30-NC vs Buck 91

[Mountaineer]

Currently running the nc-30. I've thought / wondered how a buck 91 would be like in its place.
I know it nc vs cat, and the buck has the larger firebox.
Most (99%) of the wood we burn is seasoned 12 -24 months depending on species.


Let's have your thoughts and opinions.

 

[begreen]

The biggest difference I would expect to find is during mild season burning. The Buck should be able to be turned down and burn low and slow better for longer burn times. This is the nature of a cat stove. When being pushed for heat, not as much difference. The Buck will have more capacity, and that should boost the top end heat a bit and provide longer burn time, but it will need an 8" flue which is more expensive. The 30-NC however, is hard to beat for value.

 

[Mountaineer]

Our nc -30 is running a 8'' now. It's got a 8 to 6 reducer going right in the top of the stove. Thanks for the reply.
Longer burn time would be great. When temps drop to single digits and below 0 , I let the stove have full air and it eats the wood pretty good with frequent loadings.
I think the larger firebox would be nice.

 

[Grisu]

I would try to take a look at the Buck 91 and measure its actual firebox size. Reportedly, it is closer to 3 cu ft than the stated 4.4. For example see here: https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads...asement-is-it-big-inside.130264/#post-1753310

P.S. If you can swing it financially I would shoot for the BlazeKing King. More capacity and longer burn times with exceptional control over heat output.

 

[begreen]

Agreed, if longer burn time is the ultimate goal and you have 8" pipe the King is worth considering.

 

[blacktail]

Longer burn time would be great. When temps drop to single digits and below 0 , I let the stove have full air and it eats the wood pretty good with frequent loadings.

Unless the oversized pipe is making it run really wacky, you should get more heat and longer burns with the air cut back.

 

[BrotherBart]

Don't know what the full air thing is about. Shut almost all the way down I have a job on my hands keeping my 30-NC from wanting to zip past 800 stove top with a full load.

 

[Mountaineer]

I would try to take a look at the Buck 91 and measure its actual firebox size. Reportedly, it is closer to 3 cu ft than the stated 4.4. For example see here: https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads...asement-is-it-big-inside.130264/#post-1753310

P.S. If you can swing it financially I would shoot for the BlazeKing King. More capacity and longer burn times with exceptional control over heat output.

Huh. I figured the 4.4 was a actual measurement.

I've thought about the King ( definitely think I would like it) but always heard getting it to the east coast was costly.
The buck is made in the neighboring state and have plenty of dealers around here.

Unless the oversized pipe is making it run really wacky, you should get more heat and longer burns with the air cut back.

More heat with less air..... That's a new one on me.
Longer burn times I can see though.

 

[Mountaineer]

Don't know what the full air thing is about. Shut almost all the way down I have a job on my hands keeping my 30-NC from wanting to zip past 800 stove top with a full load.

Shutting the air down on this thing doesn't put out near the heat and just ends up with a ton of coals that didn't get burned up when I do that.
Don't flame me.... But I never did have a temp gauge any where around the stove ... I just gauge it by what the big pots of water are doing on top the stove.

 

[blacktail]

More air means more heat up the chimney. These stoves are designed to run with the air low once they're up to temp. Sounds like your wood is green.

 

[Grisu]

More heat with less air..... That's a new one on me. Longer burn times I can see though.

The more air you feed into the stove, the more heat will go up the flue. Same reason why fireplaces are so inefficient. You should try to adjust the air to its lowest possible setting with the stove cruising at ~750 F to get the max heat out of your wood.

BlazeKing is currently adding more dealers to their network. Maybe give their customer service a call and ask for one close to you.

 

[BobUrban]

Running my 30 through and 8" and keep the air cut all the way off(or as off as it can go with magnets over the secondary holes and primary all the way in) = way more heat than running it wide open.

Stove is designed to run HOT with air set low allowing secondaries to really get active. With the air open most of your heat is going up and out. Try shutting it down some. Unless you are working with wet wood?? Then try some bio bricks and see what the 30 is capable of.

 

[Grisu]

Sounds like your wood is green.

That or the oversized flue impairs draft or both. That setup and burning practice may need some troubleshooting. Getting a stovetop thermometer would be my first suggestion.

 

[begreen]

Shutting down the air does not starve the fire for air unless the wood is poorly seasoned. You are only shutting down the primary air and you can't do that all the way with a modern stove. Closing down the air allows the draft to pull harder through the secondary air tubes. That increases burning efficiency and delivers more heat from the stove. If the stove needs full air to burn the wood well, either the wood is poorly seasoned or the draft is insufficient.

Can you describe the flue system on this stove?

 

[BrotherBart]

Shutting the air down on this thing doesn't put out near the heat and just ends up with a ton of coals that didn't get burned up when I do that.
Don't flame me.... But I never did have a temp gauge any where around the stove ... I just gauge it by what the big pots of water are doing on top the stove.

No flames here. Just curious.

 

[Mountaineer]

Shutting down the air does not starve the fire for air unless the wood is poorly seasoned. You are only shutting down the primary air and you can't do that all the way with a modern stove. Closing down the air allows the draft to pull harder through the secondary air tubes. That increases burning efficiency and delivers more heat from the stove. If the stove needs full air to burn the wood well, either the wood is poorly seasoned or the draft is insufficient.

Can you describe the flue system on this stove?

6' of 8'' stove pipe into about 35' of the small ( 8"x 8" ?) masonry stove flue

When I have shut the air off like that before ,it would just seem to coal up bad in the back of the stove in which I use a old garden rake with a cut handle to rake the coals forward and reload.
I thought the coaling issue was just the nature of the nc-30.

 

[begreen]

No, definitely not the nature of the stove. Though it will burn primarily from front to back it should burn the wood load completely. With a thermometer on the stove you should see the secondary burn intensify and the stove temp rise when the air control is turned down. The chimney sounds adequate, so I wonder about the wood. Modern stoves really want fully seasoned wood to burn well. When was the wood split and stacked? What species are you burning?

 

[BrotherBart]

Yeah with good dry wood having the primary down at least half pulls more air through the "doghouse" in the front and torches the stuff in the back as it burns through the stack.

 

[begreen]

Maybe this stove is burning worse up front due to the way it is being run? This is the stove with the burnt out doghouse.

 

[skysong]

A little a side here, from the current conversation, to something you mentioned earlier... the Buck stove has a double sleeve on top for fan air out the top...you're big pots of water, you mentioned, are not going to boil on there.

 

[simple.serf]

If I was doing it again, I would have gone with a Buck 91. My father just installed a new Buck this year, and it is a really nice stove. The advantage of the Buck for me would be in low and slow shoulder season burns, which would mean less oil.

 

[Mountaineer]

When was the wood split and stacked? What species are you burning?

Split and stacked a min. of 12 months of soft woods . 12- 24 on hardwoods

 

[begreen]

Not too bad on the wood then, though the hardwood will want to be more toward 24 months if it is oak or hickory.

 

[wildcatbb]

I'm leaning towards wood...I just "learned" about just how finicky these epa stoves are without the right wood ! Brother Bart and others on here tuned me up as well about the wood issue, as I wasn't impressed with my new nc30 I just got. I thought my wood was seasoned as well, although not as covered as it should have been. Got into some good stuff and oh my, open a window! What a difference! That thing is a beast with the right wood. That being said, it's still not a set up and forget it stove like my progress and requires much more stoking throughout a load than my cat stove . Once the progress is loaded and all shut down , it cruises for a loooong time at pretty much rock solid temps and with very few coals at the end....but it also cost over 3 times as much.