Blaze King - how often have you changed your CAT?

[HotCoals]

I don't know if I should post this here..but here goes.

Been noticing my stack temps have been climbing the last month or so..most notably on firing a fresh load.
So when the stove was somewhat cool I opened the bypass and felt around where the gasket is..or should be.
I know that the right side is totally gone and I'm pretty sure some of the other sides are missing some.
Explains my higher stack temps when firing off a load after the by-pass is closed.
Also maybe a week or so ago I was brushing off the cat..which btw has stayed really clean but at that moment I noticed it was lose.
I took the cat out with no prob..could not see any remains of the original gasket..not 2 seasons on this stove yet.
The cat still lights off good and seems to burn fine till later in the burn then she is falling short.
I have more coals at the end of my 12 hour cycle then I use to have.

So far since Oct. of 2010 I have had the paint issue which I repainted the top and now the gaskets.
I never run this stove real hot..not even on reload to get it to temp.
I try to take it up slowly and have good success.
I would still buy it over again.
I have the link for the cat gasket but not sure what I need to buy for the by-pass.

Cat gasket.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/320445247104#ht_500wt_922

 

[weatherguy]

I don't know if I should post this here..but here goes.

Been noticing my stack temps have been climbing the last month or so..most notably on firing a fresh load.
So when the stove was somewhat cool I opened the bypass and felt around where the gasket is..or should be.
I know that the right side is totally gone and I'm pretty sure some of the other sides are missing some.
Explains my higher stack temps when firing off a load after the by-pass is closed.
Also maybe a week or so ago I was brushing off the cat..which btw has stayed really clean but at that moment I noticed it was lose.
I took the cat out with no prob..could not see any remains of the original gasket..not 2 seasons on this stove yet.
The cat still lights off good and seems to burn fine till later in the burn then she is falling short.
I have more coals at the end of my 12 hour cycle then I use to have.

So far since Oct. of 2010 I have had the paint issue which I repainted the top and now the gaskets.
I never run this stove real hot..not even on reload to get it to temp.
I try to take it up slowly and have good success.
I would still buy it over again.
I have the link for the cat gasket but not sure what I need to buy for the by-pass.

Cat gasket.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/320445247104#ht_500wt_922

I was talking to Keith at BK yesterday about that gasket because it looks like a nightmare to replace, I thought I had a problem with mine but its ok, now I know how to do it when the time comes. He did say that rope should last many years so I wonder if something went awry somewhere with yours. I would give them a call and ask for Keith.
It looks like they're improving their web site for technical repairs and such, thats one complaint I have with them, the stove itself is awesome but their quality control is iffy. They're always willing to help so I give them credit there.
Turns out my cats dead and the company sent me the wrong one so right now Im not burning until the right ones delivered and we're all freezing, I woke up this morning with three cats on top of me.

 

[HotCoals]

Once I get the gasket for the by-pass I think it would not be to hard to change with the pipe out of it..I could be wrong.

 

[weatherguy]

Once I get the gasket for the by-pass I think it would not be to hard to change with the pipe out of it..I could be wrong.

Yours should be fairly easy, I have the insert but they make it so I can remove the cat and get at it that way, that way you dont have to pull the stove out.

 

[HotCoals]

Once I get the gasket for the by-pass I think it would not be to hard to change with the pipe out of it..I could be wrong.

Yours should be fairly easy, I have the insert but they make it so I can remove the cat and get at it that way, that way you dont have to pull the stove out.

I could prolly do it with just the cat out also..but looks harder to reach in.

 

[Val2]

... Blaze King made, way back in 1983, a Hybrid Wood Stove that featured secondary air tubes and a catalytic combustor. Owners of those stove have reported seeing combustors lasting longer than a decade, again subject to hours of use.

I have that 1983 model.

 

[BKVP]

Send me some pictures. ...

 

[Val2]

Send me some pictures. ...

The exterior is my profile pic. Do you want interior and the back plate?

 

[BKVP]

An interior shot would be great. Nice looking guard dogs! The door on your stove is a bit on the rare side. Those old Princess models did well with 8" chimney too. Where in AK do you reside?

 

[Val2]

An interior shot would be great. Nice looking guard dogs! The door on your stove is a bit on the rare side. Those old Princess models did well with 8" chimney too. Where in AK do you reside?

Lol! Thank you! Okay, here's an interior shot... I know I need new bricks, they're on the list.
I'm located in the Kenai Peninsula Borough, south of Anchorage.

 

[Val2]

We've been doing everything wrong; we've been burning paper, aluminum cans and wood that wasn't seasoned. We were told there was "something on the roof that we were supposed to clean," so my husband removed the bolt and tried to remove the "round thing with clogged honeycombs." It wouldn't come out so he hit on it with the poker to try to clean it. smh
So here I am... taking an online course, learning about our wood stove and what NOT to do after we've done it.
I have my list of things to order. The pounding did help, apparently. It's burning better and we are excited to know what to do to help it burn even better.

 

[aansorge]

Big, huge fan of Blaze King stoves here...but I know they produce more creosote than a tube stove as I have both. The Blaze king gets a sweep twice a year while the tube stove could get away with once every 5 years even when burning full time ( I did for two years and got basically zero creosote).

Still, the Blaze King is the one that burns non-stop while the tube stove (actually a high-efficiency fireplace) is a supplemental heat source on really cold days. The Blaze king stoves are just so easy to run. Deeeeeep belly (9 inches on the king) allows for once a month ash removal and it just keeps on chugging for hours and hours at a steady heat output. The tube stove seems more finicky with air settings (how soon to turn it down and how much seems to vary load to load) whereas the Blaze king seems very consistent.

I'm more than willing to sweep a chimney twice a year for all the benefits of the Blaze KIng.

One last thing: my house is much cleaner with the blaze king. Why? Fewer loads per day plus with the bypass, ash never floats out during reloads vs. my tube stove. I'm sure my air quality is immensely better now that I run a king.

 

[BKVP]

Big, huge fan of Blaze King stoves here...but I know they produce more creosote than a tube stove as I have both. The Blaze king gets a sweep twice a year while the tube stove could get away with once every 5 years even when burning full time ( I did for two years and got basically zero creosote).

Still, the Blaze King is the one that burns non-stop while the tube stove (actually a high-efficiency fireplace) is a supplemental heat source on really cold days. The Blaze king stoves are just so easy to run. Deeeeeep belly (9 inches on the king) allows for once a month ash removal and it just keeps on chugging for hours and hours at a steady heat output. The tube stove seems more finicky with air settings (how soon to turn it down and how much seems to vary load to load) whereas the Blaze king seems very consistent.

I'm more than willing to sweep a chimney twice a year for all the benefits of the Blaze KIng.

One last thing: my house is much cleaner with the blaze king. Why? Fewer loads per day plus with the bypass, ash never floats out during reloads vs. my tube stove. I'm sure my air quality is immensely better now that I run a king.

As circumstances would have it, my experience is the polar opposite. My chimney on my King stays much cleaner than the non cat we had. I get, over 18', about 1/2 gallon every year or two.

 

[BKVP]

Lol! Thank you! Okay, here's an interior shot... I know I need new bricks, they're on the list.
I'm located in the Kenai Peninsula Borough, south of Anchorage.

Thank you for the picture. I drive around ol' Turnigan Arm a few times every year, visiting dealers....which really means fishing!

 

[Highbeam]

Big, huge fan of Blaze King stoves here...but I know they produce more creosote than a tube stove as I have both.

I agree, double the creo production with the BK as with my hearthstone non-cat on the same hearth. It's still low accumulation and easily once per year sweeping.

This year my burning has been much cleaner with the steelcat so maybe it will be less.

Maybe it just depends on which non-cat you had.

 

[BKVP]

I agree, double the creo production with the BK as with my hearthstone non-cat on the same hearth. It's still low accumulation and easily once per year sweeping.

This year my burning has been much cleaner with the steelcat so maybe it will be less.

Maybe it just depends on which non-cat you had.

And moisture content and burning habits are key.

 

[Highbeam]

And moisture content and burning habits are key.

I suspect the non-cat with the super high flue temps would be much more tolerant of wet fuel with regards to flue accumulations. If you cool the flue gasses but run the same amount of water through the stove, the cat stove's flue would certainly show more gunk.

That's the point. All things being equal, the cat stove would make more creosote and it does in my experience and apparently others as well.

 

[rdust]

Big, huge fan of Blaze King stoves here...but I know they produce more creosote than a tube stove as I have both. The Blaze king gets a sweep twice a year while the tube stove could get away with once every 5 years even when burning full time ( I did for two years and got basically zero creosote).

Still, the Blaze King is the one that burns non-stop while the tube stove (actually a high-efficiency fireplace) is a supplemental heat source on really cold days. The Blaze king stoves are just so easy to run. Deeeeeep belly (9 inches on the king) allows for once a month ash removal and it just keeps on chugging for hours and hours at a steady heat output. The tube stove seems more finicky with air settings (how soon to turn it down and how much seems to vary load to load) whereas the Blaze king seems very consistent.

I'm more than willing to sweep a chimney twice a year for all the benefits of the Blaze KIng.

One last thing: my house is much cleaner with the blaze king. Why? Fewer loads per day plus with the bypass, ash never floats out during reloads vs. my tube stove. I'm sure my air quality is immensely better now that I run a king.

Same experience here, first two seasons with a Lopi non cat and a first/second year wood burner wood supply.(not great). Five seasons with the Princess burning primo wood(3/4 year plan). I sweep after the shoulder season and when the shoulder season starts again.

Same sweep schedule as the non cat but the non cat was much cleaner.(much higher flue temps) Mostly light brown and fluffy, BK is black and sooty. The BK runs circles around the non cat in every other way though.

 

[firefighterjake]

Lol! Thank you! Okay, here's an interior shot... I know I need new bricks, they're on the list.
I'm located in the Kenai Peninsula Borough, south of Anchorage.

My sister and brother-in-law used to live down on the Kenai . . . specifically Portage (near Girdwood) . . . almost across from the wildlife refuge (I forget the name of it . . . I know they have changed the name of it at least once from the first time I visited.)

 

[BKVP]

My sister and brother-in-law used to live down on the Kenai . . . specifically Portage (near Girdwood) . . . almost across from the wildlife refuge (I forget the name of it . . . I know they have changed the name of it at least once from the first time I visited.)

I was there once and a lady dropped her keys through the fence with the kodiak bears. They had to wait until feeding time to retreive the keys lest the bears dine on the keepers.