Rake embers forward on BK?

[MangoMcMango]

Hi guys,
New to wood heat and had a BK boxer installed on Friday. Already in love. When you reload with a bed of embers are you supposed to rake them forward? Online it says this is beneficial but there's nothing in the manual stating I should do this. What do you guys do while reloading? Thanks

 

[stoveliker]

You don't have to. You can also just spread them out.
If you have less coals tho, it is my experience that the new load lights faster if there are some decent coals at the front - you see them get brighter when you close the door due to the air wash flow, and them getting hotter will speed up the lighting of the wood.

If you are pushing the stove for output,.rake them to the front,.create a row, (and then I push it back from the bricks by about 2"), put a small split of softer wood on top (e/w), and run it high to diminish their volume while getting some heat.

 

[Murray01]

I burn Jack Pine so coal buildup isn’t a big issue compared to hardwood. I just spread the coals around the firebox before reloading.

 

[MangoMcMango]

You don't have to. You can also just spread them out.
If you have less coals tho, it is my experience that the new load lights faster if there are some decent coals at the front - you see them get brighter when you close the door due to the air wash flow, and them getting hotter will speed up the lighting of the wood.

If you are pushing the stove for output,.rake them to the front,.create a row, (and then I push it back from the bricks by about 2"), put a small split of softer wood on top (e/w), and run it high to diminish their volume while getting some heat.

I would assume raking them forward would have kept my glass cleaner too. Yesterday I ran on the lowest setting all day and now my glass is dirty. Even on low the thermometer was past the active zone. I've read that is common with new cats

 

[stoveliker]

The coals won't make a difference for the glass.
The glass being dirty is normal when running low.
If you run a full load on high for 1/2-1 hr it should mostly clean up.

Yes,.new cats will go past the active zone.
Moreover,.when dialing down to low, the gauge can actually go up - because less is burnt by primary flame and more gases/smoke get combusted by the cat.

 

[MangoMcMango]

The coals won't make a difference for the glass.
The glass being dirty is normal when running low.
If you run a full load on high for 1/2-1 hr it should mostly clean up.

Yes,.new cats will go past the active zone.
Moreover,.when dialing down to low, the gauge can actually go up - because less is burnt by primary flame and more gases/smoke get combusted by the cat.

Wow that's interesting how it would increase heat output on low due to more cat burning. I was trying to cool it down by turning it to low haha. Today I'll run it on high to try to clean the glass and see if the needle will go past the active zone. Thank you for your insight!

 

[stoveliker]

The heat output of the stove shifts from firebox flame to glowing cat (or sometimes not glowing but active nonetheless) when you dial down
The total heat output is controlled by the thermostat which senses near the top back of the stove

 

[MangoMcMango]

The heat output of the stove shifts from firebox flame to glowing cat (or sometimes not glowing but active nonetheless) when you dial down
The total heat output is controlled by the thermostat which senses near the top back of the stove

I see you're also located on LI. On a day like today do you load your stove totally full and then dial it down to low? I want to avoid more buildup on the glass so I am going to experiment with running it on high but only loading two splits in so we can enjoy the flames. My thought process being that I don't mind the reloading when I plan on being at the house.

 

[stoveliker]

Yes, I'm on LI too.
Today I'm running my minisplits (free; solar panels on the roof).
But tonight the stove will get back on.

Yes, I do run my stove full whenever I can (that often means a full evening reload and then a few uglies later during the next day to get me to a full evening reload), and dial it down. But I have my stove in the basement,so it's more of a heat machine than an ambiance provider.

In my experience running two splits on high will still give a (fairly) high heat output, just for a shorter time.
So you can do this, and then let the stove sit a while (almost empty), and then do it again when the house cools down too much.
But that pump and glide is not what the stove was designed for. You'll have more door openings etc, i.e. more often cold air into the cat.

So if you do that, be sure to open the bypass 5-10 minutes (and set the thermostat to max) before opening the door, so the cat has time to cool down enough before it sees the cold room air.