King or Princess? (I mean Blaze king stoves)

[Idahonative]

A free standing stove works perfect for us. We like our living, dining, kitchen area to be between 70 & 74. But we like our bedrooms to be much cooler...like 60. We couldn't sleep good a night if it were much more than that. Our bedroom door stays closed most of the winter.

 

[Marshy]

My stove is at the end of the house closest to the bed room and directly under the master. Needless to say it stays warm in there, low to mid 70's.

 

[Idahonative]

My stove is at the end of the house closest to the bed room and directly under the master. Needless to say it stays warm in there, low to mid 70's.

Oh man, that's not good.

 

[Marshy]

Oh man, that's not good.

Yeah I like it 70 max but what ever makes SWMBO happy.

 

[flotek]

I couldn't imagine 60 degree bedrooms . That would be uncomfortable and cold to my family heck they complain when it's 70! Going to my bed on a cold frigid January night to a 60 degree room would make us feel like we are sleeping in a icy meat locker .i burn wood to be warm and toasty ..to me central heat is a great idea that keeps a even comfort in every room , but I do understand not every body feels that way . I know people who drive around their cars with their windows down even in the dead of winter so I guess it's a preference thing

 

[unclemoustache]

It was 53 in the house the other morning. I didn't load the stove that night. Kids are wanting me to get the boiler going. Not just yet.

Yes, I did consider a wood/gas boiler for the house. (No furnace here, but the boiler/radiator system is great).
Couple reasons I decided against that - I'm not certain of a regular source of wood - it would take a LOT of wood for which I just don't have the space, and the cost of such a unit is beyond our means - at least all in one chunk like that. I'd love to have an OWB, but can't here in the city limits.

Oh well. Maybe someday I'll get a wood/gas boiler (burns wood, but if it cools off too much, the gas kicks in), but right now the old dinosaur is chugging along quite well.

 

[Highbeam]

Burn times on all of those wood furnaces are super low, except for the bk version that nobody seems to own. 12-16 hours just isn't satisfactory for full time heat when the king does 40 and the princess 30 hours.

 

[HarvestMan]

Jury is still out.

@unclemoustache , how is the adjustment to the new stove going? I thought of this thread when reading another new BK users comments on another forum.

 

[BoBDoG2o02]

@unclemoustache , how is the adjustment to the new stove going? I thought of this thread when reading another new BK users comments on another forum.

I'm curious too, now that your getting some colder weather.

@unclemoustache if you have questions shoot away, ive been running the same thing as you for 3 years and have it pretty well nailed down.

 

[BoBDoG2o02]

Also hoping you and your family are safe with the weather over there.

 

[jaroh]

I am on one month with the princess. I am burning lodge pole pine and get 12+ hour burn time when the temp is above 20. Below 20, I have very little coals left to get the fire started again, but it starts. Drafty weird house stays above 70 when it is above 20 outside, but dips to 67 when it is below 20. My only complaint is the smoke that comes back into the house when loading. Will attempt to fix this next year with a new flexible pipe down the chimney. Sure wish there was hardwood in this valley!!

 

[BoBDoG2o02]

I am on one month with the princess. I am burning lodge pole pine and get 12+ hour burn time when the temp is above 20. Below 20, I have very little coals left to get the fire started again, but it starts. Drafty weird house stays above 70 when it is above 20 outside, but dips to 67 when it is below 20. My only complaint is the smoke that comes back into the house when loading. Will attempt to fix this next year with a new flexible pipe down the chimney. Sure wish there was hardwood in this valley!!

Leave the bypass open for 20-30 seconds then open the door real slow, this might help with the smoke spillage your having

 

[jaroh]

I do bypass thing. Actually I leave it open for minutes trying to get a good draft going. 50-50 on wether it works or not. I am also trying to keep 25 feet of cinderblock and clay tile warm enough which is the hard part!

 

[Idahonative]

I am on one month with the princess. I am burning lodge pole pine and get 12+ hour burn time when the temp is above 20. Below 20, I have very little coals left to get the fire started again, but it starts. Drafty weird house stays above 70 when it is above 20 outside, but dips to 67 when it is below 20. My only complaint is the smoke that comes back into the house when loading. Will attempt to fix this next year with a new flexible pipe down the chimney. Sure wish there was hardwood in this valley!!

If you have smoke coming back into the house, you have too much unburned fuel left in the firebox. Our King will do the same thing especially since we have it hooked to 6" pipe. My suggestion:

1. Try to load your stove on a schedule that leaves as little unburned wood in the firebox as possible, but yet has enough hot coals that it will start your new load.

2. Or, if you have too much unburned wood in the firebox, try turning your thermostat all the way down for 1/2 to 1 hour before you load. This may "cool" what's left in the firebox enough to allow you to load it before it starts smoking again. Obviously, you still want enough hot coals to start your new load. And keep in mind, turning the thermostat all the way down still allows some air into the firebox.

I know #2 sounds odd since it goes against traditional thinking: Open the bypass and heat the flue, creating more draft. It's worth a try and just might work for you. The biggest thing that will cause smoke spillage is unburned wood left in the firebox during loading. We burn mostly Lodgepole also and have adjusted the way we load, to the point that we have very little problem with smoke spillage. You just have to play around with it and see what helps.

EDIT: If these suggestions don't work, try opening the bypass and turn the thermostat up on high for about 15 minutes, heating everything up before you open the door.

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

Burn times on all of those wood furnaces are super low, except for the bk version that nobody seems to own. 12-16 hours just isn't satisfactory for full time heat when the king does 40 and the princess 30 hours.

I'm not sure where 30 hours would come from. It would have to be very ideal conditions. I get about 10-12 hrs on a load of wood. Normally there are enough hot coals to get wood lit up well after that though.
Maybe 30 hrs from lighting a match to stone cold?


On the smoking out the house, does opening a window help?
My stove will sometimes smoke a bit when opening the door if the clothes dryer or bathroom fan is on and no windows are open.

 

[jaroh]

I have tried all kinds of things. My pipe set up is 3 ft from stove to 90 degree elbow to 24 inches pipe ending in a 20 something ft cinderblock clay lined chimney. I play the game every morning/evening as it all depends on what is happening. Wind/breeze from north,south,east or west? To many coals, not enough coals, open door, close door and open window.. It is all a game and it doesn't bother me one bit. I just watch and see what it is going to do and react to that. Warm house is a happy house!

 

[Highbeam]

I'm not sure where 30 hours would come from. It would have to be very ideal conditions. I get about 10-12 hrs on a load of wood. Normally there are enough hot coals to get wood lit up well after that though.
Maybe 30 hrs from lighting a match to stone cold?


On the smoking out the house, does opening a window help?
My stove will sometimes smoke a bit when opening the door if the clothes dryer or bathroom fan is on and no windows are open.

The stove is rated for 30 hours and I can easily get it with pnw species, low btu stuff. That's on low of course and is measured as active cat time. When it's too cold to run on low, the burn times drop of course but still are very long. I do 12 hour reloads in single digit temps. For comparison I can burn up an entire 3 or is it 3.5 cubic feet of fuel in my nc30 in three hours.

On the smoke rollout, it's also a well known bk feature. I tried leaving an outside door wide open and it made no difference.

 

[cigmaker]

I can't speak for the freestanding stoves but my bk insert will repeat low 20 hour burn times. One thing I did learn the hard way is not letting it burn in long enough doesn't allow you to turn it down as much. In my head I thought I'm burning all my fuel up but in reality I was causing myself to have to run the stove with more air to run clean. I also carry more heat longer ie. Stay at 400 degrees for more hours doing a better burn in.

 

[Idahonative]

I can't speak for the freestanding stoves but my bk insert will repeat low 20 hour burn times. One thing I did learn the hard way is not letting it burn in long enough doesn't allow you to turn it down as much. In my head I thought I'm burning all my fuel up but in reality I was causing myself to have to run the stove with more air to run clean. I also carry more heat longer ie. Stay at 400 degrees for more hours doing a better burn in.

Yep, just like the manual says, turn thermo to High and do what we call a "burn off". Not only good for prepping your new load for a long burn, it also helps to keep everything clean:
http://www.arboristsite.com/community/threads/understanding-creosote.283772/

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

Yep, just like the manual says, turn thermo to High and do what we call a "burn off". Not only good for prepping your new load for a long burn, it also helps to keep everything clean:
http://www.arboristsite.com/community/threads/understanding-creosote.283772/

Wait a second... you've had this stove only about a year and your an "expert"? Bwhahaha!