BKVP
Minister of Fire
You know I can't respond to any question that contradicts the user/installation manual.
2018-19 Blaze King Performance Thread Part 1 (Everything BK)
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Poindexter
Minister of Fire
With malice towards none, I have been doing actual remunerative w-o-r-k for a couple days.
This is my fault.
I have pretty good utility usage data. The season I switched from a 2001 non cat to a brand new BK Ashford 30(May 2014), I also had a long haired daughter move out. My data is confounded by the drop in hot water usage, DWH being heated by the oil burning furnace at my house. I can say with utter confidence my wood consumption switching from aged non-cat to new BK was a drop in wood burnt somewhere between 25 and 40%.
House stayed the same temperature.
Heat from the cat, also my fault, expanded below.
True. An ideal work day burn for me is I get home 1-2 hours before the wife, with enough hot coals to not need kindling, and a still active combustor. There are 37million and six variables. Ideally I will find enough hot coals to make a wad softball to cantaloupe sized, and a still active combustor.
This is one reason why, just figured it out, that i like my fuel at 12-16% MC. If I have an active cat and enough coals I can stuff that thing as full as it will go. With not very many coals I can get my incoming fuel load charred in about 48 seconds because dry wood ignites fast, and with an active cat i can engage promptly. With combustor engaged and the tsat on high I can start ripping BTUs out of the stove into my envelope mui pronto. If I can get the envelope hot enough fast enough, clothing optional.
I am the guy who gets up on the combustor and stays there. I can maintain summer time temps in 1200sqft with an active cat, regardless of burn rate. If the combustor is active and all I have to do is maintain, I am golden.
If the envelope is cold and the cat is inactive I am going to burn an appreciable amount of fuel getting the combustor active before I get serious about heating the envelope.
I don't know what percentage of total BTUs come out of the combustor, but I am working that margin. And with the fans available, good bye snow pants.
It is my observation that in bypass heating the combustor I am wasting a bunch of perfectly good fuel heating up a combustor that was probably hot enough to be active just a couple hours ago. Turn the Tstat down a notch, keep the combustor hot, have the house warm when the wife gets home.
This is my fault.
I have pretty good utility usage data. The season I switched from a 2001 non cat to a brand new BK Ashford 30(May 2014), I also had a long haired daughter move out. My data is confounded by the drop in hot water usage, DWH being heated by the oil burning furnace at my house. I can say with utter confidence my wood consumption switching from aged non-cat to new BK was a drop in wood burnt somewhere between 25 and 40%.
House stayed the same temperature.
Heat from the cat, also my fault, expanded below.
True. An ideal work day burn for me is I get home 1-2 hours before the wife, with enough hot coals to not need kindling, and a still active combustor. There are 37million and six variables. Ideally I will find enough hot coals to make a wad softball to cantaloupe sized, and a still active combustor.
This is one reason why, just figured it out, that i like my fuel at 12-16% MC. If I have an active cat and enough coals I can stuff that thing as full as it will go. With not very many coals I can get my incoming fuel load charred in about 48 seconds because dry wood ignites fast, and with an active cat i can engage promptly. With combustor engaged and the tsat on high I can start ripping BTUs out of the stove into my envelope mui pronto. If I can get the envelope hot enough fast enough, clothing optional.
I am the guy who gets up on the combustor and stays there. I can maintain summer time temps in 1200sqft with an active cat, regardless of burn rate. If the combustor is active and all I have to do is maintain, I am golden.
If the envelope is cold and the cat is inactive I am going to burn an appreciable amount of fuel getting the combustor active before I get serious about heating the envelope.
I don't know what percentage of total BTUs come out of the combustor, but I am working that margin. And with the fans available, good bye snow pants.
It is my observation that in bypass heating the combustor I am wasting a bunch of perfectly good fuel heating up a combustor that was probably hot enough to be active just a couple hours ago. Turn the Tstat down a notch, keep the combustor hot, have the house warm when the wife gets home.
Poindexter
Minister of Fire
Country Flame Ovation. About 2.5cuft firebox. Circa 2001 serial number. Needed a new door gasket annually.
Newburnerwisconsin
Feeling the Heat
Where can we buy combustors if condor goes down for awhile? I see they are based in North Carolina. Thanks everyone.
jscs.moore
Feeling the Heat
So I've been on this site for about 3 years now and the only "Performance Thread" I tend to see is for BK?? What's the deal...why don't we see performance threads for other brands? Just curious
There is one for VC but we are not very active during the non burning seasons.
jscs.moore
Feeling the Heat
Yeah..nothing against BK as it seems most BK users love their stoves. But I would have thought some other major brand owners might post performance threads too. Oh well...have a great burning season!
You missed the beginning of it, back in 2012. You can thank rdust. It's all explained, here:
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/2012-2013-blaze-king-performance-thread-everything-bk.93182/
That reminds me, what happened to that one feller that always caused so many waves? woodystover.
Tegbert
Feeling the Heat
Tegbert
Feeling the Heat
He probably changed his name to one of the current wave makers... feels like we always have one.
Actually the BK fanboys started harassing the others in so many threads we decided we needed a corral.
I was on the other side of that fence, back then.Actually the BK fanboys started harassing the others in so many threads we decided we needed a corral.
But a more practical man than me said, when you can't beat 'em, join 'em.
Yeah but it was getting to the point where if you didn't install a BK "Your feet stink and you don't love Jesus.".
I too was convinced to “upgrade” the house stove at about that time but also recognized that I could still get a brute noncat for cheap so I got one of those too!
Not sure if it’s a bk thing or a cat stove thing. It’s just that more of us cat stove guys have bk stoves. The Woodstock guys have mostly collected elsewhere.
First burns of 2018 in both last night!
Tegbert
Feeling the Heat
I too lit the Bk last night. And if the weather keeps this up it will be running for a while.
Lopi Rockport
Blaze King Ashford 25
Exactly. I looked at all of them, but the VC’s were getting pretty consistent negative reviews, and most of the rest had stoves that look like they were styled in the mid-1970’s. Between that and the cosmetics of the King and Princess, which I was not willing to accept, I was stuck buying and rehabbing 30 year old Jotuls for several years.
Exactly. I looked at all of them ca.2012-13, but the VC’s were getting pretty consistent negative reviews, and most of the rest had stoves that look like they were styled in the mid-1970’s. Between that and the cosmetics of the King and Princess, which I was not willing to accept, I was stuck buying and rehabbing 30 year old Jotuls for several years.
Yes, there are other brands that offer cat stoves.
Second tier cat stoves with low performance in comparison to the big two. Whether that's burn times, durability, efficiency, aesthetics, etc. Those second tier cat stoves often get a few things right but none have evolved to the Woodstock/bk level that get all of them pretty right. Do a comparison of cat stoves. Burn times is the obvious first performance metric because it is directly related to a stoves ability to produce a wide range of outputs and control the burn rate.
Lets hope those other brands can up their game and compete. Stoves don't last forever and eventually we'll need to replace our BKs. The Kuma put up some nice efficiency numbers.
The regencies honestly are pretty comparable in performance and durability to the woodstock hybrids so far. Only time will tell how they stand up long term. The thing bk has that puts them above the rest is the thermostatic control. We really dont see kumas here so i cant comment on them. But i havnt been impressed with the bucks. And we all know how i feel about vc.
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