New Install of Blaze King King 40 KE Stove on Six Inch Flue and Chimney

Which was what again, exactly?

 

He told me the 6 inch may work, but the stove was designed around an 8 inch. He thought the stove may likely burn ok, but couldn't promise it would. Another thought he had was it just would not put out the maximum BTU it was designed for due to the restriction in size. Because I was exhausting straight up with no bends or elbows, he figured that would be a benefit. He was actually trying to steer me towards the BK Princess because of my current 6 inch chimney. I was fully prepared to install an 8 inch if needed, so, I figured I would try it on the 6 inch. He never at any time tried to mislead me in convincing me the stove would burn on 6 inch. That was solely my decision.

 

Two stoves made by a manufacturer and identical except for the stove breech (as it were for many companies during the transition to smaller breeches).

Were the new stoves with 6” breech “designed” that way?

I’ll submit to you that I don’t think they were designed that way…they were just made that way to accommodate a trending push to smaller, more insulated, and hotter burning chimneys.

Now…obviously a fireplace with a big huge 10” square or bigger chimney will smoke less, breathe better and therefore allow for hotter fires with bigger fuel loads…which were needed to actually provide enough heat to heat the home…but a huge raging fire had to be maintained and little to zero heat near the end of the burn cycle because it all went up the chimney.

Soon they would shrink the fireplace chimneys some, people had room smoke issues, and slammer inserts became popular as a result…and so did chimney/home fires.

At the same time stove manufacturers built stoves with 8” breech, not because stoves were built and designed that way, but rather to accommodate the large clay liners (10” square and much bigger) so the stoves could provide more heat up the chimney in effect to reduce creosote formation. Fisher (I think) and maybe a few others built a few stoves with 10” breech.

Over time it has been learned that a stove with a 6” breech will provide enough heat to about 3500-4000 square feet of home space depending on the stove you buy. I believe a DS160 has a 6” breech and will heat close to 4000 sq ft.

Also over time we’ve learner that an insulated, smaller 6” chimney stays hotter linger longer and therefore produces less creosote, of course given dry fuel.

I’m convinced that a 5” insulated chimney would work for most stoves/chimney/home systems. In fact, NFPA 211 allows for 1” reduction below the stove breech size. Some mistake this and say the manufacturer has the last say. Really???

Then if a 6” code standard is set by whomever sets these codes, then the standard should be and shall (will) be as written…yet they allow for a 1” variance +/-1”…and get this…I just recently realized that the same people who set the codes have also allowed for the import of Jotul stoves to arrive in country with a 4” stove breech and includes a 4” to 6” increaser inside the new stove.

Doesn’t the government always give themselves an out? Yep! Rules for thee, but not for me…and we’ve seen a lot of examples of this over the last 3 years by this UhBamination Administration. Not sure if the Vermont Castings Aspen is 4” or not…maybe it also came with a 4” to 6” increaser…I can’t remember.

The point is…it’s only set in stone if a “certified” installer installs the stove…and even they’re given some discretion.

As for the BK 40 and Princess…other than physical size of the stoves themselves, and the breech sizes, I doubt there’s any other internal major differences.

 

Well stated! Rules written in Washington by bureaucrats who have likely never even roasted a marshmallow over a fire.

 

I like to test them with questions like which woods are the toughest to split ? How long should my Oak season before I can start burning it ? How can I get longer burn/heat times from the stove your showing me ? If he gives me the correct answers to questions like these along with what are the cons of this model or that model? If he answers these questions to my satisfaction we might be able to do business with each other.

 

Looks like you might finally get to really put that stove to the test in a little over a week. Looking like the whole country is going to be in the deep freeze for a while.

 

Yeah, looking like lows of 4-7 degrees for several days. Not sweating it. I'm thinking it'll purr right along. Kinda anxious to see it in action.

 

Outdoor temps have been hanging around the 30's through the storm. Had winds steady at 30mph with gust hitting 50mph. It's now passed, and is currently 18° outside. Indoor temps are 75° with stove thermostat set just over half. So far so good! Monday morning is supposed to hit a low of 6° at 8:00 am. That'll give us a good picture for sure!

 

I can't wait to report how things go Sunday night into Monday morning. I have a strong hunch it'll be good news.

 

With the high winds during the storm, I had no issues with back drafts, heat output etc. on the six inch pipe and chimney. So far, it was a good move to keep the six inch instead of removing it and installing the eight inch.

 

Might want to take some notes (taking some myself during this cold snap) to compare with other cold snaps and especially to compare with the coldest temps recorded for your area (official and unofficial) so you have some idea if your stove and chimney will handle it and have enough output for those times.

I keep a spiral bound notebook.

I don’t anticipate any future issues. You’ll know for sure if and when temperatures go negative with high wind. That will be your benchmark. You get through that and the worries are over. Smooth sailing from that point forward.

 

Years ago, we went through a spell, three weeks it never got above 0°, and nights hit -20°--30°. The old wood stove I had, don't know the make it was, one guy thought it might be an American Eagle, but I don't know, it handled those temperatures like it was just another day. I'm hoping for the same outcome with the BK. Tomorrow morning is supposed to be 6° so that'll be a nice trial run. This morning outdoor temp is 18° and indoor is 76°. I am currently on my 10th hour since last load of wood and still big chunks of charred splits and lots of coals. Probably still won't add wood for another hour or two. Here's a picture of where I have my stat set all night to keep the house temperature 76° last night.

 

8:40 pm, and BK is plodding along, just laughing at the outside temperature so far. Outside temperature is 10° with 20-30mph wind. Indoor temp: 77°

 

Tending schedule thus far?

 

Currently loading roughly every ten to twelve hours. If I'm going to be home all day, I like to add about 3-4 small splits every 4-5 hours as opposed to one big load for the day. Amount of wood loaded depends on forecasted temps for the day/night. Keep in mind, I generally will stir the coals around in order to burn them down, but house temps stay in the 72°-76° range. At least that's my target. Sometimes, might get a touch warmer.

 

Update
Outdoor temperature this morning was 4°. Indoor temperature was 72°. I had the stat set in the normal location. I got about 10 hours on my load of wood. So, if I turned my thermostat up to maintain the 75° roughly, I'm estimating my wood will give me about 7 to 8 hours on a higher burn. Tonight's temperature is supposed to be a bit colder, so I will give the thermostat a little more, and see how long my burn goes. I will keep you updated.

 

So you really haven’t filled the beast full yet? I think I’d try and figure out a 24 hour reload schedule and how much wood and what thermostat setting would be. Then again it seems to be working mighty fine the way your burning now.

 

So, a black box that puts out heat and you only get to play with once per day...that sounds boring...

 

Now all you need is a probe thermometer to measure pipe temperatures and a manometer to see if your draft is within BKK parameters which will tell you of a stove pipe damper is needed if both are too high…that is if you don’t already have one installed (I can’t recall).