BK questions

[SmokeyCity]

I plan on running my BK ( whether I end up with a Sirocco, princess or Elvis) in my bedroom which is about 15x20 ( was 20x20 until I made a closet out of one of the walls).

Since the room is only 15x20 I will be running it on low idle most of its life, but on real cold days I can crank it and have a box fan at the top of my door opening blowing hot air out into the hall (pulling cold in at the bottom)

Here are my questions in no particular order or relationship to each other

1) Will running it on idle most of its life shorten/prolong/affect the CATs lifespan?

2) I have a lot of very dry pine that Id like to burn in this stove. Will a steady diet of dry pine burning on low
shorten/prolong/affect the CATs lifespan?

3) Do I need to pull the cat out and vacuum or clean it if Im burning wood with a lot of sap/etc in it?

4) Assume I were to get a BK ELvis but use 6" pipe instead of 8".
- would that hurt the stove?
- would that allow me to run it at an even lower idle that the spec'd 15K btu

I really don't care much about heating the whole 2nd floor. I have little stoves in the other rooms I want to heat. I's want a really big stove with really big capacity, that I could run at a really LOW idle and trade away big heat for long burn time with little no intervention/attention.

Safety Nazi's may want to scalp me for asking about running an 8" stove into 6" pipe but I did see a newbie in the BK performance thread doing exactly that ( and nobody beat him up).

 

[bholler]

check your local code most areas dont allow wood stoves in bedrooms I honestly dont know if it is allowed in pa at all i never looked it up i just tell people i wont install it

 

[Simonkenton]

Code, or no code, you are not going to be happy with a wood stove in the bedroom. Most people like the bedroom to be rather cool in the winter, I know I do. Sixty five degrees is good for my bedroom, I get a nice blanket and I am real cozy.

Your bedroom will be the warmest room in the house if you put that wood stove in there. Don't you have a big living room that you can put the wood stove in?

Moreover, that BK King is a beast! It is a huge wood stove! You couldn't put my little Waterford stove in that modest sized bedroom, forget that big Blaze King. You will die of heat stroke.

 

[SmokeyCity]

if onlyl I could dial it down to almost nothing and get days and days of burn...

Code, or no code, you are not going to be happy with a wood stove in the bedroom. Most people like the bedroom to be rather cool in the winter, I know I do. Sixty five degrees is good for my bedroom, I get a nice blanket and I am real cozy.

Your bedroom will be the warmest room in the house if you put that wood stove in there. Don't you have a big living room that you can put the wood stove in?

 

[begreen]

Fahgetaboutit. If you want low slow heat, put in an electric baseboard heater.

 

[SmokeyCity]

wow - i had not thought of that. Whats funny us that my homeowner underwriters sent an inspector to my house and I showed her my HITZER COAL stove that is heating my bedroom right now. She looked at my cement board under the stove and the cement board behind it and said " Well, they tell me that cement board is a valid heat barrier...so you are OK i guess." She took a few more pics and she signed off on my homeowners policy. Happily ever after....

She is not my code enforcement inspector though....

check your local code most areas dont allow wood stoves in bedrooms I honestly dont know if it is allowed in pa at all i never looked it up i just tell people i wont install it

 

[SmokeyCity]

I don't have a 220 line on that floor.

Fahgetaboutit. If you want low slow heat, put in an electric baseboard heater.

 

[begreen]

Then go with a 110v heater. And maybe insulate the bedroom.

 

[Highbeam]

I really do like the BK Line of cat stoves but I think your application is terrible for several reasons.

We owe you answers:

1) Most of the BKs are run on low for most of their lives. The cat has a 10 year warranty and running on low is how they were designed. Low but high enough to keep them in the active range.

2) Pine is fine. Dry wood is the criteria.

3) No. You may feel the need to pull the flue to vacuum behind the cat though to be sure and get all the crumbs from flue cleaning.

4) The stove is designed and spec'd to run an 8" flue of a minimum length and configuration. We know that that will work but anything less is risky and "might" work.

Now back to why this is silly. I have fallen asleep plenty of times in the stove room on a couch but always wake up to return to my much cooler bedroom. You'll need to heat the rest of the house anyway so why not heat the house.

To keep the bedroom warm I prefer an electric blanket or mattress pad. Those things will cook you out and only use a very low wattage even if the room itself is quite cold. They really are wonderful.

 

[daleeper]

If you go with the King, most likely when running this stove into a 6" flue, you will not be able to run it as low as with the 8", they need a good draft. I have a king in a room similar sized, but only burned it on the spring side of the shoulder season. I think I will miss the convection that the royal heir provided. Stick with one of the convection models with a 6" flue opening, as a radiant stove will cook you out of the bedroom if you want any heat anywhere else in the house.

You have already been advised that the bedroom is not a good place for your stove, do you have any other spots in the house to put it?

They are great stoves, but you are setting yourself up for problems if you are not careful.

 

[SmokeyCity]

Thanks for the advice. I'll be fine with getting it out of the bedroom and using my electric blanket. Ill put in in the big parlor room and redirect with a fan into the bedroom on really cold days if I need more heat in there.

The big room is about 30 x 15 with several door openings to the hall. Yeah..., makes much more sense than the 15x20 bedroom.

 

[SmokeyCity]

Then go with a 110v heater. And maybe insulate the bedroom.

220 is so much more efficient for high power stuff. At least that is how it has worked with my 220v A/C unit. It cranks out way more cool for way less than the 110/115

 

[begreen]

Yes, but sometimes you need to work with what you've got. There are good 120v electric room heaters out there.