Reloading A Blaze King.

[ohlongarm]

A question for all you BK burners/owners what is the best way to reload? The way I'm doing it is when it's near the end and only a coal bed remains I've been just opening the bypass a few minutes,then reload, the cat is still in the active zone. Close door and bypass adjust the Tstat to my liking and let her go. Is this okay,or should I leave the bypass open till the reload is burning and then close it and set the Tstat. Thanks

 

[project240]

I have a princess. When I reload, I set the Tstat for 3, open the bypass, then open the door and load. The wood usually catches fairly quickly and as soon as it does I close the door, but leave the bypass open for a couple of minutes. I then close the bypass, but leave the Tstat at 3 for at least 20-30 minutes, then drop it to 2, which is where it usually stays.

It depends how low you're burning. If you usually have it set at the lower end, I'd make sure you allow the wood to burn for at least 20 minutes on a higher setting before lowering it. If you burn at 1 or 1.5 I'd probably do this in 2 stages, each about 20 minutes.

 

[bogydave]

A question for all you BK burners/owners what is the best way to reload? The way I'm doing it is when it's near the end and only a coal bed remains I've been just opening the bypass a few minutes,then reload, the cat is still in the active zone. Close door and bypass adjust the Tstat to my liking and let her go. Is this okay,or should I leave the bypass open till the reload is burning and then close it and set the Tstat. Thanks

Re-loads for me is close to how you are doing it.
I like to get a good flame established, sometimes with the door cracked, then close the door & bypass. I leave it on high until the cat temp gets mid range & is glowing.
I found it keep the glass cleaner, burns off any surface moisture & go into the "non-fire" burn with a good active , glowing combustor.
I've tried many ways, it just works best for me, I still go out & check the stack every now & then to see how clean it's burning, steam or smoke coming out.
A 10 minute high burn usually does it.

To clean the glass sometimes 30 minutes or so on high (#3). Then have pretty clean glass thru the whole burn cycle.

But I've done it our way if I have allot of hot coals. Load the wood, (birch catches fire pretty quick) close the bypass, set the stat & leave it. Works fine, just smokier glass.

 

[Lanningjw]

Moving the T-stat all the way back up to high seems like it waste of wood and time. After a burning cycling with the t-stat on low I move it up to the middle, reload and leave the by-pass and the door open unit I get the wood going good, then I close the door and wait about 5 to 10 minutes then close the by-pass and work the by-pass back down to low.

I think that all these stove must burn a little differnt depending on all the variables. The bottom line is they keep the house warm and Momma happy!

 

[fdegree]

I wait until I'm down to only enough coals to line 1/4 to 1/2 of the bottom of the stove...last year I loaded the stove when there was quite a large pile of coals and I had an out of control inferno for a few minutes...this scared me quite a bit.
1. I turn the T'stat to 3
2. Open the bypass
3. Wait about a minute or so and open the door
4. Rake the coals forward
5. Reload until the fire box is completely full
6. Leave the door cracked a tiny bit until the fire starts...then close the door
7. Wait for the fire box to be fully engulfed in fire
8. If the cat thermometer is in the active zone I close the bypass
9. I turn the T'stat down to 2.5 for about 5 - 10 minutes
10. Then I turn the T'stat down to about 2.0, which is where I tend to keep it most of the time
11. Sit in my recliner and wait until tomorrow night to repeat

 

[fdegree]

...but leave the Tstat at 3 for at least 20-30 minutes...

To clean the glass sometimes 30 minutes or so on high (#3). Then have pretty clean glass thru the whole burn cycle.

When I have tried this, it seems my stove is over-firing...I get a very strong chemical odor. I think the paint is curing even further at the higher stove temperature.

 

[Hiram Maxim]

I wait until I'm down to only enough coals to line 1/4 to 1/2 of the bottom of the stove...last year I loaded the stove when there was quite a large pile of coals and I had an out of control inferno for a few minutes...this scared me quite a bit.
1. I turn the T'stat to 3
2. Open the bypass
3. Wait about a minute or so and open the door
4. Rake the coals forward
5. Reload until the fire box is completely full
6. Leave the door cracked a tiny bit until the fire starts...then close the door
7. Wait for the fire box to be fully engulfed in fire
8. If the cat thermometer is in the active zone I close the bypass
9. I turn the T'stat down to 2.5 for about 5 - 10 minutes
10. Then I turn the T'stat down to about 2.0, which is where I tend to keep it most of the time
11. Sit in my recliner and wait until tomorrow night to repeat

+1

Except #8 & #9.

8. Coals/Fire is low enough that the CAT shows inactive upon reloading, burn the wood with the damper open to bring CAT up to temp and release H2o up the stack!

9.I let burn on 3 for about 15-20 minutes and have learned not to pay much attention to the Thermometer sitting on top of the Firebox. It gets hot!

 

[rdust]

I burn mine almost exactly like fdegree, I usually close the door right after loading. For some reason mine seems to start burning better with the door closed. The sweet spot for mine with the current temps we're getting is on the edge of the silver between 1.5 and 2 or just up from the "N" on normal.

 

[rdust]

Except #8 & #9.

8. Coals/Fire is low enough that the CAT shows inactive upon reloading, burn the wood with the damper open to bring CAT up to temp and release H2o up the stack!

9.I let burn on 3 for about 15-20 minutes and have learned not to pay much attention to the Thermometer sitting on top of the Firebox. It gets hot!

Yep, depending on how low I'm burning I'll do it this way also. I don't have a King like you though so I'm loading twice daily now and it's still pretty hot when I reload. When it was warmer I would do your 8 and 9 steps.

Right now I'm trying to burn this thing down so I can load it up before midnight! :lol: These stoves have to be one of the easiest to run on the market. I haven't even had anything close to an "oh my" moment yet. If it's hot you turn it down and it responds almost immediately. I couldn't say that about the old stove.

 

[fdegree]

I wait until I'm down to only enough coals to line 1/4 to 1/2 of the bottom of the stove...last year I loaded the stove when there was quite a large pile of coals and I had an out of control inferno for a few minutes...this scared me quite a bit.
1. I turn the T'stat to 3
2. Open the bypass
3. Wait about a minute or so and open the door
4. Rake the coals forward
5. Reload until the fire box is completely full
6. Leave the door cracked a tiny bit until the fire starts...then close the door
7. Wait for the fire box to be fully engulfed in fire
8. If the cat thermometer is in the active zone I close the bypass
9. I turn the T'stat down to 2.5 for about 5 - 10 minutes
10. Then I turn the T'stat down to about 2.0, which is where I tend to keep it most of the time
11. Sit in my recliner and wait until tomorrow night to repeat

+1

Except #8 & #9.

8. Coals/Fire is low enough that the CAT shows inactive upon reloading, burn the wood with the damper open to bring CAT up to temp and release H2o up the stack!

9.I let burn on 3 for about 15-20 minutes and have learned not to pay much attention to the Thermometer sitting on top of the Firebox. It gets hot!

Sorry, I didn't go into enough detail in step 8. I will do exactly as Hiram has described if the cat temp has gone inactive upon reloading.

I also agree with Hiram regarding the thermometer on top of the stove...once it is in the active zone and I close the bypass, I don't look at it anymore until it is time to reload. I wasn't this care-free last year (my first season of burning wood). But, after learning so much on this forum, I have not worried about it so much.

 

[fdegree]

A question for all you BK burners/owners what is the best way to reload? The way I'm doing it is when it's near the end and only a coal bed remains I've been just opening the bypass a few minutes,then reload, the cat is still in the active zone. Close door and bypass adjust the Tstat to my liking and let her go. Is this okay,or should I leave the bypass open till the reload is burning and then close it and set the Tstat. Thanks

I don't know if we have actually answered all of your questions completely. So, I'll try to add what I know...there are others that know much more than I do, so they may correct anything that I have wrong or add to anything that I have left out.

I turn the T'stat to 3.0 and open the bypass before opening the door to purge the firebox of any smoke...reducing the chance of smoke spilling out into my living room.

I leave the bypass open after reloading until the firebox is fully engulfed in flames...and the cat thermometer has reached the active zone. This causes some of the moisture that may still by in your wood to evaporate, instead of allowing it to pass through your cat. As I understand it, the less moisture that you allow to pass through the cat, the longer life you can expect from your cat.

Hope this helps...

 

[nate379]

Yeah mine does that as well. This is my 2nd year heating the house with it too.

...but leave the Tstat at 3 for at least 20-30 minutes...

To clean the glass sometimes 30 minutes or so on high (#3). Then have pretty clean glass thru the whole burn cycle.

When I have tried this, it seems my stove is over-firing...I get a very strong chemical odor. I think the paint is curing even further at the higher stove temperature.

What I usually do is open it wide open, stir the ash/coals around to make it level, put the wood in, once it gets burning decent kick it down to around #2, give it a bit, close the bypass, maybe a bit more and then down to knob at 12 o clock and that's where it stays.

I don't really time it, just based on what I see... when it's cold out it doesn't take long at all, while if it's warm/damp out the draft isn't as strong so it take a bit more time.

 

[Trktrd]

Hmmmm..... interesting thread. I thought you BK owners just loaded up in the fall and then dowse the fire in the spring.