2020-21 Blaze King Performance Thread (Everything BK)
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When trying to get good heat overnight, yes sir. Ill even add another skinny split or two E-W in front of the above stack if it will fit without touching the glass.
Glad to see the old crew is still kickin it in the BK thread year after year! I check in every once in a while and still LOVE LOVE LOVE my princess insert (once I got my draft figured out with 4 foot extension and wrapped the main stack and installed a block off plate). I have had it for 8 years now and have not replaced the catalytic converter. It has several cracks and several pieces are missing (sorry no pics). I have also noticed smoke coming out of the stack when the bypass is closed. I am assuming the cat has failed. Since I haven’t been keeping track I was wondering what replacements are recommended nowadays??? I am assuming steel cats are the go to, but wanted to check (I see @BKVP is still around which is invaluable- nice study with the warm wood BTW!)??? What say you BK brethren (and ladies)? Hope you all are well!
jetsam
Minister of Fire
I run steel in mine. It is nicer overall but is definitely is more prone to plugging and needs more cleaning.
Manufacturers can only recommend the cat the stove was tested with, so BK will tell you ceramic.
Both work fine! Order now, I hear there are some supply problems out there.
kennyp2339
Minister of Fire
I've ran both steel and ceramic, seems like the steel cats heat up and light off just a hair faster, the cells are also a little bit smaller but in all honesty there really is no difference as far as life span, Midwest hearth is now the place to order cat replacements, they do come with the gasket for the swap out.
MtnBURN
Burning Hunk
Still rockin all 3 Princess stoves here as well. Changed out the cat in the house stove this season. (6 seasons of daily use Oct-May) Definitely saw more creosote at the end of the year last year in the flue pipe so knew things had changed. The garage and greenhouse stoves don't see continuous use...so all is well there.
I did change out all of the gasketing on the stove doors at the end of last season as well. Went with what folks recommended here....1" high density....but that's too much gasket. IMO....started loosening the handle(s) cus it doesn't give/mold to the door frame whatsoever. Definitely wasn't a fan...so i bought 3/4" medium density and that works great. If anyone wants a roll of 1" high density.....it's yours if you pay the shipping from CO. I think it cost me $75....and I wrapped 2 doors with it before it went on the shelf....so there's a bit left for sure. I can measure it if anyone is interested. Shoot me a PM.
Burn on......
I'm curious if there is any real performance differences between the Princess, Ashford 30, and Sirocco 30.2 ? I realize the Ashford is jacketed with cast iron and that that will retain a bit more heat longer, but the fire boxes on all three models seem to be the same. Is the difference just aesthetics and price?
kennyp2339
Minister of Fire
Todays BK task: burn down the stove to just ash, clean all ash out cause the arctic air is coming for Thursday & Friday, gona need every inch of my fire box Friday - 30mph winds high temp of 20, lows friday night into the single digits, Snow storm possible Sunday night into Monday for the northern Mid-Atlantic and Eastern New England.
I could be wrong but I think the Princess is a slightly larger/different fire box design. The Ashford 30, Sirocco 30 and the Chinook 30 share the same firebox/stove design. I could be wrong so take what I say with a grain of salt.
Of course. The princess is different and dominates the 30 box as far as performance specs in every way. The 30 box looks better though.
After running several ceramics and one steel. I happily save my money and stick with ceramics. I logged significantly shorter life on the steel and saw no real life benefits. Any new cat will kick the heck out of a clapped out 6 season cat. You can’t really go wrong unless your system is prone to clogging cats then I would definitely stick with ceramic.
Experimented again last night with trying to get the insert to keep the house temp overnight. Reloaded at 9:30 let the fresh wood char for 10 mins, then turned it down to about the second lowest dot 5'oclock on my dial. I also closed off the far corners of the house, basement and unused bedrooms, so only about 1000 sq ft should be getting good heat.
At the current heat setting with the fresh wood the blaze king was putting out good heat, no flames but lots of ambers and smoke for the cat, and the house thermostat climbed from 69*F to 71* by about 10:15 when I went to bed. Woke up at 4:30 for quick bathroom break, house thermostat was down to 67* (since the fireplace is close to the house Tstat, the corners of the house would be considerably colder than 67* at this point), but the princess still had a decent amount of fuel, and red ambers. I decided to not touch anything and go back to bed. 5:30am, the furnace kicks on (set to fire up if overnight temp goes below 66*) and by 6:30 the furnace runs steady to get the house up to 70*.
7:15, go check on the fire and still a good amount of fuel, I turned up the thermostat to about 3:30-4:00 clock angle and was able to get enough heat out of last nights load until about 9:00am before reloading.
I should note, the cat probe showed the in the active range this whole time, but the temp just seems to taper off and not be maintained.
I'm thinking the block off plate that the Wett inspector talked me out of would have been helpful. There certainly isn't enough room in to install one now without removing the insert
I have about one full load of very well seasoned fir ready to go, I'm going to reload with that tonight and see what difference that makes.
At the current heat setting with the fresh wood the blaze king was putting out good heat, no flames but lots of ambers and smoke for the cat, and the house thermostat climbed from 69*F to 71* by about 10:15 when I went to bed. Woke up at 4:30 for quick bathroom break, house thermostat was down to 67* (since the fireplace is close to the house Tstat, the corners of the house would be considerably colder than 67* at this point), but the princess still had a decent amount of fuel, and red ambers. I decided to not touch anything and go back to bed. 5:30am, the furnace kicks on (set to fire up if overnight temp goes below 66*) and by 6:30 the furnace runs steady to get the house up to 70*.
7:15, go check on the fire and still a good amount of fuel, I turned up the thermostat to about 3:30-4:00 clock angle and was able to get enough heat out of last nights load until about 9:00am before reloading.
I should note, the cat probe showed the in the active range this whole time, but the temp just seems to taper off and not be maintained.
I'm thinking the block off plate that the Wett inspector talked me out of would have been helpful. There certainly isn't enough room in to install one now without removing the insert
I have about one full load of very well seasoned fir ready to go, I'm going to reload with that tonight and see what difference that makes.
kennyp2339
Minister of Fire
Your Wett inspector is challenged. Why on earth would he recommend NOT installing a B.O.Plate?
Your experimenting is what it takes to find your sweet spot for setting the pointer knob. It sounds as if you had selected a setting last night that was simply to low for the required heat output for the time frame.
The therm knob settings are almost infinitesimal. Very, very small adjustments can have a enormous difference in burn time and heat output. You will sneak up on the correct setting for your setup through the trial and error you are now experiencing. Very normal.
I use a couple small rare earth magnets to mark my 2 baseline setting locations. I'll try to post a pic.
One thing that many have concluded is that you won't likely be running your pointer a whole lot lower than where your air flapper audibly clanks closed when swinging the pointer knob from wide open to closed position. Mine is around the halfway position. Over half of my potential knob range never ever gets used. Same with 2 other BK's in my group. Food for thought.
Have you tried this to mark the clanking/closing noise? Worth messing with. Now that I have likely confused the topic.... Have fun!
Your experimenting is what it takes to find your sweet spot for setting the pointer knob. It sounds as if you had selected a setting last night that was simply to low for the required heat output for the time frame.
The therm knob settings are almost infinitesimal. Very, very small adjustments can have a enormous difference in burn time and heat output. You will sneak up on the correct setting for your setup through the trial and error you are now experiencing. Very normal.
I use a couple small rare earth magnets to mark my 2 baseline setting locations. I'll try to post a pic.
One thing that many have concluded is that you won't likely be running your pointer a whole lot lower than where your air flapper audibly clanks closed when swinging the pointer knob from wide open to closed position. Mine is around the halfway position. Over half of my potential knob range never ever gets used. Same with 2 other BK's in my group. Food for thought.
Have you tried this to mark the clanking/closing noise? Worth messing with. Now that I have likely confused the topic.... Have fun!
The Wett inspector said it wasn't necessary because its an internal chimney. In other words its a bit of a pain to install and he didn't want to do it. But he was otherwise a good guy and more reasonable than the other guy I had come out in the past, and I was just keen to get the fireplace in so didn't put up a fight.
As for the audible clicks of the flapper, I experimented with it and can't seem to find that spot, or hear any clank other than the clanking noise the knob itself makes while moving it against the spring pressure.
Your dial is the opposite of mine direction wise. Both of those settings would have my insert going full bore. Anything 3 oclock -12 o'clock (High) seems to be the same setting AKA full bore. 6:30 CCW to 3:00 is my only adjustment range. It sounds like half the knob range not being used is normal, but I'm my case its the high side of the range, in your case its the low side.
Forget the knob direction difference between models. It means absolutely zero. The action/effect are exactly the same.
Turn your knob to wide open. Let it sit there for a full minute. Smoothly/swiftly turn it back to the closed position. I'd be surprised if you don't hear when it closes somewhere in that transition? Could be I suppose?
Best of luck. Keep updating.
Thanks everyone for the input! Seems like everyone has a different opinion. I decided to give the steel version a try from Midwest Hearth and I was able to order it on Amazon. I have not had any clogging with my ceramic so I think it will be okay with the steel cat. Burn on!
Nealm66
Minister of Fire
Well I set the stove on the mark for 69-70 when I left this am. My wife said she felt cold and turned it up a bit. Sitting at 72.7 and I’m sure there will be plenty left to go when I reload tonight. What an amazing stove. Guess I better see how far above my mark she put it for tomorrow.
BKVP
Minister of Fire
Huge load, 5 year C/S/S locust, 17% avg. Very hyperactive cat!
Nealm66
Minister of Fire
jetsam
Minister of Fire
Half a week, probably.
But it'll be half a month when they make me my new 20cf Super King!
Nealm66
Minister of Fire
BKVP
Minister of Fire
Let me tell you a story I posted a few years ago. I will shorten it. How long will it burn?
I loaded my stove full to the brim. We asked out oldest son to check on the house while we were gone. The biggest piece was an ancient piece of black walnut. I left my home at 8:00 a.m., drove 1 hour to the Pasco airport. Flew 1 hour to Seattle. Met up with friends and headed to hotel, early check-in arranged, watch Patriots beat the Seahawks. Went to dinner then bed, Woke up and headed to the airport. Flew down to LAX. Layover about 2 hours. Boarded a very long flight to Sidney Australia. Another 4 hour layover and then on to Auckland New Zealand. Arrived very late, got a ferry over to Waiheke Island and went to sleep. Woke up in the morning due to my phone ringing. My son was at the house and wanted to know if he should add wood to the stove since it was down to just a few pounds.....All in all 60+ hours.The moral of the story is you all need to go to :
Waiheke Island - Wikipedia
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BKVP
Minister of Fire
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