Which way to face new stove location installation?

I clean pipe once a year.. you have to have drier climate than mine.. 3 year plan dry wood..

 

Straight up and out is a great change of plan.

 

Cardboard, or plastic taped over the door opening...and some people will even make a hole to attach a shop vac hose to...but that's just one more thing to make sure stays in place too...if left sit for a few minutes after cleaning the dust will settle (or go up the chimney) naturally, then you can remove the cover.
Some people dig it out, but I leave the soot in the stove to burn up...after all, it is unburnt fuel...

 

It might get a kick out of a little bit of side-eye.

 

Are ya up an runnin? Curious

 

Post a pic of the loaded stove up and running. Do you have a stove top temp gauge? Not required but I like knowing.

 

wildwest Not to worry I’ve been in current house 20 years I decided I will never finish.. I will start over as new windows 20 years ago will wear out

 

I've been in my current house 31 years and just finished redoing rooms 4 years ago. And it's not a big house. Time and money were big factors. There are still things to do which might or might not happen.

 

Soooo. The learning curve on a BK is normally somewhat looong As will be this note........
The BK operation is considerably different compared to an old school smoke dragon or even contemporary secondary tube burners.
Don't get overly concerned about initial BK performance right out of the gate.

First. Fear not.... Load that thing to the gills.

Load it once. Completely. Zero need to start a few splits on kindling and then add more splits later. Thats an old school routine that doesn't apply.

I recommend a packed stove and a small chunk (1/4 of a puck at most) of Super Cedar tucked in between splits where it fits. No particular concern where you tuck in the starter. Top down/bottom up/lefty/righty sides/inside out . Don't care one iota.

Establish good active flame with the loading door cracked. Close loading door and let active fire run vigorously throughout the load with the bypass open. Air control knob W_O.

As soon as your Cat gauge indicates active. Close the bypass handle. Note: After swinging the bypass handle to the closed position you must continue pushing until you get a positive locking clank/click/clunk type of noise. This is a huge error made by new operators. Gotta get that bypass fully locked closed.

Let the load run W_O for the factory recommended duration. This can, and many times does become an altered timeframe as you get to know your setup/fuel supply reaction/venting habits etc.

Now you reduce your knob setting to the level you want to walk away from.

Now for the big piece of info most dealers really don't explain very well.
Every single install is different.
The "low set point" or "walk away from it setting" on your air control knob will quite likely be different than even your neighbor with the same exact stove. Keep this in mind.
Your personnel low set point represents the lowest point you can turn down the air control without stalling/snuffing out the active Cat and also provide required heat output.
With your air control knob twisted CC to the straight up position you are at what most freestanding BK users call the noon position. (closed off air)
Twist the knob clockwise halfway through its available range and you end up at the 3 o'clock position.
Twist clockwise around and straight down and your at the 6 o'clock position (wide open air).
In my home I set my stove at 3;30 to 4 for much of the colder season.
In milder weather I find myself turning down to the 3 o'clock position.
You will soon find that very, very small changes in the control knob position can have larger than expected reactions.
The actual used portion of the available range for the control knob may end up being less than half. I use from 6 to start, to 3 as my low set point. Daily. Any setting under 3 is a complete waste as it has zero effect or actually may snuff out the Cat.

I like to put a couple rare earth magnets on the points I use to set my air control knob at. A pencil mark etc. works as well. Just an additional thought for ya!

Good luck and have patience.

 

Excellent post!

 

Glad to help.
Pine ranks high on my list. My place is surrounded by it. Out here in hardwood/corn country. Most folks out here consider me nuts. Not my problem...... Pine works extremely well in a BK.

Your Cat is new. It will be highly reactive for a week or so. You are not likely to damage it running in a normal fashion.
As you progress on your testing loads try this.
Instead of running wide open and sending your heat up and out_ Try running a load at say the 4 position. Record your results. Burn time, heat output etc.
Next load try at 3.
Continue.
Reduced air settings (to a point) actually enhance heat production on these stoves. Counterintuitive but true.
You will be hunting and pecking like a squirrel for a while until you start to nail down the sweet spot to set your stove that match's your install parameters/home heat requirements/reloading timeframe. Patience is the key. Many newbies get aggravated easily. Lots to learn.

Running the OEM BK blowers (a must have option) has been best in my experience. Very rarely at more than half speed unless its very cold/windy. Every home is different.
Enjoy the challenge.

 

Get a floor fan, place in furthest room away from stove and blowing towards the stove on low. Stove fan can be set lower now and more air will be moving as a result.

Easier to blow cold air that lays on the floor than to push hot air away from stove since the hottest air wants to rise. The floor fan and stove fans on low will move much more air and you’ll feel the difference. Just a little trick for the coldest nights of the year.