2021-2022 BK everything thread

[Tron]

The BK Chinook would qualify for the tax credit, but I can't find anywhere on their site or in this forum about whether or not the top gets hot enough to cook on?

It does not. As @begreen said, it's a convection top and has about 2" of clearance to the firebox roof. Through which the fans blow if installed. It's ideal for rising dough, though (raised up a little and with a plate in between).
For me it's not a deal breaker. If the need would arise, I have a little camping stove, or I'd fire up the grill on the patio.

 

[Diabel]

I would not cook on the Princess, the paint is too week. Unless you do not care about it.

 

[stoveliker]

I would not cook on the Princess, the paint is too week. Unless you do not care about it.

I think that in general is the case - whether it is with painted steel stoves, or with BKs in particular I don't know. Cooking works much better for cast iron stove tops imo.

I have scratches on the top (Chinook) already. Even my door has scratches; you can open it so far that the flat front surface of the door touches the pillar/jamb at the hinge side (that sticks out an inch and a half beyond the surface of the closed door). Right where that touches, the paint is gone.

That happened upon first loading and I thought the paint was weak because it had not been hot yet (if so, a warning should be in the manual...). But a gentle wiping of the top with a wet cloth also left scratches. I.e. one grain of sand in a soft wet cloth, no pressure applied, will result in scratching.

(This sounds like griping, but while disappointing, it's not that bad for me, because the stove is in the basement. However, when one has the stove in the living room, then an easily scratchable stove would be an issue to me.)

 

[Tron]

I have scratches on the top (Chinook) already. Even my door has scratches; you can open it so far that the flat front surface of the door touches the pillar/jamb at the hinge side (that sticks out an inch and a half beyond the surface of the closed door). Right where that touches, the paint is gone.

Interesting. I can open my door only to about 90 degrees (totally sufficient), after that it sort of "sticks" and the force required to open further increases significantly, which is why I just don't do it.

 

[jdonna]

I think that in general is the case - whether it is with painted steel stoves, or with BKs in particular I don't know. Cooking works much better for cast iron stove tops imo.

I have scratches on the top (Chinook) already. Even my door has scratches; you can open it so far that the flat front surface of the door touches the pillar/jamb at the hinge side (that sticks out an inch and a half beyond the surface of the closed door). Right where that touches, the paint is gone.

That happened upon first loading and I thought the paint was weak because it had not been hot yet (if so, a warning should be in the manual...). But a gentle wiping of the top with a wet cloth also left scratches. I.e. one grain of sand in a soft wet cloth, no pressure applied, will result in scratching.

(This sounds like griping, but while disappointing, it's not that bad for me, because the stove is in the basement. However, when one has the stove in the living room, then an easily scratchable stove would be an issue to me.)

I’ve left a huge stock pot on the princess this season to add humidity, can do about 6 gallons a day. It’s beat the top up a bit but I’d rather have the humidity than a pretty top.

 

[stoveliker]

Interesting. I can open my door only to about 90 degrees (totally sufficient), after that it sort of "sticks" and the force required to open further increases significantly, which is why I just don't do it.

there's no limit on the hinge assembly as far as I can see. I'll take a pic next reload.

 

[stoveliker]

I’ve left a huge stock pot on the princess this season to add humidity, can do about 6 gallons a day. It’s beat the top up a bit but I’d rather have the humidity than a pretty top.

yes. My point is that on a cast iron stove, no such things happen. Maybe it's inherent to painted steel stoves.
Next BK iteration: cast iron cook are on top of the cat? I'd like that.

 

[Alex36472]

I know that whistle sound very well! Welcome to the high draft club! Do a few loads of wood and then take down that horizontal piece of black pipe, check to see what the build up looks like if you havent cleaned it recently. Buy (2) pipe dampers, install the first on your piece that rises straight about 12" up from the collar, run it like that for a bit to see if things slow down, have the 2nd as a spare or incase you need an additional damper.

Ok thanks for the info,

I know that whistle sound very well! Welcome to the high draft club! Do a few loads of wood and then take down that horizontal piece of black pipe, check to see what the build up looks like if you havent cleaned it recently. Buy (2) pipe dampers, install the first on your piece that rises straight about 12" up from the collar, run it like that for a bit to see if things slow down, have the 2nd as a spare or incase you need an additional damper.

Ok thanks for the info! I cleaned up my chimney last june I think , i cleaned inside my firestove and the pipes. Then the company that installed my chimney went back to fix their louzy mistakes inside and outside the house. I did a couple of burns in december and been burning 24/7 since january 6 or something, until this monday when i had that incident. So i said what the heck, swept the outside chimney even though it was ok, swepted my firestove piped had a medium build up and i cleaned all the inside of my firestove. I did 2 burns today and I never heard one whistle, nothing like that video you saw, basically just the burning and metal clanging.. So it got me thinking they were the ones that removed the piped and put it back, 2 days ago it was me and there's no more whistle.. Why? The wind outside today was more than usual too. I'm so confused, i dont understand it haha..

 

[stoveliker]

there's no limit on the hinge assembly as far as I can see. I'll take a pic next reload.

@Tron

Two damage lines.where they touch.

 

[jetsam]

I've "ruined" the paint on my PI a couple times with tea boil-overs.

Wait for spring, hit it with a wire brush, hit it with a shot of Stove Brite black, open the windows and burn it, good as new. (I think Stove Brite black might actually be the factory paint because it is absolutely the same as the rest of the stove.)

 

[stoveliker]

Not sure; mine seems more gray. But I'm leaving it as it is.

 

[jdonna]

Not sure; mine seems more gray. But I'm leaving it as it is.

Agreed, I didn’t buy the princess for its looks!

 

[Poindexter]

@BradyBunch On my Ashford 30.0 I could (never have) lift off the cast enameled top and use the (now exposed) steel firebox as a cooktop. My wife would be furious that I let the house run out of charcoal for the outdoor cookers.

 

[Tron]

@Tron

Two damage lines.where they touch.

Thanks, I now see what you mean.
No, I do not have those, seems like my door stops before it touches the frame.

 

[Nealm66]

I heated up chili and fried hotdogs on my princess last year during a power outage lol. Didn’t hurt the paint at all but I didn’t slide anything around. Surprised at how fast it fried the hotdogs, wasn’t even turned up. It’s a newer stove, maybe better paint? Or just being careful helped. I don’t know, I bought a can of factory paint when I bought the stove but haven’t needed it

 

[elmo_4_vt]

Awesome. I think you're right from everything I'm seeing. We love the Neo but will have to decide if it's worth missing out on the tax credit. Thanks so much!

I have a Chinook 30, and can confirm that there is a space between the main stovetop and the top metal that you could put a pan on. That said, when the stove is turned up, that surface is still 300-400*. During a normal burn however, it does go down as low as 170-200. I've fried an egg on it at those temps just to see if I could, but it took a little longer than it would on the stove. If you're OK with turning the stove up, it'll work fine, but you may make your house warmer than you want it in the process. We do keep a cast-iron steamer pot on top as well, and it takes about a full day to burn off a full load of water (about 8 cups). You can feel steam coming off for the first half of the load (like 5-6 hrs), but not as much as I think you'd get on a solid top stove.

All that said, I still highly recommend the Chinook and BK. It's really great as a heat source for the house and I still like the look of the chinook.

 

[elmo_4_vt]

Interesting. I can open my door only to about 90 degrees (totally sufficient), after that it sort of "sticks" and the force required to open further increases significantly, which is why I just don't do it.

Same with me - Just for another data point.

 

[shgRUSS]

If I could add to changes for future models the only thing that comes to mind is the cat probe. The hot spot on the princess stove top is directly in front of the probe (best spot for any cooking, baking, tea pot, etc.). The cat probe is just in the way, recessed would be much nicer.

 

[Tron]

If I could add to changes for future models the only thing that comes to mind is the cat probe. The hot spot on the princess stove top is directly in front of the probe (best spot for any cooking, baking, tea pot, etc.). The cat probe is just in the way, recessed would be much nicer.

Not sure how that's done on the Princess, but on my Chinook the cat probe is just dropped in. So once the stove is at temperature, you don't really need the probe for this load anymore, so you could theoretically just pull it out. Might be hot, though.

 

[stoveliker]

If I could add to changes for future models the only thing that comes to mind is the cat probe. The hot spot on the princess stove top is directly in front of the probe (best spot for any cooking, baking, tea pot, etc.). The cat probe is just in the way, recessed would be much nicer.

The hot spot is directly in front of the probe --> the probe is directly downstream from the hot spot. That's because the probe is intended to measure the hotspot...

Recessed would indeed solve this problem.

I would not take it out without covering the hole properly; you'll be sucking in cold air through that hole directly behind the cat. Not good for keeping your chimney warm and possibly not good for your cat.

 

[shgRUSS]

The hot spot is directly in front of the probe --> the probe is directly downstream from the hot spot. That's because the probe is intended to measure the hotspot...

Recessed would indeed solve this problem.

I would not take it out without covering the hole properly; you'll be sucking in cold air through that hole directly behind the cat. Not good for keeping your chimney warm and possibly not good for your cat.

I agree, the hole would be a problem that could not be left open

 

[BKinger]

Not feeling the Heat Hi All, This winter, 4th winter with my Ashford 30.2, it doesn't seem like I'm getting the same amount of heat as I did in the previous winters. Previous winters, my thermostat, on average, would be at the 2-3 o'clock position. This year I am averaging at the 4-6 o'clock position. Previous winters, I would have to close my bedroom doors upstairs because it would get too hot up there. This winter, I have to put the heat on up there. My catalyst is glowing nice and orange/red so I am baffled. Any ideas? Maybe my house (built in 2001) became very drafty all of a sudden...

 

[stoveliker]

I'd order a new cat and enough gasket for two swaps. Try the new one, see if that's it. If not, you have the old one and gasket to use more when needed.

Is your wood as dry as before?
(And draft as good- chimney and cap as clean?)

 

[Highbeam]

You can make a dead cat glow if you crank up the thermostat high enough. When running at lower or regular settings, is the chimney smoking? A little white stuff?

Cats only last 10-12k hours. Some of us burn that much in two years. I’ve never had one last for 4!

 

[charger4406]

-35f last night and this morning, have been burning punky cherry
in the King and it's been great, not having any problem with too much
coals during reload.