Pellets in a BK Princess?

[bobdog2o02]

I have been pondering how it would work to use pellets in a BK Stove with the Catalyst and the thermostatic control. I found a few products that hold the pellets and allow ash and small bits to fall through. Does anyone have experience with these in a BK.

Here are a few links to the things i have found.

http://www.thepelleteer.com/
http://www.burnwoodpellets.com/

 

[DAKSY]

Every couple of years, somebody comes out with one of these & it's always the best thing since sliced bread. None of them have ever performed up to the manufacturers' claims to the best of my knowledge. Use your money for firewood or save up for a pellet burning unit.
If you want to buy one, do so & report back as to how well it works. Maybe used in conjunction with an Eco-Fan AND a Magic Heat? Pook? Bueller? Anyone?

 

[mass_burner]

I have been pondering how it would work to use pellets in a BK Stove with the Catalyst and the thermostatic control. I found a few products that hold the pellets and allow ash and small bits to fall through. Does anyone have experience with these in a BK.

Here are a few links to the things i have found.

http://www.thepelleteer.com/
http://www.burnwoodpellets.com/

see my thread. https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/pellet-log-cages.114624/

 

[jeff_t]

Compressed bricks, like ecobrick and NIELs, are big pellets, and more suited for woodstove use.

 

[bobdog2o02]

i have used "wood brick fuel" and the redstone blocks from tractor supply. I did a cost analysis and the cost of conventional pellets from home depot, is about half the price of the wood blocks......

my real question was does anyone have experience with this in a BK Stove?

 

[mass_burner]

Compressed bricks, like ecobrick and NIELs, are big pellets, and more suited for woodstove use.

but can you buy 40lbs of NIEL's for $4.59; shipped price per 5 logs (40lbs) is ~8.70.

 

[BrotherBart]

I don't have a BK but mess with a pellet basket a couple of times a year in my Englander 30-NC. And can tell you that the problem in a cat stove would be the time it would take to get up to cat light off temp and how little burn time you have left after you do.

And refilling the thing and bringing it back up to temp is a smelly pain in the butt.

 

[mass_burner]

i have used "wood brick fuel" and the redstone blocks from tractor supply. I did a cost analysis and the cost of conventional pellets from home depot, is about half the price of the wood blocks......

my real question was does anyone have experience with this in a BK Stove?

why does it need to be a BK stove. do what i did. get some cages, start slowly, experiment. i find them especially handy in shoulder seasons or when you need ~ 4hr burn before letting the stove go out. that's in my 1.5 cf ft stove, the BK is probably much bigger.

 

[bobdog2o02]

i'm saying about the BK because of the thermostatic damper, would it be able to control the burn on them better than a conventional stove with a manual damper? The second link above(http://www.burnwoodpellets.com/) says they can make custom sizes. I was thinking about a tray 2" narrower than the firebox in width and depth and then whatever the normal height would be. I bet this setup could hold 20 lbs of pellets, with the thermostatic damper to control the burn and that much fuel it might make it less of a chore.....

My reason behind my curiosity is my stack hasnt dried as much as i hoped and was hoping to eith mix pellets with cord wood to bring down the moisture% or shoulder the early winter with this pellet idea to buy a few more months of drying.

My stack is averaging about 22% right now.... some higher, some lower.

 

[Bigg_Redd]

You know what works really well in a BK is dry firewood

 

[bobdog2o02]

You know what works really well in a BK is dry firewood

You know, should try that sometime.......

 

[mass_burner]

You know, should try that sometime.......

sorry, i missed the part about you having a CAT stove. i don't have CAT stoves.

 

[prezes13]

I have no experience with a cat stove so your outcome might be different, but because I had a few months seasoned maple last year which was pretty wet still. I mixed it with a Eco bricks and it worked well for me. I tried to put at least 3-4 bricks per load.

 

[weatherguy]

i have used "wood brick fuel" and the redstone blocks from tractor supply. I did a cost analysis and the cost of conventional pellets from home depot, is about half the price of the wood blocks......

my real question was does anyone have experience with this in a BK Stove?

I used to burn NEIL's in my Bk and they burned great, I did have to lower the stat a bit because they burn hot but it was a nice long, hot burn. I used to mix a couple in with firewood for best results.

 

[BrotherBart]

22% wood is gonna burn just fine.

 

[jeff_t]

I don't have a BK but mess with a pellet basket a couple of times a year in my Englander 30-NC. And can tell you that the problem in a cat stove would be the time it would take to get up to cat light off temp and how little burn time you have left after you do.

And refilling the thing and bringing it back up to temp is a smelly pain in the butt.

I think this is it.

Yes, the cat burns smoke off at a lower temp, but in my experience it takes longer to get the cat up to that temp. I can have my non-cat secondaries going strong and a 600+ stove top in 15 minutes or less, from a cold start. It's a half hour project, sometimes more, with my BK.

 

[Rickb]

I have burned pellets and they burn just fine, but I always mixed it with so/so cord wood.

 

[bobdog2o02]

I have burned pellets and they burn just fine, but I always mixed it with so/so cord wood.

Thanks for that.

 

[Charles1981]

I am curious. I have 5 cords of well seasoned wood this winter...much more so than last winter. (and finally 11 cords of wood seasoning that I CSS last month for the next 2 years..finally ahead yay!).

I have the Encore 2n1. The first year I burned crap wet wood, cat started to crumble in areas but was still working adequately, but heat output was never as great compared to the next year. By second year I was in much better shape and the stove performed much better to a certain degree, but the cat disintegrated to peices half way through the winter in February. Thankfully stove works very well without the cat, as it is able to keep burning without it (but not nearly as good as with a brand new cat.)

This year I have a ton of great wood and am very excited with a brand new cat. I am always looking for ways to get a longer burn though I use mostly ash because it is easy to get cheaper and dries out faster.

Since reading this thread and others in the past I guess I am considering maybe supplementing a log or two of these eco/bio bricks. I don't want to load the stove with just the bricks but I was wondering if packing 1 per load might have an effect of bringing a longer burn time. Ash is good but not the best.

If I am burning good dry wood this winter and throw a bio brick in there with each reload is it possible to be adding to much fuel or will this change how the cat operates? I am guessing probably not, but just wanted some input. My goal would be to throw 1 log/brick in with each load and just kind of observe how the stove reactions and responds.

I am always a little hesitant though. It doesn't seem to me that the VC catalysts are that sturdy in the first place.