2022-2023 BK everything thread

[putdownfox]

Call the dealer and the rheostat can easily be replaced. I think they are in stock, but I'm not in the office today to verify. Warranty issue is covered in the manual, by model.

Thanks - I'll call the dealer. Is the rheostat replaceable from the front or does the whole front cast have to come off?

 

[BKVP]

Which insert do you own?

 

[putdownfox]

Which insert do you own?

Ashford 25

 

[Crummy]

How much wood used in a season ?

Haven't heated with wood in 28 years so I'm basically a newbie. I did just finish reading all 74 pages of the 2021-2022 BK everything thread so I'm trying to get informed, lots of good information in there

Just had a Sirocco 20.2 installed and am getting the operation dialed in. Due to work schedule I'm shooting for a 12 hour reload all season and will let the oil fired boiler make up the difference when it's colder weather than a 12 hour reload will sustain. I did some math and came up with close to six cord but that seems a little high. My math is as follows.

Firebox is 1.8 cu.ft so I figure I can get 1.5 cu.ft in it as I have smaller splits and am experienced at Tetris. That makes 3 cu.ft per day used. My heating season started September 1st and will go through the end of April so that's roughly 240 days. 240 days x 3 cu. ft. = 720 cu. ft. There is 128 cu. ft. In a cord so that's 720/128 = 5.625 cord of wood.

Previous owner of this house had a DutchWest stove and said he used around 3 cord a year. Not really anyway to tell how much he used the stove so probably irrelevant what he used.

Does 5-6 cord seem normal to run a Sirocco 20.2 for 8 months? I have six cord in the shed but 1/3 of it was processed later this summer so it probably won't be dry in time. Thinking about ordering a couple cord of kiln dried but not really sure if I need it.

 

[moresnow]

How much wood used in a season ?

Haven't heated with wood in 28 years so I'm basically a newbie. I did just finish reading all 74 pages of the 2021-2022 BK everything thread so I'm trying to get informed, lots of good information in there

Just had a Sirocco 20.2 installed and am getting the operation dialed in. Due to work schedule I'm shooting for a 12 hour reload all season and will let the oil fired boiler make up the difference when it's colder weather than a 12 hour reload will sustain. I did some math and came up with close to six cord but that seems a little high. My math is as follows.

Firebox is 1.8 cu.ft so I figure I can get 1.5 cu.ft in it as I have smaller splits and am experienced at Tetris. That makes 3 cu.ft per day used. My heating season started September 1st and will go through the end of April so that's roughly 240 days. 240 days x 3 cu. ft. = 720 cu. ft. There is 128 cu. ft. In a cord so that's 720/128 = 5.625 cord of wood.

Previous owner of this house had a DutchWest stove and said he used around 3 cord a year. Not really anyway to tell how much he used the stove so probably irrelevant what he used.

Does 5-6 cord seem normal to run a Sirocco 20.2 for 8 months? I have six cord in the shed but 1/3 of it was processed later this summer so it probably won't be dry in time. Thinking about ordering a couple cord of kiln dried but not really sure if I need it.

Impossible to say. Dependent on the size/composition of the structure being heated. Play it safe and stock up is a safe recommendation. Your location seems to favor a large stockpile imo. When it gets bitter cold you may not be warm enough at 12hr reloading intervals as well. Something to also consider. Read your operators manual and follow it closely as you learn the stove and setup. You can tweak your routine as you get a handle on it. Enjoy the new stove. Mine has been a solid performer.

 

[BKVP]

Ashford 25

Yes, it will be necessary to move the right side out some.

 

[Ashful]

Well I did it. Ashford 20 in brown enamel on the way. I’m not in a rush for cold weather, but it should be cozy ALL night when it gets here.

Well, it only took you 13 years! Welcome to the "dark side"... at least if you intend to turn it down that far.

How much wood used in a season ?

Based on reading may tens of thousands of posts on this forum, no small fraction of which are about wood usage, I'm going to wager that at least 95% (2-sigma) of full time burners are putting 2 - 4 cords per year thru a mid-sized stove. There are extreme outliers, I put 7 cords per year thru just one of my two Ashford 30's, but that appears to be well outside the norm.

 

[Crummy]

When it gets bitter cold you may not be warm enough at 12hr reloading intervals as well.

We can heat the house without the woodstove so 12hr should work all season. Would take a larger stove to heat with wood exclusively. I'm shooting for a twice daily reload for supplemental heat that's not inconvenient.

 

[Crummy]

m going to wager that at least 95% (2-sigma) of full time burners are putting 2 - 4 cords per year thru a mid-sized stove.

That sounds like the norm to me but are normal full-time burners burning for 8 months? With the smaller stove I'm not burning near as much per day but I'm thinking the long season is what's going to require more wood if my math is correct. 31°f here this morning with frost on the pumpkin's.

 

[moresnow]

That sounds like the norm to me but are normal full-time burners burning for 8 months? With the smaller stove I'm not burning near as much per day but I'm thinking the long season is what's going to require more wood if my math is correct. 31°f here this morning with frost on the pumpkin's.

You season duration and local is the basis of my comments on having plenty! I have a feeling that the 2-4 cord average is likely correct overall. However, it is likely weighted by more users being south of you in measurably more moderate climes. Betting you are predominantly burning softwood as well?
Let us know how your season proceeds. Then we will all know.

 

[Crummy]

Betting you are predominantly burning softwood as well?
Let us know how your season proceeds. Then we will all know.

Yes mainly Spruce. I have some Birch in the shed but it was cut this summer so it won't be ready this winter. I'm not a fan of the birch as the bark is a nuisance and the coal bed seems to linger forever while not putting out much heat. Might just be the birch I have but the little bit I tried I didn't like. Just got another three cord of spruce logs and started processing for next season.

I have a wood rack on my deck that holds 15 cubic feet. I bring wood from the shed with the tractor and fill up the rack as needed. Last fill was on the 7th and it's far from empty so that puts the amount I'm getting into the stove well below 1.5 cu.ft. per load. I will keep track of how often I have to fill the rack and that should give me a closer calculation as to what it's going to take. Currently looks like closer to 4 cord rather than the 6 by calculating what fits in the stove. Maybe I'm not as good at Tetris as I thought.

 

[reaperman1]

Yes mainly Spruce. I have some Birch in the shed but it was cut this summer so it won't be ready this winter. I'm not a fan of the birch as the bark is a nuisance and the coal bed seems to linger forever while not putting out much heat. Might just be the birch I have but the little bit I tried I didn't like. Just got another three cord of spruce logs and started processing for next season.

I have a wood rack on my deck that holds 15 cubic feet. I bring wood from the shed with the tractor and fill up the rack as needed. Last fill was on the 7th and it's far from empty so that puts the amount I'm getting into the stove well below 1.5 cu.ft. per load. I will keep track of how often I have to fill the rack and that should give me a closer calculation as to what it's going to take. Currently looks like closer to 4 cord rather than the 6 by calculating what fits in the stove. Maybe I'm not as good at Tetris as I thought.

I'd imagine you dont get much sunlight to help keep your home a bit warmer either?

 

[Crummy]

I'd imagine you dont get much sunlight to help keep your home a bit warmer either?

Have about 60sq.ft. of windows on the 20'+ south wall of the living room so this time of the year the sun warms things up nicely. In a month or two when the sun heads south for the winter not so much solar heating to be had.

 

[Nealm66]

I prefer the 12 hour reload cycle but there are times that it’s not even close to being able to reload. At least with my princess at my location. Also, that steady low heat output is deceiving and can put you right out of the covers at night during the warmer weather days.

 

[Crummy]

I prefer the 12 hour reload cycle but there are times that it’s not even close to being able to reload.

Yeah I'm finding it's tricky to hit the 12 hour mark everytime. I was a little late last night reloading and found this morning that I had put way too much wood in as it's still 1/4 full. Being it's Sunday I should be able to reload once it burns down but I'll just put a couple splits on so I can fill it up tonight.

 

[Nealm66]

I can’t imagine having a king or burning oak. I just burn Doug fir and it seems to be about perfect for my area. I suspect your spruce would work here pretty good for 12 hour cycles most of the time. Our lowland spruce isn’t very dense, I’ve seen growth rings pushing an inch in residential settings where they get watered.

 

[Crummy]

I’ve seen growth rings pushing an inch in residential settings where they get watered.

Growth rings on these trees are basically too tight for my eyes to count.

 

[Crummy]

I just burn Doug fir and it seems to be about perfect for my area.

It's been well over 40 years ago but I grew up cutting firewood with my Grandpa in Western Oregon. From what I recall Douglas Fir is way heavier than this Interior Alaska Spruce. The areas where we cut firewood 45 years ago are ready to be logged again. Around here a new Spruce seedling won't be ready to harvest in a newborn's lifetime. Birch seems to grow a little faster but still fairly slow.

 

[BurningtoBlaze]

I had an ashford 25 insert installed mid March of this year so I’m prepping for my first full winter season with it. So I have a few questions for the group: Since I only used it for a partial season should have the chimney swept before use or wait until March of 2023 so it’s a full year? Only used dry hardwoods if that matters. Also I rarely had a reloading with no smoke in the house. My process was turn thermostat to max, wait, open damper, wait, crack nearby window, crack stove door then reload. I felt like I was doing everything by the book but would still have smoke issues.

 

[stoveliker]

I would sweep it. Simply because it'll tell you that everything is correct. It appears to be correct, but the proof is in the pudding, i.e. a clean chimney. Best to sweep a bit more frequent in the beginning, until you know all is fine with how you burn and your wood.

Also, I think a SootEater is nice. You can sweep from the inside rather than go up the roof. And sweeping yourself is cheaper.

 

[Highbeam]

Yeah I'm finding it's tricky to hit the 12 hour mark everytime. I was a little late last night reloading and found this morning that I had put way too much wood in as it's still 1/4 full. Being it's Sunday I should be able to reload once it burns down but I'll just put a couple splits on so I can fill it up tonight.

Until this year I have been 100% wood heat for a 9 month heating season. At each end of the season there are some skipped days and light loads but my fuel is typical low density pnw species. I still only go through about 4 cords per year. My normal reload cycle is 24 hours. Super convenient and comfortable.

In any location, trying to consume a full firebox every 12 hours, you can make a good calculation. I don’t think you’ll be able to dependably burn down the box to zero and refill to 100% so I suspect the error in your calculation will be in the amount added every 12 hours.

Also consider ash build up will consume some volume.

I bet you could do a two week test and apply that consumption rate to the rest of your winter.

You are another example of how a stove’s “burn time” has nothing to do with heating demand. It’s just about how you choose to operate your equipment.

 

[Crummy]

Until this year I have been 100% wood heat for a 9 month heating season. At each end of the season there are some skipped days and light loads but my fuel is typical low density pnw species. I still only go through about 4 cords per year. My normal reload cycle is 24 hours. Super convenient and comfortable.

In any location, trying to consume a full firebox every 12 hours, you can make a good calculation. I don’t think you’ll be able to dependably burn down the box to zero and refill to 100% so I suspect the error in your calculation will be in the amount added every 12 hours.

Also consider ash build up will consume some volume.

I bet you could do a two week test and apply that consumption rate to the rest of your winter.

You are another example of how a stove’s “burn time” has nothing to do with heating demand. It’s just about how you choose to operate your equipment.

Yeah I'm just not interested in getting up in the middle of the night or coming home at lunch for a reload. The stove is going to be on my schedule and the boiler will pick up the slack as it's already heating the downstairs and garage. If we were heating with only wood it would be different. Previous residence had a pellet stove so we got use to dumping in a bag a a day. Pellets are getting harder to get so a twice daily firewood load will be ok and I actually enjoy cutting and splitting wood.

 

[Ashful]

I don’t think you’ll be able to dependably burn down the box to zero and refill to 100% so I suspect the error in your calculation will be in the amount added every 12 hours.

Good post, but I can say that it is easily possible to repeatedly burn a load down to coals in 12 hours, as this is exactly what I've been doing nearly every day with one of my Ashford 30.1's since 2015. I was burning oak for most of that time, so if I can do it on that, you won't have any trouble on species with less coaling.

There is a period at the end of the burn where I'm not getting all that much heat, because I'm down to coals, again a result of burning a long-coaling wood like oak. I suspect on yours and Grumpy's softwoods, that's less an issue, and that you can find a more optimum burn rate, that will stretch the initial output longer (but obviously lower), since you don't need to allow for such a long coaling phase before the next reload.

If you take 80% of your firebox volume and multiply that by the number of loads per day and number of burn days per year, you'll find it's possible to put quite a lot of wood thru these stoves. Of course, there are days when we only run half volume due to warm weather, or shut the thing down for maintenance, if you want to factor those in.

 

[ridemgis]

Well I did it. Ashford 20 in brown enamel on the way. I’m not in a rush for cold weather, but it should be cozy ALL night when it gets here.

Quick question for all you BK folks. Being a belt and suspenders kind of guy, I'm thinking it might not be a bad idea to have a spare combustor in reserve. Problem is I can't seem to find anything when I do a web search on the part numbers (Combustor part number: 115-0336A-M or 115-0556) supplied in the user manual. Anyone know what I should be ordering, and where?

 

[Ashful]

I rarely had a reloading with no smoke in the house. My process was turn thermostat to max, wait, open damper, wait, crack nearby window, crack stove door then reload. I felt like I was doing everything by the book but would still have smoke issues.

Yes, it sounds like you’re doing everything right. Assuming you know which way is open vs closed on your bypass damper control, what’s your chimney configuration?

Quick question for all you BK folks. Being a belt and suspenders kind of guy, I'm thinking it might not be a bad idea to have a spare combustor in reserve. Problem is I can't seem to find anything when I do a web search on the part numbers (Combustor part number: 115-0336A-M or 115-0556) supplied in the user manual. Anyone know what I should be ordering, and where?

Go to firecatcombustors, and select your stove model.