Serious Blaze King problem

bogydave · Feb 11, 2010

Another all night & all morning burn on about 1.75, (14 hours so far)
House 71 OAT 36 ° F, 20 mph winds @ 1 pm
So I looked inside, plenty of wood still, so I just left it alone.
Glass a little smoked up but could see inside OK.
I'm Learning & gaining confidence in the stove.
The front-middle wood is gone but the back & sides have plenty.
In the pic with the flash you can't see it but it's glowing red.
Plenty of heat coming off the stove,

Should I open it up & pull the wood from the sides & back closer to the front?

SolarAndWood · Feb 11, 2010

I usually pull it front center when I want to open up the air for the burn down before a reload. If it is putting out the heat you want, I would leave it. If you leave the door closed for the entire cycle until you get right down to the active/inactive line, you can still open the door, pull it all forward and have an easy reload.

bogydave · Feb 12, 2010

I turned stat to 2 about 3 hours ago & pulled the big chunks to middle.
20 hours, raking coal to the front. Still lots of heat. (need to make a coals rake)
house 72, OAT 32, °F, 10 mph wind.
I think this is called 3rd stage of burn, "charcoal" stage.
Turned to high, it will clean most of the smoke of the glass in about 2 hours.
Then reload.
So I guess a 22 hour burn, Is that good ?? (but it is warm, 32 °F outside)
Pic 1 with flash, 2 no flash, 3 thru the glass door

weatherguy · Feb 12, 2010

I have the kings little sister, the Princess but thats what I do, load it up full and near the end I rake the coals to the front and let it burn another hour or two then full reload. So simple I could train a monkey to do it, anyone know where I could buy a monkey?

Hiram Maxim · Feb 12, 2010

So what Chimney brand & chimney height does everyone have?

May I have your attention please? :cheese:

I'm starting to get a little Teed-off at myself for not getting the King up and running yet! :red:

These burn times are just amazing !!!

!

bogydave · Feb 12, 2010

23 hours after I filled it last night:
burned down the charcoal, pic 1: spread the coals out 2 load with spruce & birch
3 fire started 4 fire going good 5 close door & bypass 6 get temp to mid range (temp ?)

bogydave · Feb 12, 2010

I set stat to just above 1.5 probably 1.6 house 73, OAT 32 ° f, 15- 20 mph winds. 2300 (11pm)
1. After a few minutes fire starts to go out, some secondary burn flashes dance around for a few minutes
2. 5 minutes no noticeable fire
3 20 - 30 minutes as stove cools, stat opens a little bit, gets smokey,
can see some orange glow at the bottom under the wood.
glass gets smokey & more black

Puts out heat all night, the temp probe (thermometer) goes below the "active" mark
tomorrow morning, turn to 1.75 - 2 & in a few minutes flames, lots lots more heat, house in the 70s within an hour
I'll be curious what the spruce did, 2 med spruce each bottom-sides & 1 big one in the bottom middle & med spruce top left the rest is birch on top

bogydave · Feb 12, 2010

2 hours later no changes made 1.6 setting, house 72 ° F @(0100) 1 AM
(i woke up & had to go check)
No visible flame. Can see some smoke moving around thru the glass.
Stove is cranking out allot of heat , dim orange glow on the catalytic
Glass coated with smoke (creosote?)

mbutts · Feb 12, 2010

Looking at all this stove porn this morning is giving me morning wood. I can't wait to update to a King Cat.

SolarAndWood · Feb 12, 2010

Are you going in one step from the initial burn off to 1.5? I find that if you get the cat well lit and do a couple steps on the way down, you won't get the smoke and the cat stays nice and bright all the way down and into the low burn.

bogydave · Feb 12, 2010

SolarAndWood said:
Are you going in one step from the initial burn off to 1.5? I find that if you get the cat well lit and do a couple steps on the way down, you won't get the smoke and the cat stays nice and bright all the way down and into the low burn.

That's a good idea, I'll try it. It makes sense, for the cat to stay hot & less smoke inside the stove.
It is neat to watch various stages of the burn, messes with sleep though

Stove burning good this AM, like yesterday morning. Wife turned it up to 2.25, at 0630, house was 69 °f.
Noon still burning good, I turned it down at 1000 to 2, house was 74, too warm again. Still warm outside, 34, windy.
The spruce is doing better than I thought, but not as good as the birch.

Pics after 12 hours, 11 am. I notice the right side has more wood than the left side.

bogydave · Feb 12, 2010

Hiram Maxim said:
So what Chimney brand & chimney height does everyone have?!

8", insulated stainless, 19'

Hiram Maxim · Feb 12, 2010

bogydave said:
Hiram Maxim said:

So what Chimney brand & chimney height does everyone have?!

Click to expand...

8", insulated stainless, 19'

What Brand? :cheese:

bogydave · Feb 12, 2010

Hiram Maxim said:
bogydave said:

Hiram Maxim said:

So what Chimney brand & chimney height does everyone have?!

Click to expand...

8", insulated stainless, 19'

Click to expand...

What Brand? :cheese:

Metalbestos stainless.
The clean out "T" was the most expensive piece. Check local codes, some areas it's not allowed. Don't know why.
Stove store should help. Box stores here have some but I never looked at the brand. May check there.
If they carry it, it's probably approved in your area, but check.

ecocavalier02 · Feb 12, 2010

SolarAndWood said:
Are you going in one step from the initial burn off to 1.5? I find that if you get the cat well lit and do a couple steps on the way down, you won't get the smoke and the cat stays nice and bright all the way down and into the low burn.

thats how ive been doin it. I bring it down graduLly over a course of 45 minutes tk an hour and heats the house up real quick to.

bogydave · Feb 13, 2010

ecocavalier02 said:
SolarAndWood said:

Are you going in one step from the initial burn off to 1.5? I find that if you get the cat well lit and do a couple steps on the way down, you won't get the smoke and the cat stays nice and bright all the way down and into the low burn.

Click to expand...

thats how ive been doin it. I bring it down graduLly over a course of 45 minutes tk an hour and heats the house up real quick to.

I thought about just filling it, with the coals in there the cat is in the active zone on the thermometer, setting it to 1.5. But I'm not sure that'd work.
I'll try a slower turn down in steps to see if I get less smokey glass. (though the black burns off when I burn hot, if it gets cold again)

I pulled the wood to the front & middle best I could, most of the wood on the right side was intact & 1/2 burned.
pics of the cat glowing orange & some secondary burn flames dancing around.
still burning since 11pm last night (16 hours), nothing added. stat on # 2 ( time: 1500 (3pm)

ecocavalier02 · Feb 13, 2010

My glass haa staued spotless even going to the low burn after

weatherguy · Feb 13, 2010

My glass haa staued spotless even going to the low burn after

Mine stays spotless now too although at the beginning of the season it got black a couple times, could have been since I didnt know what I was doing. I also dont turn it down to low at night, I plan it so it will burn down enough so I can put a full load in the morning, I used to have only 2/3's burned, its easier keeping things on a schedule.

bogydave · Feb 13, 2010

Anyway the pic cover a cycle. Did the charcoal burn, & added wood. (all birch, seems to be less smokey too)
Only got 22 hours on this load, but over 1/2 was spruce. I think thats good enough.
When it gets cold again, I won't get this long of a burn, but 16 hours, then a small load of wood,
(couple pieces) to get to the night burn. Will be burning hotter normally so black glass will not be as bad.
The smokey glass don't bother me, I'm after the heat. & it mostly cleans itself when burned hot.
It does look good though when the glass is clean & you watch a nice fire burning for hours.
Got some ideas to try, to improve the start of the cycle.
Hope you enjoyed the burn cycle.
I learned some stuff too. I can burn at a lower setting, & not overheat the house with no creosote issues (so far anyway, but I'll be watching)
Remember, "It's the wood stupid", 20% or less moisture content, The Dryer - The Better., & so on
Thanks for all the input
Dave in "balmy Alaska" still 30 ° F

SolarAndWood · Feb 13, 2010

Hiram Maxim said:
So what Chimney brand & chimney height does everyone have?

May I have your attention please? :cheese:

I'm starting to get a little Teed-off at myself for not getting the King up and running yet! :red:

These burn times are just amazing!

5' of Simpson DVL to ceiling adapter, 18' of Metalbestos the rest of the way.

SolarAndWood · Feb 13, 2010

Great photo essay Dave and a nice real world demonstration of the stove. I don't worry about a little haze on the lower corners of the glass either. For me, it is how little time/effort can I put into keeping the house warm. This stove is highly tolerant of our schedules and is very easy to maintain the eternal flame. It is pretty cool to have a stove that doesn't overheat the house when its in the 40s yet can put out the heat when its arctic like while always being a simple load it all the way up and forget about it operation.

bogydave · Feb 14, 2010

SolarAndWood said:
Hiram Maxim said:

5' of Simpson DVL to ceiling adapter, 18' of Metalbestos the rest of the way.

Click to expand...

Sounds like you're almost there, better hurry, "Spring is in the air"
Pictures?

bogydave · Feb 14, 2010

SolarAndWood said:
Great photo essay Dave and a nice real world demonstration of the stove. I don't worry about a little haze on the lower corners of the glass either. For me, it is how little time/effort can I put into keeping the house warm. This stove is highly tolerant of our schedules and is very easy to maintain the eternal flame. It is pretty cool to have a stove that doesn't overheat the house when its in the 40s yet can put out the heat when its arctic like while always being a simple load it all the way up and forget about it operation.

Thanks
I had the older model king for over 25 years. I thought it was a great stove, but this one will run you out of the house.
The learning curve is almost done, since I did everything possible i could wrong, but learning to burn with a catalytic
is quite a bit different. Next year, I expect even better results, better wood & knowledge gained from this season.
I still overheat the house on days like today, 55 in the sun, 42 OAT. 74 in the house. Still some things to learn

SolarAndWood · Feb 14, 2010

bogydave said:
I thought it was a great stove, but this one will run you out of the house.

I look forward to that. We have been doing a complete rebuild of the house for the past few years and large sections are just 3/4" cdx over 2x6 walls with fiberglass tucked in the stud bays. The Tyvek didn't last 6 mos with the wind we get. The heat demand led to the early demise of the BKs predecessors. This spring the shell will be done. One inch of foam board is going over the Tyvek. If we can swing the $$, I'll fill the 2x6 and 2x8 stud bays with foam and see if we can get it as tight as it sounds like your house is.

ecocavalier02 · Feb 14, 2010

SolarAndWood said:
bogydave said:

I thought it was a great stove, but this one will run you out of the house.

Click to expand...

I look forward to that. We have been doing a complete rebuild of the house for the past few years and large sections are just 3/4" cdx over 2x6 walls with fiberglass tucked in the stud bays. The Tyvek didn't last 6 mos with the wind we get. The heat demand led to the early demise of the BKs predecessors. This spring the shell will be done. One inch of foam board is going over the Tyvek. If we can swing the $$, I'll fill the 2x6 and 2x8 stud bays with foam and see if we can get it as tight as it sounds like your house is.

We to are starting to really start tightening up the house this year. starting by remodeling the basement. reframing then insulating. and starting to change out some windows. i plan on doing it over the next few years as well as the money prevails. not cheap to do now but totally worth the money in the long run. baby steps. my goal is to do what you are doing as well on the outside of the house with the foam and then side over it. hopefully with in the next couple years.

Serious Blaze King problem

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