Hey guys I’ve got a blaze king 40 8” stove pipe up 24” to a 90 20” into the stainless tee w cleanout and up an 8” round insulated liner about 28’ and I’m not getting any heat into the home the stove top with an IR thermometer reads 650 degrees left side about 190/200 right side around 240/250 but no heat into the house the unfinished basement is just barely warm. Is this an over draft issue wood is on the lower side for moisture content sub 10%
Lack of heat
- Thread starter Cdavis43
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What are your flue temperatures? Can we assume the cat meter is pretty much pegged out and you have the thermostat on fully hot setting? Is it a new stove?
Your wood is almost certainly not sub 10%. To get accurate readings you need to measure it properly which is on a room temperature split, freshly split and taking the measurement in the middle of the freshly split face.
It's a king and you should pack the thing to the roof with splits and leave it on high if you're not warm enough.
Your chimney is very tall. This is usually not a problem for getting high heat but it can suck ash up and clog the catalyst. Have you verified that the catalyst is clear? Are there lots of flames in the firebox? Is the catalyst old and dead?
Finally, heating an unfinished basement is hard. The walls suck up immense heat and wastes it to the outdoors. How big is the home? Well insulated?
Your wood is almost certainly not sub 10%. To get accurate readings you need to measure it properly which is on a room temperature split, freshly split and taking the measurement in the middle of the freshly split face.
It's a king and you should pack the thing to the roof with splits and leave it on high if you're not warm enough.
Your chimney is very tall. This is usually not a problem for getting high heat but it can suck ash up and clog the catalyst. Have you verified that the catalyst is clear? Are there lots of flames in the firebox? Is the catalyst old and dead?
Finally, heating an unfinished basement is hard. The walls suck up immense heat and wastes it to the outdoors. How big is the home? Well insulated?
My first thought is the unfinished basement is a big part of the issue. Your stove top is warm enough to be putting out a lot of heat. It’s going somewhere. Is the blower on?
EbS-P
Minister of Fire
I have got a setup something like yours, and here is what I did to remedy it. I have a large two level house with my BK 40 in the lower level. It was not heating. In addition to the very small fan in the stove, I added 3 more fans outside the stove. One aimed right down onto the middle of the stovetop where the hot spot from the converter is. Then another out front to blow away the heat from the stove out into the large room. Then a third on the stair landing to blow the cold air down toward the stove, forcing warmer air to come back up the upper part of the stairwell.
The problem with this stove is that the heat stays right around the stove, so the thermostat does not open up and stay open. By forcing the heat to disperse with fans more than it normally would, the thermostat stays open and the heat gets distributed. I have had this setup for a number of years and it works.
The problem with this stove is that the heat stays right around the stove, so the thermostat does not open up and stay open. By forcing the heat to disperse with fans more than it normally would, the thermostat stays open and the heat gets distributed. I have had this setup for a number of years and it works.
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Don't want to offend you, but just to be sure, did you close the bypass?
(Or, indeed, what was the cat gauge reading?)
(Or, indeed, what was the cat gauge reading?)
I don’t have a blower just one stand fan. My old non catalytic stove had no problem getting a 2100 sqft house up to 76 degrees on very cold days in the same place tho
Yes it’s closed when the gauge goes to active
Would a stand fan accomplish the same thing?
I don’t have a blower just a stand fan
Is over drafting a possibility? Nearly a 30’ tall chimney all pipe from stove to cap is 8” round as per required by BK
Yes, 30 ft (no elbows) is leading to too much draft, likely sucking a lot of heat up the flue.
And 30 pct of your btus are disappearing into the ground. (I.e. you could avoid processing 1/3 of your wood if you insulated the basement...)
And 30 pct of your btus are disappearing into the ground. (I.e. you could avoid processing 1/3 of your wood if you insulated the basement...)
I need a damper at 26’. Draft could almost be triple the spec. Only way to find out is with a manometer. I have a Dwyer brand permanently inline.
Burnin Since 1991
Feeling the Heat
A damper would probably help you. Maybe for next heating season you can do some insulating in the basement. It would be a great improvement and keep your house a lot warmer.
As a test can you hang some tarps to isolate your stove from some/most of the basement?
I installed a wood stove in an open wood basement with insulation and was disappointed in the heat production. The shop owner suggested I hang tarps where the future walls would be and reevaluate. Made a big difference.
I installed a wood stove in an open wood basement with insulation and was disappointed in the heat production. The shop owner suggested I hang tarps where the future walls would be and reevaluate. Made a big difference.
Was your old stove shielded like the BK is? Some stoves are designed to run with the blower. Your stand fan is better than nothing, but it’s best to run it the way it is designed.
Or it could be your stove is to close to the stone wall. If the wall were to get hot, it would radiate back at the thermostat and shut down. Just a possibility....
BKVP
The stove is 8.5 in. from the rock wall, which is backed by a 4X8 cement block wall. When I put my hand on the rock wall behind the burning stove it does feel warm, but not anything like feeling hot.
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