2014-2015 Blaze King Performance thread (Everything BK)

Gareth96 said:

First fire... I'm looking at the initial firing process page that came with the Princess, and it says 400 for 45 mins and then 600 for an hour. Is that stove top, flue, other?

Click to expand...

i would assume thats stove top. but do it in warmer weather- you will need to open some windows!

I've had it going for an hour and a half.. no stink yet, and stove top is up to about 550 now.. I do have the windows open, but still no real smell except that of wood burning..

Gareth96 said:

I've had it going for an hour and a half.. no stink yet, and stove top is up to about 550 now.. I do have the windows open, but still no real smell except that of wood burning..

Click to expand...

wow, my ashford smoked us out.

BKVP said:

If I were you I would get a real hot fire and have it burn out those deposits. We recommend at least one real hot fire for an hour each week. Doing so will keep that acidic creosote from eating away at your stove parts.

Click to expand...

After a few shoulder season burns my firebox is much much worse that that. The creo in those back corners is gloss black and looks thick and wet. This isn't normal? It's a problem? and if so, will a hot fire burn that off? The metal side heat shields can't be removed and the gap behind them is filled with creo flakes.

I'll see if I can't get a ripping hot fire this weekend to melt that creo.

shoot-straight said:

thanks chris i certainly will do that. gonna bake me out of the house though!

reagarding "hot fires" how much flame is too much and too long to hurt the combustor? when i open her up, there are lots of flames. i dont want to hurt the combustor.

Click to expand...

I'll do the same and have the same question. What's the method for this clean out burn? Whole bunch of kindling, cat engaged, air on max? for an hour? That seems scary.

We all want to do the right thing for stove longevity.

Gareth96 said:

I've had it going for an hour and a half.. no stink yet, and stove top is up to about 550 now.. I do have the windows open, but still no real smell except that of wood burning..

Click to expand...

My princess was not a smoker either during break in, double wall pipe isn't usually too stinky, the single wall guys seem to really get some fumes going.

All right BK lovers. I am considering making the switch to a BK next year. I installed a PE T6 last year and have always burned non-cat stoves. I have had a Lopi Endeaver, Quadrafire Cumberland Gap, Quadrafire Yosemite (still have), and now my PET6. The T6 is a great burner! One of the best non-cat I have ever owned. What draws me to BK is the efficiency and long burn times. I leave for work at 6:30am and stuff my stove and don’t get home until 4:30 or 5:00pm and I have to build a new fire every night. I would love to come home to hot coals. Questions: The T6 has a 3.0cu box, will the Ashford 30 with the 2.75cu box put out similar heat? I will be heating about 2,000 square feet up and down with the stove on the main floor. I went through about 6 cords last year. Is it likely I would burn less wood with a BK? Any thoughts from BK owners is appreciated.

Niko said:

Blaze king has a video on youtube they just put out a lil bit ago.

Click to expand...

Looks like a steel combustor in there. I would think if they still had the ceramics, they would be replacing a lot of cats under the 10-yr warranty, from non-nerd novices not knowing how to treat the cat right. Huh, they say colored newspaper is OK, just not glossy? Seems like I've heard black and white only. Wow, that ash drop is teeny compared to the one in the Buck 91...

How are the blowers on the BK inserts, pretty quiet? The one on the mighty Buck is kinda loud. At the stove shop I heard the one on the Lopi Liberty...could barely hear that thing!

shoot-straight said:

MAN! is there some creosote inside my firebox. no worries?

Click to expand...

Pretty common in cat stoves since you are often burning them low and the smoke hasn't gone through the combustor yet. Chimney after the cat stays pretty clean. Instead of wasting wood burning off fire box creo, I'll occasionally scrape it with a putty knife....or don't worry about it at all.

Highbeam said:

My princess was not a smoker either during break in, double wall pipe isn't usually too stinky, the single wall guys seem to really get some fumes going.

Click to expand...

X2, my Princess Parlor didn't smell very bad or for very long. Literally, smell was gone in minutes. Nothing like I remember the break in fire on the stove it replaced to be.

2.5 hrs in.. no smoke or smell.. cat's engaged.. feels like summer...

When I'm burning on high to heat the stove. Once cat is active and bypass closed I still can't see running the stove on high for another 20 to 30 minutes.

Maybe I may just need to get more comfortable with it.

tarzan said:

When I'm burning on high to heat the stove. Once cat is active and bypass closed I still can't see running the stove on high for another 20 to 30 minutes.

Maybe I may just need to get more comfortable with it.

Click to expand...

I certainly have never done this either. Of course there is no "high" setting but I drop off of my max setting as soon as the bypass closes. BKVP seems to be saying an hour () on "real hot" once per week?

You guys are lucky....My first small fire was ok for smoke. The second, and bigger fire smelled a little. The third fire smelled alot and the fourth fire with her cranking was pretty smelly as well. I had fans on and windows open and it was 48degrees outside. It was like summer for me too! I don't think it was the double wall pipe so much as the stove itself. Its doesn't stink now when I do my "daily wide open clean her out" fire.

Highbeam said:

I certainly have never done this either. Of course there is no "high" setting but I drop off of my max setting as soon as the bypass closes. BKVP seems to be saying an hour () on "real hot" once per week?

Click to expand...

Ok, let's do it. You go first! Lol!

I do about the same as you on slowing the burn and still get some cleaning of the glass. I suppose they are talking about a complete cleaning.

Funny part is I ran the old tube stove at 700f with rolling secondaries without blinking an eye. This stove should be able to handle it just fine also. For some reason it just don't have the same feel.

Maybe we can work our way up to it 3 or 4 minutes at a time.

And the proof..

Gareth96 said:

And the proof..

Click to expand...

Ain't it beautiful!

Sometimes it feels more like a heater that runs off wood smoke than a wood stove.

tarzan said:

Ok, let's do it. You go first! Lol!

I do about the same as you on slowing the burn and still get some cleaning of the glass. I suppose they are talking about a complete cleaning.

Funny part is I ran the old tube stove at 700f with rolling secondaries without blinking an eye. This stove should be able to handle it just fine also. For some reason it just don't have the same feel.

Maybe we can work our way up to it 3 or 4 minutes at a time.

Click to expand...

I'll let it rip. The stove seems well enough built in all the right places to take a healthy 600 degree burn for an hour. Like others, I am most concerned about flames hitting the cat. I'll probably run at setting #3 which is above the normal range for that one hour. Small splits stacked loosely.

I run this stove long and low all winter on purpose so this hot rodding adventure will be a first.

A couple of weeks ago, I spoke to BKVP and he coached me to run the stove on high (all the way up) for an hour and a half. The video says to run it on high for a half hour after each reload. Hopefully Chris will come back and comment but I get the sense it's designed to run hot.

Highbeam said:

I'll let it rip. The stove seems well enough built in all the right places to take a healthy 600 degree burn for an hour. Like others, I am most concerned about flames hitting the cat. I'll probably run at setting #3 which is above the normal range for that one hour. Small splits stacked loosely.

Click to expand...

I burned like this for weeks at a time last winter, minus the small splits part. That stuff really doesn't burn out well, especially what's behind the shields.

Ignition temp of creosote is generally around 1000°F.

Jeff T, did you run it at its highest (or max) draft setting? what kind of stove temps were normal? Also, I realize the cat has a guard in front of it but it seems like the strong draft would be pulling flames into it?

To all BK owners...."this time of year, when burning on low frequently, do not hesitate to let the stove burn wide open on air control, by pass closed, small pieces for an hour or so." We will often do so to help keep the firebox free of creosote build up.. Now launch those stoves!

BKVP said:

To all BK owners...."this time of year, when burning on low frequently, do not hesitate to let the stove burn wide open on air control, by pass closed, small pieces for an hour or so." We will often do so to help keep the firebox free of creosote build up.. Now launch those stoves!

Click to expand...

You had me let mine rip for an hour and a half. How long can it safely be run this way?