Tonight, I miss my old stove..(BKK questions)

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RenovationGeorge said:
I wonder why the likely explanation--stoves being run too cool due to aftermarket Condor probes that read too high--keeps being mentioned and dropped?

I'll try again.

Both folks who say they can't get their stove-top temps high enough without their cat probes reading too high are using aftermarket Condor probes, correct?

Threads here have exhaustively documented and discussed that Current aftermarket Condor probes read too high:

https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/51149/

and:

https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/51880/

In particular, Condor's response to Pen's extensive test showing Condor flue probes read higher than a thermocouple probe confirms it:

I guess it best that it [Condor's aftermarket flue probe] read a little high because I think most folks tend to burn too hot rather than too cool, so the indication is protecting the "high heat burners."

and Pen concludes:

After running this again this season, and after all the testing last season I’ll say this: For the right or for the wrong, it’s a consistent thermometer.

That means, it may read consistently high, but I do trust that it’s always giving me the same “value†for a equivalent burn. What I think is junk is the numbers and indicator recommendations. I really wish they just sold a blank one and i’d mark it myself w/ high burn / low burn.

For me, I couldn’t get these burn sections (too cool, normal, too hot) to be even close to being correct until I moved the thermometer almost 30 inches above the stove.

I think that part of the problem is that the thermometer is taking on a ton of radiant heat from the single walled pipe. It still reads consistently, just not accurately.

I think that w/ the protection of a double wall stove pipe, It has a better chance at being accurate and precise (consistent) at the recommended 18 inches above the stove.

However, on single wall pipe, I simply believe them recommending it to be only 18 inches up the pipe is giving readings that are still consistent, but not accurate, and I worry that people are burning their stove too cool as a result.

The upshot of exhaustive (pun intended) testing is that Condor flue probes always read too high, and even more so when their external portion gets radiant energy--as from a single-wall pipe or stove top. This is confirmed in this thread, by reports of the probe quickly reading lower when a breeze is applied to the external portion.

The conclusion seems simple--the problem is with the Condor probes, not the stoves. People are running their stoves below maximum output because the aftermarket Condor probes they installed read too high.

Am I missing something?

Nope, your right on as far as I can see.
 
RenovationGeorge said:
The upshot of exhaustive (pun intended) testing is that Condor flue probes always read too high, and even more so when their external portion gets radiant energy--as from a single-wall pipe or stove top. This is confirmed in this thread, by reports of the probe quickly reading lower when a breeze is applied to the external portion.

The conclusion seems simple--the problem is with the Condor probes, not the stoves. People are running their stoves below maximum output because the aftermarket Condor probes they installed read too high.

Am I missing something?

I skimmed through the links you provided and found the data rather interesting.

A very minor point here...the stock Blaze King probe is made by Condar and, at least for me, reads exactly the same as the aftermarket probe. I beginning to think I should ignore the "Too High" range on the aftermarket probe, and probably go back to the stock probe without the numbered scale.
 
RGeorge, I think your conclusion on the Condars is valid , but not for the BK. I believe the air-flow around the Condars has a significent effect on it. This sounds wrong, but I have given my Condars (stove-top magnetic and flue probe), a good couple of "blows" today. The flu-probe showed a diff., but the stove top showed a rapid reduction in temp. by 100deg.+.(Fans had been off for 20min., no change in T-stat)= The Condar Cat probe dropped 100 in one breath. That was repeated 3 times. Shows me that the fans are not cooling the Cat., just the thermo. The thermo.'s need to be shrouded in order to read true, IMHO. The diff. was not great, so I'm still good with using them, but now I have a better idea of my heat parameters. or am I reading this wrong?
 
fdegree said:
RenovationGeorge said:
The upshot of exhaustive (pun intended) testing is that Condor flue probes always read too high, and even more so when their external portion gets radiant energy--as from a single-wall pipe or stove top. This is confirmed in this thread, by reports of the probe quickly reading lower when a breeze is applied to the external portion.

The conclusion seems simple--the problem is with the Condor probes, not the stoves. People are running their stoves below maximum output because the aftermarket Condor probes they installed read too high.

Am I missing something?

I skimmed through the links you provided and found the data rather interesting.

A very minor point here...the stock Blaze King probe is made by Condar and, at least for me, reads exactly the same as the aftermarket probe. I beginning to think I should ignore the "Too High" range on the aftermarket probe, and probably go back to the stock probe without the numbered scale.


GOOD IDEA. Holy woppin thread batman. My set it and forget it info that I have used to tell how this stove operates is making me feel kinda BAD. Its been that simple for me, Honest. :down: Who is gonna egg my house and remember their gonna be frozen, this time of year. :cheese:
 
Damn, and I just left a Pic in the put a face to the personality thread. :ahhh: Now I am gonna have to hide out at the lake all summer. %-P
Serious though Beetle, I hope you are gonna get some satisfaction from your purchase on this unit.
 
I just left a reply on the other post, due to my Wife. She LOVES to try to get a rise out of me. If it wasn't for our give-n-take, I'd still be on my own.- The stove will work out. I've identified areas in the house that need to be addressed, and currently, it's 73+ in the front room, and -8 outside and dropping. Now, this past weekend my in-laws were up here, and stated that the new stove was not as hot as the old one. But, they had T-shirts on, and when I asked, did not realize the diff. in temp.- The old stove was a radiant blaster, this one is, well, a ninja heater. Subtle yet effective. I can't believe this thread went so far. Good info. so far.
 
OK now whats going on. Beetle-Kill or Beetle-Killer
900+posts and 11posts. Impostor or what? :coolhmm:

Whats the wood consumption been like running it on top? Is that better even though your freezing. :shut:
 
Sorry, the funky 2-step in "Handles" is due to- I don't know what. I log on, then log off, and my comp. shows someone is logged on to my handle. I checked this on another forum, seems I'm not alone. Sorry for the confusion, you handsome devil. It's still me.
 
Wood consumption is up, I'm probably doing 10 hrs. per load, but I can't leave it alone that long. I have to stir it up. I have to rake in the sides, and the rest forward, then bite my tongue. I really want to add more, but it'll keep good temps. for a fair amount of time. I had nothing but a large coal bed today, and it still went up 1.2deg. inside for about 3 hours. Fan speed is playing a huge part in things, I'm trying to dial it in.
 
Beetle-Kill said:
RGeorge, I think your conclusion on the Condars is valid , but not for the BK. I believe the air-flow around the Condars has a significent effect on it. This sounds wrong, but I have given my Condars (stove-top magnetic and flue probe), a good couple of "blows" today. The flu-probe showed a diff., but the stove top showed a rapid reduction in temp. by 100deg.+.(Fans had been off for 20min., no change in T-stat)= The Condar Cat probe dropped 100 in one breath. That was repeated 3 times. Shows me that the fans are not cooling the Cat., just the thermo. The thermo.'s need to be shrouded in order to read true, IMHO. The diff. was not great, so I'm still good with using them, but now I have a better idea of my heat parameters. or am I reading this wrong?

I'm afraid I can't understand what you're saying, so I do not know if you are reading it right or wrong.

I know this part is wrong:

The thermo.'s need to be shrouded in order to read true, IMHO.

No!

The aftermarket Condar probes read way high at maximum temps, to the tune of hundreds of degrees, regardless of shrouding or airflow on them.

Although the BK probes are made by Condar, I am aware of none of the extensive testing of the stock probes that Pen did on the aftermarket Condar probes (ACPs) so it is incorrect to assume that the BK probes behave the same. If anyone has done the same sort of extensive testing on the stock BK probes as Pen has on the aftermarket probes, please let me know.

Pen's data shows the aftermarket probes are most accurate--though still high-- at low temps, but increasingly high as temps go up, by hundreds of degrees at the high end, and, in addition, greatly affected by heat outside the flue--like from the external stovepipe wall, stovetop, etc. Pen reported better accuracy the higher on the flue (and farther from the stove) he mounted the ACPs, though they were still way high. Yours are right near the stove--worst case. These are cascading inaccuracies that cause ACPs to read too high. So even if the ACP agrees with the stock BK probe at one temperature, it could disagree at others.

This point has nothing to do with whether external fans are cooling the cat or not. The point is aftermarket Condar probes read high all the time. Their numbers are complete rubbish. Anyone who uses them to determine when their cat or flue gas is too hot is under firing their stove.

If this is the slightest bit unclear to you and Fdegree, you owe it to yourselves to carefully read the threads I referenced, for I cannot do justice to their depth of testing and discussion.

This is a case of tweaking gone wrong--or at least gone painful-- for BK users who kept their stock probes don't have the issues and worries you report.
 
north of 60 said:
My set it and forget it info that I have used to tell how this stove operates is making me feel kinda BAD. Its been that simple for me, Honest. :down: Who is gonna egg my house and remember their gonna be frozen, this time of year. :cheese:

Not me! You're having a great experience with your stock stove. That's a fine thing.

"You've got that BK feelin,

Oh, that BK feeling,

You've got that BK feelin', it was never gone, gone, gone."


:cheese:
 
fdegree said:
I beginning to think I should ignore the "Too High" range on the aftermarket probe, and probably go back to the stock probe without the numbered scale.

Ding ding ding!!!!!

:cheese:
 
RGeorge, I really appreciate your research. But I have to ask, what stove was Pen using? And where was his temp. guage in regards to his CAT. combuster? I'm on vacation, I'll be here all night. %-P
 
Beetle-Kill said:
RGeorge, I really appreciate your research. But I have to ask, what stove was Pen using? And where was his temp. guage in regards to his CAT. combuster? I'm on vacation, I'll be here all night. %-P

Read the threads carefully. I'll be here all night too. ;)

And "George" is fine--I'm beginning to regret that handle, and may change it.
 
George is fine, I'd suggest "CG", for curious George. It's all good. Pen was/ is burning a NC-30 when this thread was active, correct?
 
Beetle-Kill said:
George is fine, I'd suggest "CG", for curious George.

You're not the first--I sense a trend. :) CG is very cool with me.

It's all good.

Good. I'm a terrier when it comes to these things. It's the only way I know to learn when I'm wrong, embarrassing as it is at times. :red:
Pen was/ is burning a NC-30 when this thread was active, correct?

I don't know.

EDIT: But remember, what Pen is/was burning is irrelevant. The point is he scientifically tested the aftermarket Condar probes against an accurate thermocouple probe and found they read hundreds of degrees high on the high end. The temperature numbers and burn zones on the Condar's dials are rubbish.


On the positive side, though they are not accurate, they are consistent once installed in a particular setup, so if you either calibrated the Condar once installed and wrote real numbers on it, or ignored the numbers and burn zones, it would be useful.
 
CG, I'll "PM" you, I don't want this thread going any further without usable input from anyone. My medicore rant has gone too far. Any new input however, will be well recieved. Post-on!
 
Its been a good rant. Who wants to overfire a new stove that doesn't work like any stove they've had before that they just sunk a few grand into? My transition was easy as I doubled in size from the last stove and it was nothing but good. However, you and oldspark are going from some big old school burners that could throw some heat when you asked them to. And, they worked fine with the throw a log on for more heat style of burning. FWIW, I rarely look at the cat thermometer. Once you get a feel for what to expect from a given tstat/blower setting combo, I doubt you will either.
 
Do ya think my cat temp might be effected by only 13 inches of the pricess insert sitting out on the hearth, and the rest of the insert behind brick?

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Lanning said:
Do ya think my cat temp might be effected by only 13 inches of the pricess insert sitting out on the hearth, and the rest of the insert behind brick?

Hi Lanning!

Now that Beetle-Kill has paid his last regards to this thread, we can reanimate it for our own purposes! ;)

Knowing nothing about BK's specific engineering, my WAG is "Yes, but not so it matters."

Unless you've somehow violated BK's instructions in your install, you're operating your stove as designed, so I'd have no worries.

In other words, I doubt there will come a day when you'll have to tear your flaming insert out with a mighty roar, carry it over your head and throw it into a snowbank. :)

Apologies, but I think it's so cool you're a former wrestler that I get a smile every time I see one your posts. ;-)

Burn well and prosper!
 
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