New Wood Furnace from Blaze King(now with Pics)

[Wood cutter]

I take it you do not have the new furnace? There is little if any heat on the part that bound up.

Why me to buy a walmart transformer when Blaze King is sending me the new one. but thanks anyway.

 

[Wood cutter]

Guess I never answered your question very well Herbster

What I have not figured out yet is what triggers the dampers to open and shut. They don’t seem to work off of the temp probe in the duct above the stove. Do you know how they are triggered to open and close?

I have 2 thermostats on the main floor. One for the Apex and the other is set way down for the electric furnace. The wiring from the thermostat feeds into a jct box above the furnace door and is routed into the limit switch and then the little motors that lift the dampers.
The temp probe is only used to tell you what the temperature is at the CAT so you know when to engage it with the lever. The manual says 500 deg and above. Guess it will plug up if ran too cool.
Good luck on your chimney cleaning you may be as suprized as I was.

 

[Lanningjw]

I ordered from a gent out of Caledonia MN. His name is George Stone; runs a place called Caledonia Home Services and can be reached at 507 725-8646. Got his information through Blaze King when I called them to find a dealer close to me. He called me last Wednesday and told me that the furnace is ready to ship! The price is around $2400.00. I had to order the optional duct and fan since I'm not going to hook it up next to my existing furnace.

I've talked to BK a couple of times since I had this thing on order. Each time they told me how impressed they are with this furnace. The last guy I called (asked him about some measurements) told me that I'll be amazed with the burn times. We'll see....

I'm expecting the stove sometime next week. I'll have to drive to Caledonia (near LaCrosse WI) to pick it up....I'll sure to take some pictures during the install process but that probably won't be for a couple of weeks as I still have to get he carpenter over to poke the holes in my house...

Herbster

George sells them right out of his house to keep costs down. I went with the BK dealer in Spooner. Good luck with the furnace.

 

[Gooserider]

I take it you do not have the new furnace? There is little if any heat on the part that bound up.

I don't own the furnace, however metal to metal contact between moving parts in any kind of mechanism (even if the movement is low speed and slow) can lead to galling and binding that sounded like what you described. I have found high temp Never-Seize is a highly effective lubricant in preventing this - regardless of temperature.

Why me to buy a walmart transformer when Blaze King is sending me the new one. but thanks anyway.

I didn't say "walmart" - I said "WALL - WART" - this is the term many people use to describe those little block transformers which plug into the wall, and are used to power many small electronic devices of all sorts - if you have a vivid imagination they look like a wart, and stick out of the wall, and hence - "wall wart" While I'd suspect you could get one at Wal-Mart, I would actually be more inclined to go to a Radio Shack if looking for one...

If BK is sending you a replacement, probably no need to worry about it for now, but you weren't the only person mentioning having the issue - and if the replacement isn't any better about battery consumption, it might still be worth considering... I will admit to having a strong bias against using batteries in anything that is not going to move around and can be plugged in instead...

Gooserider

 

[Wood cutter]

Thanks Gooserider.
I too hate using batteries for power source's. ~I `would have to cut off the leads that connect the + and - from the 9 volt battery and connect them to the plug in if I was to get one that's why I am waiting for the change up promised. One could also change the circuit inside the display so instead of having it run the full 30 minutes to 2 or something. That I may be able to do but if the dealer wants the old one in exchange It may be be best keep it stock. Just looking hear at my desktop I have 3 of those power sources used for various gadgets in my recording studio.

It would not be hard to take the handle apart again and if I do I will have some of that high temp Never- Seize on had. Good point.

Today I cleaned the chimney for the second time since I installed the Apex. Again there was nothing other than a bit of cresote at the rain cap. Two months running I am amazed The old MP-80 would have given me at least 2 five gal pails of creosote from the chimney cleaning.

Wood quality plays an important part of any wood furnace performance. We have a huge supply of bug killed pine and buying it by the logging truck load I can heat my home for about 400$ or less per year. I did pay 3200$ Can for the Apex though.

Great site, thanks

 

[herbdan]

Here's some comments to date and a few pics of the APEX install. Most happy with about everything on this furnace but a few things could use improving. I had it shipped to a dealer in Minnesota and drove over to pick it up. A bit of the paint was rubbed off during transit. You can barely notice it, now it is sitting in the basement. Here's a couple of pics of it sitting on my trailer in the garage.

 

[herbdan]

I had to modify the damper that the HVAC guy installed so that I could keep it open without the blower blowing on the wood furnace. This way the heat feeds the duct work and keeps it warm.

 

[herbdan]

Here's how it looks installed! Been running it 24/7 since install. Cleaned the Chimney once to make sure no excessive buildup. There was about a cup and a half of creosote. It took a while to learn how to burn it when it got above 20 °F . Wife had the window open many a night so far, but if I just throw in 3 or 4 splits it will burn all night and have a nice bed of flaming red coals in the morn.

The few things I do not like: There's a few places where they should of used machine screws instead of sheet metal screws. Like on the low burn adjustment flap and the on the big door in front. I ended up taking the sheet metal screw out of the adjustment flap completely and it burns good in my situation (27 foot of indoor 7in chimney) I also have been using up 9 volt batteries for the temp probe. Once you learn how to use this baby, you don't really need the temp probe but it still fun to look at it.

Besides those minor things, this furnace is great, especially in the efficiency department. Last night it went down to -3 °F and with 3/4 of a load of wood at 10pm and I had large chunks of splits left at 6am this morning. What an improvement over the non EPA stoves of a few years ago.

 

[Wood cutter]

Nice Pictures Herbster

Looks like you are set up the same as me with the electric on the side even the same colour.

I recieved the 9 volt power suppy from Blaze King ( Valley Comfort ) after phoning them. They responed right away and it came a couple days later, but as someone said once you get used to how it works you can go without it. 3 months now and I feel I made a very smart move. My neighbours pour out smoke using twice the amount of wood and those with pellet stoves are working on 5 ton this winter at a cost of about a thousand $ so far. I am on my 3rd cord of firewood nheating just under 3000 sq ft.

Good luck with your new furnace.

 

[Hiram Maxim]

Hello BK Furnace user!

I'm interested to find out how the Apex is working out for you?

Are you still using around 1 cord of wood per month?

What type of wood are you primarily burning?

And what are your average burn times now that you have some time invested in your furnace.

Thank you, Hiram

 

[herbdan]

Furnace worked great all winter, only time gas furnace came on was over Xmas when we were gone for a few days. As far as how much wood we burned I never really figured it out. In the pictures u can see my stacks in the basement. I had three stacks, 14' long about 7' high; whatever that equals out to be. One thing I did before getting this furnace was to cut a bunch of wood rather short, so that it would fit in any furnace or stove I bought. Then when I got this furnace I cut a bunch of wood (next winters) that is long, to fit in the Apex's long firebox. Now I wish I cut it short, as I will be doing from now on. The reason being is that I need to be able to make small fires, otherwise the furnace overheats the house. I leave a bunch of ash in the firebox, throw 3 small splits in the middle of the firebox and we're good to go.

Burn times are long enough to fill it up (never all the way yet) at night and since I'm retired, get up a a bit later sometimes (depends how much beer been consumed) and always have a warm house and enough coals to start over by just throwing in a few splits, leaving the bypass and the furnace door open for a few minutes, then shutting both and good for most of day. I've learned that if I'm going to home I can throw smaller amounts of wood into it, and tend to it 5/6 hours later. This really cuts down on the wood consumption and not over heat the house. It's easy to get 10-12 hour burn times if needed. Wife still sleeps most nights with the window cracked.

Overall the furnace has lived up to my expectations and would recommend it!

Herbster

PS If you plan on going the Apex route please note that the recommended stove pipe is 7" diameter. Around where I live that means special order, though I got mine through Menards and still got a good price on it. I had to wait a bit for one of the elbows I needed since it had to come from the factory, just a bit of advance planning to avoid waiting.....

PSS Forgot to mention that I burned 95% red oak.

 

[Wood cutter]

After the 2nd winter of heating our home with the Apex I have a few comments that you may or may not want to hear.
I quit burning cardboard left over wine boxes and have never had any more problems with the sticky handle thing. I also got a replacement temp readout ( free ) that only reads out for a short period saving the battery as we only used 2 all winter. I found the AC adapter a pain with the cord and all.

I am not using the furnace right now as the afternoon sun warms the house and a little electric is all we need. The furnace was ran from early November right up until March 15th or so and I used less than 4 cord actually a little over 3. My wife complains about the fine ash in the furnace room that we never had before with the MP-80. Seems fueling the fire can get ash drifting out. You got to be quick! I only cleaned out the fire box 3 times all winter as everything gets burnt up much more. I cleaned up the chimney 3 times also and get very little creosote although having the fire at temperatures of less than 500deg I will get the creosote buildup some what.

I burn dry pine mostly and some birch during the colder nights. The wood should be dry of course. We had temperatures as low as -25 and cold winds a few times this winter and the furnace easily heated our 1475 x 2 floors house. I could get 10 hours on the coldest nights and 14 average I would say but it could go longer if I let it burn down lower. -25 I would not want it getting too low!!

We find the good and the bad in this Furnace.
Good-long burns, easy to control and efficient
Bad- fine ash that collects around the furnace room

We live at 55deg------128 Northern BC










Hello BK Furnace user!

I’m interested to find out how the Apex is working out for you?

Are you still using around 1 cord of wood per month?

What type of wood are you primarily burning?

And what are your average burn times now that you have some time invested in your furnace.

Thank you, Hiram

 

[Hiram Maxim]

Furnace worked great all winter, only time gas furnace came on was over Xmas when we were gone for a few days. As far as how much wood we burned I never really figured it out. In the pictures u can see my stacks in the basement. I had three stacks, 14' long about 7' high; whatever that equals out to be. One thing I did before getting this furnace was to cut a bunch of wood rather short, so that it would fit in any furnace or stove I bought. Then when I got this furnace I cut a bunch of wood (next winters) that is long, to fit in the Apex's long firebox. Now I wish I cut it short, as I will be doing from now on. The reason being is that I need to be able to make small fires, otherwise the furnace overheats the house. I leave a bunch of ash in the firebox, throw 3 small splits in the middle of the firebox and we're good to go.

Burn times are long enough to fill it up (never all the way yet) at night and since I'm retired, get up a a bit later sometimes (depends how much beer been consumed) and always have a warm house and enough coals to start over by just throwing in a few splits, leaving the bypass and the furnace door open for a few minutes, then shutting both and good for most of day. I've learned that if I'm going to home I can throw smaller amounts of wood into it, and tend to it 5/6 hours later. This really cuts down on the wood consumption and not over heat the house. It's easy to get 10-12 hour burn times if needed. Wife still sleeps most nights with the window cracked.

Overall the furnace has lived up to my expectations and would recommend it!

Herbster

PS If you plan on going the Apex route please note that the recommended stove pipe is 7" diameter. Around where I live that means special order, though I got mine through Menards and still got a good price on it. I had to wait a bit for one of the elbows I needed since it had to come from the factory, just a bit of advance planning to avoid waiting.....

PSS Forgot to mention that I burned 95% red oak.

That's 3.06 cords

Nice job! Great info.......

 

[Hiram Maxim]

After the 2nd winter of heating our home with the Apex I have a few comments that you may or may not want to hear.
I quit burning cardboard left over wine boxes and have never had any more problems with the sticky handle thing. I also got a replacement temp readout ( free ) that only reads out for a short period saving the battery as we only used 2 all winter. I found the AC adapter a pain with the cord and all.

I am not using the furnace right now as the afternoon sun warms the house and a little electric is all we need. The furnace was ran from early November right up until March 15th or so and I used less than 4 cord actually a little over 3. My wife complains about the fine ash in the furnace room that we never had before with the MP-80. Seems fueling the fire can get ash drifting out. You got to be quick! I only cleaned out the fire box 3 times all winter as everything gets burnt up much more. I cleaned up the chimney 3 times also and get very little creosote although having the fire at temperatures of less than 500deg I will get the creosote buildup some what.

I burn dry pine mostly and some birch during the colder nights. The wood should be dry of course. We had temperatures as low as -25 and cold winds a few times this winter and the furnace easily heated our 1475 x 2 floors house. I could get 10 hours on the coldest nights and 14 average I would say but it could go longer if I let it burn down lower. -25 I would not want it getting too low!!

We find the good and the bad in this Furnace.
Good-long burns, easy to control and efficient
Bad- fine ash that collects around the furnace room

We live at 55deg------128 Northern BC










Hello BK Furnace user!

I’m interested to find out how the Apex is working out for you?

Are you still using around 1 cord of wood per month?

What type of wood are you primarily burning?

And what are your average burn times now that you have some time invested in your furnace.

Thank you, Hiram

Less than 4 cord actually a little over 3

That is outstanding considering your burning soft/medium wood. Thank you!

 

[SolarAndWood]

I'm curious about the burn times and heat output you guys are reporting. The advertised firebox size is roughly a third bigger than what Hiram and I burn. We both do 24 hour burn cycles that produce even heat through the cycle. Is this not possible to do with the Apex? It sounds like it burns too hot in the beginning of a burn cycle with a full firebox and you have resorted to building smaller fires?

 

[herbdan]

No, I wouldn't say it burns too hot in the beginning of the cycle, it throws off a lot of heat throughout the cycle. Like this morning, 14 degrees F outside, the furnace had about 5 inches of red blazing chunks, a lot of them being 4-6 inches big. I threw in 3 spilts, shut the door, shut the bypass and went upstairs---left the thermostat turned up for about 10 minutes, then turned that down to 70. I won't look at the stove again until 6pm.

If I filled up the stove, I'm sure I could get a good amount of heat out of it throughout a 12-18 hour cycle, depending on outside temps; it just seems I use a bit less wood if I don't fill it to the brim each time. Heck, with burning that little bit of wood for a whole winters worth of heat and having no problem with a long overnight burns I am more than happy with the burn cycles.

Herbster

 

[SolarAndWood]

If I filled up the stove, I'm sure I could get a good amount of heat out of it throughout a 12-18 hour cycle, depending on outside temps; it just seems I use a bit less wood if I don't fill it to the brim each time.

Gotcha, thanks!

 

[Hiram Maxim]

No, I wouldn't say it burns too hot in the beginning of the cycle, it throws off a lot of heat throughout the cycle. Like this morning, 14 degrees F outside, the furnace had about 5 inches of red blazing chunks, a lot of them being 4-6 inches big. I threw in 3 spilts, shut the door, shut the bypass and went upstairs---left the thermostat turned up for about 10 minutes, then turned that down to 70. I won't look at the stove again until 6pm.

If I filled up the stove, I'm sure I could get a good amount of heat out of it throughout a 12-18 hour cycle, depending on outside temps; it just seems I use a bit less wood if I don't fill it to the brim each time. Heck, with burning that little bit of wood for a whole winters worth of heat and having no problem with a long overnight burns I am more than happy with the burn cycles.

Herbster

Great information.

One more question.....How much radiant heat does the furnace give off in the basement while in operation?

Really sounds like you have an excellent set up. Very impressed with the burn times and low wood consumption.

 

[herbdan]

Most of the radiant heat comes off of the single wall stove pipe that is about 5' long. The furnace housing and duct work give off a little also. There is a lot mass to heat up in the basement, cement walls and floor. It takes a couple/three days to actually get the chill out of the basement. I have 1'' of styrofoam on the outside of the basement walls, wish I had more....

Herbster