Old stove scares the daylights out of me

[Ladeefire]

hi there,

My husband and I recently purchased a cabin in alaska and moved from New Hampshire. The house is about 1400sf and has an old blaze King princess installed with a straight pipe right out the roof. We have 6 cords of white birch, seasoned, that we burn. When we first got here, we replaced the pipe because it had no cap and the previous owner had let it erode with weather etc, we burned a lot of cardboard and trash, that's how we were raised. One day, I had. Shot fire, and it began to sound like Rice Krispies in the pipe. So I let it burn out and banged on the new pipe. (At that point maybe 4 weeks old) out of th epipe came black crusty flakes, tons of them. So when my husband came home, up on the roof he went and we brushed out the pipe.

Since then we have burned only newspaper and hot hot fires. I don't know anything about this stove and I am upset because today I rapped on the pipe and out came more crispies! I don't think with the expense of moving here and all the cash dropping out that we can afford a new stove but we are entering a winter now with just this as our heat source! Anyone have any experience with these stoves and anyone have any advice?

 

[begreen]

Welcome. The BK Princess is not that old of a stove. Is there a model number tag on the back of the stove? This should be a catalytic stove. If so, it is anything but a trash burner. How well seasoned is the birch? That could be the issue.

 

[Ladeefire]

Welcome. The BK Princess is not that old of a stove. Is there a model number tag on the back of the stove? This should be a catalytic stove. If so, it is anything but a trash burner. How well seasoned is the birch? That could be the issue.

Hello there thank you for your reply.

The model says PTJ on the side. The house itself was built in 1999. I did a lot of research and learning on wood stove fires (mostly here) and now know better than to burn cardboard etc.

 

[begreen]

OK, the PTJ helps, is there a model number that follows? It would be something like 202 or 203. If so, it sounds like that may be an old pre-EPA version at that. If so there is no catalyst. The safest thing you can do is get the chimney cleaned and then burn hotter fires, not smoldering, burning fully seasoned, dry wood.