Blaze King Wood Stoves?

[Tony Mayhew]

Every single year without fail. I am hoping a liner and the new stove will eliminate this crap. This has got to be a fire hazard too right? Like I was even considering skipping cleaning this year because I was so anal about it last year. Obviously would have been a horrible idea.

I live in the beautiful state of Oregon and I heat my home with wood and that is my only heat source! That being said, you learn it is extremely important to know the best process to make it work best for heating your home. That process starts with knowing how to season your wood correctly! I have learned through years of experience with what kind of wood works best for a good hot fire no matter what the weather is like outside! And I love burning old growth Douglas fir! It is the easiest wood to get a very nice warm fire with that if im not home my wife can even get it to burn with minimal effort. But no matter what you are burning there are things that are mandatory for a safe heat source that won't burn your house to the ground! And being lazy doesn't fit in there anywhere! I am well aware of the fact that Douglas fir has some pitch that will build up in your stove pipe if left unchecked for weeks without being delt with on a regular basis. So I just stop acting like most Americans who are always looking for the lazy way of doing things!And I put on my big boy pants and climb on a ladder once a week and get on the roof and run a long piece of rebar down the pipe while the fire is burning and clean it out so that it is not an issue! Pretty simple process i think? Unless you want to listen to the guy on the leaguard commercials that try and blow wind up your backside and use scare tactics about climbing up a ladder to get on the roof of your home! It's just part of the game! If you burn wood you need to put that in your mind that once a week you have clean the pipe out! I doubt it takes five minutes of my time to accomplish this chore! And the pay off is well worth the time it takes me to do it!My woman just loves how warm she feels with the wood stove heat! And all the neighbors look at me like I'm some kind of crazy strong man because I cut my own wood and process it in my driveway! But this is not something new here folks! This is what men have done for years and years before I was even born in 1967! And I couldn't even tell you anything that can keep you in any better shape than splitting big rounds of Douglas fir with a splitting maul enstead of a woodsplitter powered by an engine! But just like everything else, they are convincing everyone to stop burning wood, or if you do burn wood you need to go buy some outrageous priced wood stove with a catalytic converter to do so! I say Poppycock! If you are seasoning your wood correctly it actually burns pretty clean. I am old school, and change comes hard for me on most of the things that people are trying to shove down my throat that have worked just fine for years! And nine times out of ten you can ask them if they know anything about if they have experience with what they are pushing,? And they are just going along with what someone else is telling them but have no hands on experience with the matter! And I have tried to make since of this catalytic converter on a wood stove since I have thirty years of experience with automotive and understand why they use them on a car. But I just don't see that there is a need for it if you are not burning wet crappy wood to begin with? I don't know? Maybe someone can convince me I'm wrong and change my mind about the issue? I'm a pretty good listener if I am taught by the right teacher!

 

[lwmibc]

I live in the beautiful state of Oregon and I heat my home with wood and that is my only heat source! That being said, you learn it is extremely important to know the best process to make it work best for heating your home. That process starts with knowing how to season your wood correctly! I have learned through years of experience with what kind of wood works best for a good hot fire no matter what the weather is like outside! And I love burning old growth Douglas fir! It is the easiest wood to get a very nice warm fire with that if im not home my wife can even get it to burn with minimal effort. But no matter what you are burning there are things that are mandatory for a safe heat source that won't burn your house to the ground! And being lazy doesn't fit in there anywhere! I am well aware of the fact that Douglas fir has some pitch that will build up in your stove pipe if left unchecked for weeks without being delt with on a regular basis. So I just stop acting like most Americans who are always looking for the lazy way of doing things!And I put on my big boy pants and climb on a ladder once a week and get on the roof and run a long piece of rebar down the pipe while the fire is burning and clean it out so that it is not an issue! Pretty simple process i think? Unless you want to listen to the guy on the leaguard commercials that try and blow wind up your backside and use scare tactics about climbing up a ladder to get on the roof of your home! It's just part of the game! If you burn wood you need to put that in your mind that once a week you have clean the pipe out! I doubt it takes five minutes of my time to accomplish this chore! And the pay off is well worth the time it takes me to do it!My woman just loves how warm she feels with the wood stove heat! And all the neighbors look at me like I'm some kind of crazy strong man because I cut my own wood and process it in my driveway! But this is not something new here folks! This is what men have done for years and years before I was even born in 1967! And I couldn't even tell you anything that can keep you in any better shape than splitting big rounds of Douglas fir with a splitting maul enstead of a woodsplitter powered by an engine! But just like everything else, they are convincing everyone to stop burning wood, or if you do burn wood you need to go buy some outrageous priced wood stove with a catalytic converter to do so! I say Poppycock! If you are seasoning your wood correctly it actually burns pretty clean. I am old school, and change comes hard for me on most of the things that people are trying to shove down my throat that have worked just fine for years! And nine times out of ten you can ask them if they know anything about if they have experience with what they are pushing,? And they are just going along with what someone else is telling them but have no hands on experience with the matter! And I have tried to make since of this catalytic converter on a wood stove since I have thirty years of experience with automotive and understand why they use them on a car. But I just don't see that there is a need for it if you are not burning wet crappy wood to begin with? I don't know? Maybe someone can convince me I'm wrong and change my mind about the issue? I'm a pretty good listener if I am taught by the right teacher!

Well now, Junior (grin, I was born early 1948 so I get to say that) I think there's a couple of friendly points to be made from your essay. I'm like you in that I've been heating completely with wood for most of my life, including for the 20 years you've got ahead of you before you could reach my experience level.

First is the stove pipe; I clean mine once a year, using a stove with secondary burn technology, and even at that it rarely needs it but I do it on principle. The indication of having to clean the chimney once a week does have to say something, like having black soot in your car's tailpipe--unburned fuel is going out the pipe.

So second, I accept that that's what the new technology is for, just like on a car--with the advantage that in a stove, the extra heat generated is not wasted. I bet you'd like a stove with modern technology, just because you have a lot of knowledge and experience burning wood and know what your firewood should be like. And I bet you'd learn to use a cat properly for that same reason, and would be proud of getting that extra heat inside your house instead of having to go up and clean it out of the chimney every week.

So maybe go have a look at a modern clean-burning wood stove; I bet with your experience you will like what you see once understanding what it can do and how to make it do it.

 

[SS396driver]

I have a Drolet ht2000 love it . I really think all the newer quality stoves work well . You will be happy with whatever one you decide on
View attachment IMG_5088.mov

 

[Hexa Fox]

Well now, Junior (grin, I was born early 1948 so I get to say that) I think there's a couple of friendly points to be made from your essay. I'm like you in that I've been heating completely with wood for most of my life, including for the 20 years you've got ahead of you before you could reach my experience level.

First is the stove pipe; I clean mine once a year, using a stove with secondary burn technology, and even at that it rarely needs it but I do it on principle. The indication of having to clean the chimney once a week does have to say something, like having black soot in your car's tailpipe--unburned fuel is going out the pipe.

So second, I accept that that's what the new technology is for, just like on a car--with the advantage that in a stove, the extra heat generated is not wasted. I bet you'd like a stove with modern technology, just because you have a lot of knowledge and experience burning wood and know what your firewood should be like. And I bet you'd learn to use a cat properly for that same reason, and would be proud of getting that extra heat inside your house instead of having to go up and clean it out of the chimney every week.

So maybe go have a look at a modern clean-burning wood stove; I bet with your experience you will like what you see once understanding what it can do and how to make it do it.

I have been in a home heated by wood as fuel for 34 years now. I cannot technically claim that I have had experience for that long because well, I did not get acquainted with our wood stove until I was a little older. The stressful thing for me is that regardless of what I decide to do, this is going to be a significant change and I am worried about how it will go overall. Having that said, I have convinced myself to go ahead with it this year. I am planning to get liner for the chimney and get a new wood stove. I am seriously looking at Woodstock's Hybrid Ideal Steel or Progress stoves. The Ideal Steel is particularly palatable for me because it seems to be one of the cheapest catalyst options while allowing me to stuff 22" logs into it. Plus people seem to only say great things about it. Another stove I am looking at is the Regency F3500.

 

[lwmibc]

Every single year without fail. I am hoping a liner and the new stove will eliminate this crap. This has got to be a fire hazard too right? Like I was even considering skipping cleaning this year because I was so anal about it last year. Obviously would have been a horrible idea.

WOW!!--Like others, I've never seen that in my chimney. The last 20+ years I've been using a Pacific Energy secondary-burn stove, and the annual cleaning at the end of the heating season has never produced more than a cup of creosote. That is from removing the secondary burn baffle, cleaning the stove out completely and then cleaning the chimney, and sweeping up the results and measuring them. It's my most scientific way of determining if there's something I need to be aware of for next season.

The additional observation I have made is that there's never any creosote below the top 2 feet of chimney.

AND--I just have to add that it does seem that using a present configuration of a stack of firewood as a prerequisite condition for buying a wood stove is, let's say, not a common procedure. I think the firewood should be modified to fit the stove, not the other way around.

 

[lwmibc]

I have been in a home heated by wood as fuel for 34 years now. I cannot technically claim that I have had experience for that long because well, I did not get acquainted with our wood stove until I was a little older. The stressful thing for me is that regardless of what I decide to do, this is going to be a significant change and I am worried about how it will go overall. Having that said, I have convinced myself to go ahead with it this year. I am planning to get liner for the chimney and get a new wood stove. I am seriously looking at Woodstock's Hybrid Ideal Steel or Progress stoves. The Ideal Steel is particularly palatable for me because it seems to be one of the cheapest catalyst options while allowing me to stuff 22" logs into it. Plus people seem to only say great things about it. Another stove I am looking at is the Regency F3500.

I admit the Ideal Steel is an intriguing looking stove.

 

[vizette]

I have been in a home heated by wood as fuel for 34 years now. I cannot technically claim that I have had experience for that long because well, I did not get acquainted with our wood stove until I was a little older. The stressful thing for me is that regardless of what I decide to do, this is going to be a significant change and I am worried about how it will go overall. Having that said, I have convinced myself to go ahead with it this year. I am planning to get liner for the chimney and get a new wood stove. I am seriously looking at Woodstock's Hybrid Ideal Steel or Progress stoves. The Ideal Steel is particularly palatable for me because it seems to be one of the cheapest catalyst options while allowing me to stuff 22" logs into it. Plus people seem to only say great things about it. Another stove I am looking at is the Regency F3500.

Regency fan here (have a smaller one, F2400). When I originally bought this house it had a Timberline, basically just a big steel box. It would eat wood as fast as you could throw it in there, even with the vents on the front closed up. After finding cracks in the clay chimney liner, I got the Regency and they also installed a stainless liner. I don't live in a very cold region, but even on the coldest nights in Feb that thing will burn all night if I load it up before bed and the house will still be in the 70's in the morning. Some mornings I get yelled at because it's so warm hehe.
You can still see glimmers of stainless when looking down the liner even after several seasons, although I only burn hardwood (oak, ash, etc) In other words, it burns very clean. As long as I chuck some wood at it now and then, the HVAC heat never kicks on and we usually end up cracking the windows open during the day to cool the house off.
It was a learning curve at first (and there were some backdrafts) but like anything else, you get to know the in's and out's and quirks. For example, the directions specifically tell you not to crack the door when you're starting the fire. Nonsense. Even the guys that installed it said; nah go ahead and crack the door until it gets going. It's also nice to be able to see what's going on in there now without opening the door(s).

 

[husky455rancher]

I heat only with wood. I use a small insert in the fall then switch over to the blaze king king model in the cellar. I’m guessing it’s maybe 8 years old off the top of my head. I think I paid like 3200 cash so I got a better deal. That stove is worth every penny. It replaced an old Shenandoah which was still a good stove but this things on another planet compared to that one. the bigger the firebox the better. Longer burn times and less cleaning. The door opening is like 9 inches off the bottom or something. I can do a loooong time between cleanings.

 

[Hulpio]

Very interesting thread. Is it really so that in North America you have fire in your fireplace 24/7?. Wintertime obviously.
I'm asking because in Finland and Sweden at least the way of heating is totally different. Our fireplaces are heavy piles of bricks and fumes go up and down between layers until most of the energy has been transferred to those bricks. During the burning phase fireplace operates full throttle and primary air is fed underneath burning wood and secondary air to the top of chamber. This way there is always enough air. All gases and stuff burns away due that secondary air.
When you set up the fire there may be some visible smoke from chimney but when good burning is going on you will not see anything.
Attached some pictures of my fireplace. It is 4ft wide, 3ft deep and 6ft high. Weighing 5500lb. My target temperature is 72F and when all that 5500lb is hot/warm it keeps it there +- 2F. This floor of my house is about 1300ft^2. If doors are kept open all rooms are warm.
Heating process takes a couple of hours before all wood has burned. Then I close a plate valve in the chimney and heat loss is eliminated.
Skilled bricklayer builds that thing in two days. Most of the bricks are normal, only some heat resistant bricks on inner parts.
I think benefits of this kind of heat storage fireplace are obvious. Less pollution due good burning efficiency, less time consuming, no cold hours, no burning hot surfaces all the time etc.
Building plans are available where they instruct it layer by layer.
Humankind can become wiser only if we share ideas...

 

[lwmibc]

The problem over here is building code. To meet code such a stove, which I would have very much desired, would cost over $60,000 to install including the required footings under basement floor to support the load. And I did research it thoroughly during the design,

 

[Hulpio]

We are building differently is guess. That 5500lb mass is in the second floor of my house. The floor structure from top down:
3.5-4“ concrete (to bury elecrical heating cables), 1" insulation mainly for noise, 265mm or 10" pre-tensioned hollow-core slab. On the first floor it is 4-6“ concrete with rebar wire net, 12“ heavy duty styrofoam?, 2-3“ sand for leveling.
Then comes 12-15" layer of crushed granite stones which are about 1“ in size. This is to prevent capillary moisture raising up from ground. The footing of the house is laid on top of that layer. Layer is 6ft wider than footing on every side. Concrete footing itself is 12" wide and 10“ high if I recall it right. There is 4 pcs about half inch rebars in it too. I'm lucky have actual bedrock underneath my house so no any kind of cracks or movement expected.
This kind of style new houses are build here with some variation depending on the local circumstances and the kind of house you are building.

 

[Lunaro]

I have a solowilder portable pellet stove and I absolutely love it. It's very efficient and it heats my home evenly and comfortably. I also appreciate that it's a clean-burning stove. The only downside is that it is a bit more expensive than some other wood stoves, but I believe that the upfront costs are quickly offset by the savings on my heating bills.

 

[Termite]

I built my own 32x32x48. All welded except the top.

 

[Hulpio]

I built my own 32x32x48. All welded except the top.View attachment 1130688View attachment 1130687

Looks very well made to me. Design is missing 2000lbs of heat storage mass like bricks. Very, very much energy goes out via chimney due fumes are not circulated in passages made of bricks and THEN out. My intention is not to mock anybody, this is only what I see as a Finn. I could not afford the amount of firewood that thing would consume if temperatures are - 20C week after week.

 

[Hexa Fox]

Looks very well made to me. Design is missing 2000lbs of heat storage mass like bricks. Very, very much energy goes out via chimney due fumes are not circulated in passages made of bricks and THEN out. My intention is not to mock anybody, this is only what I see as a Finn. I could not afford the amount of firewood that thing would consume if temperatures are - 20C week after week.

Not sure exactly what you are referring to here but if you look at the first picture you can clearly see a lot of firebrick packed tightly inside the stove. Honestly pretty awesome, I have been looking at homemade designs for awhile and while some of them look really cool I don't think I would ever trust myself. For instance, I haven't welded anything since high school, I do want to get back into it.

Anyway something people are making more popular now is converting burn barrels into a wood stove. If you listen to people talk about them it seems like they are anything but air tight. You mostly see them in large garages and barns but there are definitely people talking about them on threads and the like. Probably because they are easy to come by if not free and if you have access to wood you can have cheap heat. Just hope every is also safe.

 

[Hulpio]

Not sure exactly what you are referring to here but if you look at the first picture you can clearly see a lot of firebrick packed tightly inside the stove. Honestly pretty awesome, I have been looking at homemade designs for awhile and while some of them look really cool I don't think I would ever trust myself. For instance, I haven't welded anything since high school, I do want to get back into it.

Anyway something people are making more popular now is converting burn barrels into a wood stove. If you listen to people talk about them it seems like they are anything but air tight. You mostly see them in large garages and barns but there are definitely people talking about them on threads and the like. Probably because they are easy to come by if not free and if you have access to wood you can have cheap heat. Just hope every is also safe.

Yeah there is firebricks but main function of those is to prevent steel burning. Fumes exit from the back and I'm 97% sure that if you measure fumes temperature after they have traveled 2ft in the chimney side the temperature is easily 750F. That means huge loss of energy.
I would change that desing. Put exit to the middle of the "roof". Construct a "box" made of bricks around that whole thing so that there is 2" gap between that box and original steel. Route fumes to that box and make new exit to the rear. As close to floor as possible. Then a chimney closing plate valve is a must.
This is far from optimal because mass is too small but now you heat inner brick layer with flames and outer layer of bricks with very hot exhaust gases. Instead of having live fire 24/7 you keep fire on for a couple of hours. Then wait until there is no red glowing wood left, close the chimney valve and voila it will heat hours and hours without fire. To that chimney valve you can make little notch like max 5%, it will give possibly existing fumes a way out. During fire phase of your heating process the fumes should now be a lot cooler than before, maybe 600F. If a heating fireplace is designed well and fumes really are circulated enough the fumes are 300-350F. But it requires 6000-7000 pounds of bricks where heat is collected. 50-60 pounds of firewood burned in 3hours will keep my house warm 2 days if temps are around 25F

 

[Hulpio]

These a part of free plans of 1200kg fireplace by https://www.tiili-info.fi/tulisijat-ja-hormit/takan-ja-uunin-muurausohjeet/
Google translate will help with Finnish

 

[Termite]

Looks very well made to me. Design is missing 2000lbs of heat storage mass like bricks. Very, very much energy goes out via chimney due fumes are not circulated in passages made of bricks and THEN out. My intention is not to mock anybody, this is only what I see as a Finn. I could not afford the amount of firewood that thing would consume if temperatures are - 20C week after week.

My wood is free except for my labor. I only burned a little over a cord last winter. I plan on adding a heat exchanger in the flue with a drum like I did in my shop. I would like to do a masonry bell heat exchanger but don't have the space. Good comment Hulpio