blaze king ashes and general operation

[skelator]

hey guys im still learning my new king classic and im wondering how you burn the ashes down in this bad boy. the ashes are a little past half way up the firebricks. i just threw in some bark and cranked up the thermostat to see what that does.

does a fan help at all? i didnt get the blower as the stove is in an unfinished basement. i thought i could get a cheap box fan if it would help at all.

any tips or suggestions on this or stove operation would be great thanks, Mike

 

[begreen]

In general I have found bark to create more ash than wood. Try putting on one or two small splits (2") or limbs on top of the coals and open up the air to burn down the coals.

 

[jeff_t]

You are talking about coals? Yes, open the air up, and a couple small splits like begreen says. A couple of cups of wood pellets works well, too. I find it necessary to pull the coals forward and pile them up in front of the door, where they will get the most air. A coal rake will help to separate the chunks from the ash.

I don't get a whole lot of buildup with good, dry wood.

Blowers makes a huge difference in my case. I would expect a basement install would benefit, too.

Has the new pipe helped anything?

A couple of ridiculously long threads with lots of info
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/2012-2013-blaze-king-performance-thread-everything-bk.93182/
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/2013-2014-blaze-king-performance-thread-everything-bk.116353/

 

[skelator]

the new pipe helped the draft a ton. i get no smoke anymore when i open the door. stove top temp has went up aswell. i picked up a moisture meater and ive been gettin 8-10% readings. this wood has been split stacked and covered for years. ive been running it on 2 or 2.5 and ive been loading it twice a day so far.

with my insert inused to crack the door open but i dunno if its a bad idea on this stove? i assume im doing this with the cat door open? or does it not matter?
so should i pickup a box fan to blow directly on the stove?

ill look those threads over later on tonight when i have some time.

thanks guys, Mike

 

[weatherguy]

Don't open the door with the cat engaged

 

[jeff_t]

Yes, open the bypass for a few minutes before opening the door.

The blowers move air directly over the top of the stove, the hottest part. A box fan might be worth trying, but might not make a big difference.

 

[skelator]

Hurmmm maybe I should invest in the blower. How much does it cost?

 

[Highbeam]

For the princess it was surprisingly cheap. I forget the number but it was a no brainer.

 

[skelator]

I have a king classic hopefully it's not too expensive.

 

[Quentin2]

I

I have a king classic hopefully it's not too expensive.

I just paid 330 for blowers for the king, we usually pay a premium to get stuff up to ak though. I haven't had a problem with coals building up, towards the end of the burn I stir it up and turn the stat up a little. My blowers are usually always running as well.

 

[skelator]

Can you buy it direct from blaze king?

 

[Quentin2]

Can you buy it direct from blaze king?

I doubt it. Got mine from local dealer. It's definitely worth it.

 

[alforit]

Can you buy it direct from blaze king?

Blaze King will take care of some warranty issue parts directly but usually parts are to be purchased through your local stove dealer............Unless you don't have one.