2017-18 Blaze King Performance Thread PART 3 (Everything BK)

[ratsrepus]

This might be a silly question but....
Do you have to run the stove in bypass mode for 30min before engaging the bypass lever?

generally yes, or how ever long it takes to get the temperature indicated on the dial into the proper heat range

 

[Ashful]

This might be a silly question but....
Do you have to run the stove in bypass mode for 30min before engaging the bypass lever?

Only if you're starting with wet wood. It usually takes me 10 - 20 minutes from sparking up to engaged cat, depending on the load, but your results may vary.

Here's my cold start routine:

1. Open bypass and front door.
2. Level ash bed, plow tunnel front-to-back from middle of door back to the middle of the firebox.
3. Lay a SuperCedar in this tunnel, near the front door, and light it.
4. Lay a piece of kindling E/W, that bridges tunnel over SuperCedar (sometimes I skip this, optional).
5. Stuff firebox full of oak splits, loading N/S.
6. Close door, verify thermostat is set to high.
7. Come back in 10 minutes to check on things, check cat probe, guesstimate how long until it's active (usually 5 - 7 minutes). Set timer.
8. Come back when timer goes off, close bypass, set timer for 30 minutes.
9. Come back in 30 minutes, set thermostat for desired burn rate.

 

[Poindexter]

This might be a silly question but....
Do you have to run the stove in bypass mode for 30min before engaging the bypass lever?

Not a silly question.

Hang on, I have the .pdf of my bk manual on this machine, brb...

My most recent download says to get the fire lit, close the loading door, and then flip the lever - switch from bypass to combustor engaged - as soon as the indicator on the cat temp probe reaches the active zone.

Then the 30 minute thing. My current copy says to run with the combustor engaged and the thermostat knob turned to "high" for 20-30 minutes before turning the thermostat knob down to the desired temperature.

Older versions of the manual for my stove say to run on high for 30 minutes before turning the thermostat down to the desired setting.

The thing about running on high is you and I both are cooking the last of the liquid water out of our firewood, bringing it up to boiling point, converting it to steam and pumping it out the chimney in that time window, and bringing the moisture content of the remaining fuel in the firebox down to pretty near zero percent MC for the rest of the burn.

Yes, water is a by product of combining wood with oxygen in a process called burning, but that water, that combustion by product is created at or near about 600dF, it's already steam when it is formed.

Some folks are running on high for 20 minutes with fuel I would consider marginal and getting good results. I don't have enough data to know why. If you have pretty dry wood, anything under 18%MC or so, you could try (I think) running on high for 20 minutes engaged before turned down - but if you aren't ecstatic with it, go back to running high/engaged 30 minutes and see if that doesn't make a difference for you.

 

[Poindexter]

My cold start is pretty similar to Ashful's, only I run softwood.

Open loading door and bypass door.
Verify Tstat is set to high.
Pass a rake through ashbed to bring charcoal to surface and level ash bed.
Remove toothpick and pencil size splinters from spruce splits while loading stove N/S
When stove is loaded, drop kindling splinters in front of load at latch end of door.
Light splinters.
Close loading to not latched , just cracked open when kindling lit good.
Close and latch loading door when fire is rolling good on the full size splits.
Close bypass to engage cat when temp robe reaches active zone.
Turn tsat down from high to desired level 30 minutes later.

Incredibly boring, reliable stoves to operate, consistent like a sledgehammer.

 

[Alpine1]

This might be a silly question but....
Do you have to run the stove in bypass mode for 30min before engaging the bypass lever?

Nope, only if you’re starting with a cold stove. Engage the bypass as soon as the cat probe is on “active” then burn on high for 20-30 minutes, then set the t stat at the desired temp, done. When reloading with the cat still active, keep the bypass open only the time needed to refill the stove, close door and bypass, burn on high for the same 20-30 minutes.
BKs are the kingdom of boredom for guys that love fiddling with stoves.

 

[kennyp2339]

This might be a silly question but....
Do you have to run the stove in bypass mode for 30min before engaging the bypass lever?

You keep the by-pass open until the cat probe hits active then close.
Generally for me it takes about 20 min the achieve active cat status from a cold stove start and maybe almost no time when the stove is running and your simply reloading.
The 30min thing comes from keeping the air control open to max at least once a week when burning 24/7.

 

[ratsrepus]

Now you'll have 30 people tell you the same thing.

 

[Diabel]

This is awesome, thank you guys.

I am so used to running my VC stove.... I am a bit nervous.

 

[Diabel]

[QUOTE="kennyp2339, post: 2275150, member: 33238"
The 30min thing comes from keeping the air control open to max at least once a week when burning 24/7.[/QUOTE]

This is the part of the burn cycle I am nervous about.
30min air control on max, but with cat engaged or in bypass mode?

 

[moresnow]

This might be a silly question but....
Do you have to run the stove in bypass mode for 30min before engaging the bypass lever?

Nope. Just long enough to get the cat probe to indicate "active". Close bypass and go!

 

[webby3650]

Run it on high for 30 minutes after the cat is engaged. The thermostat will prevent the stove from overfiring, it’s a whole different animal than the old VC. You’re in for a real treat!

 

[Diabel]

Thanks Webby. Looking forward to burning this stove.

I bought this stove based 100% on comments in this thread.

 

[moresnow]

Thanks Webby. Looking forward to burning this stove.

I bought this stove based 100% on comments in this thread.

Hopefully you have the fans on your new toy?

 

[Diabel]

Hopefully you have the fans on your new toy?

Yes, it has fans

 

[kennyp2339]

[QUOTE="kennyp2339, post: 2275150, member: 33238"
The 30min thing comes from keeping the air control open to max at least once a week when burning 24/7.

This is the part of the burn cycle I am nervous about.
30min air control on max, but with cat engaged or in bypass mode?[/QUOTE]
I forgot that your a greenhorn with a BK, i cant wait for the cold for your sake, your gona love running it.

 

[tarzan]

Run it on high for 30 minutes after the cat is engaged. The thermostat will prevent the stove from overfiring, it’s a whole different animal than the old VC. You’re in for a real treat!

This ^^may be the answer you were needing to hear?

I can remember when my BK was new and I heard that I was supposed to run it on high with the bypass closed for 30 minutes each week in the shoulder season to burn the crud out that results from the low and slow burning in mild weather conditions.

Coming from various other "non BK" stoves, I thought "30 minutes on high I'll melt the stove!" What I had failed to comprehend at the time was the functionality of the thermostat. It's probably much harder for us "seasoned" stove operators to grasp just how controllable and predictable these stoves are than it is for newbies who have no reason to doubt the controllability do to past experience.

 

[Ashful]

Now you'll have 30 people tell you the same thing. View attachment 228940

Nope. He got four different answers. Only Poindexter and I had the right one.

 

[Ashful]

The 30min thing comes from keeping the air control open to max at least once a week when burning 24/7.

It’s been at least three years since I opened my BK manual, but I was sure it said to run every single load for 20-30 minutes on high after closing the bypass, not just once per week.

 

[kennyp2339]

It’s been at least three years since I opened my BK manual, but I was sure it said to run every single load for 20-30 minutes on high after closing the bypass, not just once per week.

Mortimer would you like to make wager?

 

[edyit]

great movie, don't know if it'd be a sound bet though, manuals seem to change often.

 

[kennyp2339]

great movie, don't know if it'd be a sound bet though, manuals seem to change often.

 

[Diabel]

Oh
This is going to be an interesting burning season. I forgot about the sweet spot, every stove has a different one.

 

[Ashful]

Mortimer would you like to make wager?

Great movie. Don't be using that antique Princes manual, tho. Here's something more current.

Maybe BK has changed their procedure, but check the reloading section on your manual to see if it's different. See step 7 in my manuals:

 

[kennyp2339]

Don't be using that antique Princes manual

Wait, you have an automatic T-stat? I'm running the bellows to get high burns.

 

[Poindexter]

And off we go...