Catalytic short burns?

In my BKK experience, small fires don't work well. And top down fires don't work well. Top down fires work great in my non-cat, where warming up the top of the firebox get a quick secondary combustion going. With a BK, that heat is going through the bypass and up the pipe. I needed to get the whole load charred up and burning, then I could adjust the thermostat as needed. Half a load was about the minimum, but that would be good for 24 hours or more.

I would check the forecast for a couple days out. If a low burn was too much heat, a quick, clean fire with kindling would be enough for a quick warmup and a few hours of residual heat. But usually, those days were good to exercise the LP furnace.

 

Do you have a decent draft Jeff?

 

Yeah. Sixteen feet straight up. I could burn with the thermostat all the way closed for 40+ hours, no smoke.

Super dry wood is every bit as important as draft with super low BK burns.

Of course I haven't had my BK for over a year. Sold it with the house

 

No LP furnace. No furnace whatsoever. I have an Eden Pure. I can run. But, that runs against the whole "no money for heat" thing I have going on. Guess I'll have to breakdown though.

 

Nice to see you again my friend! Thanks for the info.

 

As a cat stove burning wanna' be, I find it funny how you cat burners refer to an overnight fire as a "short burn".
Y'all suck. I mean that in the nicest way, of course.

 

The cat should be able to go to work when engaged earlier in a top down fire.

Surface temperatures mean nothing if the internal operating temperature is high enough.

 

This is probably true with the ideal steel. With the bypass open, it still has a bit of a meandering exhaust path. Blaze king stoves literally vent straight up the pipe when the cat is bypassed.

 

I never had good luck with top down either. Fire just shoots up the flue and doesn't heat the cat.

Anyway, small burns we do all the time. Just load small wood loosely in a log cabin formation and light it. What you are really doing is reducing the total weight/volume of fuel wood in the load so that you don't overheat the house. You should have no problem getting the cat into the active temperature range and then engage the cat. You might be surprised how long a small amount of wood will burn this way.

Yes, you will be starting fires often and yes you will be making more smoke and creosote during the shoulder season as a result but don't worry, the winter is coming.

 

Hmm maybe top down fires won't work with the blaze king due to the design. They work great with the IS.

Someone really needs to design a IS stove with the thermostat that the BK has. I'd love it.

 

After reading all the opinions here. I think this is the one I'm going with. It seems logical that the log cabin stack should should raise the cat temp quick, at the same time, reducing the total volume of fuel to be burned shortening overall burn time. I love this forum. Thanks Highbeam!

 

Build your fire at the front of the firebox. It will help to take advantage of the intake air coming down the inside of the door, and give it a not-so-direct path through the bypass.

 

With small loads, I make a "lean-to" if you can picture it, with the high side of the lean-to close to the glass. Put one or 2 good size logs up front on the bottom east to west, and make the "roof" north to south packed together tight. This causes the fire to lick up the front of the king and get the cat up to temp in a decent amount of time. Give it a shot it works better then starting it in the center and having it go right up the pipe.

 

Keep in mind Jeff had a King which is big stove. It probably took a decent amount of wood just to warm it up. I burn smaller loads in my Princess fine but it does perform best when packed full.

Top down fires, tried em , didn't like em.

 

Sounds noble to me! Carry on.