BK Princess need help

[jeff_t]

Two 45s + one 90 is lowering your effective chimney height considerably. If your wood really is that dry, consider adding some height. You could temporarily try a 3-4' section of cheap single wall before you add another piece of class A.

 

[BKVP]

Sounds like wet wood. If you cant get it hot then turn it down with out it going out there usually is only 2 things that cause that. Week Draft, and wet wood.

Back from the hunt....Rick is correct. Weak draft or wet fuel. Heck, you should get 60lbs or more into that stove so more than 50% of your capacity is filled with ash and coals. You should be able to get down to about 12k Btu's/hr on the low burn. At 34k, your more like a medium burn rate. In this case, you are loosing the effective range of the top end to low end variability.

Draft or set wood sounds about right.

 

[Illinois burner]

Yes I do split again before testing. I test in the grain and not the ends. I've been burning wood all my life. My Dad started me young. I've always been taught to cut and split at least 2 years before burning. I only cover my wood in rain or snow. My coals burned out in about 2 hours. This all tells me that somehow I'm getting to much air. I get lots of heat while burning. This proves to me the wood is dry. What does the stove top normally run for temp and at what setting? Mine runs around 600° in the front center and 550° on the sides of the top

 

[turbojoe]

Yes I do split again before testing. I test in the grain and not the ends. I've been burning wood all my life. My Dad started me young. I've always been taught to cut and split at least 2 years before burning. I only cover my wood in rain or snow. My coals burned out in about 2 hours. This all tells me that somehow I'm getting to much air. I get lots of heat while burning. This proves to me the wood is dry. What does the stove top normally run for temp and at what setting? Mine runs around 600° in the front center and 550° on the sides of the top

I am using 18% Ash, I normally run 425/500 center of stove top on #2, with 8 to 10 hour burns, burn pot maybe 3/4 full. Lots of variables, every set up is different.
I would have to run it wide open for awile to see 600 S.T.

 

[BKVP]

Yes I do split again before testing. I test in the grain and not the ends. I've been burning wood all my life. My Dad started me young. I've always been taught to cut and split at least 2 years before burning. I only cover my wood in rain or snow. My coals burned out in about 2 hours. This all tells me that somehow I'm getting to much air. I get lots of heat while burning. This proves to me the wood is dry. What does the stove top normally run for temp and at what setting? Mine runs around 600° in the front center and 550° on the sides of the top

That is quite hot for that burn rate....is there an ash hole or plug that is not sealing or is the front door loose? I would agree you must have an air leak in order to burn that hot and shortened burn times. Can you do a thorough flashlight inspection for me?

Chris

 

[jeff_t]

Chris, he says that he can't burn with the thermostat completely closed (post #20).

Seventeen feet of total rise, with fifteen of that being outside, plus two directional changes, says not enough draft. Having to overcome that with more input air is keeping temps up and killing burn times.

At least that's my theory.

 

[Illinois burner]

Yes. We spoke on the phone. I did as you said and put high temp silicone on the ash plug. Door is tight. Not sure where else to look. Tell me about the flashlight test

 

[jtb51b]

Just curious, but when you shut your door does it seem to touch at the top or bottom first and then flex to fit when you latch the door? Be careful when you put the new thermostat in not to over seal it. Too much sealant can drip down onto the mechanism and foul things up. Do you notice your cat glowing at all?

Jason

 

[Illinois burner]

Just curious, but when you shut your door does it seem to touch at the top or bottom first and then flex to fit when you latch the door? Be careful when you put the new thermostat in not to over seal it. Too much sealant can drip down onto the mechanism and foul things up. Do you notice your cat glowing at all?

Jason

I do get the glow from the cat. The door seems to close true and even. When I took the cover off to manually adjust the butterfly it came right off. I didn't have to pry it off. There was a dab of silicone about the size of a pencil eraser on it. Really hoping the new thermostat comes soon. I ordered it the Tuesday before last.

 

[jtb51b]

I do get the glow from the cat. The door seems to close true and even. When I took the cover off to manually adjust the butterfly it came right off. I didn't have to pry it off. There was a dab of silicone about the size of a pencil eraser on it. Really hoping the new thermostat comes soon. I ordered it the Tuesday before last.

The cover you removed, if its the black cover that allows access to the butterfly, is not where the silicone can foul you up. When you remove the thermostat entirely to replace it you will see what I am talking about. Glad your door is closing true. Thats terrible that is takes that long to get the parts shipped to you. I too waited a good while on a replacement thermostat and some other parts (about 8 days) but two weeks is just absurd. The USPS will ship across country in a flat rate box in 3 days! Good luck, hopefully you will get it running soon and enjoy it.

Jason

 

[drz1050]

Have you done the dollar bill test on the door?

 

[Illinois burner]

Yes I have. In five different spots. I have noticed everything burning more evenly loading it left to right. Who knows. Getting very aggrevated. I loaded it last night at midnight with the house at 73° woke up at 7 to a few coals and the house was 60°. The low last night was 34° and not much wind.

 

[jeff_t]

Have you inspected welds and such? This is the bottom of the door frame on my sister's King that I rescued for her. The entire length of the door was like that. No penetration into the frame.



But you say the fire basically goes out if you close the thermostat all the way?

 

[rdust]

The chimney setup is less than ideal with 2 45's after only a 2' rise. Also tell us about the oak, how long has it been cut/split/stacked? Your old stove could burn anything, the new stove will be picky.

I honestly can't imagine burning that much wood in that amount of time. Also try closing the windows on the next load!

 

[rdust]

Yes I have. In five different spots. I have noticed everything burning more evenly loading it left to right. Who knows. Getting very aggrevated. I loaded it last night at midnight with the house at 73° woke up at 7 to a few coals and the house was 60°. The low last night was 34° and not much wind.

I can't believe you would lose that much temp if you had a stone cold stove! 13* over 7 hours when it's not freezing seems like a lot!

 

[Skidooer]

I know exactly what you are going thru. I had a similar ordeal before I finally had a reputable dealer come and check things out. I then upgraded to the King Ultra from the Princess.
My stove was undersized and I struggled with it for 4 months, I called BK, changed parts, spent hours on forums, had 3 three different ppl check it out (all lied to me that it was not over drafting) BS!
The only reason I got my issue resolved was I got ahold of a dealer that actually burns a King in his house! He walked in and said "ya it's way too small". You need to get someone who knows these stoves to look at your wood, pipe setup, installation and your stove to see what the heck is going on. That's the only reason I'm still burning a BK! It cost me 200$ to get him there and a few phone calls but Jim at Rideau Valley got me fixed up with the King and it's been noting but ashes since! Just my 2c, I know how frustrated you are. Hoping I could help you out in some way.

 

[drz1050]

Skidoer, the house in question is just over 1400 sq ft... I think the Princess should be able to heat that space fairly easily.

 

[Skidooer]

You missed my point completely! I'm saying that he should physically have someone look at the stove / problem who knows Blaze King stoves. Not many ppl understand these units completely and how they are supposed to run. I had 3 different licenced ppl look at my issue and none of them could figure it out before Jim came out.

 

[BKVP]

Yes. We spoke on the phone. I did as you said and put high temp silicone on the ash plug. Door is tight. Not sure where else to look. Tell me about the flashlight test

sorry to delay in responding. Seattle got snow and the airport was a mess. Now I'm in Fairbanks!

It's not so much a test as more an inspection. Using a flashlight, please check for welds around each seam. For the burn times you are getting, this would not be a tiny missing weld....if there is one. Let me know if you have any questions at all. Have you asked the dealer to come take a look.

Quickly, I know this is frustrating, but you have my word we will work on this to get it resolved.

 

[Illinois burner]

Well I have received and changed out my thermostat. The coil seemed to be loose and wound to tight where the hook wouldn't catch the arm that controls the flapper. There was spots around the thermostat housing that didn't have silicone around them which may have leaked more air but I doubt it was much. I haven't had time to check the welds yet. I will give it a good look over tomorrow. There has been a big change in the burn. I've noticed that the wood isn't blazing like before. I now have the dancing flames by the cat. I'm finally getting a good bed of coals so I'm interested to see what she will do tonight. How much difference do people notice in heat from 1 to 3. I would think it would be significantly less. I'm just curious since I only got and hour different burn time before. I'm really hoping that the princess is big enough Skidooer. I would hate myself if I had to buy 8 inch flue and a bigger stove. I have over $4000 invested in the entire setup, and that's me doing all the work. Will post burn times tomorrow

 

[rdust]

Well I have received and changed out my thermostat. The coil seemed to be loose and wound to tight where the hook wouldn't catch the arm that controls the flapper. There was spots around the thermostat housing that didn't have silicone around them which may have leaked more air but I doubt it was much. I haven't had time to check the welds yet. I will give it a good look over tomorrow. There has been a big change in the burn. I've noticed that the wood isn't blazing like before. I now have the dancing flames by the cat. I'm finally getting a good bed of coals so I'm interested to see what she will do tonight. How much difference do people notice in heat from 1 to 3. I would think it would be significantly less. I'm just curious since I only got and hour different burn time before. I'm really hoping that the princess is big enough Skidooer. I would hate myself if I had to buy 8 inch flue and a bigger stove. I have over $4000 invested in the entire setup, and that's me doing all the work. Will post burn times tomorrow

The Princess will be enough once you figure it out. I've never burned on 3 for more than a half hour, after that my stove top is pushing 700*. I assume I'd torch a load on 3 rather quickly. Usually my t-stat is set on the low end of normal(1 3/4) and use the fans to control heat output. When we have highs in the single digits or low teens I've had to burn it on 2 but always get at least 12 hour burns.(heating just shy of 2000 sq')

 

[Illinois burner]

That's encouraging rdust. It's been an adventure so far. I'm curious how this stove will react to colder weather. I have read the colder it gets, the more heat it creates. This is an old farm house. We do get a lot of wind being on the high ground. I just hate hearing that damn furnace kick on.

 

[Illinois burner]

I've also noticed that the wood burns front to back. I load it completely side to side and the front will burn down way faster than the rear. I imagine this is because of the cat. Is this normal?

 

[rdust]

I've also noticed that the wood burns front to back. I load it completely side to side and the front will burn down way faster than the rear. I imagine this is because of the cat. Is this normal?

The air comes in the front so it's going to burn the wood in front first. I load n/s which is loading the pieces straight in, I have no interest reaching in a hot stove to load the back pieces.

I've attached a couple pictures to provide an example of a loaded Princess.

 

[weatherguy]

I've also noticed that the wood burns front to back. I load it completely side to side and the front will burn down way faster than the rear. I imagine this is because of the cat. Is this normal?

That's because the air enters in the front, mine used to form a horseshoe