Blaze king bypass gasket help

[jeffsk7]

Cleaned chimney and inspected bypass gasket. It didnt pass dollar bill test. It was very loose. While tightening bolt it broke. Im not happy. It took very little effort to break bolt. What is the procedure for fixing? Drill and tap?

 

[BKVP]

Did you loosen the keeper nut first? While loosening would not require you to do so, tightening would.

Yes, looks like you may need to do so. If you remove the combustor, then the two stainless by pass plate retainers, you can unhinge the by pass plate. Lift one side up and the plate should turn 90 degrees. Pull it out the combustor opening.

Once you have it out, drilling and tapping will be much easier. I know of two others that had this result and they upgraded to 3/8" stainless bolts. Use a keeper nut like the original design.

Put it all back together in reverse fashion, wrap combustor with gasket, tape down leading edge of gasket and reinstall. Remember to put back the retainers before you install the cat.

I did this yesterday and it took about an hour...I spent a little more time going to get stuff.

 

[jeffsk7]

Thank you and yes it was my fault. Never lossen the retainer nut. But as luck would have it the plate makes a nice tight seal now. There is just no stopping the lever from going past the stop position. I will say my stove cat is cruising at a much higher temp now!

 

[BKVP]

Thank you and yes it was my fault. Never lossen the retainer nut. But as luck would have it the plate makes a nice tight seal now. There is just no stopping the lever from going past the stop position. I will say my stove cat is cruising at a much higher temp now!

Good. Now, when you go to remove the plate, if after turning it 90 degrees, it hits the baffle plate behind the cat, simply use a section of pipe and a hammer and whack the ramp downward. You won't hurt it!