Am I a traitor?

[Mitchhorne8]

Yeah, it's weird we have the ability to turn way down past any useful setting, as I guess a lot of people probably run into a similar problem, but it actually works very well. Try a setting around 3 o'clock on the dial (middle of normal range) and do a full burn. Make small adjustments from there, to dial in on your desired burn time. I suspect there aren't many burning with a knob setting below 2 o'clock without stalling, but someone will surely chime in here soon, to disagree.

Ha! Exactly 3 o'clock. Anything less is.... Well, uncivilized.

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[lsucet]

Yup. The wood is from the same stack. I will say maybe I'm burning at too low, which is causing the black window. But that is because I'm having trouble with the damper. Which I could be another complaint. On my PH if I'm looking for "low" I just turn the damper all the way down. On the Ashford I had to find low on my own. If turned it all the way down the fire would go out. But hey it's still early in the competition, maybe by February I'll be loving it. Sorry if you couldn't follow my last post too well. Been busy with the holidays, and that post was hastily written in the mall tied the hitchin post with the rest of the husband's.

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When you said "the fire would go out" are you talking about the flame? is the cat that goes inactive?
I have the princess not the ashford but i believe they work under the same concept. It is normal the fire to go out when you dial it to low, the tstat will open and closes to keep almost a steady heat output as need it. one of the family member crossing the street from me bought one after i got my princess and the tstat look the same than mine when we talk about the sticker, they burn on it the same way i do mine and no problems till now that i am aware of. I can burn mine with the knob about 1:00 clock almost at the end of the top of the sticker and never goes inactive.

including when looks like there is nothing in there and look just ashes after 22-27 hrs my cat still around 9:30 to 10:00 o'clock with 300df stove top outside temp low 20s. then i rake the ashes and lots of coal under, rake to the front and let the air open, i see 12:00 o'clock in the cat or more and temp climb into the 400s for almost two more hrs. they are seeing almost the same performance with their ashford. I know I have good draft and looks like they are doing good too. i found that to get max heat from this stove i don't need to see flames at all. the highest i go with the tstat is at 2:30 and the temp on the stove stays oscillating between 550-625 for almost 5-6 hrs after reload. kind of heat that sometimes is to much. i keep it about 1:30 and runs about 400-475 the most and super long burn. Oh, the whole point is: NO FLAMES AT ALL.

 

[Woody Stover]

When you said "the fire would go out" are you talking about the flame? is the cat that goes inactive?...the whole point is: NO FLAMES AT ALL.

Pretty sure he knows how a cat stove runs, since he already had an IS.

 

[kennyp2339]

Just as a reminder, BK's are designed to burn low and slow (which means black window) there's a reason why its called the most boring stove around. My princess only has a clear see through window 3 times a year..at the start of the season, mid season when temps are in the low 20's and I'm burning high, and at the end of the season when I clean the thing.
As far as running the t-stat lower than 3 o'clock, its all about draft, your draft may be different than mine, but during day to day op's I run mine lower than three, no flames, just an active cat, that gives me good heat and long burn times, now when it gets cold I turn the thing up, have flames in the box but shorter burn times but that's the price I pay for calling for me heat.
The biggest BK disconnect I see here on these message boards lately is that people with new bk's keep them turned up for flames out of fear that you need flames for heat, or the stove wont work properly, trust me when I say that you need to forget the flame culture and go to active cat probe culture only.

 

[lsucet]

Just as a reminder, BK's are designed to burn low and slow (which means black window) there's a reason why its called the most boring stove around. My princess only has a clear see through window 3 times a year..at the start of the season, mid season when temps are in the low 20's and I'm burning high, and at the end of the season when I clean the thing.
As far as running the t-stat lower than 3 o'clock, its all about draft, your draft may be different than mine, but during day to day op's I run mine lower than three, no flames, just an active cat, that gives me good heat and long burn times, now when it gets cold I turn the thing up, have flames in the box but shorter burn times but that's the price I pay for calling for me heat.
The biggest BK disconnect I see here on these message boards lately is that people with new bk's keep them turned up for flames out of fear that you need flames for heat, or the stove wont work properly, trust me when I say that you need to forget the flame culture and go to active cat probe culture only.

+1 on that.
flame will goes thru wood quick and the difference of heat in my case is not a big deal with flame than when i found a tstat position that give me good heat with no flame and wood last more. when i run it with flame my flue temp goes up, meaning lot of heat going up the chimney and like mentioned before not that much difference on heat. That is my experience.

Pretty sure he knows how a cat stove runs, since he already had an IS.

I know he should know but i cant understand what he means by that and if i remember correctly is not the IS what he has but maybe i am wrong. but still it is a cat stove either way. now, remember that no all stove are created and design the same regardless they both are cat, that can be the differences in operation. I read on one of the post from him that the stoves was doing what was suppose to. that's another point that is confusing for me and is the reason of my questions.

 

[BKVP]

Just as a reminder, BK's are designed to burn low and slow (which means black window) there's a reason why its called the most boring stove around. My princess only has a clear see through window 3 times a year..at the start of the season, mid season when temps are in the low 20's and I'm burning high, and at the end of the season when I clean the thing.
As far as running the t-stat lower than 3 o'clock, its all about draft, your draft may be different than mine, but during day to day op's I run mine lower than three, no flames, just an active cat, that gives me good heat and long burn times, now when it gets cold I turn the thing up, have flames in the box but shorter burn times but that's the price I pay for calling for me heat.
The biggest BK disconnect I see here on these message boards lately is that people with new bk's keep them turned up for flames out of fear that you need flames for heat, or the stove wont work properly, trust me when I say that you need to forget the flame culture and go to active cat probe culture only.

You are correct! Due to variability in draft, fuel (both mc and specific gravity) the thermostat has a wide operating range.

 

[OhioBurner©]

Pretty sure he knows how a cat stove runs, since he already had an IS.

Remember the IS is a hybrid (ISH?), and many users are not coming from CAT stoves and tend to operate it more like a tube stove, always seeing nice flames and clean glass. I wager some or perhaps many users have never even done a full cat-only burn in it based off the responses I get when I talk about a really low and slow cat only burn and sooty glass, etc.

 

[Woody Stover]

Remember the IS is a hybrid (ISH?), and many users are not coming from CAT stoves and tend to operate it more like a tube stove, always seeing nice flames and clean glass. I wager some or perhaps many users have never even done a full cat-only burn in it based off the responses I get when I talk about a really low and slow cat only burn and sooty glass, etc.

Huh. I'd figure most would have burned cat-only for most of the burn, especially in more moderate outside temps. Can you heat the stove enough in bypass to go directly to a cat light-off, and totally skip any secondary burn?

 

[Mitchhorne8]

Yes the cat will become inactive below 3 o'clock on the sticker, then the stove will start backpuffing. I do know that she has poor draft.

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[kennyp2339]

Notice, no flames cat probe @ 1 o clock, and well the blower is on low, this will run like this until tomorrow morning at 6am.

 

[Mitchhorne8]

Yeah, that's exactly what I am able to get. And I understand straight Cat proformance. All Im saying is it took me a few tries to find the sweet spot on the damper with out deactivating the cat. I also understand that Bk windows remain black most of the yr. That's why I choose the PH since it's in the center of my open style home. If I had a basement then I would have went with a Bk.

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[OhioBurner©]

Huh. I'd figure most would have burned cat-only for most of the burn, especially in more moderate outside temps. Can you heat the stove enough in bypass to go directly to a cat light-off, and totally skip any secondary burn?

I would figure too. Well I can't speak for everyone obviously, just the vibe I get in discussion. Some do run it in cat-only mode but it seems pretty rare in discussion. But I'm not sure I quite follow what you're asking. CAT operates at lower temperature than secondary burn, so yes it is quite possible to go straight into cat without burning the secondaries though the secondaries are really easy to ignite on the IS sometimes you get a little as it throttles back even when it seems well under the temperature they should lite off (like cat probe only 600 or 700). But usually they go out in just minutes or less. If I am trying for a long and slow cat only burn I do not let the secondaries fire. But just to clarify unless you were talking about someone else he has a Progress, not an Ideal Steel. They are very similar but still different stoves with slightly different characteristics.

 

[drz1050]

The PH also has two panels for the window, the BK only has one. For the PH, this serves to keep the inside glass hotter, reducing the black buildup.

 

[Ashful]

Just as a reminder, BK's are designed to burn low and slow (which means black window) there's a reason why its called the most boring stove around. My princess only has a clear see through window 3 times a year..at the start of the season, mid season when temps are in the low 20's and I'm burning high, and at the end of the season when I clean the thing.
As far as running the t-stat lower than 3 o'clock, its all about draft, your draft may be different than mine, but during day to day op's I run mine lower than three, no flames, just an active cat, that gives me good heat and long burn times, now when it gets cold I turn the thing up, have flames in the box but shorter burn times but that's the price I pay for calling for me heat.
The biggest BK disconnect I see here on these message boards lately is that people with new bk's keep them turned up for flames out of fear that you need flames for heat, or the stove wont work properly, trust me when I say that you need to forget the flame culture and go to active cat probe culture only.

This is a little misleading. Yes, BK's can run low and slow. But they can also run screaming hot. BK's own literature is misleading on this, as many mistake their quoted HHV at 10 hour burn cycle (Ashford 30) as the maximum output of the stove. Trust me, a BK Ashford 30 can rip thru a full load of hardwood in much, MUCH less than 10 hours, at wide-open throttle.

It is also wrong to assume that higher flue temps at higher burn rates mean lower efficiency. At higher burn rates, for the same efficiency, your flue SHOULD be hotter. I do not actually know how burn rate effects efficiency on my BK, as one would need to track the ratio of BTUs into the house versus up the flue at any given burn rate, but just wanted to point out that it is not as simple as noting a higher or lower flue temperature.

 

[chance04]

Soooo, I'm interested in how you feel after the end of your season, or at least very close any way

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