2017-18 Blaze King Performance Thread PART 3 (Everything BK)
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AlbergSteve
Minister of Fire
Been too busy burnin' wood. Bk Penticton didn't have the kit in stock when I called. I can wait till late spring when I finally shut the stove down. In the meantime, I'll use it for warming my buns...
Hey, I saw it pages ago! "I get no respect, I tell ya."
2017-18 Blaze King Performance Thread PART 3 (Everything BK)
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^^ Skipped the ash pan. We shovel out as needed, with the ash vacuum hose draped over the open stove door for dust mitigation.
Warm cinders go in a 55 gallon galvanized trash can on the gravel driveway. The trash can is weighted down, both in the bottom and on the lid, with masonry block. When the second can is filled, the first can is dumped and wetted down.
Honestly, shoveling out into an ash can seems easier than dealing with an ash pan. It's certainly a quick job. But I could be wrong. Neither we nor family members ever had a stove with an ash pan.
The ash vacuum helps a lot.
Warm cinders go in a 55 gallon galvanized trash can on the gravel driveway. The trash can is weighted down, both in the bottom and on the lid, with masonry block. When the second can is filled, the first can is dumped and wetted down.
Honestly, shoveling out into an ash can seems easier than dealing with an ash pan. It's certainly a quick job. But I could be wrong. Neither we nor family members ever had a stove with an ash pan.
The ash vacuum helps a lot.
Two things that are on my mind before I drop 4K on the Chinook.....are the fans and the ash removal system.
I hope you guys are right about both....the noise level being ok and the ash removal not a problem.
I hope you guys are right about both....the noise level being ok and the ash removal not a problem.
Ashful
Minister of Fire
You won't have a chance to lay eyes (and ears) on one, before buying?
I was beyond frustrated with the original ash pan setup on my Ashfords. But BK fixed it in my second year with these stoves, and I just used it again to empty both stoves tonight, without any issues. I still smile every time I use it, remembering just how bad the original was, and that BK was willing to remedy the issue post-sale. I've not seen a Chinook, but I'd want to get eyes on one, before taking the words of an Ashford owner about it.
Fans... well, it's impossible for any of us to assume your level of tolerance is higher or lower than our own. The fans don't bother me.
ratsrepus
Minister of Fire
I looked at a new ashford the other day at the dealer. i was impressed by the quality ash pan rails that it slides in and out on.
Honestly, no. I've/we've always had an ash bucket.
The shop owner showed me the little ash chute in the bottom of one of his floor model stoves and explained that you have to rake the ashes back and forth over that tiny hole to drop them into the pan. That looked tedious to me, when I can remove ashes by the shovel full and dump them in a bucket.
IIRC I don't think that particular floor model was a BK stove. Is the BK ash chute to the ash pan different?
We ran a pellet stove for 8 or 9 years in town. It had an ash pan. I quickly learned that the burn pot on that pellet stove liked to be cleaned daily, and that the ash vacuum was my best friend in that process. I also learned that I *hated* dealing with that ash pan. It was just bulky and clunky and no fun at all to carry through the house and outside. I quickly learned as well that it was easier to vacuum out the ash pan with the ash vacuum on a daily basis than it was to unclamp it, pull it, walk it through the house, dump it outside, re-seat it and clamp it back. In the time it took the pellet stove to cool down enough for me to vacuum out the burn pot and the fire box with the ash vacuum, the ash in the pan was cool enough to vacuum as well.
I could not imagine that wood stove ash and embers would cool as quickly as pellet stove ash, so I didn't think that vacuuming out the ash pan in a wood stove would be a viable option.
Between the thought of raking coals over a tiny ash chute and memories of wrangling with the pellet stove ash pan, I thought that a bucket and a shovel would be easier.
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Well, it's crazy but the ashpan is one of those ultra personal things. Kind of like burning E-W vs N-S or to clean the glass every day or not. Try each way and do as you like. I clean my glass every year and shovel ashes out but, truly, to each his own. The EPA won't come-a-knocking, for now. The ash drawer is very heavy-duty and is sure to out last my shovel. You could make some of that high temperature cheese in the drawer but that might upset the dogs. As for the fan, if you don't like it you could leave it off but your clothes will take a lot longer to dry and that might not make the wife happy with the laundry backing up.
MtnBURN
Burning Hunk
Ah...it's good to see the Hearth.com ash pan police are back on the job. Heehee.
Right there with ya, becausesunshine. I have the pan....but as I've said previously...never use it.... and like you...opt for the shovel and a bucket (with a lid).
I didn't see these stoves in person before purchasing them. For us it is a 3 hour drive one way + traffic to the dealer I bought from...and they didn't have a single BK in stock on hand to see when I purchased them. As a result, I purchased them over the phone...and we just grabbed all of the options and went with it on both stoves. (first purchase was 2 stoves...they gave me 20% off the entire purchase)
After I got the stove(s) and saw the plug system/etc...I instantly couldn't see fiddling with the hot plug....emptying the ashes ....and then taking/leaving the ash pan outside in the snow overnight to let it cool before dumping it into the very same bucket I usually use for the task. I simply want to perform the task and be done with it. I'm doubting if I could even fully clean the stove with one pan full. With the bucket...it's all gone in one swoop.
The Classic (no pan) that occasionally heats the greenhouse gets cleaned out with a long handled aluminum grain shovel. Now THAT is easy. 2 scoops..all gone.
Besides, who wants to get ashes in the cinnamon rolls?
Right there with ya, becausesunshine. I have the pan....but as I've said previously...never use it.... and like you...opt for the shovel and a bucket (with a lid).
I didn't see these stoves in person before purchasing them. For us it is a 3 hour drive one way + traffic to the dealer I bought from...and they didn't have a single BK in stock on hand to see when I purchased them. As a result, I purchased them over the phone...and we just grabbed all of the options and went with it on both stoves. (first purchase was 2 stoves...they gave me 20% off the entire purchase)
After I got the stove(s) and saw the plug system/etc...I instantly couldn't see fiddling with the hot plug....emptying the ashes ....and then taking/leaving the ash pan outside in the snow overnight to let it cool before dumping it into the very same bucket I usually use for the task. I simply want to perform the task and be done with it. I'm doubting if I could even fully clean the stove with one pan full. With the bucket...it's all gone in one swoop.
The Classic (no pan) that occasionally heats the greenhouse gets cleaned out with a long handled aluminum grain shovel. Now THAT is easy. 2 scoops..all gone.
Besides, who wants to get ashes in the cinnamon rolls?
Thank you all for such informative comments and experiences. Especially, Ashful who has been very patient and helpful.
It just dawned on me....I am thinking as a 24/7 wood burner. This Chinook will be used on a part time basis. Max I will run it will be 4-5 days in a row, Xmas break etc. Removal of the ashes (cold) will be no problem using either a plug or a shovel.
As for the fans.....oh well, I will have the options not to use them.
It just dawned on me....I am thinking as a 24/7 wood burner. This Chinook will be used on a part time basis. Max I will run it will be 4-5 days in a row, Xmas break etc. Removal of the ashes (cold) will be no problem using either a plug or a shovel.
As for the fans.....oh well, I will have the options not to use them.
jetsam
Minister of Fire
It's been at least 3 months since my stove glass was cool enough to clean.... who cleans it every day??
I switched teams on the other thing from this year... I'd always done N-S, but now I do E-W if I have a lot of coals. Rake all the coal up front into Coal Ridge, then load E-W behind it. This has cost me some arm hair, but it's really helped out with excess coals on cold days.
Hi Everyone, I am in Western PA. Was quoted $3900 + Tax for a BKPU Insert with a large surround and a black door. I thought this seemed high so I am going to shop around. From reading other threads it seems prices increase from west coast -> east coast. The Ashford was well north of 4k. I am considering driving to WV or other locations if the price will drop significantly.
lsucet
Minister of Fire
lsucet
Minister of Fire
For those burning E/W, what is your finding? Burn time, performance, etc compare to N/S. I have some good pieces that i will hate to cut them but i can make it fit E/W.
jetsam
Minister of Fire
It's the same, but it lets you rake all the coals up front before loading. If you tend to reload in the middle of a load, e/w gives you less odd sized unburned chunks to deal with (because the stove still burns front to back). The burn time is better for me, but that's because I can put more wood in because I'm accumulating less coal, not because it really burns differently.
In mild weather, without a bunch of coals in the stove, or when burning softwood- not sure I see any advantage to e/w.
In mild weather, without a bunch of coals in the stove, or when burning softwood- not sure I see any advantage to e/w.
lsucet
Minister of Fire
Was that for the insert alone or for the insert + installation?
N-S works great for me. Living in a permanent shoulder season area of the world, I have a lot of starts. The straight vertical wall of wood with a piece of starter placed at the bottom of the pile makes a "wall of flames" that gets sucked up into the cat permitting the bypass to be shut in less than 10 minutes. Try that with a V.C. or any "down-draft" unit. Also, no chance of logs rolling onto the glass. Too warm to burn today, a few coals glowing left from yesterday's burn of 16 hours ago. All of my old stoves would be stone cold by now. Love it.
This was without installation. The vendor did not provide installation services. So I would also have to purchase the liner, installation of liner and installation of insert from a "suggested contractor". Or do the install myself.
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No. Pizza requires high temp to bake properly.
Sounds like it wouldn't hurt to call around if you can pick it up. Here is some recent pricing in VA.
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/installing-a-blaze-king-princess-insert-and-price.163817/
Ashful
Minister of Fire
I’m about 8 hours drive east of you, and my price for Ashford 30.1’s was in the high $2k’s. I got a good discount for buying two at once, but LIST price here was $3500 with fans, two years ago.
What’s this “well north of $4k” talk? Time to find another stove shop, IMO.
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