Can't bring myself to leave the BK Insert for the day

[Bster13]

I'm a new burner. Been collecting wood since Nov of 2012. I have a Blaze King Princess Inset. The stove is working well, it's all about learning how to move the heat around the house and make an educated guess on where to set the bi-metal thermostat for the day as I head off to work.
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Thus far I've lit fires at night and been able to let the fire settle in, and then go to bed as the fire burns down an the stove temp drifts towards the inactive range, no sweat, but this is over hours. Now the temps are dropping where I'd like to burn the entire day and in the amount of time I have in the morning, I'm really not sure I'll have enough time to reload the stove, let it catch on fire, then settle down, match the blower to the bi-metal thermostat and ensure the CAT does not drop out of the active range, nor overfire while I am not at home.

For example, this evening I packed the stove, lit it, and set it at 1.5 dots on the bi-metal thermostat after the CAT made it 1/2 way through the active range. Well after dinner I noticed the stove's temp had crept to 85% of the active range and there no longer were red embers present, it was a rolling fire.

How am I supposed to guess these things to make sure my house is safe (not over firing) and make sure I don't smoke out my close neighbors (drops out of the active range)?

Thanks.

 

[HotCoals]

Did the t-stat do it's job and slow the fire after awhile or did you turn it down?

 

[Bster13]

I tapped the thermostat down ever so slightly and that did the trick. I guess I'm treating the bimetal thermostat as just a dial and I should let it try and shut itself down (within reason, so long as I don't stuff the stove with small kindling and it takes off like a rocket)?

 

[Bster13]

I guess if I rely on the bimetal thermostat to "pull back" the fire and bit and close off the air as needed, I have to trust it does not shut off the air too much and cool off the stove such that it drops out of the active zone?

 

[HotCoals]

Yeah..next time that happens you need to see if it will settle down on it's own..it should.
That said my t-stat is very slow to open if the temp in the stove drops,,it seems to do a better job of closing if i start a fire say on 1.5- 1.75 or so . Doing that I have flames for awhile then when the stove gets good and hot the t-stat will slowly close.

I doubt your t-stat is wound wrong but you never know.
If it is the flapper will open more as the stove gets hotter.

 

[HotCoals]

I guess if I rely on the bimetal thermostat to "pull back" the fire and bit and close off the air as needed, I have to trust it does not shut off the air too much and cool off the stove such that it drops out of the active zone?

If the wood supply in the stove is good that cat should not have a problem staying in the active zone.

Once that stove is brought up to temp and the cat is glowing good you should be able to turn it all the way down and that cat should be happy as long as there is decent smoke.
I do it all the time.

 

[Bster13]

Ok, I am just about done with my shoulder season wood (the uglies and limbs that have sat in a pile, not drying optimally). Granted I only started collect since Nov 2012, but it should only get better from here.

 

[Robert C.]

I've been burning continuously for the past week or so and this has never been a problem with my BK Princess insert. Regardless of what I feed it, it has been very consistent. 1-2 logs when I get home from work. At this point I have tons of hot coals from the morning. That will keep it until I go to bed. Load it up before going to bed. Wake up in the morning, load it up for the day on tons of hot coals from last night. Repeat. I don't even mess with the dial. I've had it on 1.5 for 3 days straight now. CAT never goes to inactive. Once I had to add some smaller dry pieces to reestablish the coal bed. Put it on high and coals were ready in 15 minutes. On the 1.5 setting I get a constant 72-75 in the house (1200 sq ft per floor, 2 floors) with 32F at nights here in SW CT. Any higher on the dial and I'd be cooking. We'll have to see in the dead of winter.

Best stove ever!

 

[Highbeam]

I have concluded it is much better to fully load and start your 24 burn in the evening after you get home from work. You get to enjoy the fire, the early spike of heat, and then during the coldest part of the day (overnight) the stove is pretty much fully loaded for minimal house temp drop. Then you get a nice warm morning. If there is any cooling during the taper at the end of the cycle it will occur midday while you're not home anyway. Don't jack around with it in the morning unless you are in a serious cold snap and have to drop to 12 hour cycles.

 

[Robert C.]

I have concluded it is much better to fully load and start your 24 burn in the evening after you get home from work. You get to enjoy the fire, the early spike of heat, and then during the coldest part of the day (overnight) the stove is pretty much fully loaded for minimal house temp drop. Then you get a nice warm morning. If there is any cooling during the taper at the end of the cycle it will occur midday while you're not home anyway. Don't jack around with it in the morning unless you are in a serious cold snap and have to drop to 12 hour cycles.

Honestly, I've never tried the 24 hour burn cycle. I don't know if it would be able to do it. I'm burning uglies now, so there's no way I can pack it that tight. I may try though one time with nice and uniform logs just to see if I can get the high burn times.

 

[Bster13]

I have wood from Nov of 2012 and later so unsure if I could get 24hr burn time as well for my 1974 sq ft home with cruddy windows. I have the blower on it's lowest setting for my BK Princess Insert and 1-2 dots on the bimetal thermostat. In the morning I had a split or two left plus coals. I don't think it would of made it through the day.

I am happy to report I left the stove on 1 dot this morning and came home during lunch (scared to be honest) to check on things and all was well. CAT was in the middle of the range. We'll see if it is still putting out heat when I get home.

EDIT: I will say, different from Robert, when I reload I turn the bimetal thermostat fully open and let the fire roar for a few minutes, then I turn it back down to 1-2 dots. Is this correct or should I be doing what Robert is?

 

[Highbeam]

EDIT: I will say, different from Robert, when I reload I turn the bimetal thermostat fully open and let the fire roar for a few minutes, then I turn it back down to 1-2 dots. Is this correct or should I be doing what Robert is?

You are correct. Bypass open, full throttle, then open the door, then reload, and let it char until the cat probe reads active and is rising, then engage bypass, and turn it down to cruise setting in a few steps.

Never open that door unless the bypass is open and throttle is full open.

 

[webby3650]

I am guessing what you had was not a roaring wood fire but rather a roaring smoke and gas fire. If you had it ripping away and then shut it down to 1.5 you most likely overwhelmed the cat and caused a back up in there. This will happen to some stoves if it it's not turned down in increments. It seems to be more of an issue with a new cat.

 

[Bster13]

Ok, after this evening's reload, I've now seen the difference between rolling gasses being on fire and the actual wood being on fire. Loaded it up all the way and put thermostat to 1.5 dots. The flapper closed with a clunk, but I expect it to reopen after the stove backs off a bit. Well into the active range now.

 

[weatherguy]

It's not a big deal if it goes inactive when you're gone, it won't smoke out the neighbors, if that happens your t-stat is a little too low, you'll learn the right spot after a little use.

 

[Robert C.]

You are correct. Bypass open, full throttle, then open the door, then reload, and let it char until the cat probe reads active and is rising, then engage bypass, and turn it down to cruise setting in a few steps.

Never open that door unless the bypass is open and throttle is full open.

If I have a solid coal bed going, why do I need to set the thermostat to high and char the wood? Can't I just load it up, close the door and close the bypass? The wood's gonna get charred anyways from the coals, no?

 

[webby3650]

You need to get everything back up to temperature including the cat before closing the bypass.

 

[Robert C.]

You need to get everything back up to temperature including the cat before closing the bypass.

Even if the CAT is still well into active mode? Does bringing it back to temp and getting the wood charred reduce the amount of smoke output?

 

[Backwoods Savage]

I guess if I rely on the bimetal thermostat to "pull back" the fire and bit and close off the air as needed, I have to trust it does not shut off the air too much and cool off the stove such that it drops out of the active zone?

Ah, the joys of learning a new stove. Many of us have experienced it. It can be both good and bad. The very best advice I could give to you and other new burners is to put some trust into the stove. Realize there are many, many stoves just like yours in homes across the country. It is a proven stove and it is built by a proven company. Now you just have to have some trust. It is sort of like letting your son take your car for the first time. You've done your part in teaching and now you have to have some confidence in your son......and now your stove. Those thermostats have been on the market for many years; they work.

Now if you are still nervous, make a date. The first cool weekend you need to get up, put wood in the stove and stay in the house all day to see what is happening. Even if you have to open some windows because it gets a bit warm in there, this will give you a chance to see what is happening. You may still be nervous a few nights going to bed knowing there is a fire down there. However, did you not do the same thing with a furnace? And the fire in the furnace was a whole lot bigger fire than is in your stove.

Now relax and enjoy it. Good luck.

 

[Highbeam]

If I have a solid coal bed going, why do I need to set the thermostat to high and char the wood? Can't I just load it up, close the door and close the bypass? The wood's gonna get charred anyways from the coals, no?

You will destroy a cat from temperature shock. First of all, the wood you just put in is cold. Secondly, it is wet. The cold and wet smoke you send into an active cat by closing the bypass too soon will shock it like putting a hot glass in cold water. Eventually the fire will begin burning the new wood but the damage to your cat has been done. Instead you need to leave the bypass open until the new load is making hot enough smoke that all risk of thermal shock is gone, that happens when the cat meter again displays active and is climbing.

Burning a cat stove is complicated but is worth it since you will only have to reload once or twice a day.

 

[Bster13]

I ~think~ I've figured it out. Came home after reloading the stove this morning to a full bed of coals and then some. The living room was 76F, the bedroom hallways was 72F, the master bedroom was 67F, the kitchen and sunroom were 67F as well. I just have one floor fan blowing cold air into the room on low. On reload the stove really does engulf all the wood. I mean it's not charred, but it's all on fire and roaring (not the gas above it anymore) and once the CAT starts gaining again, I close the bypass and turn down the bimetal thermostat bit by bit to ~1.5 dots. In bi-metal we trust!

 

[johnstra]

yea verily!