BK t-stat and view of fire.

  • Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.

    We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.

    We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
Status
Not open for further replies.
BillsWS

BillsWS

Feeling the Heat
Dec 20, 2011
275
U.P. Michigan
Greenting ladies and gents. The Princess is in the garage. At what t-stat setting do you run and how is your glass? I have not run mine yet. The glass on the demo stove I saw on Saturday was black. The dealer said "Bill, these are heaters, not fireplaces, the glass isn't going to stay clean." A member of this forum relieved my anxiety a bit (thanks rdust) by sending me a pic of his stove running with a higher t-stat setting and the glass was pretty darn clean. So, can you please share your experience with what t-stat setting you are running and how your view of the fire is? Pics would be great too.

Bill in the U.P.
 
The t'stat setting vary's depending on the heat demand. On mild days the setting for me is around 1.5 - 2.0 and the glass will darken. On colder days the setting is 2.0 - 2.5, and the hotter it burns the cleaner the glass.

Also, the dryer the wood, the cleaner the glass.

My guess is you will experience some days with dark glass, and some with clean
 
The "T" stat setting will vary for each stove, stove pipe, chimney set up, altitude & weather.
Like a carburetor, each one is different.
Finding the "sweet spot" for your stove may take a few burns, then you can do small adjustments for various heat output & weather conditions.
My sweet spot is just above "2", I'd say 2.1 for a good burn, not to hot not to cold.
Warm days 40° range I set around 1.75 & get long 24 hour + burns (if it's not windy, wind increases my draft & I get hotter faster burns)
I have burned all night on 2.6, & get about 12 hours when around -10°, then reload on lots of hot coals (heat output goes down near the end so I add wood just as the heat outputs starts dropping off on the real cold days)
I can do a coals burn down by raking the coals forward & throwing on 2 splits E/W & burning on high (3 or more) but it's not a long burn, 2 - 3 hours but lots of heat.
I have a king but the basics are similar.
Mine gets black glass on burns below 2, & clean (but stains where it was black) above 2.25. (but this varies by weather, "high pressure/low pressure" & wind)
Like mentioned, the drier the wood, the cleaner, but on low burns, regardless of the wood, my glass is dark on the sides.

Pic is what I call "Fire dragon eyes" When black; burning cool long burns, closed eyes & taking a nap
when lighter colored; hotter burn eyes open, lighter yet, wide awake & stay a foot away or get cooked :)
The middle area stays pretty clean most all the time.
Pic is a 2.5 burn, hot & awake, but can go hotter if needed.
 

Attachments

  • 100_6867.jpg
    100_6867.jpg
    50.2 KB · Views: 474
Thanks guys. Amazing forum. Fantastic info. Bogydave, thanks for the great report and detail. "That's what I'm talkin about."

I would still welcome anyone else's experience with BK or even the Woodstock Progress. I keep eyeballing the PH even though I just picked up the Princess.


Bill in the U.P.
 
That is interesting... even with the air shut all the way off I have a small amount of flames in my stove.

bogydave said:
Pic is a 2.5 burn, hot & awake, but can go hotter if needed.
Click to expand...
 
NATE379 said:
That is interesting... even with the air shut all the way off I have a small amount of flames in my stove.

bogydave said:
Pic is a 2.5 burn, hot & awake, but can go hotter if needed.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...

Maybe you have an air leak around the door or around the stat flapper & a strong drafting set up.
I can shut mine down, no flames almost immediately when I go below 1.5.
Again; every set up is different.
 
I never clean my glass. This is pretty typical for the middle 4 months of the seasons burn. I pick up a little more in the bottom corners early and late season.
 

Attachments

  • door glass.jpg
    door glass.jpg
    87.6 KB · Views: 434
I'm not sure, but I'm suspecting something isn't quite right with my setup. Based on everything I have read I should be able to run the stove on "normal" without it getting too hot. It's acted the same since the stove was brand new.
I don't have too much draft, in fact I had to add a 3ft this summer to help with a lazy burn.

My glass gets black in the same place as yours Dave. I haven't cleaned it at all this season, and there is a bit of a buildup. Can still kinda see through it, but it's not just a light covering like in your pic. It's nice to have a clean glass to be able to see what the fire is doing, but I don't stress about it too much. I view the stove more as a tool vs a "showpiece".


bogydave said:
NATE379 said:
That is interesting... even with the air shut all the way off I have a small amount of flames in my stove.

bogydave said:
Pic is a 2.5 burn, hot & awake, but can go hotter if needed.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...

Maybe you have an air leak around the door or around the stat flapper & a strong drafting set up.
I can shut mine down, no flames almost immediately when I go below 1.5.
Again; every set up is different.
Click to expand...
 
I've had to burn hot for a few months. I did clean it about 6 weeks ago with oven cleaner, trying it out.
Comes back to the "eyes" look pretty quick.
If I go to low settings for a few days it gets milky like S&W's, but still have some clean area at the top middle.
I don't fret much over the glass, I haven't had a cool enough stove for a while to be able to clean it anyway.
May vacuum it out good this spring, make sure the top inside air ducts & behind the inside shields are semi clean. I see some fly-ash building up in there. May effect the door air wash airflow. Over 2 years old now, probably needs it.

I'm getting air that was by you a few minutes ago, maybe it's warmer & cleaner when it gets here. 28° here :)
 
NATE379 said:
I'm not sure, but I'm suspecting something isn't quite right with my setup. Based on everything I have read I should be able to run the stove on "normal" without it getting too hot. It's acted the same since the stove was brand new.
Click to expand...

Every set up is going to burn different that's why it's hard to compare t-stat settings. If I run mine on 2 it will run around 650* with good flames for a long while but won't get too hot. Once I turn it down to 1 3/4 the flames generally go out.
 
One thing about theses BK cats is that all do run about the same ..regardless of wood or chimneys.
Under normal burn the flapper close's around 2 usually...little more then that and you get some flame...3 and you have some serious heat working.
 
NATE379 said:
That is interesting... even with the air shut all the way off I have a small amount of flames in my stove.

bogydave said:
Pic is a 2.5 burn, hot & awake, but can go hotter if needed.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...

dollar bill test time!


my glass stays really clean, but then again im burning pallets. so that has allot to do with it i bet.
 
I don't have BK, but I think any blackened glass is result of inadequate technique and poor burning habits. If I had a showroom, I'd sure want everything looking "nice-n-purty", that's half the reason to get a stove is to look at the beautiful flames. I clean mine about once a month to get the window and edges really nice, I just zapped a pic so here's mine not having cleaned since xmas.
 

Attachments

  • photo.jpg
    photo.jpg
    161.7 KB · Views: 311
FPX Dude said:
I don't have BK, but I think any blackened glass is result of inadequate technique and poor burning habits. If I had a showroom, I'd sure want everything looking "nice-n-purty", that's half the reason to get a stove is to look at the beautiful flames. I clean mine about once a month to get the window and edges really nice, I just zapped a pic so here's mine not having cleaned since xmas.
Click to expand...

That's right, you don't have a BK, many of us BK owners don't believe that half the reason to own a stove is to look at the beautiful flame. Some of us want to burn wood in a stove that will burn a long time on a load of wood, and does not require a lot of attention from load to load.

I keep hearing that the blackening of the glass is the result of not burning right, and that may be correct, but I still think the nature of a low slow burn that the cat allows is going to create some black on the glass on all but the very driest wood.

I will say that I have not yet got to the point where my wood is absolutely dry, and I have some blackened glass. I hope to get there next year, but some of that wood is oak, and it may not be dry enough to eliminate the black glass even then. Not sure I will ever get there, which is why I wonder if that is the nature of a low slow burn.

The local Harman dealer has the dirtiest show stove that I have ever seen, and that stove should be burning clean, not sure what they are doing wrong, but it sure doesn't look good on the showroom floor.
 
I'm burning ash that's been C/S/S for a year and a half that was long dead to begin with, and oak that's been C/S/S for 3+ years. Don't matter, black glass is what it is. Maybe in a real winter it wouldn't be so bad.
 
Actually it seems the drier the wood the faster is gasses off..more smoke!
I don't know..but I have burnt some really wet wood that didn't smoke my glass but dry pine smoked it!
 
I love the fact that the BK will give me long burns without lots of adjusting between loads but the Woodstock Progress burns I have seen sure look tempting. I admit, I do like watching fire in a stove burn - very relaxing. Maybe I will just have to burn one of the wife's candles. BK does make a solid metal door, same price, no glass. Hmmmm.
 
You want the glass especially if you aren't always burning perfectly dry wood.
 
I like the having the glass so I have an idea of what the fire is doing, but it's not that I sit in the living room all day staring at it. Unless the stove is running with lots of airflow it's inevitable that the glass will blacken. You can't snuff down a fire and not expect the firebox to have some soot/creosote.

I'm sure some woods are worse than others and of course non seasoned wood would be bad as well, but I know even with the well seasoned wood I'm burned the glass is black, and it's worse when the outside temps are mild, I'd imagine because of a diminished draft in the chimney.
 
I don't think I've read it yet and I am intrigued by these cat stoves but so far I've only seen ending temps.... What is the bell curve range for these 30 hour burns? Do these BKs stick solid heat at 600 for 30 hours. 600 for 12, 500 for 12 hours straight or what??? I know it depends on t stat settings and wood but lets say it's teens out and you need heat. What does the stove put out and how long during the hottest part of the burn?
 
The brochure has the burn curve of a 90 pound load in it.

http://blazeking.com/PDF/brochures/en/current/wood/78135_BK_King.pdf

The stove will let you burn that 90 pounds in as little as 12 hours wide open or 40 hours at low burn. All depends on the heat you want. 90 pounds of wood puts a lot of heat into the living space when its done in a stove that doesn't send it up the stack.
 
FPX Dude said:
I don't have BK, but I think any blackened glass is result of inadequate technique and poor burning habits. If I had a showroom, I'd sure want everything looking "nice-n-purty", that's half the reason to get a stove is to look at the beautiful flames. I clean mine about once a month to get the window and edges really nice, I just zapped a pic so here's mine not having cleaned since xmas.
Click to expand...


A BK will blacken the glass if you burn on low plain and simple. I haven't burned one stick of firewood less than 3 years c/s/s this season. Their air wash is less than stellar and when you have a smoldering firebox full of wood it's gonna get nasty. In the shoulder season when I can burn on 1 or lower my glass is always a mess. When I can actually let the stove stretch it's legs the glass stays pretty clean but it still gets a white haze(fly ash).

The reason I have a stove is to heat my home, I had a non cat stove that burned a beautiful fire with spotless glass for months on end. I sold that and bought a stove that can heat this place 24/7, not run me out when it's 50 with a full load burning 24 hours and keep me warm for 12 hour stretches when it's zero. Everyone has their own ideas on what stove is right for them as they should. If I was retired and could sit around tending a stove all day I may be more interested in other stoves.
 
Ok, no more drinking the Kool-Aid while posting.
 
iod0816 said:
I don't think I've read it yet and I am intrigued by these cat stoves but so far I've only seen ending temps.... What is the bell curve range for these 30 hour burns? Do these BKs stick solid heat at 600 for 30 hours. 600 for 12, 500 for 12 hours straight or what??? I know it depends on t stat settings and wood but lets say it's teens out and you need heat. What does the stove put out and how long during the hottest part of the burn?
Click to expand...

I can't help with the King but if you're interested in the Princess I've documented mine pretty well in the Blaze King Performance Thread.

Here is a snip it.

rdust said:
Loaded up 54lbs of oak, ash and silver maple around 9PM. Probably the most I've filled it with so far this year. Couldn't fit much more unless I was real creative. :lol: Low is supposed to be around 16*, we usually get a couple degree's cooler than what is posted on the weather sites for our area. Hallway with the t-stat is 70*, I really need to get a thermometer for the stove room. :)

Time 12:45am
Outside temp 19
Inside Hallway temp 70
Stove top 53x above the cat
t-stat 1.75, fans on low
Time for bed...

Time 6:55am
Outside temp 17
Inside Hallway temp 69
Stove top 350
t-stat 1.75 fans on low

Wife moved the coals into the middle, turned the stove up to 3.5, warmed stove up for 10 minutes, turned it back down to 2 with fans on, stop top @430.

Time 10am
Outside temp 18
Inside Hallway temp 70
Stove top 350
t-stat on 2 fans on low

Time 11:15am
Outside temp 18
Inside hallway temp 70
Stove room 73(grabbed the thermometer from the kids rooms)
Stove top 30x
t-stat on 2 fans on low

I turned the fans off and stove down to 1 at this point, I wanted the room to cool off a little more before I reloaded.

Time 12:00 pm
Outside temp 20
Inside Hallway temp 69
Stove room temp 72
Stove top 275
t-stat on 1 fans off
Reloaded with chunks and uglies

This stove continues to impress me, when I bought this stove I thought my house would need a 500* stove top to keep meaningful heat in the house when it was cold. I find with this stove since you don't experience the temp swings you don't need a big stove top number to keep the place warm once it's already there. 15 hours of meaningful heat with temps in the teens is more than I ever expected when I bought it.
Click to expand...
 
iod0816 said:
I don't think I've read it yet and I am intrigued by these cat stoves but so far I've only seen ending temps.... What is the bell curve range for these 30 hour burns? Do these BKs stick solid heat at 600 for 30 hours. 600 for 12, 500 for 12 hours straight or what??? I know it depends on t stat settings and wood but lets say it's teens out and you need heat. What does the stove put out and how long during the hottest part of the burn?
Click to expand...
BTU at 7k per pound of wood.
90#=630k
12 hr=52,500 btu/hour
24hr =26,250btu/hr
Of course some of that will be up the pipe.
When we say cruising at 350-600 or whatever..that is not the whole stove..not even the whole stove top...but plenty enough heat on the low burn till it gets really cold.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

Poindexter
Possible BK youtube channel updates?
Replies
12
Views
1K
Blaze King
BKVP
BKVP
N
Wood Stove Temperature Monitoring with Raspberry Pi
Replies
6
Views
2K
The Hearth Room - Wood Stoves and Fireplaces
neverstop
N
C
VC Dauntless FlexBurn Fire starting and maintining
Replies
10
Views
2K
Vermont Castings
Kevin Weis
K
M
Nova 2 Review
Replies
6
Views
2K
MF Fire
bundy150
B
J
Automating wood stove with Pi
Replies
42
Views
13K
The Hearth Room - Wood Stoves and Fireplaces
jotulf45v2
J
Top Bottom
Back