The Blaze King Performance Thread

[rdust]

I loaded last night around 9 or 10 with a pretty much full load of silver maple. I just pulled the sides into the center about an hour ago and the stove top is around 340-350 with it set on 1.75, it's 12:25 right now). Honestly I don't think stove top temps show the whole picture since these stoves burn at such a steady temp but it's really all we have I guess. I'll be heading out tonight but tomorrow morning I'll load up and try to record as much data as I can for the burn.(if I can function :lol: )

It's now 3:00pm, stove top is 29x near the cat probe, just turned it up to 3.5 to warm the coals up so I can reload before going out. Hallway leading to the stove is 70* outside temp 38*. Roughly 17-18 hours since I loaded the stove with a stove temp still near 300*. :coolsmile:

Edit: Last one for me and I'm out for the night.

3:30 stove top back to 300 from burning down coals, loaded up with silver maple and some black walnut.

4:15 stove top hot spot 599, stove dial down to 1 fans off 36* according to accuweather.

Me again, just got in from last nights fun, moving a little slow but I'll make it.

Few minutes before 11am
Outside temp a mild 41*
Inside temp down to 67*(yikes!)
Stove top 230* after raking coals to the front(no meaningful heat for my house)
Loaded with chunks and uglies due to mild temps

Last load was 3:30pm yesterday, so nearly 20 hours between loads, probably had 17-18 hours of meaningful heat but unsure since I just got home.

Edit: added pics

 

[SolarAndWood]

probably had 17-18 hours of meaningful heat but unsure since I just got home.

Bet you would have had 3 or 4 more if you had heaped up and opened the tstat all the way. There is a lot of fuel under that reload.

 

[rdust]

Bet you would have had 3 or 4 more if you had heaped up and opened the tstat all the way. There is a lot of fuel under that reload.

Honestly there wasn't much left, I dug around in there pretty good before reloading and let it burn on three for a little bit. The stove temp didn't move so I reloaded since the house was already trending down in temps. When I'm home I usually heap it up in the middle near the end and crank the t-stat, I usually get a couple more hours of real heat after doing so. It was almost 20 hours on what I consider my soft hardwoods so I'm not going to complain, pretty much as advertised.

 

[SolarAndWood]

Honestly there wasn't much left

lol, sorry for calling you out on New Years day.

 

[rdust]

lol, sorry for calling you out on New Years day.

:lol: I don't see it that way! If the house was still at my desired temp I think it could have gone a little longer. Seeing how it was already cooling even if the stove top climbed a little it wasn't gonna get me back to my comfort zone without more fuel.

 

[ohlongarm]

Okay another BK accolade started a fire at 3pm last night all oak,white not that cold but a damp chilly 38/40 house at 74 cut her back to 2. This morning 7 am house at 74 but temp outside dropping and high winds house at 3:30pm 73 but only a tiny coal bed cat now inactive ,stovetop with IR shows 270. raked all the coals forward and trust me there ain't many laid a nice piece of oak across them completely covering it east to west. Threw the air to it and in less than 5 minutes the piece is flaming,won't load till about 8pm 25 hours of actual heat pretty remarkable for a novice BK burner.

 

[iceman]

Have any of you guys actually measured the firebox? Just did my summit and its more like 2.5 cubic ft .. I assume they are measuring the box without the baffle .. it would be interesting to see if you guys have that. 4.4

 

[SolarAndWood]

Have any of you guys actually measured the firebox?

min 24" wide X min 15" high x min 18" deep. You can get more than that in if you want to work it but that is about what you are going to get without playing games.

 

[iceman]

That's works out to a real 3.75 cubic ft ..
Still amazing

 

[Hass]

When I measured my Chinook after I bought it, I measured 2.73cu/ft... it's rated at 2.75cu/ft.
My measurements were 1 inch less width wise than what they called for, but one inch deeper than what they say (I think that was it anyway). So it's right on I'd say. But I measured about 1/2" or so below the cat shield... so there's actually a little more room than that.

got 50mph winds right now, and she's still sitting 1 not pulling any more draft than normal.
Stove top sitting at ~180... house at 76.

This stove honestly amazes me. It does everything I hoped it would and then some. The last stove (gas) was 46k BTU... EPA rates the Chinook at 27k, BK says 40k. This stove is WELL ABOVE 40k. I'm judging this off the gas stove, 46k was very manageable to be near my old gas stove... With this guy, I can't even get near it without my pants suddenly combusting. The solution is to not wear pants, but then all the hair on my legs would get burned off. But in any way, this stove is definitely a heater. But on the opposite end, I can have the stove running in 50-55 degree weather, and it won't heat me out of my tight 792sq/ft house. I have no reason to ever to have to relite a fire. The Ash Pan is huge, with all the ash I'm getting from my cottonwood/willow mix it has no problem. I've been burning constant for a couple of weeks now and haven't had to empty the pan once... It's only about about half full. The real test will be when I go up on the roof and see what the chimney looks like. 30+ hour burns on crap wood? no problem. I started my wood stove journey expecting to have uneven heat throughout my house, many reloads throughout the day (meaning more wood hauling and a bigger mess) but I ended up with the total opposite. All my rooms are within 2 degrees of each other, there's no temperature swings except when I reload and let it burn on high for a few minutes.. but the house temp will even off after a half hour or so. I haven't even used the ceiling fans to move the heat around yet.

I know the real test is to come when it starts to get below zero, but so far my main concern was it's ability to put out a small amount of heat burning cleanly in the shoulder seasons. Which is absolutely is amazing at.
It may have cost me a heck of a lot of money and a kidney, but I think it's worth every penny. Just like the old Ronco showtime oven infomercials I'd always watch as a kid... "set it and forget it"

My ONLY gripe with the stove... Is that sometimes on overnight burns, it will tend to smolder to the left or to the right (usually to the right). Leaving some very charred but unburned wood on one side of the stove. It's very easy to just slide some ash over to the wood, or move the wood to the ash and turn it up for a couple of minutes then back down and it's good to go again... I'm learning how to make this problem not happen, which I think it's just how I load the stove and where the coals are placed on a reload.

 

[iceman]

Very impressive!
My box is actually smaller than what pe says but it shows that a smaller BK would do the job

 

[BrotherBart]

This stove honestly amazes me. It does everything I hoped it would and then some. The last stove (gas) was 46k BTU... EPA rates the Chinook at 27k, BK says 40k. This stove is WELL ABOVE 40k. I'm judging this off the gas stove, 46k was very manageable to be near my old gas stove...

Gas stoves are rated by BTU "input" not output. The wood stove is rated by output. You would have to reduce the gas stove number by the efficiency factor.

 

[HotCoals]

When I measured my Chinook after I bought it, I measured 2.73cu/ft... it's rated at 2.75cu/ft.
My measurements were 1 inch less width wise than what they called for, but one inch deeper than what they say (I think that was it anyway). So it's right on I'd say. But I measured about 1/2" or so below the cat shield... so there's actually a little more room than that.

got 50mph winds right now, and she's still sitting 1 not pulling any more draft than normal.
Stove top sitting at ~180... house at 76.

This stove honestly amazes me. It does everything I hoped it would and then some. The last stove (gas) was 46k BTU... EPA rates the Chinook at 27k, BK says 40k. This stove is WELL ABOVE 40k. I'm judging this off the gas stove, 46k was very manageable to be near my old gas stove... With this guy, I can't even get near it without my pants suddenly combusting. The solution is to not wear pants, but then all the hair on my legs would get burned off. But in any way, this stove is definitely a heater. But on the opposite end, I can have the stove running in 50-55 degree weather, and it won't heat me out of my tight 792sq/ft house. I have no reason to ever to have to relite a fire. The Ash Pan is huge, with all the ash I'm getting from my cottonwood/willow mix it has no problem. I've been burning constant for a couple of weeks now and haven't had to empty the pan once... It's only about about half full. The real test will be when I go up on the roof and see what the chimney looks like. 30+ hour burns on crap wood? no problem. I started my wood stove journey expecting to have uneven heat throughout my house, many reloads throughout the day (meaning more wood hauling and a bigger mess) but I ended up with the total opposite. All my rooms are within 2 degrees of each other, there's no temperature swings except when I reload and let it burn on high for a few minutes.. but the house temp will even off after a half hour or so. I haven't even used the ceiling fans to move the heat around yet.

I know the real test is to come when it starts to get below zero, but so far my main concern was it's ability to put out a small amount of heat burning cleanly in the shoulder seasons. Which is absolutely is amazing at.
It may have cost me a heck of a lot of money and a kidney, but I think it's worth every penny. Just like the old Ronco showtime oven infomercials I'd always watch as a kid... "set it and forget it"

My ONLY gripe with the stove... Is that sometimes on overnight burns, it will tend to smolder to the left or to the right (usually to the right). Leaving some very charred but unburned wood on one side of the stove. It's very easy to just slide some ash over to the wood, or move the wood to the ash and turn it up for a couple of minutes then back down and it's good to go again... I'm learning how to make this problem not happen, which I think it's just how I load the stove and where the coals are placed on a reload.

Good to hear all that!
Even temps.
That was one of the first things I noticed after putting in the cat stove.
Plus it seems I'm 5-7 degrees warmer in the morning then I was with the same BKK without a cat.

Course it's not really magic.
Nope..I believe it is just better use of the available btu's in the load...less up the flue.

 

[muscamoot]

Yes. Very impressive.

How is it that these Blaze King stoves seem to burn twice to three times as long as other brands?

What is it in their construction that makes them so much better?

If I was a competing stove company, I would take one apart and learn the secrets. Are there copyrights?

Wish I could afford one.

 

[SolarAndWood]

How is it that these Blaze King stoves seem to burn twice to three times as long as other brands?

Big fireboxes, catalytic, tstat to manage the burn and very good burn control.

 

[HotCoals]

Yes. Very impressive.

How is it that these Blaze King stoves seem to burn twice to three times as long as other brands?

What is it in their construction that makes them so much better?

If I was a competing stove company, I would take one apart and learn the secrets. Are there copyrights?

Wish I could afford one.

It's mostly in the shoulder season where they shine.
Controlled low burn with not much up the pipe.
Most of the time my pipe 18" up my flue is at 250f...but the cat could be kicking out 800-1500f.

You see a cat stoves can do a good clean burn at low temps.
No need for a hotter box to fire the secondary's.
You just have to char the wood and get the cat going..close the by-pass..then set the t-stat and she will raise up some in temps for awhile,then settle down and cruise for hours.

They are pricey.
I paid 3200 fall of 2010.
I had my last BKK non cat 24 years.
So if even I use this one for just 20..it's only 160.00 a year.

 

[muscamoot]

But the Woodstock brand of stoves use cats, and their burn times are about half the Blaze Kings (from what I read).

Yes. Very impressive.

How is it that these Blaze King stoves seem to burn twice to three times as long as other brands?

What is it in their construction that makes them so much better?

If I was a competing stove company, I would take one apart and learn the secrets. Are there copyrights?

Wish I could afford one.

It's mostly in the shoulder season where they shine.
Controlled low burn with not much up the pipe.
Most of the time my pipe 18" up my flue is at 250f...but the cat could be kicking out 800-1500f.

You see a cat stoves can do a good clean burn at low temps.
No need for a hotter box to fire the secondary's.
You just have to char the wood and get the cat going..close the by-pass..then set the t-stat and she will raise up some in temps for awhile,then settle down and cruise for hours.

They are pricey.
I paid 3200 fall of 2010.
I had my last BKK non cat 24 years.
So if even I use this one for just 20..it's only 160.00 a year.

 

[Hass]

This stove honestly amazes me. It does everything I hoped it would and then some. The last stove (gas) was 46k BTU... EPA rates the Chinook at 27k, BK says 40k. This stove is WELL ABOVE 40k. I'm judging this off the gas stove, 46k was very manageable to be near my old gas stove...

Gas stoves are rated by BTU "input" not output. The wood stove is rated by output. You would have to reduce the gas stove number by the efficiency factor.

Ahh true, simple things I forget
The wood stoves output is rated pre efficiency though is it not?
Which would put them about at the same after efficiency... my 46k stove (68%) would sit at about 31.5k, and the 40k Chinook would be 32k (80%)


edit;
I'm nearly positive the reason for the BKs clean burn time is thanks to the thermostat. Automatically regulating the air flow based on the temperature of the stove and the amount needed to keep a clean burn. That's the missing key in any other stove... I don't think any other manufacturer offers a self adjusting air control.

 

[HotCoals]

But the Woodstock brand of stoves use cats, and their burn times are about half the Blaze Kings (from what I read).

Yes. Very impressive.

How is it that these Blaze King stoves seem to burn twice to three times as long as other brands?

What is it in their construction that makes them so much better?

If I was a competing stove company, I would take one apart and learn the secrets. Are there copyrights?

Wish I could afford one.

It's mostly in the shoulder season where they shine.
Controlled low burn with not much up the pipe.
Most of the time my pipe 18" up my flue is at 250f...but the cat could be kicking out 800-1500f.

You see a cat stoves can do a good clean burn at low temps.
No need for a hotter box to fire the secondary's.
You just have to char the wood and get the cat going..close the by-pass..then set the t-stat and she will raise up some in temps for awhile,then settle down and cruise for hours.

They are pricey.
I paid 3200 fall of 2010.
I had my last BKK non cat 24 years.
So if even I use this one for just 20..it's only 160.00 a year.

I dunno..do the WoodStocks have a t-stat?
Do they have a box as big as the BKK..4.2 (advertised)?

 

[SolarAndWood]

But the Woodstock brand of stoves use cats, and their burn times are about half the Blaze Kings (from what I read).

I bet they are pretty close when you count firebox size. Both do a very good job of metering out the heat as long as you have dry wood.

 

[muscamoot]

I now see the Fireview has a 1.6 cu. ft firebox. No T-stat.

Thanks for the info.

 

[SolarAndWood]

Thanks for the info.

There were some smokin BK deals coming from some dealer in Michigan if I remember right. Not sure if they are still around but you might want to do a search of the forums and PM some of the guys who befitted from them.

 

[muscamoot]

Thanks again.

I'm searching.

 

[rdust]

Thanks again.

I'm searching.

PM jeff_t he can tell you about it. I think the place he bought from had two kings they wanted to move, he got a darn good deal on his. This was a while ago though so I'm not sure if they still have them available.

 

[rdust]

got 50mph winds right now, and she's still sitting 1 not pulling any more draft than normal.
Stove top sitting at ~180... house at 76.

Sounds like the perfect stove for your place. 180* stove top will do nothing to heat my place, love the 1980 build quality. :lol:

My ONLY gripe with the stove... Is that sometimes on overnight burns, it will tend to smolder to the left or to the right (usually to the right). Leaving some very charred but unburned wood on one side of the stove. It's very easy to just slide some ash over to the wood, or move the wood to the ash and turn it up for a couple of minutes then back down and it's good to go again... I'm learning how to make this problem not happen, which I think it's just how I load the stove and where the coals are placed on a reload.

The Princess burns from the middle out to the sides, I think I've heard the King users say the same about their stoves which is no surprise.