Warning: This shouldn't be done on stoves that, when turned all the way up, will overfire.
I have a BKK stove that I'm controlling with my wall thermostat. Just posting this as information for others. There are other threads on this, but none that I thought were good solutions.
I used a Belimo actuator, and Belimo positioners and linkages. The actuator I used was model NMB24-SR. This was the cheapest/smallest actuator they sell that can be controlled with the variable dials and connect to the control linkages. The linkage kit I used was part number ZG-NMA. The damper crank arm I used to connect to the control rod on the blaze king is part number KH8. The Positioner dials are part number SGF24.
My thermostat is a Nest. I actually hate the Nest thermostat for multiple reasons, but I have worked around all of its bugs. The main reason I'm sticking with it is because it has 3 stage control. The Ecobee, which is better, has only 2 stage control. One of the Honeywell smart thermostats might have 3 stage control, but I haven't checked. I'm using the first 2 stages to control the stove. The first stage sends 24vac power to one of the dial positioners (Stage 1 dial). I have this dial set to open the stove to about 40% open. Stage 2 sends 24vac to the stage 2 dial, as well as to a relay with a 24vac coil. This relay switches 120vac power to the fans on the stove. I have the stage 2 dial set to open the stove to 100% open. Stage 3 turns on the electric central air furnace while leaving stage 2 on. I have a 3rd dial positioner that I have wired to override the other 2 positioners if it is set to a higher position than them (it overrides them when they aren't receiving power from the thermostat as well). I use this override positioner to turn the stove to 100% open during loading without having to mess with the thermostat on the wall. Turns out the actuator has a button that lets you manually move the control arm though, so the override positioner wasn't necessary. But I still use it because it's easier. When none of the 3 dial positioners are engaged, the actuator returns the stove to 0% open where the dial on the BK is at exactly horizontal.
I control the Nest thermostat using the SmartThings app. I do this because the two apps that are supposed to be used to control the Nest are complete garbage. And yes, there are two; it's stupid. The SmartThings app is on both my wife's and my phones. I've set it to turn the thermostat to 50 when we're both further than 1/4 mile from our house, and to run a heating schedule when one or both of us are home. The heating schedule is 68 during the day and 63 at night.
My reason for doing this: The BK easily runs for 24+hrs on one load. I load every evening. I used to only turn the stove up over 0% idle when it felt cold in the house. I only needed to do this when it was below around 20 outside. The temperature inside would fluctuate some, but it was tolerable... to me. My wife on the other hand started to consistently turn the stove up in the morning, forget to turn in down, then take the kids to school and go to work. That was fine and the stove still always had coals left in the evening at loading time, but it was eating through more wood than necessary. This has completely solved the issue, and has been flawless. If she want's it hotter than 68, she turns up the thermostat, then it automatically sets down to 50 when she leaves the house. Plus the temperature in the house doesn't swing at all when we're home. It's fantastic.
![[Hearth.com] Controlling stove using damper actuator and wall thermostat](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/308/308702-03d80368a3f92047ea8aa2944fd63452.jpg?hash=ex_X-IELGX "[Hearth.com] Controlling stove using damper actuator and wall thermostat")
![[Hearth.com] Controlling stove using damper actuator and wall thermostat](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/308/308703-fe9f0753426d17f5df0fbff8075f4068.jpg?hash=sbLFBJKNUW "[Hearth.com] Controlling stove using damper actuator and wall thermostat")
![[Hearth.com] Controlling stove using damper actuator and wall thermostat](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/308/308704-1b23c38e88ee31423951524770bc4290.jpg?hash=RGwn6btAcH "[Hearth.com] Controlling stove using damper actuator and wall thermostat")
![[Hearth.com] Controlling stove using damper actuator and wall thermostat](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/308/308705-73345a56c0203de04ccb7ffde7be43a9.jpg?hash=jFtxx7LY63 "[Hearth.com] Controlling stove using damper actuator and wall thermostat")
I have a BKK stove that I'm controlling with my wall thermostat. Just posting this as information for others. There are other threads on this, but none that I thought were good solutions.
I used a Belimo actuator, and Belimo positioners and linkages. The actuator I used was model NMB24-SR. This was the cheapest/smallest actuator they sell that can be controlled with the variable dials and connect to the control linkages. The linkage kit I used was part number ZG-NMA. The damper crank arm I used to connect to the control rod on the blaze king is part number KH8. The Positioner dials are part number SGF24.
My thermostat is a Nest. I actually hate the Nest thermostat for multiple reasons, but I have worked around all of its bugs. The main reason I'm sticking with it is because it has 3 stage control. The Ecobee, which is better, has only 2 stage control. One of the Honeywell smart thermostats might have 3 stage control, but I haven't checked. I'm using the first 2 stages to control the stove. The first stage sends 24vac power to one of the dial positioners (Stage 1 dial). I have this dial set to open the stove to about 40% open. Stage 2 sends 24vac to the stage 2 dial, as well as to a relay with a 24vac coil. This relay switches 120vac power to the fans on the stove. I have the stage 2 dial set to open the stove to 100% open. Stage 3 turns on the electric central air furnace while leaving stage 2 on. I have a 3rd dial positioner that I have wired to override the other 2 positioners if it is set to a higher position than them (it overrides them when they aren't receiving power from the thermostat as well). I use this override positioner to turn the stove to 100% open during loading without having to mess with the thermostat on the wall. Turns out the actuator has a button that lets you manually move the control arm though, so the override positioner wasn't necessary. But I still use it because it's easier. When none of the 3 dial positioners are engaged, the actuator returns the stove to 0% open where the dial on the BK is at exactly horizontal.
I control the Nest thermostat using the SmartThings app. I do this because the two apps that are supposed to be used to control the Nest are complete garbage. And yes, there are two; it's stupid. The SmartThings app is on both my wife's and my phones. I've set it to turn the thermostat to 50 when we're both further than 1/4 mile from our house, and to run a heating schedule when one or both of us are home. The heating schedule is 68 during the day and 63 at night.
My reason for doing this: The BK easily runs for 24+hrs on one load. I load every evening. I used to only turn the stove up over 0% idle when it felt cold in the house. I only needed to do this when it was below around 20 outside. The temperature inside would fluctuate some, but it was tolerable... to me. My wife on the other hand started to consistently turn the stove up in the morning, forget to turn in down, then take the kids to school and go to work. That was fine and the stove still always had coals left in the evening at loading time, but it was eating through more wood than necessary. This has completely solved the issue, and has been flawless. If she want's it hotter than 68, she turns up the thermostat, then it automatically sets down to 50 when she leaves the house. Plus the temperature in the house doesn't swing at all when we're home. It's fantastic.
Last edited:
