The Blaze King thread, new combustor & good wood.

Learning different techniques for the long burn times.

Got the long burn times back with the new SS Cat Combustor.
The over 24 hour burn times are back.
Actually learning to burn again.
When the stove was new, I had great burn times even with the marginal wood.

Now have 3+ year seasoned birch & more good shaped splits than semi ugly.
Much much better wood & am getting much better results than when the stove was new.

Been loading to the gills with the near 30° days 20° nights & when I take the time to
fit the wood in I get over 24 hour burns.
That causes a problem, I have to load a stove with lots of hot coals
(with what would be 4 or 5 more hours of good house heat)

Filling the stove helps it get a raging fire & get up to "active Cat" temp pretty fast.
Smaller loads take longer to get up to temp.

One solution I'm using:
I've started using up the semi uglies, which I get about a 75% of a full load.
more air space.
About out of semi uglies on the last batch I brought in to the wood box. I'm
starting to learn to not pack the wood in as tight, leave more space between splits.
Still look like a full load just more air space.

2nd solution I'm trying:
Started loading the stove full earlier, at 6PM instead of 10 PM
then the next night a smaller space load at 10 PM. Seems to help especially if I watch the
weather forecasts, & load for the next day's temperatures.

3rd solution I'm using;
I can leave the ashes build up pretty deep, just empty 1 a month.
Ashes take up room & the full stove has less wood.

Working for the 20° temps & leave me the option of more wood for when
it gets cold (which I'm sure it will) & i have to burn at a hotter setting.

Any other BK owners have techniques to use
to regulate burn time & same time ± night loadings.

 

It's a beautiful thing, having to look at the ten day before you load your stove

I'm not quite getting 24 hours, but then I'm not really trying. I'm not stuffing it full and try to use every little space. Burning a lot of oddball pieces right now, trying to save the perfect splits for cold weather.

 

Be interesting to compare now to a new one.
12,ooo hours on the old one, "They" say it's time to replace.
I had close to 18,000, so I'm seeing significant improvement.

I'm not overly concerned how much wood I burn,
but no doubt am burning less than before replacing the cat.
Important to me is the long, consistent heat output & cleaner exhaust I'm getting now.

Noticing much less blackened glass on the low burns too. Am thinking the wood has a lot to do with that.

I did clean the inside of the stove just prior to the new combustor. That has to help some too.

AAARG! 36° now, wind 25 mph gust, some freezing rain last night, slick driveway
Turned the stove even lower this am, 10-1/2 hours & still lots of wood in there.

 

How much square feet are you heating Dave? I assume you have the typical Alaska insulation.

 

2400 sq ft
6" walls
2'+ blow in for the ceilings

 

Weather is still pleasant around here, so doing the 24hr. burns . I load when I get home- 6-7 pm, and check it in the morning before I leave for work. If the day is mild and there is enough in the box to last, I don't worry about it. Outside of that polar blast, we've been pretty mild.
Tonight, I took the wheelbarrow to the sawbuck and collected a load of 6" and smaller scrap, then stuffed as much as would fit in the stove. Should be interesting tomorrow morning.

 

For those that have burned both, softwood and hardwood, in a Princess, what is the difference in the burn times?

 

Honestly I don't notice of a bunch of difference in time I notice a difference in heat output. I'm sure the burn time is less if burned in the same weather, but when I burn pine it's warmer so the stove is dialed down more resulting in similar burn times.

 

Kind of what I was wondering. I burn a lot of pine in the fall and hardwood when the temps dip. I was wondering what I could expect and what the differences are between pine and hardwood when it comes to burn cycles.

 

Made it 23 hours. almost nailed it
38°, house 74°, wind around 20mph
Enough coals for an easy relight but heat output was done.
Loaded & bypass closed @ 8:45
Little more wood tonight, windy seems to take a little more , I get a stronger draft.
Possible freezing rain thru tomorrow night. Temps hanging around 28° - 35°.

 

Dave,
do you need the 24 hour burns? Would it be easier to go with a 12 hour schedule burning a little hotter with less wood and more ash in the box?

 

Prolly plugged up with cheese

 

It wasn't as much of a difference as I thought it would make when I tried pine/hemlock in my Princess, I see why these stoves are so popular in Alaska and the PNW, what other stove can give such a long burn time with soft woods.

 

Well, it does look a little like a cheese grater.

 

24 hour works well, just have to fill at night.
When we get our cold weather with wind, 12 -14 hour burns is about the best I can do.

Hard to believe this but it's 40° right now.