2014-2015 Blaze King Performance thread (Everything BK)#2

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Has anyone had back puffing problems with their Blaze King? I have an Ashford 30 and it's been a real problem. We're also getting wood smoke leaking constantly into the house. We've raised the chimney and disconnected the OAK. Both helped but not enough. It's a tight house, which is probably contributing to the problem. How best to deal with this?
 
Have you tried cracking that window right behind the stove?

There was a question about the cat being clogged up.. have you investigated this?
 
bobdog2o02 said:
Fire Brick.... My wife has now broken three of them in the princess ultra. They are all on the left side. I talked to my dealer today and he was trying to sell me the ordinary fire brick like i allready have from my Tractor Supply tube stove. I told him "No, i want the BK bricks". He grumbled and called them. $ 2.45 Each. Ok, thats chump change, get me 10 of them and ill just have extras. He told me that he wouldnt order them until he sold another BK stove so that he wouldn't have to pay the extra shipping. He didn't even offer to order and let me pay the freight..... Morons.

I don't feel like dealing with this dealer anymore, does anyone know of an online dealer or someone else worth buying BK parts through.
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http://www.hechlers.com/store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=31
 
Parallax said:
Has anyone had back puffing problems with their Blaze King? I have an Ashford 30 and it's been a real problem. We're also getting wood smoke leaking constantly into the house. We've raised the chimney and disconnected the OAK. Both helped but not enough. It's a tight house, which is probably contributing to the problem. How best to deal with this?
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When was your chimney last swept?
 
There are at least 3 active threads on Parallax's Ashford. It could be that this installation is not going to work out. Not everyone should have a cat stove. They are more complex to run and can be trying in the hands of a novice. Don't flame me guys, usually they work out well for experienced burners, but there are several caveats running a cat stove that a novice is not aware of and has no frame of reference to. Some of this is being compounded by the fact that we are having very mild weather with daytime temps in the 50s. If this house is in a geographically poor area that is affecting draft it could be challenging, even for an experienced burner. Many would just stop burning until it got colder again.
 
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begreen said:
Not everyone should have a cat stove. They are more complex to run and can be trying in the hands of a novice. Don't flame me guys, usually they work out well for experienced burners, but there are several caveats running a cat stove that a novice is not aware of and has no frame of reference to. Some of this is being compounded by the fact that we are having very mild weather with daytime temps in the 50s. If this house is in a geographically poor area that is affecting draft it could be challenging, even for an experienced burner. Many would just stop burning until it got colder again.
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I used to get the regulars pretty ticked off when I said this. Now that I've owned one for a few years I stand by my assertion that cat stoves are more complicated. They just are. I think the extra effort is worth it since I heat 100% with wood but if this is a part time burner I would tend to recommend a simple non-cat.
 
Highbeam said:
I used to get the regulars pretty ticked off when I said this. Now that I've owned one for a few years I stand by my assertion that cat stoves are more complicated. They just are. I think the extra effort is worth it since I heat 100% with wood but if this is a part time burner I would tend to recommend a simple non-cat.
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I see your point but can't totaly agree. I don't think the day to day operation of a cat stove is any more complicated than any other but it does require a level of knowledge that favors the more experienced burner. I think where the new users struggle with cat stoves is they are less forgiving of mistakes than a tube stove.
 
Cat stove operation is more complex. Don't get me wrong, it's a great technology. In the hands of a stove enthusiast these heaters can really perform well. Still, there's a learning curve that can be a bit daunting. A user must be more mindful when burning. We may take it for granted, but there are a lot of new things a first time user is up against: There is a bypass to operate; timing and watching the cat fire off; watching the cat for a stall; watching for flame impingement; being careful not to shock the cat; being careful not to poison the cat; keeping the cat passages clean; watching the flue for too cool temps and buildup etc.. And some cat stoves are not as well designed at others making them even less forgiving.

BK and Woodstock have done an excellent job at making running a cat stove easier, but it is still hard when the new user doesn't know an OAK from a baffle.That's why I don't often recommend them to folks starting out, particularly if there are going to be multiple operators of the stove. And particularly not to people who don't like to read manuals.
 
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begreen said:
That's why I don't often recommend them to folks starting out, particularly if there are going to be multiple operators of the stove
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Maybe I have been lucky or maybe I'm just good at reading the manual and this forum, but I have had no major issues operating my new stove. Neither has my fiance once I schooled her up on what I had learned on here. I had never burned wood until October and I couldn't be happier with my BK.

I didn't even own a thermometer until last night and all it did was confirm that I have been doing it right. I'm glad I have it now though; I was getting worried that I may not be burning as efficiently as possible all the time.
 
I can't speak of other cat stoves, only the BK. When I first started running mine I asked a ton of questions here. I think in many ways I tried to complicate things based on what I had heard about cat stoves.

Not to downplay the issue but as with any other stove, it's all about dry wood and draft! The rest is just time behind the wheel.
 
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begreen said:
Cat stove operation is more complex. Don't get me wrong, it's a great technology. In the hands of a stove enthusiast these heaters can really perform well. Still, there's a learning curve that can be a bit daunting. A user must be more mindful when burning. We may take it for granted, but there are a lot of new things a first time user is up against: There is a bypass to operate; timing and watching the cat fire off; watching the cat for a stall; watching for flame impingement; being careful not to shock the cat; being careful not to poison the cat; keeping the cat passages clean; watching the flue for too cool temps and buildup etc.. And some cat stoves are not as well designed at others making them even less forgiving.

BK and Woodstock have done an excellent job at making running a cat stove easier, but it is still hard when the new user doesn't know an OAK from a baffle.That's why I don't often recommend them to folks starting out, particularly if there are going to be multiple operators of the stove. And particularly not to people who don't like to read manuals.
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You just killed my dream of princess insert. I wanted it because of its legendary long burns and I figured it would have been easier for my wife to operate it when I am gone for few days plowing city streets or fixing water break.
 
prezes13 said:
You just killed my dream of princess insert. I wanted it because of its legendary long burns and I figured it would have been easier for my wife to operate it when I am gone for few days plowing city streets or fixing water break.
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ya, it's real tough! There's 2 levers instead of 1. It's so simple, anyone can do it. Don't be discouraged, If she can open and close the front door, she will be fine.
 
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I think she can mange that much.:)
 
One of the things I like a lot about the Ideal Steel stove is that when the bypass is closed, you can't open the door. That's one thing that I bet bites a lot of new BK owners... I need to try to remember when I get mine.
 
That's what I am hoping for. If I can get 12 or so hours of meaningfull heat for 1200sf 2x6 construction house I would be golden.
 
Ya, it's not that hard. My wife mastered it quickly, and that's not a trivial thing ::P
 
drz1050 said:
One of the things I like a lot about the Ideal Steel stove is that when the bypass is closed, you can't open the door. That's one thing that I bet bites a lot of new BK owners... I need to try to remember when I get mine.
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Believe me, you won't forget to open the bypass more than a few times. It's like forgetting to hit the brakes! The problem is blindingly obvious!
 
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prezes13 said:
You just killed my dream of princess insert. I wanted it because of its legendary long burns and I figured it would have been easier for my wife to operate it when I am gone for few days plowing city streets or fixing water break.
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My wife prefers running the BK to the Smoke Dragon or the tube stove we had. She loves the control of the thermostat. No more worries about an overfiring stove if she has to load the stove and leave soon after.
 
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webby3650 said:
Believe me, you won't forget to open the bypass more than a few times. It's like forgetting to hit the brakes! The problem is blindingly obvious!
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lol I believe it!

Reading through the old steel vs ceramic cat threads now... are ceramic cats available for the Ashford? Does it share the same size as the Princess? I know the fireboxes are different, are the cat dimensions different as well, or is that swappable?

The passages in the ceramic cat are much larger as well.. I wonder if this might be able to help Parallax with his issue.
 
drz1050 said:
lol I believe it!

Reading through the old steel vs ceramic cat threads now... are ceramic cats available for the Ashford? Does it share the same size as the Princess? I know the fireboxes are different, are the cat dimensions different as well, or is that swappable?

The passages in the ceramic cat are much larger as well.. I wonder if this might be able to help Parallax with his issue.
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The Ashford is equipped with a steel cat. It would only make a difference if it was getting clogged up. That's the issue, they get clogged easier. Possibly could make a difference on very low burns? They don't have as much of the thermal mass. So they seem to fall out sooner. I haven't tried, I'm pretty sure the cats are a different size.
 
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Sounds like we have some good mentors here. Well done. But imagine both hubby and wife never having run a stove before and thinking it would work just like an appliance. Now add unseasoned wood and maybe an imperfect install. Tail chasing ensues as it would with any stove, cat or non-cat, but with many more variables. A great dealer would be an asset here.
 
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