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

[spudman99]

Time for my 5,000 mile check up. Unseasonably warm here today (plus the Eagles play tomorrow) so I took the time use my newly purchased Sooteater. Below is about how much I collected from my Princess insert on the top shelf behind the bypass door. Mind you that when scooping it out, some fell into the ash so I probably would have had another 1/2 inch or so in the cup. Also my extra extension rods do not arrive till late tonight (thanks Amazon for missing the 2 day delivery) so the top 3-5' of my 6" liner and cap did not get swept. Thoughts?

View attachment 254690 View attachment 254691

As a follow-up, I got my extra extension rods and took advantage of the 60+ deg temperature to do a full sweep of my liner to include the top 3 feet. Sooteater is amazing, took less than 10 min, plus a few more to get the vacuum and clean the bypass shelf. Assuming I did the run properly, I collected less than an additional 2 teaspoons of soot from the top 3' of my liner to include the cap. I am pleased.

Below is a picture of the sooteater lines after cleaning. Is it typical that they wear down to 3" pretty quickly? Lines are just weedeater plastic, probably 0.7 or 0.8 thickness. Almost 1" of the plastic lines wore off on the initial cleaning. I figure this is normal and the plastic lines need not be replaced too frequently.

 

[Ashful]

...Otherwise, I might as well go back the the Regency tube stove. I only swept every two years and the most I got out of 26 feet of pipe was less than a cup of fine black powder.

Not a surprise. Despite the BKs having relatively low particulate emissions, their very high efficiency means very low flue temps, and thus a much higher fraction of those particulate emissisions condensing and depositing in the pipe. Several BK owners here have noted their pipes stayed cleaner on their prior non-cats.

 

[Tron]

Not a surprise.

No, not really. Same issue with Diesel engine catalysts and soot filters. Due to low exhaust temperatures the engine ECU needs a way to periodically clean that off. With a stove that means a sweep, with an engine additional fuel is injected into the exhaust train to raise temperatures. A bit hard to do that with a wood stove...

 

[jetsam]

This is also the exact reason that nobody you know has a wood powered car or generator.

The technology has been around since 1901 (and in fact was commercial and widespread in Europe during WWII), but nobody has really overcome the problem of how to filter out all the goo.

There's a great video of an old guy showing off his WWII wood gasification truck on YouTube. He talks about how the engine had to be torn down and cleaned often when it ran on wood.

Modern systems have improved on this via filtration, but still the filters have to be mucked out regularly.

There are also plenty of tinkerers out there who have either added a gasifier to their truck/generator, or just modified the fuel system for propane and filled cylinders with wood gas. (They face the same problems.)

 

[Gooseduck]

As a follow-up, I got my extra extension rods and took advantage of the 60+ deg temperature to do a full sweep of my liner to include the top 3 feet. Sooteater is amazing, took less than 10 min, plus a few more to get the vacuum and clean the bypass shelf. Assuming I did the run properly, I collected less than an additional 2 teaspoons of soot from the top 3' of my liner to include the cap. I am pleased.

Below is a picture of the sooteater lines after cleaning. Is it typical that they wear down to 3" pretty quickly? Lines are just weedeater plastic, probably 0.7 or 0.8 thickness. Almost 1" of the plastic lines wore off on the initial cleaning. I figure this is normal and the plastic lines need not be replaced too frequently.

As a follow-up, I got my extra extension rods and took advantage of the 60+ deg temperature to do a full sweep of my liner to include the top 3 feet. Sooteater is amazing, took less than 10 min, plus a few more to get the vacuum and clean the bypass shelf. Assuming I did the run properly, I collected less than an additional 2 teaspoons of soot from the top 3' of my liner to include the cap. I am pleased.

Below is a picture of the sooteater lines after cleaning. Is it typical that they wear down to 3" pretty quickly? Lines are just weedeater plastic, probably 0.7 or 0.8 thickness. Almost 1" of the plastic lines wore off on the initial cleaning. I figure this is normal and the plastic lines need not be replaced too frequently.

View attachment 255185 View attachment 255184

so you like the soot eater? Just had my new bk installed a week ago and need to get something to clean the chimney. I see it on amazon

 

[Ashful]

No, not really. Same issue with Diesel engine catalysts and soot filters. Due to low exhaust temperatures the engine ECU needs a way to periodically clean that off. With a stove that means a sweep, with an engine additional fuel is injected into the exhaust train to raise temperatures. A bit hard to do that with a wood stove...

Just don’t tell me I’m going to need a WPF on my new Tier 4 stove.

(Google Tier 4 DPF if you don’t own a modern diesel tractor. )

 

[Tron]

Just don’t tell me I’m going to need a WPF on my new Tier 4 stove.

Injecting urea might lower NOx emissions, too

 

[spudman99]

@Gooseduck , it is great. Was so simple to use with my cordless drill. With my strong draft I did not even need to seal the open door when running the sooteater, no dust comes back into the house. I couldn't be happier, it fit easily through the bypass and did an excellent job.

 

[Gooseduck]

@Gooseduck , it is great. Was so simple to use with my cordless drill. With my strong draft I did not even need to seal the open door when running the sooteater, no dust comes back into the house. I couldn't be happier, it fit easily through the bypass and did an excellent job.

Awesome. What size rod did you get i see there are different thickness' im a pretty straight run only 2 30 degree elbows.

 

[Jacub]

Is anyone else having trouble with excessive coals? I'm getting 7-8 inches of coals in my blazeking ashford 30.2. The stove's heat output decreases significantly with the coals burning along. They take up quite a bit of room and prevent me from loading up the stove. Should I just keep loading on top of the coals or is there a good way to burn it down? Even if I leave my thermostat on full throttle, it could take many hours for the coals to burn down. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

 

[webby3650]

@Gooseduck , it is great. Was so simple to use with my cordless drill. With my strong draft I did not even need to seal the open door when running the sooteater, no dust comes back into the house. I couldn't be happier, it fit easily through the bypass and did an excellent job.

If it does try to lose some dust through the partially open door, just run a good shop vac with a filter and a collection bag. It will catch all the dust.

 

[Indiana wood]

Is anyone else having trouble with excessive coals? I'm getting 7-8 inches of coals in my blazeking ashford 30.2. The stove's heat output decreases significantly with the coals burning along. They take up quite a bit of room and prevent me from loading up the stove. Should I just keep loading on top of the coals or is there a good way to burn it down? Even if I leave my thermostat on full throttle, it could take many hours for the coals to burn down. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

I have the same problem. They say it’s because my wood isn’t below 20%

 

[Tron]

I have the same problem. They say it’s because my wood isn’t below 20%

I doubt that. At the coaling stage all moisture has long gone, so it should not matter which MC the wood had at the beginning of the burn.

 

[Ashful]

Is anyone else having trouble with excessive coals? I'm getting 7-8 inches of coals in my blazeking ashford 30.2. The stove's heat output decreases significantly with the coals burning along. They take up quite a bit of room and prevent me from loading up the stove. Should I just keep loading on top of the coals or is there a good way to burn it down? Even if I leave my thermostat on full throttle, it could take many hours for the coals to burn down. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

It sounds like you’re in the classic situation of needing enough constant heat that letting the stove burn down the coals isn’t keeping the house warm. I deal with the same, so here’s my solution, also used by many others here:

When you get home from work each evening in colder weather, plow the ash toward back with an ash rake, which will cause coals to rise to the top. Then rake coals forward, and throw two or three smaller splits on top. Burn this down at full throttle over the course of an hour or two, which will give you plenty of heat while also burning down most of the coals.

Do this daily during cold weather to keep the coal volume in check, don’t let it get out of hand. It may take two cycles of this to get your current coal volume down to an acceptable level, but it does work.

Some prefer to use softwoods for this chore, since they add less new coals, but I do it with hardwoods without any issues.

 

[Jacub]

It sounds like you’re in the classic situation of needing enough constant heat that letting the stove burn down the coals isn’t keeping the house warm. I deal with the same, so here’s my solution, also used by many others here:

When you get home from work each evening, plow the ash toward back with an ash rake, which will cause coals to rise to the top. Then rake coals forward, and throw two or three smaller splits on top. Burn this down at full throttle over the course of an hour or two, which will give you plenty of heat while also burning down most of the coals.

Do this daily during cold weather to keep the coal volume in check, don’t let it get out of hand. It may take two cycles of this to get your current coal volume down to an acceptable level, but it does work.

Some prefer to use softwoods for this chore, since they add less new coals, but I do it with hardwoods without any issues.

Thanks Ashful and the above posters. This is my exact problem. The house gets cold and oil furnace kicks in when it is in the long coaling state. Great advice above. Will give it a try. Is it bad to leave the door wide open and lets the coals simmer? No smoke comes into the house. Will I damage the stove this way? It doesn't get that got.

 

[Jacub]

Here's a picture with the door open. About 7 inches of coals

 

[Ashful]

Thanks Ashful and the above posters. This is my exact problem. The house gets cold and oil furnace kicks in when it is in the long coaling state. Great advice above. Will give it a try. Is it bad to leave the door wide open and lets the coals simmer? No smoke comes into the house. Will I damage the stove this way? It doesn't get that got.

I don’t know if it’s bad for the stove, but once you try the technique I describe above, I bet you’ll find that leaving the door open is a less attractive option.

An unrelated comment: I wouldn’t worry too much about the oil kicking in here and there. You’re still saving a buttload of cash on oil, with the wood you’re burning, and the central heating can help keep the house leveled out if it kicks on for a few minutes at the end of a burn cycle. Besides, exercising the system will ensure it’s kept in good working order, for those occasions (vacation, sickness, etc.) you really do want to rely on it.

In doing this, some here have accused me of only being a “supplemental wood burner.” But at 10 cords per year, I’m doing a heck of a lot of supplementing, and the reduction in my oil bill shows it.

 

[jetsam]

Is anyone else having trouble with excessive coals? I'm getting 7-8 inches of coals in my blazeking ashford 30.2. The stove's heat output decreases significantly with the coals burning along. They take up quite a bit of room and prevent me from loading up the stove. Should I just keep loading on top of the coals or is there a good way to burn it down? Even if I leave my thermostat on full throttle, it could take many hours for the coals to burn down. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

To prevent this:
1) Burn drier wood
2) Switch to softwoods (helps with #1 too, pine dries in a year).
3) Reduce split size
4) Evaluate whether stove is undersized for BTU load

The best tips in there are #2 and 4. Pine is your friend when you need a hot fire with no coals, or if you need wood to be dry for next year. If you always have to burn on high, the stove is too small for the BTU load. Consider reducing the load (insulation, windows, etc) or adding a heat source.

To deal with a current coal backlog, take a nice pine split and chop it down into kindling. Rake your coal mountain forward, lay a couple kindling sticks on it, and burn on high.

Ashful is an anti-pine heretic, but I am a true believer. I will go right past prime oak to get to some pine if I don't have my cord laid in for next year yet. My stove is a little undersized, and I need that pine for the coldest part of the year.

 

[Alpine1]

Too much coaling? That’s a “problem” I’d like to have... burn pine, spruce or silver fir together with your hardwoods, and excessive coals will disappear. Not completely sure this is a good thing though...

 

[webby3650]

I’ve got a big coaling problem too. Since I switched to coal, life has been so boring! You guys have been keeping life interesting though!

Consistent heat round the clock is amazing, very similar to my BKs, but on a whole other level.

 

[Woody Stover]

I have the same problem. They say it’s because my wood isn’t below 20%

I doubt that. At the coaling stage all moisture has long gone, so it should not matter which MC the wood had at the beginning of the burn.

Yeah you would think, but for some reason it holds true; The wood just doesn't burn down to powder as readily.
For those of you who can go ahead and burn down the coals without room temp dropping too low, can you post your observations? For instance, how much can you raise stove top temp by opening the air more? I realize some of you may not have to do this; If your thermostat is set to medium for the load, it just opens up automatically on the coals when stove top temp drops, correct?
I don't have thermo or blower on my stove. When coaling I can open the air back up from 10% to about 30% and take the stove top from 250, back up to 325 for a couple hours. That's enough to maintain room temp, even if it's fairly cold out. If it's not cold, I usually just leave the air alone unless I'm trying to burn it down for a fresh overnight load.

Injecting urea might lower NOx emissions, too

I'll try that next time I see a BK. I'll also take a selfie on which to pattern a bumper sticker I'll design. Of course I'll need to get a pickup truck with a back window for the sticker, but I was planning to get one anyway so that my off-site scrounge loads can be bigger. I guess I'll also need a chain with a couple o' large nuts welded to it, to hang off the hitch receiver..

 

[BKVP]

"Coals, Coals...we don't need no stinking coals." Ashful is correct! Rake forward....air wash will help to burn them down. This is a real coal issue! 7" of black locust coals.

 

[Woody Stover]

I’ve got a big coaling problem too.

Actually there's only a couple segments of the song that rock hard, the first 30 seconds, and then around 4:00. Sorry, he just didn't stay on it long.

 

[Woody Stover]

This is a real coal issue! 7" of black locust coals.

Yeah, that's gonna take a while to get rid of.

 

[Jacub]

Thanks everyone. Taking it forward and placing a dried peice of wood on top did the trick! It's all filled up and burning again! House warming up.

I have to say, I love BKs air wash system. The glass stays so clean even after slow burns.

Is there a preferred way of loading a BK Ashford 30.2? NS or EW? Sorry for my noob questions. Hope this is not another can of worms.

Still have to finish my hardwood floors after taking down that wall. But here it is