2015-2016 Blaze King Performance thread (Everything BK)

Good IR cameras cost thousands of dollars, but you can make one out of an old digital camera with a little surgery- or you can make one out of an IR gun and a small computer- and check this one out for sheer oddness.

No special equipment is needed to tell when MY wife is feeling heated. ;p

HighTon said:

My wood is usually below 10% moisture content which may be the issue.

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In Reno, you could be getting wood below 8% MC, stored in a shed. Around here, we bottom out at 11%, in the dryest part of the year.

http://www.woodworkerssource.com/images/ch12_Page_04.jpg

BKVP said:

If you measure directly over the cat, then temps as high as 900 may be seen. Dry wood, excellent draft and all being equal, such temps are o.k. Remember, the cat gets to 1,200F or higher.....

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This is good to know. Thank you for posting it.

Warmed up around here so decided to let er go out and clean.

Did the chimney (Usual results)

Cleaned ash out of stove. Decided to have a gander at the CAT.

Looks brand new.



Cleaned the glass as well. Crystal clear.

Did you pass a vacuum over it? You have some cells that have fly ash buildup, and a few down the centre that look plugged.

blueguy said:

Did you pass a vacuum over it? You have some cells that have fly ash buildup, and a few down the centre that look plugged.

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No. Just a soft paint brush.

The picture is deceiving. I will cleanse it with fire later.

Also that's the first time in a few seasons I've actually bothered to look at the CAT.

Fire won't clear plugged cells or really any of that buildup in he cells. A soft brush on a vacuum will clear that up pretty quick. A quick vacuum and you'll find it acts very differently

Not as bad as it looks. She's running right now. Can see the CAT reflection on the basement floor.

But thanks for the heads up. I only look for structural integrity and Cell degradation. Little fly ash never hurt anything.

Rossco said:

Not as bad as it looks. She's running right now. Can see the CAT reflection on the basement floor.

But thanks for the heads up. I only look for structural integrity and Cell degradation. Little fly ash never hurt anything.

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It certainly can hurt the performance! I don't think yours is bad enough to make any difference though. Blaze it up!

Yeah thinking back, I probably caused the ash to sit in the cells when I brushed the face. A little build up on the outter face of the CAT.

But wow. I forgot how nice it is to have crystal clear glass. You guys need to clean the glass. The stove looks great lit off. Will snap a few later.

Rossco said:

But wow. I forgot how nice it is to have crystal clear glass. You guys need to clean the glass. The stove looks great lit off. Will snap a few later.

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Enjoy it while you can

tarzan said:

Enjoy it while you can

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Yeah. I burn hot most times so the glass stays pretty good but not crystal.

The dancing lady.



Click on the picture and check out the clarity of the lady in the stove.

What did you clean the glass with?

Clean the glass with Baby wipes (Wet wipes) and good old paper towel.

It's not what you use, it's how you use it.

The baby wipes got the creosote off? Or did you scrape it with a razor before?

No. I just ran a hot load with super dry wood. Good enough to clean 95% of the glass. Still have a haze of grey on the surface, Wet wipes take care of that.

Clean both inner & outter surfaces.

Rossco said:

The dancing lady.

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That is beautiful. I've never seen such a clean glass or nice flame show in any of the BK pictures I can remember. How long does the flame show last like that when burning on your high setting? Please share more pictures ... I prefer dancing ladies to sooty corners!

Rossco said:

It's not what you use, it's how you use it.

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She was trying to spare your ego, when you heard that line.

Ashful said:

She was trying to spare your ego, when you heard that line.

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Sounds like you're familiar with the line!

Rossco said:

But wow. I forgot how nice it is to have crystal clear glass. You guys need to clean the glass. The stove looks great lit off. Will snap a few later.

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I switched to hardwood this weekend so I cleaned the glass. I can get it crystal clear with a razor blade plus a dose of rutland glass cleaner, the blue stuff. It sure does look nice and the hardwoods sure make a prettier flame. Blue and purple. My corners are already hazed though.

Do you find wood closer to glass causes more or less buildup?

Good news, I've been promoted to fanboy status! I want to thank the committee of non BK owners for their votes.

Highbeam said:

Good news, I've been promoted to fanboy status! I want to thank the committee of non BK owners for their votes.

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Congrats! I do think the blower would easily be worth a full point though.

tarzan said:

Congrats! I do think the blower would easily be worth a full point though.

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I decided to own it. For me, NOTHING beats a BK.

My blowers were working overtime yesterday. I had a surprise late meeting and presentation to give last night and the house was 59 when I got home. 2.5 days without reloading is too long.

Highbeam said:

I decided to own it. For me, NOTHING beats a BK.

My blowers were working overtime yesterday. I had a surprise late meeting and presentation to give last night and the house was 59 when I got home. 2.5 days without reloading is too long.

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I'm with you. I bought a BK after much research because I thought it would be the best stove for me and it has proven itself. There has been nothing up to this point that has caused me to think I could have made a better choice.

There's a lot of love for BK around here but a lot of haters to. It seems like if you even mention BK in a thread you better be ready to defend your position because the quotes are coming! No other stove seems to bring the anti's out in such a way.

Jealousy and regret can be ugly.