2019-20 Blaze King Performance Thread Part 1 (Everything BK)

[MissMac]

View attachment 250004
I don’t know if you can zoom in, but this is a typical load for me, 3 large splits on bottom with 4-5 small to medium splits on top with my kindling, all pine. Still room to stuff wood if I wanted to; this will get me overnight, typically I’ll start fire at 20:00 and get up at 05:30 I still have some coals left to get new fire going and my cat is still active; lows overnight teens-20s sometimes 30s depending on the day. If your really stuffing your stove full to brim and getting 7 hours sounds like a wood problem or an air leak. As BKVP asked would like to see a pic of your stove loaded

That is a really good looking set-up you have there. I really like your tile work!

 

[Diabel]

question, the colder it gets, ( will it get easier to maintain lower settings for burns) my thinking now is im not getting the advertised burn times because the outside temp hits 38F on a cold night at best on the shoulder months................... i have filled this pig full to the brim and set it to medium and i cant get more than 7 hrs burn in the active range

its a new install should i call them back out here or is this expected. normal day temps lately are like 69 during the day 46 at night........................ my house insulation keeps us at lowest 65 at night.........

Can you describe your fire starting process. Also, what is the moisture of the wood. I bet you it is one of the two. Your wood is not seasoned and or you are not following the steps outlined in the manual.

 

[Pgaron]

1. What model stove, and is it new or used?
2. What species wood are you burning?
3. How long has your wood been split and stacked, and under what conditions?
4. Describe your chimney setup, height, diameter, pipe type, cap, elbows, etc.
5. Describe your operating procedures.

First thanks for the help, here is the info requested


1) its a new ashford insert
2) Oak and Maple
3) the wood was cut but not split for 4 years, split and stacked this summer, its covered from the rain and i keep a quarter of a cord in my garage I have a moisture meter I bought that was recommended here, it ranges some of my wood is 12% but most of it is 14-16% . my wood is stored above the ground it rest on a cinderblock thing i made
4) when they installed the stove they also installed a stainless steel chimney liner, my chimney is about 25' tall and is about 3 years old thats the masonry i am refering to. When they installed the stove this summer they added a new SS liner. theres no elbows it goes right up and has a cap. I think the stove pipe is 6" when they came to do the pre install inspection they said i should have them do a stainless steel liner because my original chimney clay lining which was never used was way to big for the stove.
5) my procedure for start is i turn the thermostat to high, then make sure the bypass is pulled. i build the fire with 1 medium split log then kindiling ontop like a lincoln log house filled with newspaper in the middle and i put 2 fatwood sticks in there. it lights pretty good and after all the paper is burnt i crack the door which boost the draft and really gets it going then when i have some good coals i put some more wood in and then its pretty much going. i try to build the fire tall so it heats the cat up so when it goes into the active I can engage the cat. once the cat is going well i turn it down to medium which isnt really an official deffinition but it aint low and its not high. it will hover there about half way in the active zone until it burns most of the wood which is about 7 hrs for me then it crashes and drops out of active so I try to catch it before that and load it up.

 

[Highbeam]

One of the awesome photos of an actual packed bk firebox would be helpful here.

I burn low density fuel and have no problem getting over 20 hours of active cat time. Usually more but I want to reload on my schedule!

@Pgaron
I worry about your fuel. Splitting just this summer doesn’t usually mean it’s dry enough. Your moisture checking methods are suspect if you are getting 14%. Also we want to see split size as these stoves like large splits.

We just haven’t seen people with these new inserts getting long burns yet.

 

[BKVP]

Yes, as it gets colder draft will improve, and you will be able to maintain lower settings without stalling the cat.


I'm not sure what you call medium, and you don't even state which stove you are burning (BK has many models), or if your newly-installed stove is even new or used. You also don't state what type of wood you are burning, or it's condition, so any answer here is going to be pretty ambiguous. I can get consistent 30+ hour burn times on an Ashford 30 on 15 feet of chimney, meaning the cat is in the active region of the thermometer for 30 hours, when burning nice dry red oak in temperatures consistently < 40F. If the temperature climbs much above 40F then I cannot turn the stove down far enough to hit 30+ hours on that short chimney, and if I burn anything less than oak I also can't quite hit those numbers as the wood disappears faster. But I would have to burn at a pretty high rate (like above 4 o'clock on the Ashford 30 dial, I suspect) to consume a full load of oak in 7 hours.

Those who burn pine, or other wood that I wouldn't bother using, will see shorter burn times. But I suspect even then they'd be able to do at least double the burn time you are seeing.


I wouldn't assume this is an install problem, so I'd not jump to call them back right away, until we can get a better idea of what is happening. Here' a start:

1. What model stove, and is it new or used?
2. What species wood are you burning?
3. How long has your wood been split and stacked, and under what conditions?
4. Describe your chimney setup, height, diameter, pipe type, cap, elbows, etc.
5. Describe your operating procedures.

Post pics of install please...

 

[MMH]

Agreed with the MC; I have pine that was log form and was in a lot for a year, the stuff I’ve CSS has been out for only a few months now, and it’s under 20% but not 12-14%

 

[Diabel]

First thanks for the help, here is the info requested


1) its a new ashford insert
2) Oak and Maple
3) the wood was cut but not split for 4 years, split and stacked this summer, its covered from the rain and i keep a quarter of a cord in my garage I have a moisture meter I bought that was recommended here, it ranges some of my wood is 12% but most of it is 14-16% . my wood is stored above the ground it rest on a cinderblock thing i made
4) when they installed the stove they also installed a stainless steel chimney liner, my chimney is about 25' tall and is about 3 years old thats the masonry i am refering to. When they installed the stove this summer they added a new SS liner. theres no elbows it goes right up and has a cap. I think the stove pipe is 6" when they came to do the pre install inspection they said i should have them do a stainless steel liner because my original chimney clay lining which was never used was way to big for the stove.
5) my procedure for start is i turn the thermostat to high, then make sure the bypass is pulled. i build the fire with 1 medium split log then kindiling ontop like a lincoln log house filled with newspaper in the middle and i put 2 fatwood sticks in there. it lights pretty good and after all the paper is burnt i crack the door which boost the draft and really gets it going then when i have some good coals i put some more wood in and then its pretty much going. i try to build the fire tall so it heats the cat up so when it goes into the active I can engage the cat. once the cat is going well i turn it down to medium which isnt really an official deffinition but it aint low and its not high. it will hover there about half way in the active zone until it burns most of the wood which is about 7 hrs for me then it crashes and drops out of active so I try to catch it before that and load it up.

Sorry to say but your fuel is not ready to burn. This fall I processed bunch of logs that were dropped 3-4 years ago. All the splits measured around 40%MC, some were so wet that the MC did not register. This was yellow birch, maple and hemlock, all measured pretty much the same.

if you are working with properly seasoned fuel then you should be seeming burn times of at least double what you are getting. No matter of wood type.

 

[Pgaron]

1. What model stove, and is it new or used?
2. What species wood are you burning?
3. How long has your wood been split and stacked, and under what conditions?
4. Describe your chimney setup, height, diameter, pipe type, cap, elbows, etc.
5. Describe your operating procedures.

1) its a new ashford insert
2) Oak and Maple
3) the wood was cut but not split for 4 years, split and stacked this summer, its covered from the rain and i keep a quarter of a cord in my garage I have a moisture meter

Post pics of install please...

Post pics of install please...

Post pics of install please...

 

[Pgaron]

Sorry to say but your fuel is not ready to burn. This fall I processed bunch of logs that were dropped 3-4 years ago. All the splits measured around 40%MC, some were so wet that the MC did not register. This was yellow birch, maple and hemlock, all measured pretty much the same.

if you are working with properly seasoned fuel then you should be seeming burn times of at least double what you are getting. No matter of wood type.

hmm, that seems very high. Its possible my wood has been drying for longer than 4 years, the old owners of the house had a tree service company so they kept their logs off to the side of the house. so i know the wood is at least 4 years old.. It might be possible my meter is not working properly

 

[showrguy]

1) its a new ashford insert
2) Oak and Maple
3) the wood was cut but not split for 4 years, split and stacked this summer, its covered from the rain and i keep a quarter of a cord in my garage I have a moisture meter



View attachment 250051View attachment 250052View attachment 250053

That stove is far from “Packed”, full of wood !!

 

[Pgaron]

That stove is far from “Packed”, full of wood !!

sorry i was just putting some pictures up of the install. I dont think i have a picture of it packed full. the only pics i have are ones I sent to family members for fun. next fire I have i can pack it

 

[Pgaron]

View attachment 250004
I don’t know if you can zoom in, but this is a typical load for me, 3 large splits on bottom with 4-5 small to medium splits on top with my kindling, all pine. Still room to stuff wood if I wanted to; this will get me overnight, typically I’ll start fire at 20:00 and get up at 05:30 I still have some coals left to get new fire going and my cat is still active; lows overnight teens-20s sometimes 30s depending on the day. If your really stuffing your stove full to brim and getting 7 hours sounds like a wood problem or an air leak. As BKVP asked would like to see a pic of your stove loaded

that is a lot of wood, I think i am going to have to get better at loading. Are there any rules I should know about loading? I am always concerned about wood touching the glass, is this not something i should worry about?

 

[MMH]

sorry i was just putting some pictures up of the install. I dont think i have a picture of it packed full. the only pics i have are ones I sent to family members for fun. next fire I have i can pack it

How long does it take your cat to get active from your cold start? Also just an idea but, to put the wood debate issue to rest, find another moisture meter (this way your testing a piece with 2 meters), take a few pieces out of your stacks and test them (technically split again but both ends and middle as directed etc) and compare them; this theoretically could hit 2 birds with one stone this should tell you whether or not the wood is actually below 20% and if your meter was faulty. I’m still very new to burning but from what I’ve read and been told, there is absolutely no way your getting oak down to 12-14% without a kiln, especially in your area. A little late this year but something to think about for next year is a solar kiln.

 

[Pgaron]

I’ve read and been told, there is absolutely no way your getting oak down to 12-14% without a kiln

Hmm, the meter must be bad then which kind of sucks because I split a ton of this stuff. i split a few logs then tested it and split the rest because the readings were ok. I actually tested a piece of 2x4 in the garage and it was reading 14% I would thing lumber would be really low its not PT wood or anything, and i just wanted to see. I dont want to buy another one if I dont have to I wonder if I can find someone who has a meter to compare results. EDIT: its funny you mentioned that because my brother in law who helped me split is a chef and he specializes in a method of cooking using wood, if you watch the chefs table thing there is an argentinian chef who he trained under. anyway he mentioned the wood seemed wetter than the meter was saying, he actually just did a wedding for Kieth Richards daughter in this style here is a link to the argentinian chef
Francis Mallman

 

[BKVP]

Hmm, the meter must be bad then which kind of sucks because I split a ton of this stuff. i split a few logs then tested it and split the rest because the readings were ok. I actually tested a piece of 2x4 in the garage and it was reading 14% I would thing lumber would be really low its not PT wood or anything, and i just wanted to see. I dont want to buy another one if I dont have to I wonder if I can find someone who has a meter to compare results. EDIT: its funny you mentioned that because my brother in law who helped me split is a chef and he specializes in a method of cooking using wood, if you watch the chefs table thing there is an argentinian chef who he trained under. anyway he mentioned the wood seemed wetter than the meter was saying, he actually just did a wedding for Kieth Richards daughter in this style here is a link to the argentinian chef
Francis Mallman

Ok, so when you are home and can tend the fire..use smaller splits. In the evenings, please load larger diameter pieces to reduce surface area. That will extend burn times.

PM me your serial number please.

BKVP

 

[Pgaron]

Ok, so when you are home and can tend the fire..use smaller splits. In the evenings, please load larger diameter pieces to reduce surface area. That will extend burn times.

PM me your serial number please.

BKVP

I am not sure where the SN is, when I get home i will try to find it.... i hope its not in the back of stove. Also the company that installed it is a very very well know company in the area, they are like the guys for wood stoves... i could have gotten it installed a lot cheaper but i figured these guys are the ones to go with. That being said in their showcase they only had 2 or 3 BK models and no BK inserts and they told me they would have to order it which kind of shook my confidence in them but maybe that's more common than i know because im not in the industry. I went with BK because growing up we had a harman coal/wood stove and my dad mostly did coal except on shoulder months and i loved the stove. BK to me had the best concept, and i understood their methods. I am slightly disappointed because my expectations were so high. That being said the house we bought had an old nasua stove that was just a PITA to operate and we burned a ton of oil because my wife is not the best at managing the fire so i thought BK would be the answer..... I am taking this time to learn the stove and iron out the kinks with the hope i can teach my wife who works from home on how to work it with the least operation needed. So far I actually love this stove compared to the nashua. the straw on the camels back moment for me was when for the second time i woke up to a puddle of liquid smoke in the back room from a stalled out fire. thats when i decided i needed to switch. Got them out here to eval our stove, i really wanted to keep a stove in the back room but the guy said since our chimney is dual flue and on the other side is the living room with much more friendly clearances to go with the insert.

 

[Rickb]

Are you testing the split on a fresh split face?

 

[MMH]

that is a lot of wood, I think i am going to have to get better at loading. Are there any rules I should know about loading? I am always concerned about wood touching the glass, is this not something i should worry about?

I don’t think there’s any hard fast rules per se; I dont know about wood touching the glass, bad or not I also stay away from it. Basically cut your wood to size, you can load east west (horizontal/side to side)) which is said to slow your burns down because there is less surface area exposed to air and combustion this way, or north south (not horizontal basically front to back) which is said to be a faster hotter fire as it has more surface area exposed. As others mentioned, smaller splits during day and large splits at night. It’s really trial and error to some extent as everyone’s set up temp draft etc is different, and essentially your playing Tetris with it. Just have to find what works for you and what works for the burn times you need and temps you like. Based on what you have said so far I’m thinking it’s a combo of not enough wood and the MC is higher than what your meter is telling you. As far as buying another the one I have I got on amazon for like 12$ really not that bad. This pic below is from a couple weeks ago, it’s 3 pieces of juniper 3 pieces of oak and 3 pieces of cherry with 1-2 pieces of pine, it was my first time experimenting with hardwood so the pieces weren’t huge by any means and this burn lasted over 14 hours, hopefully this kind of helps give you some ideas.

Oak is bottom with 1 piece cherry loaded east west, 2 pieces cherry 2-3 pine and 3 juniper on top north south.

 

[Pgaron]

Another topic not sure if its been covered or talked about. If my wood is no good, are those bricks you can buy ok to burn in BK stoves

Are you testing the split on a fresh split face?

i think so because that's all i have. i cut it all up with my chainsaw and split it. i test at the cuts and i jam the two prongs in and thats it. maybe im testing wrong... idk i only check the split wod not the logs.

 

[Pgaron]

I don’t think there’s any hard fast rules per se; I dont know about wood touching the glass, bad or not I also stay away from it. Basically cut your wood to size, you can load east west (horizontal/side to side)) which is said to slow your burns down because there is less surface area exposed to air and combustion this way, or north south (not horizontal basically front to back) which is said to be a faster hotter fire as it has more surface area exposed. As others mentioned, smaller splits during day and large splits at night. It’s really trial and error to some extent as everyone’s set up temp draft etc is different, and essentially your playing Tetris with it. Just have to find what works for you and what works for the burn times you need and temps you like. Based on what you have said so far I’m thinking it’s a combo of not enough wood and the MC is higher than what your meter is telling you. As far as buying another the one I have I got on amazon for like 12$ really not that bad. This pic below is from a couple weeks ago, it’s 3 pieces of juniper 3 pieces of oak and 3 pieces of cherry with 1-2 pieces of pine, it was my first time experimenting with hardwood so the pieces weren’t huge by any means and this burn lasted over 14 hours, hopefully this kind of helps give you some ideas.
View attachment 250060
Oak is bottom with 1 piece cherry loaded east west, 2 pieces cherry 2-3 pine and 3 juniper on top north south.


Take one of your pieces of wood that is split, then split it again and stick your moisture meter in the fresh face in 3 spots (see below)
View attachment 250061

its raining here i will do your recommended testing procedure probably on tues weather permitting. i still have logs not split so i will do both

 

[MMH]

Another topic not sure if its been covered or talked about. If my wood is no good, are those bricks you can buy ok to burn in BK stoves

i think so because that's all i have. i cut it all up with my chainsaw and split it. i test at the cuts and i jam the two prongs in and thats it. maybe im testing wrong... idk i only check the split wod not the logs.

Take one of your pieces of split wood, and split it again, then stick meter in as shown

 

[Pgaron]

Take one of your pieces of split wood, and split it again, then stick meter in as shown
View attachment 250062

awe man wat a pain in the ass lol i have the quad split attatched to the splitter, gonna have to hand split this. like i said its raining cats and cats here so tuesday i will do it. i dont trust my meter. i also am learning a lot of technique from other guys. I am thinking my wood is good, but the mostirue meter must be off because the other guy said no way on 12-14 on oak without kiln

 

[Rickb]

stick it into your palm it should read 38% or so...


LOL dont draw blood tho.

 

[BKVP]

The serial number is on a metal plate, accessed in front of stove. It's a little tricky to find, look at owners manual...it shows where it's located.

 

[Pgaron]

The serial number is on a metal plate, accessed in front of stove. It's a little tricky to find, look at owners manual...it shows where it's located.

do you work for BK? im seriously appreciating the level of support your giving me... EDIT: hell of a halibut in the pic