Blaze king princess Insert ongoing issues

[jetsam]

So you typically run the stove on a 3 o'clock setting. That in itself would explain the short burn times. No one that I'm aware of can achieve 20 hour burns at the setting. How tall is the liner? Age of your home? Insulation quality? It could be that your heat loss is quit bad. Some exterior masonry fireplaces suffer badly from heat loss to the outdoors, Roxul insulation around the unit can make a big difference!

3:00 is where I run mine on the coldest days of the year when I need very high heat output, and I suspect it's an even higher setting for OP (15' flue vs 25' flue). On my short flue, I would expect maybe 6-8 hours with no fan on such a high setting, and maybe 4-6 hours with a medium fan. I don't run it that hot with the fan off though; feels like I am heating the flue more than the room at that point.

Even on a short flue with no fan and wet wood, 3:00 is blazin' hot at my house (but I am used to never letting the stove go down to low coals, because I'm still burning suboptimal wood on my second year in the house).

 

[jetsam]

Missed it. I end up grazing sometimes when posts are so long.

So I can say anything I like about you in one of my regular posts, so long as I keep my comments in the middle somewhere?

 

[webby3650]

So I can say anything I like about you in one of my regular posts, so long as I keep my comments in the middle somewhere?

Say about me what you'd like. I may see it eventually.

 

[black smoke signals]

My post Number 19 any input or how to adjust bypass for correct tension?

 

[shoot-straight]

I have a couple of notes. My ashford has shorter than "average" burn times as well and I have come to some other conclusions. Although its a free stander, our setups have many similar attributes. I too have a tall, insulated, lined, exterior chimney. In the end, I am convinced that chimney is a serious source of heat loss. I would reccommend insulating all around the insert with Roxul. I think it would do wonders. I almost thought of swapping to an insert, physics dictates it would do better for sure.

Here is the 4,000$ question.... Are you running your fans, and at what speed. If I run my fans, even at a super low air setting I get two things.

1. Much shortened burntimes. Like 8-10 hours max.
2. Active flames at much lower settings.

These are due to the fans cooling the stat and "tricking" it to give more air. If I shut my fans off, I can get the infamous 20-24 hour burn, but not with them running. Even on low. I have helped the situation by putting my fan on a timer. One hour on, one hour off. It works great for stretching things out.

As to customer service, BK (BKVP) has gone above and beyond what I have expected (or experienced from any other company) to try to make me happy and help me get the most out of this stove and I know they will be there if I need them in the future. In the end every setup is different and it seems some just don't work as well as others, and they cant get them to work perfectly. Its not BK's fault that it occurs either in my opinion. Its just the way it is and it happens very seldom overall from what I can tell.

BTW, I will be putting in a new bypass gasket this spring when the season is over. I do not think it seals well enough.

 

[Blazing]

I'm following with interest...

 

[jetsam]

BTW, I will be putting in a new bypass gasket this spring when the season is over. I do not think it seals well enough.

Go outside and look and sniff while your cat is active... if you see and smell wood smoke, your bypass is leaky (or your cat can't keep up with its workload). If not, it's not leaking too much.

 

[jetsam]

I'm following with interest...

That made me laugh....

I have a dog that looks much like your avatar, and she always follows me with interest, and the way my phone formatted the message made it look like your text was the caption to the picture....



Welp, I think the moral of this story is "When things make you laugh at 2 AM, you should really have gone to bed several hours ago."

 

[moresnow]

I can throttle the stove all the way down to the 1st/2nd dot and still have plenty of flame activity, however there is hardly any heat

Plenty of flame at low therm settings? Sumpin not adding up here?

Have you really tried far,far different fan speed positions to figure the effect on burn time? Eye opener for me. Running fan speed knob at 1/4 open or less now (shall we start some new knob position banter) . Fans barely running. Made a huge difference in burn time. And house temp/comfort. Took 2 full months for that lightning bolt to strike my feeble mind. As a matter of fact I was delivered a incorrect fan kit out of the gates at stove purchase time (grrrrr). Ran a simple box fan near the stove to help circulate heat while waiting for my correct fan kit. Must have confused the therm. Smoked new full loads in 4-6 hrs max. I was spooked. Now it's all good. I now, will up, the fan speed in the early AM if the house is chilled. Also might turn up the therm. a bit to warm the place for the happy morning wife! Still getting another 3 -4 hrs additional heat. 12 hrs on a 20 series unit. Lately the norm.

My exp. only but if you expect to see flame. At all. After the initial hot reload/cold start. You will likely never see the burn times you envision/planned on. My friends/family/random acquaintances are continually stumped by the fact I heat my house on what looks like a almost dead load from my Weber charcoal grill. Granddaughter asked me 3 times the other day if it was time to "put wood in yet?". Believe she went home at the end of the day thinking grandpa had lost his mind. True story.

Still not sold that you have defined exactly how you are checking moisture content? Room temp split needs re-split. Then test on the fresh exposed split face. Only way to get it correct. Any other measurement has been inaccurate. At best. For me. Sorry to re-iterate this process if you are indeed following these steps. For fear of being labeled a beater of dead equestrian friends.........

Keep working at your routine. Get used to the fact that this a very different animal compared to previous EPA tube/non-cat units. My best results have been to run the fresh load hot until the cat needle is around 1/3rd up into active. Cat needle will continue climbing. Then 2 step reduce the therm a touch lower than loss of active flame . Low fan speeds. = longest, smoothest heat output.

Take everything I said with a grain of salt. This is my first season with a BK. Cheers.

 

[Blazing]

That made me laugh....

I have a dog that looks much like your avatar, and she always follows me with interest, and the way my phone formatted the message made it look like your text was the caption to the picture....

View attachment 196710 View attachment 196711

Welp, I think the moral of this story is "When things make you laugh at 2 AM, you should really have gone to bed several hours ago."

Agreed it was way too late. Is your dog a shepherd or malinois?