Blaze King Advice Needed Please

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scum said:
I was happy to see it measure as low as it did to be honest.
Click to expand...

I think this was my fault. Sorry if we miscommunicated I think I opened the thread after 18, before #19 was posted, got interrupted, and then wrote #20 without being aware of #19.

15-24% is too wet in my book. There's hope of course. Are you finding 15-18-18-18-18-21-24 or 15-15-15-18-24? Or are you finding 15-20-20-21-21-24-24-24?

If the average MC in the firebox is under 16% the problem you are having isn't wet wood. If the average MC in the firebox is over 20% your stove isn't going to run good even if Jesus installed it.

Between 16-20% is the band of contention. As a full throttle burner looking for every BTU I can get out of the stove, I think wood over 16% MC is crap - my install, my climate, my insulation envelope.

There are lots and lots of folks on here running there Blaze King's with wood at in the 16-20% range and very very happy with their stoves. I don't argue with them, I don't doubt them and I am not looking to be an A-hole or some kind of internet ninja wizard. I am happy for them that they are happy with their stoves. And I learn from them.

But, I am riding my stove hard, and it is worth it to me to look for 12-16%MC in my stacks. Doesn't mean everyone else needs to...

Running a single King Ultra in 4k sqft, I encourage you to listen very nicely to the happy people in the 16-20% club. But I gotta tell you, over in the 12-16% club is where the deliriously happy BK owners are.

Here is a link to the online owners manual for the BK King Ultra:

http://www.blazeking.com/EN/PDF/manuals/OM-KE-E.pdf

Here is a brief copy/paste from page 24:

BKKingmanual said:
Use dry seasoned wood, split and stacked and protected from rain for at least 24 months with a moisture content of 20% or lower. It takes a great deal of energy to evaporate the moisture contained in green wood and that energy will not be heating your house.
Click to expand...

It is really up to you and how many BTUs you want out of the stove. If you are happy with your oil bill and your stove performance running in the 16-20% band, more power to you, lots of happy owners like you.

If you really want to "supplement" your NG furnace or electric baseboard or whatever and really pump a LOT of "supplemental" BTUs into your insulation envelope,
 
Poindexter said:
I think this was my fault. Sorry if we miscommunicated I think I opened the thread after 18, before #19 was posted, got interrupted, and then wrote #20 without being aware of #19.

15-24% is too wet in my book. There's hope of course. Are you finding 15-18-18-18-18-21-24 or 15-15-15-18-24? Or are you finding 15-20-20-21-21-24-24-24?

If the average MC in the firebox is under 16% the problem you are having isn't wet wood. If the average MC in the firebox is over 20% your stove isn't going to run good even if Jesus installed it.

Between 16-20% is the band of contention. As a full throttle burner looking for every BTU I can get out of the stove, I think wood over 16% MC is crap - my install, my climate, my insulation envelope.

There are lots and lots of folks on here running there Blaze King's with wood at in the 16-20% range and very very happy with their stoves. I don't argue with them, I don't doubt them and I am not looking to be an A-hole or some kind of internet ninja wizard. I am happy for them that they are happy with their stoves. And I learn from them.

But, I am riding my stove hard, and it is worth it to me to look for 12-16%MC in my stacks. Doesn't mean everyone else needs to...

Running a single King Ultra in 4k sqft, I encourage you to listen very nicely to the happy people in the 16-20% club. But I gotta tell you, over in the 12-16% club is where the deliriously happy BK owners are.

Here is a link to the online owners manual for the BK King Ultra:

http://www.blazeking.com/EN/PDF/manuals/OM-KE-E.pdf

Here is a brief copy/paste from page 24:



It is really up to you and how many BTUs you want out of the stove. If you are happy with your oil bill and your stove performance running in the 16-20% band, more power to you, lots of happy owners like you.

If you really want to "supplement" your NG furnace or electric baseboard or whatever and really pump a LOT of "supplemental" BTUs into your insulation envelope,
Click to expand...
+1
 
scum said:
Cooking with wood now! It's a bit embarrassing really. Having that thermo over the cat really threw me off I guess.
Click to expand...

I kept a magnetic thermo over the cat, for reference I guess. An IR thermo tells the real story. I could see 5-600 over the cat on a low setting and 300 or so on the front of the stove. At WFO, I could see the same temps on top, and 700+ on the front. Don't know how hot the sides would get, as I had an Ultra with side shields.

My wife singed the back of her pajama pants one morning standing in front of it. Not actually touching it, but the radiant heat thru the glass was pretty intense.
 
jeff_t said:
I kept a magnetic thermo over the cat, for reference I guess. An IR thermo tells the real story. I could see 5-600 over the cat on a low setting and 300 or so on the front of the stove. At WFO, I could see the same temps on top, and 700+ on the front. Don't know how hot the sides would get, as I had an Ultra with side shields.

My wife singed the back of her pajama pants one morning standing in front of it. Not actually touching it, but the radiant heat thru the glass was pretty intense.
Click to expand...
Jefft....you know better than to mention your wife and pajamas....all the regulars will reply "post pictures so we can help".
 
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I'd say the majority of my numbers were at or under 16%. I had a few outliers in the mid 20. That's a small sample size of my stack that was sitting in my house for the day. I'll check again on my next load to look for consistency. I have my stash out in the field that should be very well seasoned. I'll be working on pulling that up to the house and will give it a go to see the difference.

I'm still pretty hung up on getting an OAK installed. I can't help feel this is an issue since I seem to have to ride the stat higher than what seems norm from the forums to get significant heat output and I know the house is well sealed.

I still need to double check my cat bypass that it's well sealed too. My wife was here when it was installed and she said he was pretty negative about the stove in general and said, 'I'm normally taking these out to replace them for customers and don't normally install them'. This was right before he told her I'd never have to worry about cleaning my pipe 'Just burn a pop can once in a while and you'll be fine. These new pipes don't need cleaning'. This tells me A) the guy really doesn't know what he's doing, which B) means it's possible he didn't check the bypass adjustment when installing. Keep in mind also, the guy that installed is not the guy I bought it from. The installer said he stopped carrying the stove 'because of too many warranty issues with the cat'. The installer was not my choice (managed by the builder)...


Poindexter said:
I think this was my fault. Sorry if we miscommunicated I think I opened the thread after 18, before #19 was posted, got interrupted, and then wrote #20 without being aware of #19.

15-24% is too wet in my book. There's hope of course. Are you finding 15-18-18-18-18-21-24 or 15-15-15-18-24? Or are you finding 15-20-20-21-21-24-24-24?

If the average MC in the firebox is under 16% the problem you are having isn't wet wood. If the average MC in the firebox is over 20% your stove isn't going to run good even if Jesus installed it.

Between 16-20% is the band of contention. As a full throttle burner looking for every BTU I can get out of the stove, I think wood over 16% MC is crap - my install, my climate, my insulation envelope.

There are lots and lots of folks on here running there Blaze King's with wood at in the 16-20% range and very very happy with their stoves. I don't argue with them, I don't doubt them and I am not looking to be an A-hole or some kind of internet ninja wizard. I am happy for them that they are happy with their stoves. And I learn from them.

But, I am riding my stove hard, and it is worth it to me to look for 12-16%MC in my stacks. Doesn't mean everyone else needs to...

Running a single King Ultra in 4k sqft, I encourage you to listen very nicely to the happy people in the 16-20% club. But I gotta tell you, over in the 12-16% club is where the deliriously happy BK owners are.

Here is a link to the online owners manual for the BK King Ultra:

http://www.blazeking.com/EN/PDF/manuals/OM-KE-E.pdf

Here is a brief copy/paste from page 24:



It is really up to you and how many BTUs you want out of the stove. If you are happy with your oil bill and your stove performance running in the 16-20% band, more power to you, lots of happy owners like you.

If you really want to "supplement" your NG furnace or electric baseboard or whatever and really pump a LOT of "supplemental" BTUs into your insulation envelope,
Click to expand...
 
Yup, you should check your own bypass gasket and never let the last guy back in your home again. When I do the dollar bill test I stop pulling before my bill gets torn into two fifty cent pieces, those don't spend so good.

In general you are running a small enough stove into a large enough house that you likely aren't going to run 16-20%MC at mid range throttle settings and be ecstatic.

In the 12-16% club with mid range throttle settings you can get some supplementary BTUs into your envelope. You aren't going to hurt the stove running full throttle with the cat engaged. Give it a try, esp once your done curing the paint.

So far you haven't said anything in your posts that makes me think you are going to end up needing an OAK.

Once BKVP has signed off on your pipe and the paint is cured and you're happy with your bypass gasket fill that thing with a couple or three bio-logs on the bottom, to the brim with that 15-25% wood you got, get the cat engaged and leave the TStat at full throttle until your wife has sweat dripping off the end of her nose.

Do NOT under any circumstances adjust the thermostat downward until the wife says it is "too hot" in the house. The first time she says that, help her out of her sweater, but don't adjust the stove. You can probably figure out the rest without our help.
 
Highbeam said:
Take the meter off of the stove top. It certainly isn't helping you here and is not very valuable on this cat stove.

Is your chimney 8" or 6"?

The stove isn't hottest when it's dark, it's hottest when you are running a full load packed straight in NS, thermostat on high, and fans on high. Let the thing eat.
Click to expand...

I do this technique as and would think I would be super uncomfortable standing next to it in jeans and a t shirt, but I'm really not. I am very interested in this post!!
 
Your comfort level beside a stove has much less to do with the output of the stove or your clothing than it does with the room temperature.
 
For the record. Measured several points on the next batch of wood.

16, 12.6, 9.8, 13.3, 15.7, 13.8, 15.7, 14.8, 12.6, 14.8, 9.8, 7.4, 14.8, 17.8, 9.8

Goal tonight is to make everyone complain about how hot it was through the night.
 
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scum said:
For the record. Measured several points on the next batch of wood.

16, 12.6, 9.8, 13.3, 15.7, 13.8, 15.7, 14.8, 12.6, 14.8, 9.8, 7.4, 14.8, 17.8, 9.8

Goal tonight is to make everyone complain about how hot it was through the night.
Click to expand...

If you were splitting splits open to read the middles you wont need bio-logs with that. Best wishes.
 
mwhitnee said:
If the room is 72 degrees with the stove blazing I would think it would get uncomfortable standing next to it in a hurry.
Click to expand...

We shoot for 78 in the stove room and sit right next to the stove at times. Some people are more sensitive I suspect, and some stoves more radiant, but many of us will actually sit in a hot tub at 103, nearly naked, for an hour, on purpose!

Maybe whatever naked body part that you can get within 12" of a very hot stove will begin to get uncomfortable but I would never expect proximity to the stove to be painful unless your entire body is already overheated to the core from ambient temperature plus clothing.
 
Leave it to Highbeam to bring up nudity!
 
Highbeam said:
We shoot for 78 in the stove room and sit right next to the stove at times. Some people are more sensitive I suspect, and some stoves more radiant, but many of us will actually sit in a hot tub at 103, nearly naked, for an hour, on purpose!

Maybe whatever naked body part that you can get within 12" of a very hot stove will begin to get uncomfortable but I would never expect proximity to the stove to be painful unless your entire body is already overheated to the core from ambient temperature plus clothing.
Click to expand...

Only "nearly naked?" :)
 
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