2022-2023 BK everything thread

[BKVP]

Yeah, but you you're not getting the chance to play Paul Bunyan, working off all those airline and hotel meals.

That sir is the truth!

 

[Nealm66]

I think you’ll like them in the 50/50 mix as well. Don’t even notice they’re there until it’s burned down and they’re still there plenty enough to get another load started. I’ve burned a bunch of the home fire logs as well with about the same result’s maybe slightly less expensive. I was just throwing one in once in a while with the cotton wood loads during our cold spell just to help with the reloads. Works really good in case you’re running late to reload

 

[kennyp2339]

Slightly mild here, didn’t add wood last night or this morning, left the house for work and just opened the air to max range, came home ran the sweep down the stack, scooped out the ash and lit a new fire with kindling from some burning coals left over, totally clean out from cap to fire box, vacuumed the rear of the cat when I was in the cat chamber, I think snow will be finally making an appearance after Sunday in the MA and NE, just want to be ready for it

 

[Nealm66]

We’re just cooling back down after a bit of a warm spell.

 

[Highbeam]

We’re just cooling back down after a bit of a warm spell.

Looking forward to the sunny cool weather.

 

[Nealm66]

Is that heat pump messing things up for you highbeam? I had to let the fire go out a few times during that warm spell but I’m lazy about adjusting the thermostat

 

[Highbeam]

Is that heat pump messing things up for you highbeam? I had to let the fire go out a few times during that warm spell but I’m lazy about adjusting the thermostat

Yes! I can’t figure out when to run it or burn wood instead. It’s super cheap to run. If it’s in the 30s, I’m burning wood for sure.

 

[Ashful]

I had to let the fire go out a few times during that warm spell but I’m lazy about adjusting the thermostat

Other than automatic turn-down overnight, I leave mine turned up to 70F. It's my game to stay ahead of it with the stoves, but should I fail, I don't have to hear complaints from my wife about it being cold.

 

[sprawlnstall]

I put a steel cat in this fall and it has been working great until two weeks ago. I noticed when I close the bypass and turn the thermostat way up the fire is not an inferno like it should be. It is a lazy flame similar to what it should be when I place the thermostat in the 3:00 position. This isn't my first Rodeo, I suspected fly ash or a dirty chimney. I shut everything down, cleaned the chimney and dusted the cat. The cat appeared to have some fly ash on the front face. the rear of the cat appeared to be ok. I fired everything up at it operated as it should. Fast forward to this week, same problem, I shut everything down and dusted the cat again. This time the problem was not resolved. I can still get a decent burn but very little visible flames. Are steel cats more susceptible to fly ash? Can it get so plugged a dusting wont clean it? Any other suggestions? Yes, my Oak is dry and well seasoned. 12-15% moisture.

 

[Ashful]

I put a steel cat in this fall and it has been working great until two weeks ago. I noticed when I close the bypass and turn the thermostat way up the fire is not an inferno like it should be. It is a lazy flame similar to what it should be when I place the thermostat in the 3:00 position. This isn't my first Rodeo, I suspected fly ash or a dirty chimney. I shut everything down, cleaned the chimney and dusted the cat. The cat appeared to have some fly ash on the front face. the rear of the cat appeared to be ok. I fired everything up at it operated as it should. Fast forward to this week, same problem, I shut everything down and dusted the cat again. This time the problem was not resolved. I can still get a decent burn but very little visible flames. Are steel cats more susceptible to fly ash? Can it get so plugged a dusting wont clean it? Any other suggestions? Yes, my Oak is dry and well seasoned. 12-15% moisture.

If you search this forum, you'll find a post or two from me that are almost identical to yours, ca. 2019.

I've not seen it occur on a Princess, it's mostly been a thing for a few of us with BK 30's, which seem to have a more aggressive air wash aimed at the door. But it's likely your draft is above spec, serving to stir up more than the usual fly ash. The Steelcat also seems more prone to plug with fly ash than a ceramic cat. I can and have plugged one pretty well on a SINGLE LOAD of wood, running WOT with no key damper. Here's my flame shield after one such burn, although I couldn't find an associated photo of the cat itself:



Solutions:

1. If your pipe is tall, install a key damper. A magnehelic is a nice addition too, so you can tune the key damper to .05"WC on high, but plenty of people drive without a gauge.



2. Next cat replacement, swap back to ceramic. They seem to be less prone to plugging with fly ash, with their larger openings.



3. Obviously check your chimney cap, any time things are sluggish. But if the problem goes away in bypass, then it's likely at the cat.

 

[Nealm66]

Ya, that low and slow heat output really shines with the heat pump until we get up into the high 40’s low 50’s and then it’s merciless. Always on the fence wether to turn the heat pump off or let the stove go out. 32 here now, perfect princess weather!

 

[Highbeam]

Ya, that low and slow heat output really shines with the heat pump until we get up into the high 40’s low 50’s and then it’s merciless. Always on the fence wether to turn the heat pump off or let the stove go out. 32 here now, perfect princess weather!

I was considering daytime highs as my decision maker but these cat stoves burn for 24 hours and so I moved to nighttime lows as being the criteria. I light the princess in the evening after it gets dark when temps are forecast in the 30s (I like to be stealth about my burning) and so the initial pulse of heat happens after the heat of the day and sets me up for a long cruise trailing off in the heat of the next day.

I don't leave the heat pump on or turn it down when I burn, I shut it off. Otherwise it keeps blowing. Of course, it's still powered up and ready but is "off". With wifi, I can monitor temperature and turn it on from work if a surprise cold front comes in.

This could save me a lot of wood. Also could save a lot of catalyst life.

 

[Highbeam]

Are steel cats more susceptible to fly ash? Can it get so plugged a dusting wont clean it?

Absolutely. The cells per inch is much much higher with a steel cat. It's a super fine filter in comparison and it's even possible to plug a ceramic! The cats can plug on the front or the back and can also plug within the depth of the cells so simply brushing off the face is not the solution if the cat is plugged in any of the other ways.

I'm not a fan of steel cats as you can probably tell. They cost more too. The reason I think we are seeing them more often is that they are unlikely to physically break or crumble so less warranty issues. I tried a steel cat and didn't have clogging problems but I had much shorter cat life before failure.

Maybe the new catalyst coatings from the last year or so will help with life expectancy but clogging is a real issue. Common across all brands and especially with steel.

 

[Ashful]

I was considering daytime highs as my decision maker but these cat stoves burn for 24 hours and so I moved to nighttime lows as being the criteria. I light the princess in the evening after it gets dark when temps are forecast in the 30s (I like to be stealth about my burning) and so the initial pulse of heat happens after the heat of the day and sets me up for a long cruise trailing off in the heat of the next day.

Interesting. I've always used nighttime lows as my decision to load. Given the dynamics of our house (~1 million pounds of stone), I should really go more by average daily temperature, but overnight lows below 50F is my usual trigger to load stove #1. If below 40F, I also load stove #2.

 

[Highbeam]

Interesting. I've always used nighttime lows as my decision to load. Given the dynamics of our house (~1 million pounds of stone), I should really go more by average daily temperature, but overnight lows below 50F is my usual trigger to load stove #1. If below 40F, I also load stove #2.

We will likely have different operating criteria because in warmer weather my home is easily overheated with wood and very cheaply heated with a heat pump. There is significant overlap where I am actually paying more to burn wood than I would be to run the heat pump but we like wood heat. It's an easy decision when it's really cold out, just burn wood.

I feel like the ashful mansion has an insatiable demand for heat and is difficult to overheat during the heating season.

 

[Nealm66]

aren’t you supposed to leave the heat pumps on? Even though they’re just blowing/circulating the air? I’ve got a stupid cat that gets all bummed out if I don’t have a fire going. Lays down there and snores by it. I don’t know how it can stand how hot it gets in that room even when it’s turned down.

 

[Jedi]

My Ashford25 is scheduled for install in 2 weeks! Hope all goes well

 

[begreen]

I was considering daytime highs as my decision maker but these cat stoves burn for 24 hours and so I moved to nighttime lows as being the criteria. I light the princess in the evening after it gets dark when temps are forecast in the 30s (I like to be stealth about my burning) and so the initial pulse of heat happens after the heat of the day and sets me up for a long cruise trailing off in the heat of the next day.

I don't leave the heat pump on or turn it down when I burn, I shut it off. Otherwise it keeps blowing. Of course, it's still powered up and ready but is "off". With wifi, I can monitor temperature and turn it on from work if a surprise cold front comes in.

This could save me a lot of wood. Also could save a lot of catalyst life.

I no longer touch the programmed thermostat. The high today is going to be around 44 so we are burning. If the HP comes on, so be it. It lets me know to open up the air a bit on the 7am fire and let it roll.

 

[Diabel]

I no longer touch the programmed thermostat. The high today is going to be around 44 so we are burning. If the HP comes on, so be it. It lets me know to open up the air a bit on the 7am fire and let it roll.

Funny how we all become more complacent as we age😝. Heat pumps are amazing.

 

[Highbeam]

I no longer touch the programmed thermostat. The high today is going to be around 44 so we are burning. If the HP comes on, so be it. It lets me know to open up the air a bit on the 7am fire and let it roll.

Three reasons I hesitate to do that.

1) These minisplits are a PITA to clean out. The screens are easy but the stuff that makes it past the screens and cakes onto the coils and blower wheel is excessively difficult to clean. Full time "on" status means full time accumulation of junk on the innards. Seriously, the cleaning looks very difficult.

2) I have this odd desire for the family to "want" wood heat so I keep the heat pump thermostat at like 70 and when we heat with wood the stove room is upper 70s. It's also cheaper to heat the house to a lower setpoint. The dogs definitely like the upper 70s.

3) When loading the BK full and charring that fresh load if I don't have the house in the 60s there is a good chance I will overheat the home because of that warm up cycle. So I shut off the heat pump and let the house cool a bit before starting up the stove. I don't like sleeping in a hot bedroom.

With a good heat pump, I admit that some benefits of a cat stove like long and low abilities are starting to become less valuable.

 

[begreen]

When I am heating with wood the system rarely comes on. If it does it's only for 5 - 10 minutes. Otherwise it's off. When it comes on it reminds me it's time to open up the air a bit or put some more wood on.

 

[BKVP]

My 2021 $10,000 NG Furnace almost NEVER comes on. The thermostat reads 71F so long as I toss 3 NIELS into the stoves every 10 or so hours.

 

[Nealm66]

Mine seems to pop on and circulate even if it’s not throwing out heat. I keep it at 72 which is about where the princess keeps it without the heat pump. It works really good for the most part. It’s always been a little too warm if we’re in the upper 40’s/lower 50’s. I think there’s a completely better feeling of the wood heat for whatever reason. I notice it when I’m visiting friends and I feel like I need to leave my jacket on lol

 

[Highbeam]

When I am heating with wood the system rarely comes on. If it does it's only for 5 - 10 minutes. Otherwise it's off. When it comes on it reminds me it's time to open up the air a bit or put some more wood on.

Right, a minisplit is on and running all the time but only throwing heat when it senses cold unless you shut it off. Not the same as a central furnace. If we had a central furnace then I would just set it and forget it.

 

[Highbeam]

My 2021 $10,000 NG Furnace almost NEVER comes on. The thermostat reads 71F so long as I toss 3 NIELS into the stoves every 10 or so hours.

10k for a gas furnace? Wow, I didn't know they were that expensive.