2016-17 Blaze King Performance Thread (Everything BK)

As a side note, quite to the disliking of the geeks in the lab, I open the door on a unit that is down to coals. Simply breaking up the coals and releasing unburned gases, the cat accelerates into the stratosphere. There are plenty of gases left to burn, yes, even in charred wood. Time and time again we have reproduced this scenario.

Alien wood does tend to do that.

BKVP said:

Simply breaking up the coals and releasing unburned gases, the cat accelerates into the stratosphere.

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OK, I will be on the lookout for a hammer with an asbestos handle.

Gforcefd said:

Hello Mr. Vice President. You are not going to like my chimney setup . Here is the post where I was asking about if my setup would have draft issues. I am open to suggestions on ways to make it work better.

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/blaze-king-ashford-30-1-draft-question.156963/#post-2106492

I am pretty sure I can turn up the thermostat to high and the cat comes back as you suggest. I don't know how the CAT works but I don't see it just stopping all of a sudden, it seems to creep down and go into the INACTIVE range over the night even though there appears to be plenty of wood in the stove. I am thinking draft issues because if I leaved it turned up higher this doesn't appear to be an issue. Though I have only been burning 5 days or so, so still learning.

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I would often find my Ashford in the inactive range in the morning. I'd simply turn up the stat while I make coffee and it's back to life in no time. I have a minimum height flue and just learned to accept it. It's not a big deal to me at all.

Woody Stover said:

OK, I will be on the lookout for a hammer with an asbestos handle.

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Use the poker that came with your stove...

My view, while reading this thread. Just loaded full of hickory.

Finding min burn point before stall: this is something best done over a week's time. Se around 4 o'clock on dial, and see how the load is doing at 6 hour and 12 hour marks. If no issue, try 4:30 next time, assuming roughly similar temps. It helps to put a piece of masking tape on the dial that you can crudely mark with a Sharpie, for day-to-day reference. You'll find it after a few days.


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webby3650 said:

I would often find my Ashford in the inactive range in the morning. I'd simply turn up the stat while I make coffee and it's back to life in no time. I have a minimum height flue and just learned to accept it. It's not a big deal to me at all.

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Yup, me too. colder weather, better draft. i find in shoulders wih minimal draft i just run a small load on high and let the house insulation earn its keep.

When you just want to let a fire burn itself out,is it better to leave the bypass open or closed?
Is it ok to leave the bypass closed even when the cat is not engaged?

drstorm said:

When you just want to let a fire burn itself out,is it better to leave the bypass open or closed?
Is it ok to leave the bypass closed even when the cat is not engaged?

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At the end of a burn cycle it is fine to leave the cat engaged, even once it goes inactive. Nothing left to do any harm.

tarzan said:

At the end of a burn cycle it is fine to leave the cat engaged, even once it goes inactive. Nothing left to do any harm.

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Thanks!

I think I am getting better at burning in this stove. Glass is starting to clean itself off. Trying my best for the 20 minute high burn after reloads. Also I got home from work at 1am this morning and the stove was getting down in the inactive range. I turned it up a bit and it was still in the active range when I came down at 5am to go back to work. Yes the wood I mentioned before is basically giant wood shaped charcoal just really big pieces with a lot of fuel left in them still. I went 14 hours between burns yesterday and I could have gone longer but I didn't want my wife to worry about the stove while I was at work last night. I loaded it completely this morning and will see if it goes until tomorrow when I plan to let it go out for a check up. Thank you all for the quick advice. I wish they made some sort of flexible double wall chimney that was approved to install free standing so I had more options for my stove placement. Oh and Mr. BKVP thank your teams for making such a hassle free stove (compared to others). I haven't had overfire anxiety all week. Just smoke smell anxiety .

I've been experiencing similar results with my new Princess. I too have a minimum height chimney and have found that roughly 3 o'clock position in this weather is about the lowest i can go without the stove cooling and stalling. One question i have, if in the evening before bed, if i want to load the stove up but it still has some wood left and the cat guage is around 10 o'clock, am i hurting the cat by opening the bypass for a few minutes, slowly opening the loading door, and filling it up for the night or should the cat probe always be inactive to reload?

Thermal shock is always a worry with cats, if your wood is dry I would open the bypass for 5 minutes then open the door and reload, you want to warm up that chimney to establish a good draft again before opening that door, will lessen your chances of smoke spillage.

That's what i've been trying to do, so thanks for confirming that i can reload if still in the active range

Hey bkvp, when my stove is hot, how far open should my t stat flap be, or should it be at all? I can't get it to close far enough when set at 7/8 to even make the fire go out in the box, since it remains like a quarter inch open when hot. There's basically no t stat control for me when it's set to the proper height, and just runs hot. No medium, no low, like having a t stat control is pointless. It's brand new.

I've got it set way lower than it's supposed to be to get low burns, but when the fire goes out now, and there's still some chunks in there, the flap doesn't move up at all until the smoldering has been done for hours, and the stove is stone cold, then it finally opens up a bit when it's pointless to open up, since the fires out. Thanks.

mellow said:

Thermal shock is always a worry with ceramic cats...

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There, I fixed it. Thermal shock is one of the biggest killers of ceramic cats. Much less a concern with metal substrate cats (steel cats).

Mr. Jones said:

Hey bkvp, when my stove is hot, how far open should my t stat flap be, or should it be at all? I can't get it to close far enough when set at 7/8 to even make the fire go out in the box, since it remains like a quarter inch open when hot. There's basically no t stat control for me when it's set to the proper height, and just runs hot. No medium, no low, like having a t stat control is pointless. It's brand new.

I've got it set way lower than it's supposed to be to get low burns, but when the fire goes out now, and there's still some chunks in there, the flap doesn't move up at all until the smoldering has been done for hours, and the stove is stone cold, then it finally opens up a bit when it's pointless to open up, since the fires out. Thanks.

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I've been following your concerns with the previously owned PI1010A Insert. When the stove is dead cold, the thermostat blade will be open about 7/8". Then as the stove heats up, the blade will close, based upon your setting of the thermostat itself, to varying amounts.

I also read that your unit is all installed, but I will make you this offer. If you wish to bring it over to us in Walla Walla, we can check it out and see of there is an issue. Unfortunately, for liability reasons, we cannot set foot in your home and work on the stove. Sorry.

If you wish to call me to discuss this further, you can call today or Monday at 509-522-2730. After Monday, you have to wait two weeks while I am chasing Wapati.

BKVP said:

while I am chasing Wapiti.

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Had to google that one, hope you fill your freezer, looks like some good beginnings for jerky and cheese sticks. Which reminds me I need to make another batch of deer jerky.

matt1@ said:

if i want to load the stove up but it still has some wood left and the cat guage is around 10 o'clock, am i hurting the cat by opening the bypass for a few minutes, slowly opening the loading door, and filling it up for the night or should the cat probe always be inactive to reload?

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Like Ashful said, the newer BKs have steel cats, but what you are describing would be OK with a ceramic; Open the bypass and maybe add a little more air, let the cat cool for several minutes, then open and load. Run the stove in bypass and establish the new load, then close the bypass when the stove is hot enough.
I think problems occur when the cat is hot, the door is opened without letting the cat cool, wood that isn't dry is thrown in, and the bypass is immediately closed. A neighbor of mine doesn't batch-burn, but opens the door every couple hours to throw a few splits in. His cat is only 2 yrs. old but the sweep told him it was cracked. I told him it will still work, and the sweep did, too. He's always got a bit of smoke coming out of his stack...glad I live upwind of him. "You can't teach 'em if they don't wanna learn."

webby3650 said:

Even with double wall all the male end will face down, just like single wall.

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Ashful said:

I've owned single wall and double wall, with telescoping sections in both. All are formed so any condensation inside the pipe drains down inside

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I was mistaken...we've got all male ends down at my BIL's.

I just upgraded my Sirocco to a convection deck and blower. It seems that the cat probe thermometer no longer registers properly. I have the deck that the thermometer sits on top of (not the recessed one). The deck raises the probe out of the stove about 1 1/2-2". My stove top was 500 and the probe read inactive. I trusted my gut and flipped the bypass and the cat glowed bright orange (active). Note the fans were off the whole time. The probe eventually went active but much later than normal with the fire raging. Do I need a longer probe?

Another question. I adjusted the bypass tension and I can make the gasket tight on the dollar bill test at the front and sides. The back side (back of stove) wouldn't tighten down and the dollar bill still pulled out. I was afraid to crank the nut down any more or it may break off. Nothing seems warped as I shined a flashlight in from above and saw no light. Is my gasket really bad after one season? Everything runs fine With minimal smoke.

I would think your thermometer would sit down inside your deck like it does on the king. The Ashford has a longer probe to make up for the convection deck.

Does anyone have decent pictures of a scirocco with legs and full satin trim?(door and legs) My bk dealer doesn't actually have bk stoves so I want to see one before ordering one

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Ha OK didn't even realize it thought it was reflection of some sort. Thank you.

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