Ideal Steel Season #2 Tips, Tricks, and Improvements.

That's exactly what the BK is doing, it's constantly adjusting to keep an even output. They got that figured out perfectly. I'd love to see it on a IS though.

 

Yeah, I agree it is somewhat puzzling, especially since it is really an ancient idea. I think the basic reason that they are not used too much is twofold: one is that they are always of course subject to failure and that could result in an over- fire, property and / or personal injury and so forth. The other, more simple reason seems to be that they do not need to install them- most of today's stoves do not have any type of regulation yet readily compete with those that do have it; we consumers are not demanding it and so the manufacturers must be correctly thinking it is not needed. Almost all of the advances in the vehicular industries (autos, motorcycles) have been driven by gov't regulation rather than customer demand, and so it seems to be the same with woodstoves.

Frankly, I think the entire industry could use a good kick in the proverbial design pants and build a stove that is relatively simple, large, self- regulated (by which I mean fully automated other than loading and possibly the match), and especially, easy to use. The easy to use part would include better ways of loading, much better grate systems that require no effort to drop ashes, much larger ash pans, and simple systems that would allow a running stove to be at least partially maintained (cleaning the glass, checking / removing the combustor as long as it is not [orange- hot] and so forth).

Brian

 

The BK stat does not work at the minimum air settings. If you turn the stat down(less than 1.5) on my stove the stove is feed through a hole in the "flapper". When you turn it up a bit where the stat has room to work it does a good job regulating the burn. It will open some as the stove cools but never past the initial set point since its a "simple" mechanism.(some BK users would like it to open more as the stove cools) BK has the airflow at minimum air figured out. I can't remember ever stalling the cat in the 5 seasons I've had the stove.

With that said I don't think that stat is perfect but works well enough. I think I like it most when I load the stove. In cold weather I run at 1 3/4 on the stat, if I burn the stove hot for 20-30 minutes after reloading when I hit that spot on the dial the stove goes flames out since the stat flapper closes at that point on a hot stove. If I don't have time to wait I can load the stove and set the stat to 1 3/4, I know as the stove warms up the stat will close the flapper down as the bi-metallic coil warms up.

I don't think a tstat would work great on a tube only stove when you're relying on secondary combustion for a clean burn.

I "think" Chris(bkvp) mentioned once upon a time it's harder to pass the emissions testing with a tstat. Not sure if I'm remembering that right or not but may explain why we don't see more of them in use on modern stoves. I know more were in use in the smoke dragon days.(earth stove maybe?)

 

For who ever was asking about Woodstocks tool set I have the deer set and love it

 

And for the ash rake I made a few a couple years ago simple to make a old rake and threaded rod with two nuts

 

That is why I like providing the temp graph and pics, you can make your own judgement. For what I personally use as burn time, is how long it will last with hot enough coals to throw small splits on for a reload. If you have to use paper or very small kindling I don't consider it all as burn time.

As for air control, agreed, and that is why I have been specifying the scale I am using when I say it (been using fully closed as notch 1, so it goes from 1-15) so at least you know. But if someone throws out something without specifying the scale then we don't know for sure.

I am ready to get one, just waiting on a design that suits me a little better.

Do thos big deer ones get in the way of holding and using them?

That looks like a good amount left there, probably could of opened the air up some and warmed that stove right up?

The problem with how long it will heat the house is it is very much house-biased. Yes for our own purpose what really matters is how long we can heat our home effectively. But if the burn times are for purpose of comparing different stoves on the internet, then perhaps how long it can hold a certain stovetop temperature would be less biased on ones home (but of course STT varies a lot too, and 400ºF on a 700 lb stove isn't the same heat as 400º on a 300 lb stove). So different ways to look at it.

And if you have more than one stove like I do, then that kind of skews the numbers too, as a 24+ hr burn even in my poorly insulated house works fine down into the 20's as long as I have the other stove idling too. My 40 hr burn kept my place toasty for most of it even with my other stove off for part of that time. Fuel varries too, for someone in PNW they are not going to be able to hold as much fuel if its just softwood they have. Or in my case if you have a lot of compressed sawdust bricks you can really load a lot of btu's in there!

 

Enjoying your write-ups guys. Thanks for sharing. Record-breaking temps today in s. Indiana. Stove has been cold for two days. Being this is my first year burning, at least this weather means I might make it through February with the dry wood I have left!

 

Stove is out today too. Going to hit the chimney with the sooteater later today.

 

Cleaned the chimney with the sooteater. The amount I got out wasn't worth the frustration of this damm thing. It's a great design in theory but the way they click together is a pain in the azz. An assistant would make it a piece of cake.


Long story short some fluffy creosote in the cap but the chimney was clean as can be. I'm running double wall excel pipe from the stove to to support box and then 8 feet of excel class a to the cap. 2 feet short of the minimum of 15 feet.

 

This is what 30mph winds and a fresh load of wood looks like. Air has been on zero since the front thermometer was at 500. It has climbed to 700 in about 90 minutes and secondaries just kicked up. The secondaries are keeping my cat Temp from soaring, right?

 

You guys with the probe thermometer... Where did you end up getting it from? And did you use the 4" condar without any modifications or did you have to add a magnetic spacer?

 

Well it's 22 degrees now so IS is flaming.... but Monday it was 55 so I cleaned cat and my chimney goes up 2 feet over 19 inches to exterior class A where there is a T with bottom clean out 5 feet off ground then 26 feet up. insurance said I had to build a chase so it's outside but enclosed.. I popped bottom off had less than quarter cup of brown flakey.. looked up chimney to weather cap did not bother to brush it seems good

I understand that straight up is better but for ease of cleaning that T is the bomb.. take vacuum outside clean inside stove pipe to stove. as a check for safety less than 10 minutes!

 

This is just the stock Woodstock thermometer. I have it on the front to gauge start-up temps. This front area runs the hottest and there have been folks on this forum who have communicated with Woodstock and gotten the thumbs up on 800+ temps.

 

I have yet to check mine, but I'm thinking since my class A is situated high above the roof eave, I'll have to probably take off the double wall stovepipe and clean from the bottom up? Can I take the stove apart enough to take a sooteater through the stove and up? That double-wall pipe is on there tight and is telescoping, so not sure how easy that will be to take off?

 

You're correct. Since the stove is a hybrid, you're creating lots of fast heat with all those awesome secondaries versus sending as much wood gasses to the combuster for the low, slower burn. (You're "microwaving" instead of using the "crock pot")

 

Brad38, I am not sure... I wouldn't think so. I would think you would have to remove pipe from stove.. back when I was burning wet wood I would have to clean screen at top of chimney. since I had to be up that high anyway I pushed brush down. so I do top down with brush and inspect weather screen while up there... for quick checks I can look right up mine. before this chimney I have a double flue, block brick faced in middle of house and clean out in basement, Someday I want another Woodstove in basement be 100% wood but because placement of furnace hot water tank and panel box that's a pretty big job...

 

I was afraid of that. No worries though, I'll do what I have to do.
I think you do have a great set-up for quick flue checks!

I think if anything was going to creosote up it will be the spark arrestor since that's where the lowest temps probably are. I'm not sure how I will get up there to inspect it. (Hard to see with the storm shield cap I have) I don't think I could lean my ladder up against that class a w/o denting it up. Probably should have a chase built around the flue one of these days.

 

So, my top lid gasket was coming loose, and Woodstock (great customer service) sent me some hi temp glue for a quick fix. Never did this before, but just tapped into my third grade art skills. (No, I didn't try and eat the glue this time! )



First time those weights have been used in a loonnngg time!

 

It's that gasket supposed to be mounted to the stove body or the lid? On my stove it appears to be mounted to the body?