2014-2015 Blaze King Performance thread (Everything BK)
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Highbeam
Minister of Fire
I've been doing this for awhile and reading about these stoves for even longer. I have only ever heard of one person able to run their stove with the stat set to zero, and that's hotcoals. Everybody else, including me that wants max burn times, has to run their stat at settings above 1. No harm in trying but be prepared to bump the stat back up to your low limit. BK, I think BKVP, told us any setting between 1 and 3 is "safe". The normal range on the freestanders is even a narrower range.
Highbeam
Minister of Fire
36 outside this am, started up the stove cold and she's up and running smelling like pancakes again. Making me hungry I'm gonna go eat some breakfast now that I have fed the cat
I remember that pancake smell. I get it a bit every year when burning off the summer's dust.
Ah Iam just a nipper in comparison.
Good for you guys. Greatest gift you could have ever given to the wife.
We have a 2 1/2 yr old as well.
The BK was still warm last time I checked an hour ago or so. Not gonna fire her back up till the evening.
HotCoals
Minister of Fire
Well the last few hours of a burn I have to turn the the t-stat up.
I have left it around 1.5 and then the t-stat will open some on its own but usually I have to turn it up more yet to burn down some of the coals.
My flue is straight up through two story's and I'm on a decent little hill so maybe that's why I can get away with just the air from the idle hole.
That small 6 split or so load is still going from 8am. I came home around 5:30 and the cat probe was right at the inactive/active mark. I said to myself, hey 9 hrs on a half dozen smaller splits ain't too bad. 5 min ago I just looked and now its 1/4" into the active zone! 
Barely anything left in the box, I don't know how it does it but it does!
Barely anything left in the box, I don't know how it does it but it does!
HotCoals
Minister of Fire
That small 6 split or so load is still going from 8am. I came home around 5:30 and the cat probe was right at the inactive/active mark. I said to myself, hey 9 hrs on a half dozen smaller splits ain't too bad. 5 min ago I just looked and now its 1/4" into the active zone!
The t-stat must have opened some.
The stat is a little slow and to me really does not move much like I thought it wold but it does work.
My cover has been off for 3 years so I can see what is going on easier.
i have not been arrested to date over it yet but i would not advise to do the same.
HotCoals
Minister of Fire
Hope the newborn gets better soon, Rossco! You guys are getting me even more excited. I was waiting for this thread to pop up this year. My BK Ashford arrives and gets installed this friday and the temps are dropping too! My wife and I cannot wait to fire it up. Somebody just asked in here but I saw no reply, roughly how long does it take for the paint curing smells to stop?? I'll probably be posting some photos on friday/saturday of the new stove. Last year I struggled to get our house above 64. This winter is going to be much different 
Yeah I don't like the forced air. Noisy flipping thing.
We have a draft coming in through a back bed room. I might have finally sealed it up with some silicone & paper towel. Now you can feel the temp starting to rise. I have the stove running @ 1.25 so its pretty dead. My friend runs his BK completely closed down but only during -20 to -30C. The draft is voracious at them temps. I will experiment when Jack Frost comes knocking.
Shane: Thanks. Took me a whole day to cure the paint. That's progressive, hot fast burns. I still get a little wiff now and then when it's cranked.
We have a draft coming in through a back bed room. I might have finally sealed it up with some silicone & paper towel. Now you can feel the temp starting to rise. I have the stove running @ 1.25 so its pretty dead. My friend runs his BK completely closed down but only during -20 to -30C. The draft is voracious at them temps. I will experiment when Jack Frost comes knocking.
Shane: Thanks. Took me a whole day to cure the paint. That's progressive, hot fast burns. I still get a little wiff now and then when it's cranked.
Seanm
Minister of Fire
You will get that smell each time your stove reaches a new high temperature.
weatherguy
Minister of Fire
Yes, and once you get it real hot for a long, cold night that should be the end of it.
Parallax
Minister of Fire
Hope the newborn gets better soon, Rossco! You guys are getting me even more excited. I was waiting for this thread to pop up this year. My BK Ashford arrives and gets installed this friday and the temps are dropping too! My wife and I cannot wait to fire it up. Somebody just asked in here but I saw no reply, roughly how long does it take for the paint curing smells to stop?? I'll probably be posting some photos on friday/saturday of the new stove. Last year I struggled to get our house above 64. This winter is going to be much different
We just had our Ashford installed this past June. Smell was way worse than I expected; the whole damn house filled with smoke. We ran it with the windows open. My wife has a very sensitive nose but within a few days it was fine.
Does the brand of firebrick matter?
I just cleaned my Ashford and there were a couple bricks in the back that had cracked. I got some from tractor supply to replace them but they are very dense and not at porous like the ones that came in the stove.
The manual does not say anything about using a certain type of firebrick.
It does say that there is a ceramic blanket that they sit on. Mine are just sitting on the steel bottom of the firebox.
Now I just need a polar vortex.
I just cleaned my Ashford and there were a couple bricks in the back that had cracked. I got some from tractor supply to replace them but they are very dense and not at porous like the ones that came in the stove.
The manual does not say anything about using a certain type of firebrick.
It does say that there is a ceramic blanket that they sit on. Mine are just sitting on the steel bottom of the firebox.
Now I just need a polar vortex.
NHcpa
Minister of Fire
Great looking install. Every once in awhile someone posts an install that just gets it all together. Form, style, color, texture.... you nailed it!well folks here it is, another burning season upon us and hey, nobody else started one of the more popular threads so I figure I might as well.
I've read along for the last 2 seasons about all the hocus pocus, Tom foolery, etc. and now have become part of the pack. I installed my BKK ultra over the summer and woke her up for the first time this morning and now will see what all the voodoo magic is about. I loaded about 30 lbs of wood to do my break in fire, cats engaged, cruising right along around 500 stovetop right above the cat, 300-400 elsewhere.
View attachment 140372 I got the windows open, letting the first burn stank out. Smell reminds me of well done pancakes on the griddle44 degrees overnight last night, about the same for tonight. I'm gonna attach a few pics, let's have some good chatter over a nice warm catylictic fire. Stay warm folks, DH
Try staying in a hotel room after you get the stove running for the winter.... Its soo loud!
Do you have a photo of you themo set at 0 and was wondering what temps your getting and is it with or with out the fans.?
Have you looked up into the top of the stove? Especially when it was new, it was hard to miss! Over time it gets more stable, at first its a little over active. Here's what I see.
Attachments
Highbeam
Minister of Fire
My princess stat doesn't even have a 0 setting. I looked last night and the only numbers are 1,2, and 3. Further, we all know and expect to hear the clack of the stat closing somewhere around 1 on a cold stove. This means that if you are trying to run at a setting below that cold temp clack point of 1 or so, that your stat will never open. It's out of the game. Do you suppose a leaky door gasket would be the source of combustion air allowing you to defeat the stat this way?
Highbeam
Minister of Fire
Same on the princess. Once of the great things about all of the current BK cat stoves is that you can watch that cat glow.
I wish I could it dosnt stay lite very long If it dose. Buying kiln dryer wood, Eco bricks. Stove has 2 winters under its chimney. Ever so flustrated
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If you type 'pumice fire brick' in the search box, you'll come up with a bunch of reading.
My sister's King Classic has the blanket on the bottom. I have no idea about my stove, never any bricks out.
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