BKVP
Minister of Fire
Highbeam is correct about Douglas Fir...larch as well. They just cook down to original organic state and feel like sand.
Which is where they grew from...the soil.
Which is where they grew from...the soil.
Firewood doesn't start really seasoning until it has been cut, split, and stacked. Certainly not the logs that are on the ground with roots still buried. I live on the wet side of WA and most logs in the woods on the ground will rot before they dry.
I would have no problem burning pine and have burned many cords of red cedar and cottonwood. It's not like the old days, modern stoves are able to get much more out of the lower btu woods if you do your part by seasoning the fuel well. I actually prefer the ashier varieties like red alder since the ash helps to slow the burn rate a bit.
Douglas fir makes almost zero ash when burnt efficiently.
If it needs a fan to be dry I would be looking for another source of fuel.
He was really pushing Lopi/Travis , hybrid. I'm sure it's a good company, but I think for my needs BK would be better.
He was really pushing Lopi/Travis , hybrid. I'm sure it's a good company, but I think for my needs BK would be better.
He's not lying right there, he's just ill informed, 12 hour burn times with flames showing seem the normal, but those stoves are made to smolder and the cat burns the smoke producing high heat due to placement in the stove, when it smolders it turns the glass black and it becomes a boring fire, but the trade off is 24 hour burn times with steady heat output. That's what separates Bk's from everyone else in the freestanding stove market that I know of with consistency.The Ashford 30 in the showroom only gives them about 12 hours burn times, anything over it's just embers.
He's not lying right there, he's just ill informed, 12 hour burn times with flames showing seem the normal, but those stoves are made to smolder and the cat burns the smoke producing high heat due to placement in the stove, when it smolders it turns the glass black and it becomes a boring fire, but the trade off is 24 hour burn times with steady heat output. That's what separates Bk's from everyone else in the freestanding stove market that I know of with consistency.
As far as inserts I have my own reservations, mainly because I never burnt one, I would actually like more info on there inserts as far as cleaning / maintenance, its one thing to go through the bypass with a soot eater but how to you adjust the by-pass damper plate or vacuum behind the cat after the cleaning the chimney without pulling a heavy insert out of the fireplace (that's really my only hang up) With my princess freestanding stove I just pull by black pipe and clean from the top down in the stove with a vacuum, cleaning up chimney crumbs.
I have two Ashford 30's, and have logged 40 hour burns on both, but I do burn only high BTU hardwoods (mostly oak). I have found the dial positions where I can repeatedly get 12 or 24 hour cycles out of each, as this is what suits my work schedule. THAT is the beauty of BK, for me.I have the Ashford 30, and I only run 12 hr cycles on the coldest days... often 16-20 hrs between reloads.
To be clear, the cat thermometer sits flat on the stove top below the convection deck? If so, that's correct. I don't think the insert ever had numbers on the dial.I noticed the stove I picked up has a couple of differences than what I see in pics, or YouTube videos. The princess insert was made back in 06. First, there's no numbers on the air adjuster, just dots. Second, the cat guage doesn't sit down under the stove top. It rests on top with a small hole for the rod to go down. Any other changes from 06 to now?
Lol, yea I forgot I had the shroud off. It sits down in a hole in the shroud\fan area. I do see numbers though on most, hence when people say they turn it down to 2 or 1.5 at night.To be clear, the cat thermometer sits flat on the stove top below the convection deck? If so, that's correct. I don't think the insert ever had numbers on the dial.
All the stoves did until recently, I was thinkin the inserts had only dots though. The new stoves have a "swoosh" mark. (God please don't let this debate get started again)Lol, yea I forgot I had the shroud off. It sits down in a hole in the shroud\fan area. I do see numbers though on most, hence when people say they turn it down to 2 or 1.5 at night.
I don't think there was ever a debate. We all agreed the numbers were preferable to the swoosh.All the stoves did until recently, I was thinkin the inserts had only dots though. The new stoves have a "swoosh" mark. (God please don't let this debate get started again)
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