2020-21 Blaze King Performance Thread (Everything BK)
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sprawlnstall
Burning Hunk
The pine was definitely dry, however I did burn some other stuff that looked suspicious. We have had a mild winter with a few days above 40. I haven’t been running the stove as hot, guessing that may be part of it. Loaded up some oak and am gonna let er rip.
If your suspicious you should purchase a moisture meter and confirm your fuel quality. Guessing you may be surprised how wet some of your fuel is. I bought a cheap model off ebay years ago. It works fine. These days no wood goes in the BK without having been CSS at least 2 full years. Most has been 3 years.
Where ya at in Mn?
sprawlnstall
Burning Hunk
Near Mahnomen, MN. I have a moisture meter and my main burning source is dry. I had a small holz Hausen stack that was in the way it had a bunch of junk wood in the center. I’m guessing some of it was not seasoned.
Probably correct. That pile method takes longer to season than standard single or 2 wide stacks. They do look cool however!
Highbeam
Minister of Fire
Try turning your phone sideways. Signatures appear in landscape view on my phone.
Holiday
Burning Hunk
Look at that, learn something new all the time. I guess I should update mine.
BKVP
Minister of Fire
Sears Craftsman home, built 1895, 2850 Sq ft. Great amount of time/$$/effort to tightening up house past 3 years. Two story, 71F-76F most of the time.
Two weeks ago it was colder so I set thermostat and never moved it. Logged temp in adjoining room. Simply added wood every 24 hours and house remained 74F 24 hr a day, for 13 days.
Nealm66
Minister of Fire
I came home last night it was 74.9 in the upstairs hallway so warmer in the main room. Wife had a sweater on.
Diabel
Minister of Fire
BKVP
Minister of Fire
That's our buddy in Fairbanks. I've met both of them and I think I know why he keeps the house warm!!
Just wanted to share how nicely my BK is keeping the living room temperature. I started the fire around 8am and after the fire had established I did not touch the thermostat once. House furnace was off. Admittedly, I did poke the splits after the fire had burned down a bit at 4 and 8 pm, that's why the temperature went up again a bit. The wood I'm currently burning produces a hell lot of fine ash, and the lower splits sink into it, so I use the poker to bring them back into contact with oxygen.
BKVP
Minister of Fire
I have been told THOUSANDS of times we make the most boring stoves....and we are to blame for honey-do-lists!
Nealm66
Minister of Fire
They definitely free up a lot of time but I definitely haven’t hit the boring button yet. Every morning and night I find it interesting to see how much wood is left and strategize the reload. My supervisor bought a new older house and it’s his first time wood burning and it’s all we talk about. His stove has a 4-6 burn time so he’s really trying to convince his wife to buy a blaze king after hearing my results. We plan on teaming up for firewood and I suspect reload strategy lol
Nealm66
Minister of Fire
He asked me my princess model #. Mine is a pe32. Is that the newest model? I wanted to tell him that I didn’t think they have changed much in quite a while but I really have no idea. Maybe slight tweaks?
BKVP
Minister of Fire
Slight tweaks and PE32 is current and newest. As for having a wood cutting buddy...2020 was hard. I cut 5 cords 1.5 hours from my house. Dropped several 70-80' tall tamarack trees (larch). I cut, split and stacked in my F350 with side boards. I did this over 7 days.
On my next to last trip...heading for cord #6, my old cutting buddy asked if we could take both our trucks...F350's. We filled my truck first, started filling his. Then it happened. I was cutting a massive tree. Cut out the wedge, started back cut, tree started to fall perfect. Just before the hinge broke, the entire stump came out (no roots), saw went across upper thigh. Not good!!
Buddy and I carry walkie-talkies and I radioed that I needed first aide. I put on dressing, threw belt around leg. He took me to the ER.
Learned a bunch that day:
1) wear chaps (30 years of cutting and falling with no problems created superman attitude)
2) a 90' tall, 24" diameter tree doesn't need roots to stay upright
3) a good buddy is worth EVERYTHING!!
Nealm66
Minister of Fire
That’s crazy! He’s a younger guy , brand new to everything to do with wood. Fun to see his enthusiasm. I’m still learning myself with this new stove compared to my very old stove at my old house. I’m noticing my wood is lasting even longer as it’s been drying at a pretty quick rate stacked inside next to the stove. Throwing my reload schedule way out of wack. I should have left it till morning tonight. Wow, that was hot and not much room. He’s going to end up with a princess, suspect the king would just be too much. Bummer. So glad I listened, even on a low setting it’s 71 now and 41 outside.
I'm glad it wasn't serious.
But really, there's special chainsaw safety gear. Yes, the pants are a bit thick, but they contain fibers that wrap around the chain in milliseconds and stop it dead. They are not as effective with really high-powered saws, but they'll stop anything below 5 hp or so.
I wear them everytime I touch the saw, even in sweltering Mississippi summer.
And don't just use chaps, wear complete pants.
Chainsaw safety clothing - Wikipedia
Safety first, guys!
Nealm66
Minister of Fire
We have a bad root rot disease around here as well. Hard to tell unless your looking for it. My last few years falling timber was on fort Lewis. Thick with disease trees. You can tell by the very tip top of the tree will look unhealthy and faded.
Diabel
Minister of Fire
I wear the stihl pants and if i look inside the fibreglass fabric is only on the front of the pants.
Nealm66
Minister of Fire
Never a bad idea to get away from the tree as it’s falling either if possible. Probably figured that one out I bet. On super steep cliff type ground we would rope down because of the uprooting scenario in old growth
BKVP
Minister of Fire
Oh I was pulling bar out to get my 30' desired distance...but it was such a massive, heavy tree it "sat" on the bar. Not a buckskin either..bark dark to the tip.
After 12 mattress sutures, I took the weekend off and rested for a couple of days. Then I went back and cut up that tree!!
I got a huge cord from it and took it to my buddy!
Nealm66
Minister of Fire
If it ever happens again, pull the starter rope out and keep tension from the roughly 5-6’ away that gives you. There will be a split second it will release as it’s falling. It will at least save the motor. Always keeping an eye for the top buckling back if it’s super rotten. Sorry, can’t help myself.
BCC_Burner
Feeling the Heat
I'm reasonably sure I already know the answer to this question, but what are the odds of getting a Princess to run properly in a single story cabin, with a 5/12 roof at 8600' in elevation? Total chimney length currently is about 12-13 feet with double wall stovepipe inside running into a ceiling support box, then class A up and out. It's a relatively snowy location, so adding roof braces isn't a great option, although I think I could get away with adding another 2 feet to the chimney without needing them.
I'm in the process of buying a cabin/primary residence where a wood stove is the primary heat source (currently there is a mid-to-late 1990's era Avalon stove installed), but I'm looking to upgrade to something more modern. I should probably be looking at easy-breathing non cat stoves with my setup constraints though.
I'm in the process of buying a cabin/primary residence where a wood stove is the primary heat source (currently there is a mid-to-late 1990's era Avalon stove installed), but I'm looking to upgrade to something more modern. I should probably be looking at easy-breathing non cat stoves with my setup constraints though.
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