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

just posted a new thread on the ongoing ashford smoke smell issue

alforit said:

just posted a new thread on the ongoing ashford smoke smell issue

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So no one can find it?

Might be worth combining them... there are two others on the same subject.

Still burning. I have about 4 square yards of ice left on the lawn still, mostly in the shade of next winter's wood pile.

In other news I have one clump of lawn grass that has greened up, perhaps 12 square inches; but my allergies acting up tell me spring is just around the corner.

The inside of my stove is coated in creosote the chimney is fairly clean. How do I clean the stove ?

Hot fire.

should I burn a hot fire with bypass open and use the thermostat to keep chimney temp down it just seems like when I close bypass flames slow and I don't think it will remove the creosote.

BK manual states to run T'stat on med/high for 20 - 30 minutes, after getting cat up to temp and closing bypass. You should not run in bypass for extended periods after catalyst is up to temp, or you could warp your bypass damper and frame.

Yea that's not getting rid of it though. but after re reading the manual you are correct.

This isn't an answer to your question, but if you're burning on high for a short period with each load and still seeing build-up, your wood might be higher MC% than prescribed.

Just run it on high for awhile, you won't hurt it with the bypass closed. How hot have you been getting the stovetop?

Yup, I scrape the creosote off the sides walls every couple weeks or so in season after emptying the ashes. No reason to not finish burning it, no way am I gonna waste a BTU after I get it from standing timber in the woods all the way to a creosote chunk in the fire box.

That baby is getting burnt. With the cat engaged if at all possible.

SCOTT S. said:

should I burn a hot fire with bypass open and use the thermostat to keep chimney temp down it just seems like when I close bypass flames slow and I don't think it will remove the creosote.

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You need to get the firebox hot for awhile which will dry the creo and cause it to bubble loose from the firebox walls. The bricks will burn clean and the steel will get that brown dust look. The BK company recommends one hour on high with the cat engaged of course. To me, high is setting #3 on your stat. At that burn rate you can expect your stove to get to and stay in the 650-700 range. Use a fairly decent wood load over half full.

I assume you are doing this in an attempt to reduce the amount of corrosive creo during the summer shut down period. Probably a good idea but nobody has ever come on this site with a firebox corroded through from leftover creosote.

Ashful said:

This isn't an answer to your question, but if you're burning on high for a short period with each load and still seeing build-up, your wood might be higher MC% than prescribed.

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No, it is normal to get heavy accumulations of tar and glossy creo in the firebox with even dry wood when you burn these stoves on low. The BKs are meant to be smoldered.

Highbeam said:

No, it is normal to get heavy accumulations of tar and glossy creo in the firebox with even dry wood when you burn these stoves on low. The BKs are meant to be smoldered.

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Can't argue, as I'm not burning my Ashfords, yet. But the BK manual implies that it will stay relatively clean, if you burn on high 20 - 30 minutes after warming and engaging the cat, at least once per day.

Ashful said:

Can't argue, as I'm not burning my Ashfords, yet. But the BK manual implies that it will stay relatively clean, if you burn on high 20 - 30 minutes after warming and engaging the cat, at least once per day.

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Sure, we'll go with that.

Ashful said:

Can't argue, as I'm not burning my Ashfords, yet. But the BK manual implies that it will stay relatively clean, if you burn on high 20 - 30 minutes after warming and engaging the cat, at least once per day.

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Well, that is false. Especially when you follow up that 30 minutes with 20 hours of low and slow. It's okay to be dirty in firebox, you're not eating off of it.

I dunno how much effect my short (13 foot) stack adds to the situation.

Running on high (3/3) for weeks on end getting 12 hour burns with boxes full of 16%MC birch- leading to hot reloads on good coals with the cat down into inactive,

I see sheets of black on the back wall over the bricks by the time I need to shovel out the ashes. I burn 'em and don't worry about them any more.

Ashful said:

Can't argue, as I'm not burning my Ashfords, yet. But the BK manual implies that it will stay relatively clean, if you burn on high 20 - 30 minutes after warming and engaging the cat, at least once per day.

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Ummm ... Yeah. Just don't get out the Brillo pad and the comet cleanser and scrub it if it doesn't come clean from those short burns.....heheh ...

alforit said:

Ummm ... Yeah. Just don't get out the Brillo pad and the comet cleanser and scrub it if it doesn't come clean from those short burns.....heheh ...

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Come again?

Ashful said:

Come again?

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Translated : You're gonna get creo buildup in the firebox whether you burn small hot fires or not...

alforit said:

Translated : You're gonna get creo buildup in the firebox whether you burn small hot fires or not...

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Yup. Even in the dead of winter running my Sirocco at 500 - 600 stovetop all the time (not over the cat), there was still creosote in the box

alforit said:

Translated : You're gonna get creo buildup in the firebox whether you burn small hot fires or not...

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Been burning two cat stoves 24/7 for the last four winters, so yes... But the amount of buildup with dry wood is not what I would consider extreme, or worth any bother. The OP implies otherwise, and I saw extreme buildup only in my first year or two, when my wood was higher MC%.

Ashful said:

Been burning two cat stoves 24/7 for the last four winters, so yes... But the amount of buildup with dry wood is not what I would consider extreme, or worth any bother. The OP implies otherwise, and I saw extreme buildup only in my first year or two, when my wood was higher MC%.

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Yes, the BK's are more sensitive to creo buildup especially if your burning higher MC% and burning low a lot.

Question: Can you turn the thermostat low enough to crash the cat on a BK, as a general rule, or is the thermostat set up so as to prevent a cat crash, keeping an minimum amount of air going into the box?

Woody Stover said:

Question: Can you turn the thermostat low enough to crash the cat on a BK, as a general rule, or is the thermostat set up so as to prevent a cat crash, keeping an minimum amount of air going into the box?

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The stoves are designed under proper operating parameters to have a minimum amount of air flow into the firebox to sustain an active cat. Short stacks, poor draft, little stack effect, moist wood can all influence this of course. We do have holes that permit for the miniumum air flow in different locations, which varies by model.

Incidentally, the new NSPS regulations requires that no stove can operate at a burn rate lower than at which it was certified.

BKVP said:

The stoves are designed under proper operating parameters to have a minimum amount of air flow into the firebox to sustain an active cat. Short stacks, poor draft, little stack effect, moist wood can all influence this of course. We do have holes that permit for the miniumum air flow

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OK. I wondered if draft or wood would affect it but figured the stove would be cooler and the thermostat would compensate, but it sounds like I could slam the primary air all the way shut if I turned it way down, and then the air feed holes would take over as long as there was decent draft and the wood was dry enough to keep burning.

Incidentally, the new NSPS regulations requires that no stove can operate at a burn rate lower than at which it was certified.

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Interesting. I wonder how that would affect various stove models. I guess it depends on the stove design, and how low they can run it during the test. With a hyperactive brand new cat, they can probably run really low so in real life that's not going to be an accurate predictor of how low the stove can cleanly run.
Right now, my Dutchwest cat will keep burning (early in the burn) in most cases with the air on zero. Later in the burn I have to open it up a little to keep the cat cookin'. That stinks. Keystone will be back in next season. It has the air feed hole that you mentioned. It will burn clean with the air at zero, and will run to the end with no adjustments. 16' stack.