2013-2014 Blaze King Performance Thread(everything BK)

  • Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.

    We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.

    We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
Status
Not open for further replies.
All double wall installations that I've seen have used an adapter. The taper is different on the adapter vs. the end of a normal double wall section. The appliance adapter is smaller on the tapered end than a section of double wall.

I don't use screws to hold double wall to the stove, it is often debated here whether they are necessary on an all vertical installation.

This is what it says on the website for my double wall. It also said to use three screws.

STOVE ADAPTOR (PDAB)

Some stove collars are too thick for the telescopic length to fit over. In this case, install a stove adaptor (PDAB) on the stove. The telescopic length will fit on the adaptor.
 
This is what it says on the website for my double wall. It also said to use three screws.

STOVE ADAPTOR (PDAB)

Some stove collars are too thick for the telescopic length to fit over. In this case, install a stove adaptor (PDAB) on the stove. The telescopic length will fit on the adaptor.

Unfortunately, your pipe maker is not the same as the stove maker. Some stoves are not compatible with the adapter and some require it. If you were a professional installer it would be wise to always assume you'll need one and if it won't work (like with hearthstones) then you don't use it. As a homeowner doing a single install you may end up with a part you don't need on the shelf for eternity. I've got one of those.
 
Unfortunately, your pipe maker is not the same as the stove maker. Some stoves are not compatible with the adapter and some require it. If you were a professional installer it would be wise to always assume you'll need one and if it won't work (like with hearthstones) then you don't use it. As a homeowner doing a single install you may end up with a part you don't need on the shelf for eternity. I've got one of those.

I guess so. I did not do the install. But I also wouldn't trust every professional install. Even if they are BK dealers. I think I know more info about BKs then my dealer.
Should the pipe rest on the top if the stove? There seems to be an inward groove on the pipe near bottom that prob creates thd air tightness. I hope.
I wonder why there are three holes on the stove collar , they seem quite large for a screw.
 
I guess so. I did not do the install. But I also wouldn't trust every professional install. Even if they are BK dealers. I think I know more info about BKs then my dealer.
Should the pipe rest on the top if the stove? There seems to be an inward groove on the pipe near bottom that prob creates thd air tightness. I hope.
I wonder why there are three holes on the stove collar , they seem quite large for a screw.
I've never seen the outer shell of double wall land on the stove top. The seal is made when the tapered snout of the appliance adapter makes full contact with the circular cutout in the stove top. Not merely being inside the collar but down far enough that it tightens on that taper.

I have never screwed double wall to the collar. Seems that you could not tighten the screws without smashing the outer shell.
 
I didn't need an adapter on my install. BKK with Selkirk DSP. Chris from BK said it depends on which stock they used for the collar. Apparently there are two different thicknesses of stock they use.
 
Maybe now would be a good time to point out (if it hasn't been already), that despite what's said in the BK manual you *may* not need double-wall pipe. I think the blanket recommendation is mainly to reduce complaints of smoke spillage on reloading. A little extra care on reloading may be required to make single-wall workable: not jerking the door open, turning up the thermostat (to get some draft going) first, and not reloading until there's nothing but coals. IMHO, it's worth the attempt, to avoid the problems being described here, to make removing/replacing easier for cleaning the chimney from below, and for greater efficiency from heat radiating from the pipe. And of course, single-wall may not work if your draft simply isn't good enough.
 
When you Blaze King guys talk about your 24 hour burns etc.. What kind of stove top temperatures are you seeing throughout the cycle? So like at 5 hours, 10 hours, 15, 20, etc.. Just curious..

I am trying to heat about 2200 sq ft with my Quadra fire 4300. The problem is I work 10 hours a day so the stove cycles on me. Would a blaze king really make a huge difference?
 
In the few days I have had my Sirocco 30, I am seizing 350 - 400 degree stove tops over 24 hour burns from about the 4 hour mark onwards. The first few hours have usually been in the 500 degree mark.
 
I started a thread a few days ago asking about a basement woodstove to heat most of the house from there. My basement is fully finished. I am contemplating between the blazeking king and the hearthstone mansfield. There are significant but differences and I cane help but wonder how either one would do for me? I'm extremely interested in the long burn times for shoulder season but would be really happy with 12 hours of good heat if it would warm the upstairs better then the current dutchwest never burn I'm using now.
 
I am seizing 350 - 400 degree stove tops over 24 hour burns from about the 4 hour mark onwards. The first few hours have usually been in the 500 degree mark.
... on a 24 hour burn?
What is your flue temp to go along with that?

I have an Ashford 30 and on my long burns my stove top hangs below 200 with the flue at about 300. My top is cast iron and is not really comparable to the Sirocco

Unless you like it arctic in your house I think you should look at the bigger Blaze Kings. I can heat 1,300 sq ft for 10 hours now with not much of a problem. There is about a 15 degree gradient from one end of my L shaped ranch to the other.
 
... on a 24 hour burn?
What is your flue temp to go along with that?

I have an Ashford 30 and on my long burns my stove top hangs below 200 with the flue at about 300. My top is cast iron and is not really comparable to the Sirocco

Unless you like it arctic in your house I think you should look at the bigger Blaze Kings. I can heat 1,300 sq ft for 10 hours now with not much of a problem. There is about a 15 degree gradient from one end of my L shaped ranch to the other.

Have a look in my install thread. The flue hangs out at about 350 for the entire time and in these warmer temps, my basement install is keeping my upstairs around 70 the entire time.
 
My basement is fully finished. I am contemplating between the blazeking king and the hearthstone mansfield.
I have never seen a King but I did spend a day hanging out with a Mansfield.
The thing looks nice. Really nice. But that seemed to be most of what it had going for it.
Maybe you could get use to the soapstone thing but it was hard to get it to the right temperature. It took forever to get hot and when it did it was too hot. When the fire dies it does not actually keep heating the room for another four hours.
It lacks a side door making it harder to play tetris to pack full.

Your house is at the max of the Mansfield which may or may not keep you warm enough. Since those numbers seem to be primarily made on a whim it may keep your house warm enough in the dead of winter, but if you want to use it during the shoulder season I think you are going to spend a lot of time running downstairs to fiddle with the stove.

I goggled at that stove for a good while because of how it looks. But I'm very happy with my Ashford at the moment.
 
I have never seen a King but I did spend a day hanging out with a Mansfield.
The thing looks nice. Really nice. But that seemed to be most of what it had going for it.
Maybe you could get use to the soapstone thing but it was hard to get it to the right temperature. It took forever to get hot and when it did it was too hot. When the fire dies it does not actually keep heating the room for another four hours.
It lacks a side door making it harder to play tetris to pack full.

Your house is at the max of the Mansfield which may or may not keep you warm enough. Since those numbers seem to be primarily made on a whim it may keep your house warm enough in the dead of winter, but if you want to use it during the shoulder season I think you are going to spend a lot of time running downstairs to fiddle with the stove.

I goggled at that stove for a good while because of how it looks. But I'm very happy with my Ashford at the moment.

At the moment my main concern is the middle of winter as it here right now in Erie pa. Probably much like where you are in NY. I can't stop thinking about the term soft heat from the soapstone woodstove. I don't know if that would fit my application or not because I almost need to get my stove room warm enough to push the heat upstairs. If the stove was going in my licit room I think hands down I would get the soapstone stove but I am so freakin torn right now about the decision.
 
So in reality the 24 hour burn really is not 24 hours of good usable heat? On a cold morning I need to see 300 degree stove top minimum or the heat pump will kick on.
 
it depends on many variables. When it gets very cold, single-digit temps and below, I don't think any BK owner (even King owners like myself) is burning on 24-hour cycles. But 12-16 hour burns in very cold weather are very doable. I recently went through a week that barely made it above 0 and I got 16-hour burns through that entire period. I do allow my furnace to supply back-up heat and it would kick on at the end of the cycle when it was -12 to -15.
 
In the few days I have had my Sirocco 30, I am seizing 350 - 400 degree stove tops over 24 hour burns from about the 4 hour mark onwards. The first few hours have usually been in the 500 degree mark.
Same here but my early peak is higher like 600 whether i like it or not.
 
So in reality the 24 hour burn really is not 24 hours of good usable heat? On a cold morning I need to see 300 degree stove top minimum or the heat pump will kick on.


Too funny. Heat is heat. All heat is good and usable. Whether the output during a 24 burn is sufficient to keep your particular home at a particular temperature is why they make different sizes of stove. 300 degree stove top is plenty of output to keep my home warm during most of my winter. Another factor is the fans on these bks are very good and will get much more heat from a certain stove top temp.
 
  • Like
Reactions: blueguy
it depends on many variables. When it gets very cold, single-digit temps and below, I don't think any BK owner (even King owners like myself) is burning on 24-hour cycles. But 12-16 hour burns in very cold weather are very doable. I recently went through a week that barely made it above 0 and I got 16-hour burns through that entire period. I do allow my furnace to supply back-up heat and it would kick on at the end of the cycle when it was -12 to -15.
Is this with pine?
 
How much wood does it take to run a 16 hour hot burn?
 
. I don't know if that would fit my application or not because I almost need to get my stove room warm enough to push the heat upstairs. If the stove was going in my licit room I think hands down I would get the soapstone stove but I am so freakin torn right now about the decision.
I have an old VC Defiant in the basement and can get the thing extremely hot very quickly. When I do this heat will rush upstairs like you are saying.
This morning I fired it up and left it on a lower setting. It is taking longer but the heat is still being pushed upstairs.
With the Blaze King you will be able to keep the stove going for longer and maintain the draft to the rest of the house without first waiting for the stove room and its path upstairs to heat up slowly.
When I allow the stove downstairs to be cooler the house becomes a more even temperature more quickly than if I try to heat it up faster.

I do not really think they are comparable stoves in terms of heating capacity or function.
 
Is this with pine?

I have a decent supply of oak for really cold nights, but I get nearly the same burn time out of oak and pine. The oak will go quite a bit longer if I don't need much heat at the end of a cycle. I can let the coals simmer for hours and reload on top of them. I can't do that with the pine as it'll burn to ash much more quickly.
 
So in reality the 24 hour burn really is not 24 hours of good usable heat? On a cold morning I need to see 300 degree stove top minimum or the heat pump will kick on.

Usable when it's -10*? maybe not
Usable when it's 30+*? Yep

When it's in the teens I can maintain inside temps with a 350+ stove top. A stove top in the lower 300's when it's colder the IAT will suffer.
 
  • Like
Reactions: blueguy
Same here but my early peak is higher like 600 whether i like it or not.

The thing that people don't realize is that the 5-600° temps early in a lower output burn are centered over the cat. That is less than a square foot area. Higher output burns may see the same, or even a bit lower, temp on top of the cat. With a hot flame, the whole top, sides, and front of the stove are way hotter than a low output burn.

I can't maintain a 600° stove top for 10-12 hours, but if I burn up 100 lbs of oak in 12 hours with relatively low flue temps, I put a lot of heat in my house.
 
  • Like
Reactions: hack
Say I have a 6' (72") ceiling in my basement, can I put a BK Princess in there? The manual shows on page 13, column J that min distance between floor and ceiling is 72".. But, elsewhere it says from stove top to ceiling is min 49", which when you add the height of the princess you get a min floor-ceiling height of 81" (49 + 32 = 81").. Is it 72" or 81" or other?

http://www.blazeking.com/PDF/manuals/en/wood/OM-PE E V1.04.pdf
 
The thing that people don't realize is that the 5-600° temps early in a lower output burn are centered over the cat. That is less than a square foot area. Higher output burns may see the same, or even a bit lower, temp on top of the cat. With a hot flame, the whole top, sides, and front of the stove are way hotter than a low output burn.

I can't maintain a 600° stove top for 10-12 hours, but if I burn up 100 lbs of oak in 12 hours with relatively low flue temps, I put a lot of heat in my house.
I agree but output is hard to quantify without stove top temps being broughtup. I didn't even use a stove top temp meter until a few months ago. It looks funny with a flue gauge, cat probe, and stove top temp.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.