Newbie Trying to Figure out How to Run Blaze King

[Parallax]

Well, the old BK performance thread was closed so I'm starting a new one.

I'm new to wood stoves and Blaze Kings and find myself with so many questions. This morning I'm wondering how long I should get discernible chimney smoke after a reload. It's been about a half an hour and there's still plenty of smoke. After reloading, I turned the thermostat full up. It had fallen out of the active zone so I ran it with the cat disengaged for about ten minutes until it was back up well into the active range, then engaged the cat and turned the thermostat down to 2 1/2. The smoke throttled way back (from full smoke dragon status without cat) but there's still more than enough to see it coming steadily from the stove pipe.

For what it's worth, the weather is rainy, about 65 degrees. How long before the smoke should stop? Also, what causes the stove to smoke with the cat engaged? I'm sorry for my ignorance. I want to learn to run this thing in the best way possible. Clearly, I'm not there yet.

 

[HotCoals]

Man how can you stand a fire with the outside temps as high as they are! lol

But to answer a question or 3 you can bring the cat up to temp with the by pass closed. Start fire ,let it burn for maybe a few mins then close by pass.
The stove will work way diff(better) when it gets cold out again.
If there is tons of smoke in the box the cat can't eat it fast enough because the residency time is not long enough is one factor.

 

[JA600L]

Why is your wood smoking? Sounds like your burning wet wood.

 

[Parallax]

Man how can you stand a fire with the outside temps as high as they are! lol

But to answer a question or 3 you can bring the cat up to temp with the by pass closed. Start fire ,let it burn for maybe a few mins then close by pass.
The stove will work way diff(better) when it gets cold out again.
If there is tons of smoke in the box the cat can't eat it fast enough because the residency time is not long enough is one factor.

So you're saying the problem is primarily the weather? Am I right to run it full bore when getting it back up to speed after the cat crashes? Am I right to run it with the cat disengaged until well into the active zone?

 

[Parallax]

Why is your wood smoking? Sounds like your burning wet wood.

The wood seems quite dry. I've not gotten a meter with which to test it but it's been sitting for a long time. I got this wood from a neighbor who had scrapped his stove. It sat under cover for a couple of years. I've got it under a tarp. It rained much this winter but the wood was covered.

 

[begreen]

I find the title misleading. This is a learning to run a BK in summer thread which is challenging for a lot of stoves, especially if they have a just adequate chimney. Winter performance is going to be different, perhaps totally different.

 

[HotCoals]

So you're saying the problem is primarily the weather? Am I right to run it full bore when getting it back up to speed after the cat crashes? Am I right to run it with the cat disengaged until well into the active zone?

Well if you read my prior post you would have noticed after reloading and burning on high for a few mins go ahead and close the by pass to heat up the cat . The cat will heat up way faster with the by pass closed. Yes ,cold temps will make a huge diff in long and slow burns as far as keeping the cat active..trust me on that.

 

[HotCoals]

I find the title misleading. This is a learning to run a BK in summer thread. Winter performance is going to be quite different.

I concur and you should change tittle..maybe,newbie Bk owner trying to figure out how to use my BK when it's 80 degrees out..lol.

but you're right BK performance threads don't usually go like this.

 

[Parallax]

I don't seem to have the authority to change the title. It will let me edit by posts but the title is locked in. Perhaps one of the mods can change it.

 

[begreen]

done

 

[Parallax]

Did you change it? After I wrote my last message, I figured out how to do it and probably modified it from whatever you changed it to.

 

[begreen]

Running the stove on a short chimney in the summer is like learning to swim in the desert. Progress will be much more satisfying when temps get below 50 or so. The wood should be covered only on the top. You want the stacks to get plenty of air blowing through them until late August or Sept if we have a dry fall.

 

[webby3650]

With my Ashford I run it up on high until the cat is into the active zone. Then I shut the bypass, but I leave the air on high for a while longer, then I reduce it to my desired setting. Usually 2 1/2. I usually turn it back to high in the morning to reactive the cat while I have coffee, reduce the air before leaving for work. If it's real cold I'll also add wood in the morning, but normally I fill it at night only.

 

[Parallax]

Running the stove on a short chimney in the summer is like learning to swim in the desert. Progress will be much more satisfying when temps get below 50 or so. The wood should be covered only on the top. You want the stacks to get plenty of air blowing through them until late August or Sept if we have a dry fall.

Is my chimney considered short? The black pipe runs up to the 9 foot ceiling then the pipe extends out through the roof and up at least another 12 feet (probably more) until it's about 5 feet above the rain gutter on the second story roof. Looks to be two four foot sections and maybe one three foot section. Something like that.

 

[Parallax]

With my Ashford I run it up on high until the cat is into the active zone. Then I shut the bypass, but I leave the air on high for a while longer, then I reduce it to my desired setting. Usually 2 1/2. I usually turn it back to high in the morning to reactive the cat while I have coffee, reduce the air before leaving for work. If it's real cold I'll also add wood in the morning, but normally I fill it at night only.

Couple of follow-up questions. When you say you shut the bypass but leave the air on high for a while longer, about how much longer do you mean? How do you know when it's time to reduce it down?

From the second part, I take it that by morning, even with it running at 2 1/2, the cat has generally crashed, after having reloaded the night before. Do you let the new load catch from the old wood and hot coals? And it's alright to let it go inactive overnight? And then you fire it up again in the morning. Am I getting what you said right?

 

[aansorge]

Blaze Kings do smoke for awhile after re-load even with the cat in the active range. Eventually it stops smoking...give it a bit more time than a non-cat.

 

[Parallax]

Blaze Kings do smoke for awhile after re-load even with the cat in the active range. Eventually it stops smoking...give it a bit more time than a non-cat.

Thanks. Seems like typically more than half an hour. Maybe even hour.

 

[webby3650]

My cat is typically right at the inactive edge by morning. But thats ok! It doesn't hurt a thing. The stove has turned most of the wood into great big chunks of charcoal. So there isn't much smoke, therefore the cat starts to go inactive. Give it some air and it comes back to life.

 

[Parallax]

My cat is typically right at the inactive edge by morning. But thats ok! It doesn't hurt a thing. The stove has turned most of the wood into great big chunks of charcoal. So there isn't much smoke, therefore the cat starts to go inactive. Give it some air and it comes back to life.

Since you're not reloading in the morning, you mean the logs are still there but just in a charcoaled state? You fire it back up, get the stove active, and then back it down part way and let it run until evening when you reload?

 

[webby3650]

Since you're not reloading in the morning, you mean the logs are still there but just in a charcoaled state? You fire it back up, get the stove active, and then back it down part way and let it run until evening when you reload?

Exactly.

 

[begreen]

Is my chimney considered short? The black pipe runs up to the 9 foot ceiling then the pipe extends out through the roof and up at least another 12 feet (probably more) until it's about 5 feet above the rain gutter on the second story roof. Looks to be two four foot sections and maybe one three foot section. Something like that.

I would have to dig up old threads as I was thinking it was approximately 15 ft which is fine for this stove, but won't have the strong draw of a 25ft flue. It's just that 15' will perform better in cooler weather.

 

[HotCoals]

Honestly your stove will run fine pretty much all by itself once the cold gets here. It will tell you what to do! lol

 

[Parallax]

Thanks HC. It's done running and probably won't get fired up again until Fall.

Webby, that helps. Describing what you do in that way leaves me feeling like this is not above my head and it doesn't have to burn perfectly.

Begreen, I might have misstated in an earlier post. If one measures from where the pipe exits the stove, it's got to be at least 18 feet (probably 20). So not 25 but not 15 either. I've thought about asking them to add another 4 foot section because my neighbor said he got smoked out one day. Under certain weather conditions, the smoke seems to descend onto his property. Perhaps raising it a bit would help.

 

[blacktail]

By about October, the temps and pressure will have it running just fine.

 

[Highbeam]

The black pipe runs up to the 9 foot ceiling then the pipe extends out through the roof and up at least another 12 feet (probably more) until it's about 5 feet above the rain gutter on the second story roof.

This last thing, 5 feet above the gutter, might be a problem. The chimney must meet the 10/2 rule and on a minimal 4:12 pitch roof that means more than 5 feet above the gutter. Do you know if your installation meets the 10/2 rule? If not, adding some flue will help your draft as well as the neighbor situation.

I load my stove after work at 6 or 7 pm and the cat does not go inactive by morning. In fact, the cat meter is almost always above the active line when I reload at 6 or 7pm the next day. These stoves burn for 30 hours and that means an active cat. I do none of this freshening up of the fire in the morning, I just leave for work.