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

Anyone have the Midnight Satin Enamel? This is called Midnight Semi Gloss Enamel, in their print brochure. Not sure which is correct, but I assume they're the same finish.

I think the dealer made a typo on my order, which lists them as "Midnight Blue Enamel." I asked BKVP what that is, and he replied "its brown." Now I'm really confused!

I don't want a blue stove, or a brown stove... I want a stove painted a proper stove color, black. I do love the finish on my "Blue-Black Enamel" Jotuls, and figured this must be what BK was trying to emulate, but maybe I'm wrong?

Joful said:

Having fooled with one running in the shop, I get the impression that, short of remembering to close the bypass damper at a reasonable time, they are far more tolerant of operator error, than any other stove I have seen.

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This is exactly what you're going to experience. As long as you close the bypass they're darn near idiot proof. I personally can't imagine a stove that is easier or more repeatable to run.

Joful said:

Anyone have the Midnight Satin Enamel? This is called Midnight Semi Gloss Enamel, in their print brochure. Not sure which is correct, but I assume they're the same finish.

I think the dealer made a typo on my order, which lists them as "Midnight Blue Enamel." I asked BKVP what that is, and he replied "its brown." Now I'm really confused!

I don't want a blue stove, or a brown stove... I want a stove painted a proper stove color, black. I do love the finish on my "Blue-Black Enamel" Jotuls, and figured this must be what BK was trying to emulate, but maybe I'm wrong?

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Why didn't you order a black stove then?

rdust said:

Why didn't you order a black stove then?

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Well, I thought I did. "Midnight Satin Enamel" sure sounds black.

As to why I didn't order the regular flat black... the flat black stove I saw in the showroom was pretty rusty after just a few months. The BK shop owner told me it started rusting pretty much right out of the crate, presumably from our mid-Atlantic humidity.

Joful said:

Well, I thought I did. "Midnight Satin Enamel" sure sounds black.

As to why I didn't order the regular flat black... the flat black stove I saw in the showroom was pretty rusty after just a few months. The BK shop owner told me it started rusting pretty much right out of the crate, presumably from our mid-Atlantic humidity.

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In the HPB Expo thread they were talking about the new blue black finish. That sounds like what you're looking for if you like your current color.

BKVP said:

The blue black is a painted finish, not an enamel finish...FYI

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Joful said:

I placed an order for two BK Ashford 30's in Midnight Semigloss enamel today. 3 - 4 weeks delivery, which means it might still be cool enough to open some windows and do the break-in fires, before the end of April. Can't wait!

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Congrats !....Welcome to the Ashford family..........Hell ,the BK Family........

The midnight Blue enamel color was abondened, it never made it to production. The new color is a blue black paint like Jotul uses.
I don't understand why the Ashford you dealer has is rusting? It's painted with Metallic Black, why doesn't he care enough to repaint it? Once it's inside his shop it shouldn't rust.

Joful said:

Anyone have the Midnight Satin Enamel? This is called Midnight Semi Gloss Enamel, in their print brochure. Not sure which is correct, but I assume they're the same finish.

I think the dealer made a typo on my order, which lists them as "Midnight Blue Enamel." I asked BKVP what that is, and he replied "its brown." Now I'm really confused!

I don't want a blue stove, or a brown stove... I want a stove painted a proper stove color, black. I do love the finish on my "Blue-Black Enamel" Jotuls, and figured this must be what BK was trying to emulate, but maybe I'm wrong?

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You sir have 2 blue stoves on the way, you better get ahold of your dealer ASAP!
They also have a neat new color, it's a brighter metallic. Almost a nickel finish, it was cool! I wish I would have taken a picture of it.

Just got a msg from BKVP. Yes, the Midnight Semi Gloss Enamel never made it to market. What they have is not like Jotul's Blue Black Enamel, it's just a painted finish.

That dealer told me that stove rusted in his shop, not outside. This isn't the dealer I'm working with now, but one I had visited several weeks back.

I have also seen some rust forming around the flue collar on my one painted stove. It seems painted stoves just rust, when placed in our very high humidity environment... particularly in a fireplace behind closed doors.

Most importantly, I paid for an enamel finish. I do not expect to pay the same for a painted finish.

Joful said:

Just got a msg from BKVP. Yes, the Midnight Semi Gloss Enamel never made it to market. What they have is not like Jotul's Blue Black Enamel, it's just a painted finish.

The local dealer told me that stove rusted in his shop, not outside. I have also seen some rust forming around the flue collar on my one painted stove. It seems painted stoves just rust, when placed in our very high humidity environment... particularly in a fireplace behind closed doors.

Most importantly, I paid for an enamel finish. I do not expect to pay the same for a painted finish.

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The new color from BK is very much like Jotuls blue black. Evidently it's just not baked.

My experience with painted stoves is not positive. I don't think I've ever seen a painted stove without some rust on it. Enamel stoves seem to hold up indefinitely without any rust, by comparison.

Has anyone even posted pictures of this new finish? It's not on BK's Ashford page.

Mine don't rust. It's not hard to do a little paint touch up at the end of the season either.

I have three Firelights, one in black metallic paint, and the other two enamel. Whereas the enamel stoves are still perfect after 20 years, the one with black metallic paint does rust a little around the flue collar.

Joful said:

My experience with painted stoves is not positive. I don't think I've ever seen a painted stove without some rust on it. Enamel stoves seem to hold up indefinitely without any rust, by comparison.

Has anyone even posted pictures of this new finish? It's not on BK's Ashford page.

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I think I'm the only one here who has seen the new finishes. I did not take pictures. Manufacturers at the trade show really don't like people taking pictures of their new products. For a number of reasons...

I don't think their dealers are even aware of this. I'm sure they wouldn't expect me to be ordering a finish no one has even seen.

I think the plain old black paint actually looks pretty nice when new, but I don't think it will hold up well over the years, given my past experience with painted stoves and what I observed at one local BK dealer I visited a while back.

It holds up fine. A $10 can of paint will last for many years. There are only a few on here with enamel compared to black stoves, rarely hear of rust issues.

webby3650 said:

It holds up fine. A $10 can of paint will last for many years. There are only a few on here with enamel compared to black stoves, rarely hear of rust issues.

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I think he makes a good point .
I have to touch up, actually pretty much repaint my stove every year.
I would rather not have to do that.
I would pay more for baked enamel.
My wife has a bad habit of spilling a little water on it when she fills up her little pot deal.

Spoke with my dealer about this, who is going to try to get a photo of the new finish sent to me, so we can choose a color. They also wanted to see my fireplaces, since they do a lot of work locally on other very old houses, and maybe make some recommendations. Being local, they know our summer humidity, and how some of these old stone houses can just ooze moisture at certain times of the year.

Fired up the princess, full load of oak with (1) large redstone fire brick, got 18 hours from here. I had the air down, active cat with needle pointed in the 12 o'clock position, temps were a low of 30 and high of 40, house stayed steady between 69 and 72. Perfect could not ask for anything better.

I'm down to loading either once a day with a few splits or once every 2 days jam it. Either way still enough coals to restart without much hassle.

HotCoals said:

I think he makes a good point .
I have to touch up, actually pretty much repaint my stove every year.
I would rather not have to do that.
I would pay more for baked enamel.
My wife has a bad habit of spilling a little water on it when she fills up her little pot deal.

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This Seems strange to me. I clean or service a few dozen a year and rarely see any paint failure. If I do, it's from a steamer or over fire. I do a little touch up on the stove top, but painting the whole stove isn't necessary
very often.
Do you guys live in a cave or something?

Joful, I know your stoves are essentially in a cave. I do understand what your are saying. It's just not a common issue and is a BIG sign of excessive moisture within the home.

The rust spots on my stove are caused by this drool monster shaking her head.

webby3650 said:

Joful, I know your stoves are essentially in a cave. I do understand what your are saying. It's just not a common issue and is a BIG sign of excessive moisture within the home.

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I think I made an incorrect conclusion, based on the evidence at hand. I had seen several complaints here over the years, about having to regularly touch-up painted stoves. I had seen some rust on a flat black Ashford 30 at one local dealer, not the dealer from whom I eventually purchased, and his showroom is an un-heated aluminum building on a concrete slab (perfect recipe for condensing spring humidity, around here).

With regard to my own house, we are under full HVAC 24/7/365, we simply do not open our windows. The fireplaces used to get more humid, when I would keep the doors closed in summer due to the enclosed cool space surrounded by old stonework on three sides. I did see some rust forming on my one Jotul, which is sporting a painted finish, but that probably occurred in summer 2013. It may have also been evidence of a pre-existing condition on this 15+ year old stove, as it had been freshly repainted before I purchased it.

Beginning summer 2014 I started keeping a dehumidifier in each fireplace, when I would close the doors for the summer. I can't say that I've seen any NEW rust in that time.

Conclusion: I'm going with the painted Ashford 30's. My ROI on these stoves, even buying two at a time, is under 2 years. So this isn't some big "lifetime investment" that has to work out perfectly. If there's any small rust, it will be only cosmetic, and I have the option of swapping them out, repainting, or sending them out for custom enamel, if that day should ever come. I was seriously bummed the Midnight enamel is not available, but it's not going to stop me from giving these stoves a spin!