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

There were a few BKs that had holes rusted through their back walls. Not cool. The gooey, wet, tar that BKs produce on a super low burn are wet and apparently more corrosive than the dry stuff common on noncats. If nothing else, burning the creosote off allows you to inspect your stove for holes. I've never seen this on other brands, maybe someone else has had rust holes not caused by actual water?

 

Cause rust

 

We're lighting a fire every evening, and letting it burn out by morning. I burned it at a higher temp when everyone had gone to bed last night and today, when drug the poker around, the creosote flaked right off into the firebox. Definitely needs to be a regular routine this time of year.

 

Supposedly, the Ashtrol sold by Central Boiler to be used daily in their fireboxes neutralized the acid in the creosote to prevent firebox erosion. That's what got me thinking about this when I started seeing the shiny tar on the back of the firebox this spring. I do believe the hot fire every day or other day is the ticket.

 

Yea way cheaper than buying a product that may or probably doesn't do what they claim.

 

Did not know this, but it makes sense.

 

Ok, I think I can say heating season is over (although, I did build a tiny fire two nights this week just to knock the cool dampness down during a rainy period.

I can officially say, I burned just shy of 3 cord heating season of 2023/2024. Amazing! And, the house was every bit as warm as I'd have wanted it. It was a very mild winter, only maybe a dozen days near zero or a bit below. Mostly, 20's or so. I'm extremely happy with the BK 40. I would buy another one if I had to do it all over again. For me, the 6" chimney worked out excellent, but as mentioned earlier, if you are starting with a brand new install, just install the 8" to be safe. If I were starting a fire in a cold stove and it were very humid outside, I would highly recommend starting a fire using fine split kindling for a quick, hot, smokeless fire until the flue gets warmed, then build into your larger pieces. That should guarantee you no outflow of smoke from the heavy air.