Questions heading into 3rd season with Blaze King Princess 29 Insert

[cr0]

I got some great input from folks here in Q&A when I first started running this stove. Starting our 3rd season with it, I reread the manual and had some questions:

- If stove is allowed to go into inactive zone, then I treat it as a 'cold start'. The instructions say to get kindling going, then add a small amount of logs and get that going, then close the loading door and bypass door once those first few logs are aflame. The manual says to let those burn a bit, then open it all up and fill the stove once that coal bed is established. I thought you want to only close the bypass door after waiting long enough for the thermometer to be in the active zone, not just after a load gets lit? Also, I thought the most efficient start was kindling a fire on top of an already-loaded stove?

- Manual also says to finish loading, or to reload, when the thermometer is still in the active zone. Otherwise treat it as a cold start. I thought there was harm in opening the loading door when cat is in the active zone. Is the problem only opening the loading door with the bypass door shut, since relatively cold room air would be forced through the cat and not out the bypass? In other words, should I always open the bypass door before the loading door, and only close the bypass door once the loading door is shut and thermometer is active?

- Related to two question above, is there any time I'd close the bypass door before thermometer is active?

- I have gotten some raging hot fires going in a fully loaded stove last winter. I follow the manual instructions in terms of where I load wood, how I get the fire and cat going, etc. The thermostat is set to just one or two dots from the lowest dot, and the thermometer will be at like 5-o'clock (almost where it stands when it is cold!) Is that over-firing? What should I be aware of in terms of too much heat, for cases of very cold times and fully loading the stove for overnight burns? Based on the manual it seems like as long as the cat is hot and the stove is loaded safely (not over-stuffed, not too much ash, good wood etc.) then there's nothing to worry about, but then other parts of the manual mention overfiring as a potential problem. I guess my question here is, what to know about avoiding overfiring on this stove?

Thanks for any tips!

 

[spudman99]

Fellow PI29 user here, and also in SE PA. I am entering my 6th season on this stove.

For a cold start I load the box, with kindling on the bottom. LIght a couple of newspapers on top with door open to create a draft. Once I am comfortable with draft, I light the kindling. When that catches, I close door but do not latch to allow more air to enter and get the fire going (bypass door is open so far). Once fire is established, I latch door but keep bypass open. When cat thermometer hits active, close bypass. Let the fire burn/char wood for about 10 min or so, depending on the quality of wood. Then adjust the thermostat to desired level, set fan, walk away for 12 hours.

For a reload, open bypass and wait 3-5 min. Then i slowly open door to avoid any smoke spillage. If previous fire is not in active zone that is not a problem. Rake the coals to see how many i have left int he ash and expose them. If there is enough to start a new fire, I load wood and leave door cracked till it catches. Then when caught, close door, char, when in active zone close bypass and move on.

If cat is in active zone, you MUST always open bypass before opening the door. And wait a few minutes at that, to allow the cat to cool off a little and draft to redirect to the bypass. You would NEVER close the bypass when cat is not in active zone (i realize there is a lag in that device, not trying to split hairs here).

I have also worried about an over-fire in my first couple of years. From my understanding, with the thermostat properly functioning, the stove will choke its air down and prevent an overfire under normal conditions. If you started a fire, left the door cracked open, you would have an inferno. Running a full fire with the bypass open increases the heat in the chimney and could be problems, again dependent upon each individual situation.

Feel free to DM me if you are close by or if there is anything I can do to help. I am not as experienced as many herein, but I am also not a novice and always willing to provide assistance if desired.

 

[cr0]

Thanks for that, helpful to hear and nice to hear from a local!

When you describe your starting process, when do you fill the stove with logs? Is that after the kindling is going strong enough? Or you start by loading it all up, then you get the newspaper and kindling going to light the load from bottom up?

I mostly follow that same process. Towards the end of last season I attempted starting fires from the top of a load. I'd fill the stove and leave a gap/platform on the splits, basically right under the cat, so I could start a fire on that the same way you described. Not sure if that was worth the effort, but it is a little more 'set it and forget it' and might be a cleaner burn once it is all setup and gets going. Have you experimented with lighting from the top down?