and that's given infinite time.

How you cut and split has a huge impact, as wood dries 10 - 20 times faster out the ends than from the split face, so shorter pieces stacked in individual rows can dry many times faster than long pieces stacked in rows 2 or 3 deep. So, figuring for environment, split size, stacking, and factors of grain characteristics (oak vs. maple vs. poplar), I think the cumultaive range is likely anywhere from 4 weeks to 4 years.

I think anyone who tells you "2 years for oak", or similar, just means that's how long it takes for their cut size stacked in their location. I really don't think one can generalize beyond that. I posted a story a few months back about a coworker who dried a load of oak in a matter of weeks, stacked in the hot attic of his barn, which some people had a lot of trouble believing. When we took a closer look at the numbers, they pretty closely agreed with the published data on kiln drying heavy lumber.

 

[neumsky]

This is very dependent on species and the size of your splits, but I believe that in many climates, you will never hit 12% moisture content with air drying outdoors. I believe you need average relative humidity below 70% to ever hit 12% moisture content, and that's given infinite time.

How you cut and split has a huge impact, as wood dries 10 - 20 times faster out the ends than from the split face, so shorter pieces stacked in individual rows can dry many times faster than long pieces stacked in rows 2 or 3 deep. So, figuring for environment, split size, stacking, and factors of grain characteristics (oak vs. maple vs. poplar), I think the cumultaive range is likely anywhere from 4 weeks to 4 years.

I think anyone who tells you "2 years for oak", or similar, just means that's how long it takes for their cut size stacked in their location. I really don't think one can generalize beyond that. I posted a story a few months back about a coworker who dried a load of oak in a matter of weeks, stacked in the hot attic of his barn, which some people had a lot of trouble believing. When we took a closer look at the numbers, they pretty closely agreed with the published data on kiln drying heavy lumber.

That is hard to believe...that he cured wood in weeks...what's even harder to believe he carried all that wood up to the attic lol

 

[firecracker_77]

5 minutes 40 seconds in he discusses 12-18% moisture as ideal

(broken link removed to http://www.blazeking.com/EN/video-info.html)

 

[Ashful]

5 minutes 40 seconds in he discusses 12-18% moisture as ideal

(broken link removed to http://www.blazeking.com/EN/video-info.html)

Exactly. No need to get your wood to 12%. It's not hard to get 18%.

 

[neumsky]

Exactly. No need to get your wood to 12%. It's not hard to get 18%.

I thought so... But that's what they say on the video on youtube...12-18%. Hmmm

 

[Ashful]

I thought so... But that's what they say on the video on youtube...12-18%. Hmmm

They're saying it should not be dryer than 12%, and it should not be wetter than 18%. In your prior post, it appeared you were suggesting all the wood had to be dried to 12%.

According to some manufacturers (check the VC cat stove manuals, for example), it's fine to burn very dry (<12%) wood. They suggest simply throwing a stick or two of greener wood in with the load, to add some moisure and better control the burn.

 

[rdust]

I thought so... But that's what they say on the video on youtube...12-18%. Hmmm

Don't worry about the numbers, we don't even know if they're talking about wet or dry basis in the video.

Battenkiller used to post a lot on moisture content, here is one of his posts on the subject that talks about the two. 25%-19% on the meter should put you in a good spot according to BK.

"There are different ways of expressing moisture content, which don’t at all have to do with the method of determining them. The EPA test loads are Douglas fir that is between 16 and 20% wet-basis. That is expressed by taking the weight of the water present and dividing it by the weight of the entire split. Your moisture meter is calibrated for Doug fir as well, but the calculations done by the chip inside of it (or the width of the scale divisions if you are using an analog meter) are done using the dry-basis method of expressing moisture content. That is expressed by taking the weight of the water and dividing it by the weight of the dry fiber that would be present in the wood after all the water has been theoretically driven out (as would be done in a 215º oven in a lab).

Naturally, you get very different numbers, and this effect grows increasing more substantial as MC rises. It’s a mathematical thing, and has nothing to do with the actual wood, which always has the same amount of water in it.

If you want a real easy way to convert dry-basis meter readings to the wet-basis used by the EPA tests, just divide the number on the meter by that same number plus 100, and you will get the correct wet-basis MC every time.

For example, the meter says the wood is 25% MC. Add 100 to 25, then divide that number (125) by the original reading. 25/125 = 20% MC wet-basis. The high end of the EPA test range… perfect for you stove.
In another case, the meter says the wood is 19% MC. Add 100 to 19, then divide that number (119) by the original reading. 19/119 = 16% MC wet-basis. The low end of the EPA test range… perfect for your stove.

As far as a definite cutoff number, I don’t believe it exists. The way you load the stove, the type of wood, the way the wood is split, the amount of coals in there, the internal stove temps, the timing and size of wood additions, the strength of your draft…. all things that can and sometimes do have a more profound effect on the burn then just MC and draft opening. For me, the theoretical cutoff is 25% MC wet-basis (33% MC on the meter). That’s 5% more water in the wood than the maximum allowable MC in the EPA test loads. Above that, you will likely have a progressively harder time burning your wood without micro-managing the stove."