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

[webby3650]

How many cords through that splitter webby ??
I bought a supersplit 7-8 years ago, one of the best things I EVER bought...

I bought it very used. I’ve put probably 16 cords through it so far. Love it! I would never go back to a hydraulic splitter.

 

[showrguy]

I bought it very used. I’ve put probably 16 cords through it so far. Love it! I would never go back to a hydraulic splitter.

Me either, you just can’t beat a 2 second cycle time !!

 

[Woody Stover]

4 cords per rack. Basically two 1-cord” stalls” on each side.

So rows are about 16x8', 16" splits?

wondering if I burn on a higher setting if it would slow or stop anymore
corrosion from forming.

It’s definitely from creosote on the steel. Creosote is very corrosive. Do you run on high for 30 minutes or even an hour on high every so often? This will burn off the creosote in the box.

If you run with some flame in the box, it won't be full of creo smoke all the time, but of course your burn times will be shorter. If you need that much heat most of the time, it's all good. Running on high for 30 minutes on every new load, per the manual, will eat through some wood as well.
Now, if your stove lasts only eight years, your total burn time will be much shorter.

If I’ve just got a small tree to cut up, this is my setup.

That's some pretty country..

What am I doing wrong, I can’t get more than 9 hrs out of a load....I’m going by the manual, load it up, char, close bypass, run on high for about 15-30 mins, slowly turn down...Any ashford insert owners getting 20 hrs?

I can easily get 12 hours out of my princess insert newly installed this past Nov although we do not have cold temperatures and wind

I think the longer burns are with the 2.9 cu.ft boxes like the free-standing Ashford. I see that the insert is listed at 2.3. If you're burning in the load on high, then adding another 15-30 minutes on high after the bypass is closed, you've eaten through a portion of the load before you cruise the stove. Spudman99's 12 hours is what I'd expect on low, 20 would be a stretch except in mild weather, running very low. If your wood is wetter than 18-20%, of course, you have to give it more air to stay active and your burn times will drop.
Heck, I can get 12 hrs. out of my 1.5 cu.ft box if it's warm enough outside.

 

[charger4406]

It’s definitely from creosote on the steel. Creosote is very corrosive. Do you run on high for 30 minutes or even an hour on high every so often? This will burn off the creosote in the box.

I do run it on high when I reload, maybe 20mins, I guess I will run it
closer to wide open from now on to save the stove, I can run the F600
a little longer between loads, no danger of overheating this cave

 

[charger4406]

If you run with some flame in the box, it won't be full of creo smoke all the time, but of course your burn times will be shorter. If you need that much heat most of the time, it's all good

Believe me this house can use the extra heat,
you just can't overheat this place according to my wife
I also have more then enough wood to last several lifetimes.
I guess the only time the firebox goes black now will be during
really warm weather.

 

[SpaceBus]

If I’ve just got a small tree to cut up, this is my setup.

How do you keep the splits from falling off?

 

[jetsam]

How do you keep the splits from falling off?

I tell 'em, "The order you come off of here is the order you go in the stove."

 

[lsucet]

. Running on high for 30 minutes on every new load, per the manual, will eat through some wood as well

When it can be true, it does not impact much on wood consumption. It does burn hotter thru the burn ( higher stt temp ), clean burn and glass. Many pos burning on high for those 20 to 30 minutes. Remember we are talking here of a full load not just a few pieces.

 

[Diabel]

I burn predominantly hemlock in my Princess. And after 15min with bypass closed, thermostat fully open my cat needle point to 15:00 and my flue probe is at around 500f.
In the firebox there is a complete inferno. I don’t feel comfortable letting it go any longer, I close her up.

 

[MissMac]

It’s definitely from creosote on the steel. Creosote is very corrosive. Do you run on high for 30 minutes or even an hour on high every so often? This will burn off the creosote in the box.

I run my stove on high lots, and can clean the glass off from doing this no prob. But, i’ve Never been able to burn off the creo in the box. Looks like a scaly dragon in there all the time. Is this something that folks should be inspecting for on these stoves? Gotta think that the low and slow feature would give a lot of people creo build up in the box?

 

[lsucet]

I burn predominantly hemlock in my Princess. And after 15min with bypass closed, thermostat fully open my cat needle point to 15:00 and my flue probe is at around 500f.
In the firebox there is a complete inferno. I don’t feel comfortable letting it go any longer, I close her up.

I do burn hotter than that. Probe almost touch 900 easy, stove top can be high 600s and cat probe off scale. It loves it.

 

[lsucet]

I run my stove on high lots, and can clean the glass off from doing this no prob. But, i’ve Never been able to burn off the creo in the box. Looks like a scaly dragon in there all the time. Is this something that folks should be inspecting for on these stoves? Gotta think that the low and slow feature would give a lot of people creo build up in the box?

Burn sometimes just a few good splits and let rip on high, it will take care a lot of it.

 

[MissMac]

Burn sometimes just a few good splits and let rip on high, it will take care a lot of it.

Oh i do, all the time. Like pretty much every day. Perhaps it’s all the pine? . But seriously though.

 

[Diabel]

I do burn hotter than that. Probe almost touch 900 easy, stove top can be high 600s and cat probe off scale. It loves it.

Wow
I will have to come through and try that.

 

[Diabel]

My firebox la black with exception of the bricks they are nice and grey. And maybe around the cat area is brownish shade

 

[charger4406]

In the firebox there is a complete inferno. I don’t feel comfortable letting it go any longer

I have a load of sugar maple and hickory on wide open throttle and the flue has
held steady at about 900F (internal temp) for over an hour,
radiates allot of heat.

 

[Woody Stover]

How do you keep the splits from falling off?

If you wanted to, you could crib splits crossways on the ends like I did here, and stack that pallet way up. Then a couple ratchet straps would hold the rows in place for transport.

i’ve Never been able to burn off the creo in the box. Looks like a scaly dragon in there all the time.

That flaky, dry stuff is not as much a problem as the wet stuff that sits behind the bricks, etc, after a low burn.
The Buck 91 at one time made a loud bang, and I took out the bricks looking for a cracked weld. Turned out it was just a side of the box flexing as the box was cooling. But I saw similar erosion behind the bricks, down in the back corners, in a ten year old stove that probably never saw low burns. Just surface erosion, nothing as deep as what charger 4406 shows there. The box in that tank was 1/4" plate as well..

 

[MissMac]

What’s your thoughts about putting wood straight from outside (minus 25*C) and right into the stove? All my wood is usually inside for at least 48 hrs before going into the stove, but i’ve got some mouldy pieces I don’t want to bring in. If i pepper one or two into each load, any issues expected? Like some sort of thermal shock?

 

[sprawlnstall]

Im running a king on 6” exterior pipe 8” double wall inside without a problem

What’s your thoughts about putting wood straight from outside (minus 25*C) and right into the stove? All my wood is usually inside for at least 48 hrs before going into the stove, but i’ve got some mouldy pieces I don’t want to bring in. If i pepper one or two into each load, any issues expected? Like some sort of thermal shock?

I often wonder this too. I've come to notice at 20 degrees a split of wood seems to warm up fairly quickly in the house. However a -30 piece of wood is like a frozen brick. I may be wrong but as long as the piece of wood is not covered in snow or ice and the surface feels to be at room temperature I will toss it in the stove. When in doubt I lay my splits down in front of the stove for a while and wait an extra minute before closing the bypass.

 

[charger4406]

I've done this with my F600 on occasion, full load of
frozen, no ice or snow on it, and the only thing I've noticed
was that it took maybe 10mins longer to get the stove up
to temp on a hot coal bed, have not had any damage to the
stove at all.
I think you would have to drop a red hot stove in ice water
to cause any real damage, like on Forged In Fire when they
quench a blade in water rather then oil

 

[Highbeam]

All of our wood waits outside to be brought in and loaded immediately into the firebox. We do keep kindling inside out of convenience. What are you worried about happening? Whether the wood is 70 or 20 shouldn't matter much to the 1200 degree flame.

 

[jdonna]

I'm waiting for a warm day this week to sweep the chimney, should be interesting to see what it looks like after running several months on a failing cat. Hopefully I will be good for the rest of the season after sweeping.

The shiny side up is I switched out the insulated flexible liner to a insulated smooth wall liner, much easier to clean and much thicker material!

 

[jetsam]

What’s your thoughts about putting wood straight from outside (minus 25*C) and right into the stove? All my wood is usually inside for at least 48 hrs before going into the stove, but i’ve got some mouldy pieces I don’t want to bring in. If i pepper one or two into each load, any issues expected? Like some sort of thermal shock?

No worries, throw 'er in.

If wood has surface moisture from a leaky tarp or whatever, I try to let it dry by the stove for a day or so, but if I see for example a split with borer ant holes in it, that goes straight from outdoors to stove.

It may be slow to catch if the surface has a lot of ice on and in it, but once the water cooks off it'll be ok.

 

[begreen]

It may be slow to catch if the surface has a lot of ice on and in it, but once the water cooks off it'll be ok.

I thought that had the potential to shock and damage a ceramic cat.

 

[jetsam]

I thought that had the potential to shock and damage a ceramic cat.

I dunno, my ceramic cat went through a whole lot of frozen waterlogged spongy wood the first year, and didn't seem to suffer as a result. We're not talking a little surface moisture here-we're talking standing dead and deadfall stuff that often had more water than wood in it.

That said, I was conscious of its current temperature and the temperature of what was in the firebox when engaging the cat, so I guess your mileage may vary if you just pop the door shut and put the cat in immediately every time.