2016-17 Blaze King Performance Thread (Everything BK) Part 2

[webfish]

If you want to see previous thread it is here.

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads...ead-everything-bk.155890/page-90#post-2146128

 

[Dieselhead]

I see the black crusties on the ground sometimes too, usually more noticeable on the fresh snow. (Replying to one of the last posts in the first thread)

 

[lsucet]

Thank you. Webby and dieselhead for the responses. Yeah everything looks OK.

 

[Marshy]

Sub'ed

 

[showrguy]

Me too...

 

[Gotrek]

Don't want to double post so...

What do you guys think of my concern posted here
https://www.hearth.com/talk/index.php?threads/156437/

 

[showrguy]

Hey Marshy, how are those fans workin out for ya ??
I know it's only been a few days since ya got em..

 

[drstorm]

New personal burn record.
I am at 36 hours as of 9pm with my Chinook 30.
Last load was 9am Saturday.Packed it tight with TSC bricks(the large 3 packs and some of the small 6 pack ones).
Went out of town.
Got home about 6 tonight and was happy to see a red glow.I turned up and raked to the front.Blower is on and cat still active.
I might take this until 10 tonight before I reload.
For the record,it was set at 3 o'clock(#2 on the dial) and had the blower on a timer to only turn on for 30 minutes 4 times in a 24 hour cycle.
Probably had around 70 lbs of the bricks in there to start.

 

[Ashful]

New personal burn record.
I am at 36 hours as of 9pm with my Chinook 30.
Last load was 9am Saturday.Packed it tight with TSC bricks(the large 3 packs and some of the small 6 pack ones).
Went out of town.
Got home about 6 tonight and was happy to see a red glow.I turned up and raked to the front.Blower is on and cat still active.
I might take this until 10 tonight before I reload.
For the record,it was set at 3 o'clock(#2 on the dial) and had the blower on a timer to only turn on for 30 minutes 4 times in a 24 hour cycle.
Probably had around 70 lbs of the bricks in there to start.

Done the same, many times. The 30 can easily rock 36 hours, over and over, on high-BTU hardwoods. BK's ratings are conservative.

 

[drstorm]

Done the same, many times. The 30 can easily rock 36 hours, over and over, on high-BTU hardwoods. BK's ratings are conservative.

I was actually down your way this weekend.
We stayed in Chesterbrook.
Had dinner at the Black Powder Tavern.
I'm guessing its age is similar to your house.

 

[Niko]

New personal burn record.
I am at 36 hours as of 9pm with my Chinook 30.
Last load was 9am Saturday.Packed it tight with TSC bricks(the large 3 packs and some of the small 6 pack ones).
Went out of town.
Got home about 6 tonight and was happy to see a red glow.I turned up and raked to the front.Blower is on and cat still active.
I might take this until 10 tonight before I reload.
For the record,it was set at 3 o'clock(#2 on the dial) and had the blower on a timer to only turn on for 30 minutes 4 times in a 24 hour cycle.
Probably had around 70 lbs of the bricks in there to start.

That is awesome. I never pack my stove tight at All lol, well my firewood is all differemt sizes so its ahrs to. Dam id like to get some firebricks and test that out one night especially if we go away for the night.

On a side note has anyone ever put pellets in their stove instead of firebricks? Please dont yell at me just had a thought.

 

[Marshy]

Hey Marshy, how are those fans workin out for ya ??
I know it's only been a few days since ya got em..

My first impression was it didn't seem like a lot of air (I'm use to my mother's Alaskan coal stoker stove fans, not any wood stove fans) but does put out noticable heat. Im burning both the stove on high and fans on high with a packed full box of red maple and woke up to a nice warm house (70F) after a 7 hour burn this morning. I believe there were enough coals to maintain the house temp for another hour but outside conditions might have played a larger part, low 20's and no wind.

I was pleasantly surprised with what I saw overall. The wood and coals burn down better over the cycle and there wasn't as deep of a coal bed so coal buildup seems to be less of a concern. I contribute that to the thermostat air control being open farther with the fans running. Probably the biggest surprise was how well the coals were burning on the back of the firebox. Without the fan they would typically be charcoal and wouldn't be bright red/ white like they are with the fans running. The needle on the cat thermometer stays in the active range longer throughout the cycle and pegged at the high range of the dial for longer in the cycle. You just plain get more heat all through the burn cycle, even at the end.

I haven't had a chance to try it yet with lows in the teens or in a windy conditions so unsure how the house temp will fare there. I framed up some large panels to cover my garage door and need to get the insulation and some T1-11 to cover them. I know it will make a difference regarding the heat loss but I'm a little concerned about how tight the house will be after its sealed up. I might get more leakage upstairs into the living space. If I hook up my Dwyer DP gauge I should be able to measure any change in draft from sealing up the garage door. It's a small experiment at this point.

 

[Niko]

My first impression was it didn't seem like a lot of air (I'm use to my mother's Alaskan coal stoker stove fans, not any wood stove fans) but does put out noticable heat. Im burning both the stove on high and fans on high with a packed full box of red maple and woke up to a nice warm house (70F) after a 7 hour burn this morning. I believe there were enough coals to maintain the house temp for another hour but outside conditions might have played a larger part, low 20's and no wind.

I was pleasantly surprised with what I saw overall. The wood and coals burn down better over the cycle and there wasn't as deep of a coal bed so coal buildup seems to be less of a concern. I contribute that to the thermostat air control being open farther with the fans running. Probably the biggest surprise was how well the coals were burning on the back of the firebox. Without the fan they would typically be charcoal and wouldn't be bright red/ white like they are with the fans running. The needle on the cat thermometer stays in the active range longer throughout the cycle and pegged at the high range of the dial for longer in the cycle. You just plain get more heat all through the burn cycle, even at the end.

I haven't had a chance to try it yet with lows in the teens or in a windy conditions so unsure how the house temp will fare there. I framed up some large panels to cover my garage door and need to get the insulation and some T1-11 to cover them. I know it will make a difference regarding the heat loss but I'm a little concerned about how tight the house will be after its sealed up. I might get more leakage upstairs into the living space. If I hook up my Dwyer DP gauge I should be able to measure any change in draft from sealing up the garage door. It's a small experiment at this point.

I am to worried about to much ofma air tight house, thats why i am doing it stages so hopefully i can see my money being spent and seeing real world accomplishments.

 

[Ashful]

I wouldn't worry about the house being too tight, as you'll likely never get there on an older house. However, if you seal up the room with the stove tighter than the rest of the house, then you will expect the far reaches of the house to get colder. This is because you will be bringing a large fraction of your cold make-up air in thru those rooms, rather than thru the room containing the stove.

 

[lsucet]

I wouldn't worry about the house being too tight, as you'll likely never get there on an older house. However, if you seal up the room with the stove tighter than the rest of the house, then you will expect the far reaches of the house to get colder. This is because you will be bringing a large fraction of your cold make-up air in thru those rooms, rather than thru the room containing the stove.

That is a very good point. When i did some remodeling to the family room where the stove is, i notice the same effect. The back and side rooms stay colder. that force me to keep working in those areas. That's why i bought that small thermal image camera for the phone.
I still working on those areas going into some remodeling also and a more open floor plan, I can tell you that the gap between those rooms and stove rooms in temp now is not as big as it used to be. just few degrees between them at this point and i still working on it.

 

[Gforcefd]

Well ran my Ashford on pretty much high all weekend. Besides walking around in my underwear because temps were around 30 and the house was over 75. No smell to report. Well the only smell there was, was from the paint curing some more from the longer heat cycles. I can get down to about 5 on the dial without a smell. I am burning softwood so the best I am getting is maybe 7 hours on a box of wood right now.

Hopefully one day I will be able to run the stove lower but for this winter I am going to just make do and only burn on weekends and colder snaps.

 

[webby3650]

My first impression was it didn't seem like a lot of air (I'm use to my mother's Alaskan coal stoker stove fans, not any wood stove fans) but does put out noticable heat. Im burning both the stove on high and fans on high with a packed full box of red maple and woke up to a nice warm house (70F) after a 7 hour burn this morning. I believe there were enough coals to maintain the house temp for another hour but outside conditions might have played a larger part, low 20's and no wind.

I was pleasantly surprised with what I saw overall. The wood and coals burn down better over the cycle and there wasn't as deep of a coal bed so coal buildup seems to be less of a concern. I contribute that to the thermostat air control being open farther with the fans running. Probably the biggest surprise was how well the coals were burning on the back of the firebox. Without the fan they would typically be charcoal and wouldn't be bright red/ white like they are with the fans running. The needle on the cat thermometer stays in the active range longer throughout the cycle and pegged at the high range of the dial for longer in the cycle. You just plain get more heat all through the burn cycle, even at the end.

I haven't had a chance to try it yet with lows in the teens or in a windy conditions so unsure how the house temp will fare there. I framed up some large panels to cover my garage door and need to get the insulation and some T1-11 to cover them. I know it will make a difference regarding the heat loss but I'm a little concerned about how tight the house will be after its sealed up. I might get more leakage upstairs into the living space. If I hook up my Dwyer DP gauge I should be able to measure any change in draft from sealing up the garage door. It's a small experiment at this point.

I can't imagine running in high for an overnight burn! If this is necessary it certainly seems like a furnace would be a much better option. I know a few on here run on high 24/7..

 

[Marshy]

I can't imagine running in high for an overnight burn! If this is necessary it certainly seems like a furnace would be a much better option. I know a few on here run on high 24/7..

I'll get a boiler before a furnace.

Yes, been running it on high non stop however, its not loaded completely full each time its refueled. If its warmer out then less wood goes in. This coming week is going to be upper 30's a few days in a row so I should be able to turn it down and see what happens. My wife is home all day with the kids so she might reload with only a couple splits 2 time during the day. It helps if she doesn't reload after 4 to allow the firebox to burn down well and the house to coast a little. Then I can have a medium fire at 6 that will last until 10 when I'll pack it for bed.

 

[webby3650]

I'll get a boiler before a furnace.

Yes, been running it on high non stop however, its not loaded completely full each time its refueled. If its warmer out then less wood goes in. This coming week is going to be upper 30's a few days in a row so I should be able to turn it down and see what happens. My wife is home all day with the kids so she might reload with only a couple splits 2 time during the day. It helps if she doesn't reload after 4 to allow the firebox to burn down well and the house to coast a little. Then I can have a medium fire at 6 that will last until 10 when I'll pack it for bed.

I always run full loads, never only a few pieces at a time. Running in full cycles should be much better for you. Even if its "warm" out, I still fill it up and use the thermostat to control the output.

 

[webby3650]

One of the big benefits of the BK is that your wife shouldn't need to add wood during the day. Mine hasn't ever had to that I can remember! Partial loads on full blast never lets you really experience a BK. The Thermostat is what makes this stove!

 

[begreen]

Well ran my Ashford on pretty much high all weekend. Besides walking around in my underwear because temps were around 30 and the house was over 75. No smell to report. Well the only smell there was, was from the paint curing some more from the longer heat cycles. I can get down to about 5 on the dial without a smell. I am burning softwood so the best I am getting is maybe 7 hours on a box of wood right now.

Hopefully one day I will be able to run the stove lower but for this winter I am going to just make do and only burn on weekends and colder snaps.

Only 7 hrs.? We get that and better in an old leaky house with a non-cat with outside temps at 30F. Softwood shouldn't be the issue. BlazeKing is built in softwood country.

 

[Woody Stover]

Only 7 hrs.? We get that and better in an old leaky house with a non-cat with outside temps at 30F.

With the air wide open?

 

[Highbeam]

Only 7 hrs.? We get that and better in an old leaky house with a non-cat with outside temps at 30F. Softwood shouldn't be the issue. BlazeKing is built in softwood country.

He could get 30 but "right now" he needs more heat so chooses a higher burn rate. H was having some smoke leakage issues. 7 hours is really low, it must be partial load or on max output.

 

[bigaar]

Well, I've finally got my Ashford 30 installed in my new home after months of reading this forum dreaming about the day when I'm finally up and running! New construction, 2000 sq ft, approximately 17' flue.

Been easily running on 12 hour cycles. I've been gradually testing lower and lower t-stat settings. Any other way to know how low you can run these things other than trial and error? I have tested for the spot where the t-stat clicks when turning it down, but what does that really actually tell me.

Anyways, I'm very pleased with this stove. Thanks to everyone who taught me so much about it before ever even running one.

 

[lsucet]

it is hard to tell going by the click. for example after a reload and the stove top temp at 600df, i know we should not go by temp but it is an starting point. if i closed the tstat till it clicks, can be possible to see the temp rising more than 600 for awhile but when coming back the actual temp that is going to run the stove is about 450 to 500df. that will be an steady burn for hours. what i do is that if is at a temp that i will like to run it , i just closed the tstat enough till i see little lazy flames. ones the flames disappear and temp is on its way back from the rise it cruise plus/minus around that temp that i want but still no flames. It can be confusing the way i am explaining it but is how i do it.