2018-19 Blaze King Performance Thread Part 2 (Everything BK)

[begreen]

After 112 pages it's time for part 2.
Here is a link to part 1:
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads...rformance-thread-part-1-everything-bk.169512/

 

[Tegbert]

Only 112 pages?


Lopi Rockport
Blaze King Ashford 25

 

[kennyp2339]

Well after running with the damper for a week its pretty safe to say I have the stove dialed in more so than ever before.
Before the damper was installed I would blow through a wheel barrel of splits every 2 days, post damper, the same wheel barrel load now lasts 3 days.
I have also noticed less coals on reloads, meaning that I would load the stove when stove top temps were at 250deg, pre-damper I would have a bunch of coals to rake forward, now at the same temp I have significantly less coals and way more ash.
I have always been happy with this stove, but now I am even more happier, yesterday I loaded her up at 7pm, the temps over night dropped into the upper teens, I left the blower on low, when I woke up this morning, upstairs was at 71deg, the stove still had a little more than half the load burnt through, you can beat that in my book.

 

[BKVP]

Thank you BeGreen. At 112 pages I was getting lots of paper cuts.

 

[Dieselhead]

From last thread:

“You need ht pipe for a wood stove. Most zeroclearance units use lower temperature chimneys. You need to verify that what you have is useable.”

Prior unit was a Napoleon NZ 3000, I should have said ZC wood stove not fireplace. It is Selkirk HT 103.

 

[chazcarr]

New year, new thread!

Just got the longest burn I've had yet out of my stove by using a pack of red bricks from TSC. They were on clearance for $1 a pack. They expanded together and the stove burned a tunnel into it and then just slowly roasted it for about 13 hours. Not bad for a bucks worth of fuel. Only thing I was worried about is that these things expand quite a bit, and if placed incorrectly I wonder if they could push the bypass open. Only other issue was after 13 hours I had to put some small splits in there because there were no coals to get the next load going.

 

[tarzan]

New year, new thread!

Just got the longest burn I've had yet out of my stove by using a pack of red bricks from TSC. They were on clearance for $1 a pack. They expanded together and the stove burned a tunnel into it and then just slowly roasted it for about 13 hours. Not bad for a bucks worth of fuel. Only thing I was worried about is that these things expand quite a bit, and if placed incorrectly I wonder if they could push the bypass open. Only other issue was after 13 hours I had to put some small splits in there because there were no coals to get the next load going.

No, they could not manage to open the bypass do to expansion.

 

[gregbesia]

New year, new thread!

Just got the longest burn I've had yet out of my stove by using a pack of red bricks from TSC. They were on clearance for $1 a pack. They expanded together and the stove burned a tunnel into it and then just slowly roasted it for about 13 hours. Not bad for a bucks worth of fuel. Only thing I was worried about is that these things expand quite a bit, and if placed incorrectly I wonder if they could push the bypass open. Only other issue was after 13 hours I had to put some small splits in there because there were no coals to get the next load going.

So did the dealer came over and was able to figure out the problem with your stove?

 

[chazcarr]

So did the dealer came over and was able to figure out the problem with your stove?

Not yet, he said he would be calling me sometime today.

 

[gregbesia]

Not yet, he said he would be calling me sometime today.

When the stove is hot, can you take a flashlight , turn the stat to low and see if the flapper closes?

 

[chazcarr]

When the stove is hot, can you take a flashlight , turn the stat to low and see if the flapper closes?

Yes you can, and 90% of the time that is exactly what happens. But 10% of the time, it doesn't close all the way. If the stove was cold, that is understandable, but the stove is surface temp of 700 and the cat temp past the active range. Only thing to do is crank the fan and wait for things to settle down.
I assume it is something with the stat coil getting hung up, or the chain, but can't see where/how.

 

[sw18x]

Anyone want to take a shot at this?
I load up 3 medium splits NS, then 3 splits on top of that EW, if I can fit a couple tiny rounds or branch ends on top of that I do. But assuming those 6 splits in one load, how many loads would you estimate in a facecord of wood for a Blazeking Ashford or Princess?

I'm aware of the debate over the term facecord, if you don't want to use that term just substitute for 1/3 cord. My wood comes from a variety of sources so it varies in length from <16" to 20".

I'm new to a Blazeking but I know some of you guys have this down to a science and with the stove burning so consistent you probably know exactly what you burn through each year. I'm interested in roughly calculating how many fires I can get out of each cord / facecord so I can decide how many overnight fires I can afford to run for the remainder of this season.

 

[Highbeam]

Anyone want to take a shot at this?
I load up 3 medium splits NS, then 3 splits on top of that EW, if I can fit a couple tiny rounds or branch ends on top of that I do. But assuming those 6 splits in one load, how many loads would you estimate in a facecord of wood for a Blazeking Ashford or Princess?

I'm aware of the debate over the term facecord, if you don't want to use that term just substitute for 1/3 cord. My wood comes from a variety of sources so it varies in length from <16" to 20".

I'm new to a Blazeking but I know some of you guys have this down to a science and with the stove burning so consistent you probably know exactly what you burn through each year. I'm interested in roughly calculating how many fires I can get out of each cord / facecord so I can decide how many overnight fires I can afford to run for the remainder of this season.

I can fit 8 big splits in each load and my splits can b approximated as 5x5” which is 25 in square. A face cord should be 32 square feet of butt area so how many times does 25 in^2 go into 32 ft^2? Then you need to make some allowance for air gaps on the stack.

 

[Ashful]

Anyone want to take a shot at this?
I load up 3 medium splits NS, then 3 splits on top of that EW, if I can fit a couple tiny rounds or branch ends on top of that I do. But assuming those 6 splits in one load, how many loads would you estimate in a facecord of wood for a Blazeking Ashford or Princess?

I'm aware of the debate over the term facecord, if you don't want to use that term just substitute for 1/3 cord. My wood comes from a variety of sources so it varies in length from <16" to 20".

I'm new to a Blazeking but I know some of you guys have this down to a science and with the stove burning so consistent you probably know exactly what you burn through each year. I'm interested in roughly calculating how many fires I can get out of each cord / facecord so I can decide how many overnight fires I can afford to run for the remainder of this season.

I load my Ashfords (yes, plural) all north south, to get the absolute tightest packing:



I’m also loading long wood, right to the door glass, to get the most cu.ft. per load:



That said, I average 1 cord per 3 weeks, at three loads per day. So, even with all that packing, I’m only getting 2.03 cu.ft. stacked wood per load on a stove rated 2.65 cu.ft. This has been averaged over three full seasons, at roughly 400 loads per season, so I am quite confident in the numbers.

 

[Diabel]

I load my Ashfords (yes, plural) all north south, to get the absolute tightest packing:

View attachment 237647

I’m also loading long wood, right to the door glass, to get the most cu.ft. per load:

View attachment 237648

That said, I average 1 cord per 3 weeks, at three loads per day. So, even with all that packing, I’m only getting 2.03 cu.ft. stacked wood per load on a stove rated 2.65 cu.ft. This has been averaged over three full seasons, at roughly 400 loads per season, so I am quite confident in the numbers.

I think you can squeeze some more in there

 

[sprawlnstall]

Any Northern Minnesotans run a princess 24/7? This is my first year running wood full-time. Fire has only gone out twice since late September, lots of hot cleanouts. I've already burned through 3.5 cords. Most of my september and october fires were junk poplar that burned fast though. I was just curious what to expect. I have 4 more cords ready to go and probably close to 10 cords in rounds for next year.

 

[Ashful]

I think you can squeeze some more in there

Yeah, sorry... I should have been more clear. That photo is not one of my, “I’m going to pack this as tight as I can for extra burn time” photos, I can clearly squeeze some more little pieces in-between those big’uns. It was actually taken to capture the water sizzling off the bark on those two splits in the second photo, we have had an abolsutely insane amount of rain this year. This is how I load if I’m just going about my usual “get it done” workday routine.

I am officially a full year off my splitting schedule. Each time I’ve had a free day to do some splitting, it has been raining or too soggy to venture down to the wood lot. I’ve sunk more equipment in my yard (mower and tractor) this year, than in my entire life up to this year.

 

[Ashful]

Any Northern Minnesotans run a princess 24/7? This is my first year running wood full-time. Fire has only gone out twice since late September, lots of hot cleanouts. I've already burned through 3.5 cords. Most of my september and october fires were junk poplar that burned fast though. I was just curious what to expect. I have 4 more cords ready to go and probably close to 10 cords in rounds for next year.

As just described above, my Ashfords average 2.03 cu.ft. per load, so your Princess should scale to about 2.11 cu.ft. per load, with reasonably dense packing. How many loads do you run per day?

Oh, and @Diabel, I’m loading with 19” - 20” wood, not the recommend 16” - 18”. So, no matter how loose or tight I pack it, I’m still getting 10% more than one cutting the recommended length. That was my primary point, you’re not going to put 2.65 cu.ft. of stacked wood into a 2.65 cu.ft. stove, even if you get dangerously close to the glass.

 

[sw18x]

Yep, that's pretty full. I'm only heating about 700 square feet of finished basement so I don't really need to top her off like that. So far one load, 6 splits or so, gets me a full day on medium keeping the finished area 67 - 68 degrees. It'd be awful nice to keep it running overnight to avoid a cold start the next morning but not really necessary. I've got a 5000 btu space heater that keeps the main living area upstairs (1700 square feet) right around 67 - 69 as long as the outside temps are in the 30s. However, once the cold really hits I'll be firing up the old Quadrafire on the first level. That stove came with the house and boy will it throw heat, its good for a couple loads a day. Being the first year trying to run two stoves I'm getting stingy with my wood consumption here, hence my desire to calculate things.

We're trying to sort out the creosote smell issue right now with the Ashford, hope it works out because I am so impressed with the burn times on this stove, I can easily see putting a second Blazeking on the first floor and keeping the whole house toasty day and night.

 

[BKVP]

I load my Ashfords (yes, plural) all north south, to get the absolute tightest packing:

View attachment 237647

I’m also loading long wood, right to the door glass, to get the most cu.ft. per load:

View attachment 237648

That said, I average 1 cord per 3 weeks, at three loads per day. So, even with all that packing, I’m only getting 2.03 cu.ft. stacked wood per load on a stove rated 2.65 cu.ft. This has been averaged over three full seasons, at roughly 400 loads per season, so I am quite confident in the numbers.

You need to take a refresher course in wood tetris. I see a couple of gaps in there...

 

[Ashful]

You need to take a refresher course in wood tetris. I see a couple of gaps in there...

Packing efficiency varies exponentially, with alcohol and caffeine intake.

 

[tarzan]

As just described above, my Ashfords average 2.03 cu.ft. per load, so your Princess should scale to about 2.11 cu.ft. per load, with reasonably dense packing. How many loads do you run per day?

Oh, and @Diabel, I’m loading with 19” - 20” wood, not the recommend 16” - 18”. So, no matter how loose or tight I pack it, I’m still getting 10% more than one cutting the recommended length. That was my primary point, you’re not going to put 2.65 cu.ft. of stacked wood into a 2.65 cu.ft. stove, even if you get dangerously close to the glass.

But, when speaking of the Princess you must remember the extra deep belly bellow the loading door that will only allow you to use roughly 17” splits, north-south for that first row. Then the slightly angled door that will allow roughly 18” after that.

I just cut all my wood to 16” in order to simplify things.

 

[ratsrepus]

Ashful, if you going through a cord every three weeks, your running those ashfords pretty hard. My wood consumption with the ashford and princess is less 2/3 less than that

 

[BKVP]

Now...this is a flame shield! (King Flame Shield in front)

 

[BKVP]

Packing efficiency varies exponentially, with alcohol and caffeine intake.

You need a bigger hammer!