So when you reload on hot coals...

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Bster13

Bster13

Minister of Fire
Feb 24, 2012
810
CT
I'm a new burner this year with a BK Princess Insert. Up until now I've only burned a few times at night from a cold start and let the fire go out.

This morning I started a fire at 9:30am and I want to try to reload on hot coals (I actually have good sized chunks, not just coals left) after burning on low all day and my living room is 77F and the windows are cracked. Haha.

I opened the bypass, and opened the bi-metal thermostat all the way then put to decent sized splits in at 8:31pm. At 8:38pm I engaged the CAT again and it now @ 8:39 the first split just caught on fire.

Normal, right? (I am wondering because I am trying to gauge the time my morning routine will take on hot coals)
 
Also, how long do you wait to turn the stove back down to the desired heat output you had before reload? Right now 1 of 2 new good sized splits has caught at one end. Would you be slamming it back down now or wait longer?
 
I'm also wondering what will happen in the dead of winter with 20-30F wood. Before I put in the new splits the CAT was 1/2 way through the active zone. After adding the 50-60F splits the CAT is at 1/3 and not moving after all this time even though the stove has the thermostat fully open.
 
Bster13 said:
I'm a new burner this year with a BK Princess Insert. Up until now I've only burned a few times at night from a cold start and let the fire go out.

This morning I started a fire at 9:30am and I want to try to reload on hot coals (I actually have good sized chunks, not just coals left) after burning on low all day and my living room is 77F and the windows are cracked. Haha.

I opened the bypass, and opened the bi-metal thermostat all the way then put to decent sized splits in at 8:31pm. At 8:38pm I engaged the CAT again and it now @ 8:39 the first split just caught on fire.

Normal, right? (I am wondering because I am trying to gauge the time my morning routine will take on hot coals)
Click to expand...
I think we all are secretly a bit jealous of those long burn times. That stove is a beast ! Those are all good questions and I'm sure some of the site experts will be along shortly to answer them. Good luck with your new stove.
 
Yeah I'm sure I paid a premium, but happy thus far. I am burning all my "are they dry?" "Eh...." uglies right now. Haha.
 
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When I reload I usually let it burn a bit before engaging the cat, I let the new wood get engulfed and let it burn a bit, then engage cat and turn the tstat down
 
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I'm with weatherguy, I always burn it for a while before closing the bypass and turning down the stat. I probably spend on average 20-30 minutes dealing with the stove in the morning when it gets cold enough to load twice a day.
 
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I always watch the cat stat and make sure it is engaged before I shut down and turn down. By that time everything is burning and things are good!
 
If it took over 10 minutes for a new load to catch fire it sounds like the wood is wet.

Let the new load burn a bit and get the stove back up to active cat temp before closing the bypass again. Migt take 10 min, might take 30... Depends on the load. Throwing in a cold load and immediately closing the bypass is a recipe for cat stall and may even cause thermal shock damage.
 
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My first wood has only been CSS since last November and this stuff is from my ugly pile so yeah I guess it would take some time.
 
I always wait about 10-15 minutes to engage the cat with a fresh reload then wait about another 10 to turn it down to a low setting. When burning at medium settings I'll just engage at that setting and leave it.

Burning a fresh reload in the bypass mode for a few minutes not only helps drive out moisture, it also heats that chimney back up to help draft. Cat stoves, especially Blaze KIng's run pretty cool exhaust temps. Heating the chimney up prior to engaging the cat will cut down on stalls.
 
Good rule of thumb is to get the wood charred before dialing down the draft and engaging the cat. That can take from 5-20 minutes, depending upon the wood and how many coals are in the stove. Other factors are involved but if you use the rule of charring the wood, you can't go wrong.
 
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If I fully charred every piece of wood used on the reload....I'm not sure i could engulf all the splits in fire immediately. I feel like that would take an awful long time. Heck, sometimes there is not a full bed of coals, but just a few, and they are enough to get a few pieces going, but not the full lot. Is it drastically differently with uber dried wood?
 
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I struggled with this too. I finally settled on reloading and then waiting until two things happened before engaging the cat.

1) The cat probe is in the active range.
2) The probe is on its way up.

What's this reloading with two splits jive? I believe that a healthy fire takes at least three splits. Wet wood is not good for the cat. You need to be especially certain that the cat probe is way into active when trying to dry out and then burn unseasoned wood.
 
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I follow your #1 and #2 as well. Two splits.... I had been burning for 18 hours and it was 77F in the house. I really didn't need the heat, but it was my first opportunity to experience a hot reload.

I started C/S/Sing in Nov of 2012, so I'm not sure how most would characterize my wood. I am hoping "dry enough." Plus I am burning uglies now that prob are not as dry as the stacked stuff.
 
Bster13 said:
If I fully charred every piece of wood used on the reload....I'm not sure i could engulf all the splits in fire immediately. I feel like that would take an awful long time. Heck, sometimes there is not a full bed of coals, but just a few, and they are enough to get a few pieces going, but not the full lot. Is it drastically differently with uber dried wood?
Click to expand...

Every piece does not have to be fully charred. Just look at the top and front pieces. And yes, good dry wood makes a terrific difference. If we have a good enough coal bed, we've charred the wood really well in 5 minutes or less. Just make sure you give it full draft. If you have to, some will leave the firebox door slightly ajar for a few minutes to get the flames dancing nicely.
 
Bster13 said:
I follow your #1 and #2 as well. Two splits.... I had been burning for 18 hours and it was 77F in the house. I really didn't need the heat, but it was my first opportunity to experience a hot reload.

I started C/S/Sing in Nov of 2012, so I'm not sure how most would characterize my wood. I am hoping "dry enough." Plus I am burning uglies now that prob are not as dry as the stacked stuff.
Click to expand...

If you wish to test Highbeam's theory on using 3 splits rather than 2, do it with an outdoor fire and you will find there is a huge difference between starting a fire or even keeping a fire going using 3 splits (or rounds) vs using only 2.
 
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Bster13 said:
I follow your #1 and #2 as well. Two splits.... I had been burning for 18 hours and it was 77F in the house. I really didn't need the heat, but it was my first opportunity to experience a hot reload.

I started C/S/Sing in Nov of 2012, so I'm not sure how most would characterize my wood. I am hoping "dry enough." Plus I am burning uglies now that prob are not as dry as the stacked stuff.
Click to expand...

If that wood was properly stored and is not some exotic species like oak then it should be nice and dry. It doesn't need to be popcorn fart dry but no sizzling.
 
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No, haven't experienced sizzling it yet. I've found, regardless of the # of splits, if I keep the splits close to each other, it retains the heat better and they light off better. It's like I need to have the fire be encompassed by a side or two of wood to foster the flames.
 
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