blaze king princess problem

[Renovation]

Jason, did you replace the door gasket or just tighten the door latch?

His door latch broke while he was trying to tighten the old gasket. He later put in a new gasket.

Thanks all, for a very interesting and educational thread. As with many disasters, this one seems to be a cascade of smaller issues, that gang up.

To recap, for my understanding, future readers, and comment:

1. Blaze King Princess started burning poorly, first burning too slow, then burning too fast. A sticking thermostat was suspected.

2. Thermostat removed, and cleaned of excess silicone sealant, which might have been causing the sticking.

2a. Door gasket slightly loose in one place (dollar can be tugged out), handle breaks trying to tighten, user fixes handle but cannot fix looseness.

3. Thermostat reinstalled, without sealant around the base, perhaps allowing an air leak bypassing the thermostat air control.

4. Stove performs poorly, thermostat appears to never move--perhaps never getting warm, perhaps sticking.

5. New thermostat installed as in 3, same results as in 4.

6. Chimney cleaned of minor buildup, door gasket replaced and tightened to fix looseness, thermostat reinstalled with silicone sealant around base to seal suspected leak bypassing thermostat.

7. Stove appears to function normally.

I see two take-aways: BK door gaskets should be checked and maintained religiously, and replaced thermostats should be carefully sealed around the base--enough to prevent leaks, but avoiding excess that could bind the thermostat.

HTH. Comments?

 

[RustyShackleford]

I'm so glad your stove is working again, and congratulations on fixing it !

I find it VERY hard to believe that a leaky gasket was the problem.

I find it almost as hard to believe that a poorly sealed thermostat was the problem. When I replaced my reverse-wound thermostat last year, I literally just sat the thing into position. It worked just fine for the few days it took me to decide what kind of sealant to use (I ended up using a high-temperature silicone gasket compound from an auto-parts store, red stuff).

Anyhow, all's well that ends well !

 

[jtb51b]

Well after running it for a few days I am not certain its repaired just yet. It seems to be doing better but its not like it was when new. I am working with it and making sure I'm not having any problems with things I can control. It seems like although the stove is working better it is still VERY touchy, it will go from too little heat at 1.5 and burning up WAY quick at 1.6.. Anyhow, I am still waiting for that phone call from Chris that was supposed to happen on monday but hey its Christmas and I imagine those folks have a lot going on.. I too have been busy and running out of town a lot which means I do not have complete control of the stove but strangely enough my wife seems to be doing well with it.. Maybe at this point I am over thinking this but we'll see!

Thanks,
Jason

 

[ecocavalier02]

i dont think you should see much difference from 1.5 to 1.6. now 1.5 to the middle of the normal on 2 theres a significant difference thats seems strange

 

[RustyShackleford]

It seems like although the stove is working better it is still VERY touchy, it will go from too little heat at 1.5 and burning up WAY quick at 1.6.

You're SURE you don't have the reverse-wound thermostat coil ?
Sure sounds like some positive feedback (the BAD kind of positive feedback) to me.

 

[Renovation]

It seems like although the stove is working better it is still VERY touchy, it will go from too little heat at 1.5 and burning up WAY quick at 1.6.

You're SURE you don't have the reverse-wound thermostat coil ?
Sure sounds like some positive feedback (the BAD kind of positive feedback) to me.

Interesting point. That would be ironic.

But Jason did report that both thermostats respond to heat in the same direction, and he was happy with his original one for a long time.

Might be worthwhile to take the cover off and observe operation. I know Jason worries about leaks with the cover off. You didn't have that problem, Rusty?

It looks like I may need to update my recap.

 

[jtb51b]

I am certain I have a thermostat that is wound correctly. I checked it before install and it SHUT the flapper when heat was applied. I have ran it a LOT without the cover and not been able to notice any movement. I do, however, notice that the fire acts "right" more and more with the cover ON. Not sure if that cover helps to hold heat in but with the thermostat sealed the way it is right now I am certain there are no leaks around it and would not hesitate to run the stove with that cover off if I thought I could observe anything. I am going to get to the bottom of this one way or another. I feel more confident in the stove again and I'm not worried about running it anymore.. These things could go nuclear with nearly 3.ft of wood and a bad air leak or say for instance a faulty thermostat set to 1/4 open and left.. imagine what an NC30 would do with the draft open 25%, a full load of dry oak and good draft! WOW..

Jason

 

[RustyShackleford]

I have been running mine for awhile with the cover off, and it seems to work just fine.
I have heard three objections to this:

1. Safety. There IS a sticker saying not to remove it. But seeing as how you can literally SEE the fire through the air intake of many stoves, I just don't buy the idea of some kind of flashback through the sinuous intake system of the BK.

2. Efficiency. No doubt the intake air gets pre-heated better if it's forced to go through the long plenum at the back. It's also been conjectured that it can affect the thermostat, but like I said, mine works just fine.

3. OAK. No doubt that removing the top cover compromises the operation of an outside-air intake.

 

[Renovation]

I have ran it a LOT without the cover and not been able to notice any movement.

Rusty,

How does Jason's experience compare with yours? IIRC, you saw the thermostatic damper move plenty, and you said you'd miss watching it when you put the cover on?

It does sound like something's not right, but we'll help you figure it out. There are only so many possibilities.

I'm back to suggesting a laser thermometer and/or manually changing the temp of the coil with the thermostat on the stove, as the next troubleshooting steps. Does BK has a suggestion?

 

[RustyShackleford]

How does Jason's experience compare with yours? IIRC, you saw the thermostatic damper move plenty, and you said you'd miss watching it when you put the cover on?

Basically the movement I see is as follows. I decide to turn the stove down because it's too hot. I rotate the knob counter-clockwise a little, typically to where the intake flapper is JUST closed. I come back a few minutes later and it has opened some as the stove cooled down in response to the adjustment, so maybe there is a gap of 1/4".

 

[Renovation]

Basically the movement I see is as follows. I decide to turn the stove down because it's too hot. I rotate the knob counter-clockwise a little, typically to where the intake flapper is JUST closed. I come back a few minutes later and it has opened some as the stove cooled down in response to the adjustment, so maybe there is a gap of 1/4".

So the movement Rusty sees is fairly subtle.

Jason, I know it's tough to access your thermostat when it's on your stove. Do you think you could see this sort of motion? Do you think your stove is doing it?

 

[jtb51b]

I have not seen a quarter inch of movement in mine yet.. I have noticed a small amount of movement towards closed if the stove gets hotter, but little to no movement in the other direction. I also note that mine seems to work better (more control of the fire) if the blowers are off.. When they are off the damper seems to close and then re-open (this is observed by watching the fire and not the damper) but when they are on it just seems to run at wherever you set the knob. BK has not been involved in a week or so, I have not called them and with the holidays on us they have not called me either. I will probably give them a call next week and run everything I have learned by them and see if they have an "ah ha!" idea... You never know they might just know exactly where to go next through experience. Thanks again guys, really appreciate the help!

Jason

 

[learnin to burn]

Do you have a rear shield inside the fire box like the shields on the sides? If so check to see if there is a bunch of creosote built up behind it. I started having the same issue with going through wood like crazy and not getting the house warm. I found it caked with creosote built all the way up to the top.

 

[jtb51b]

Mine does NOT have a rear heat shield inside the firebox.. I do have some creosote buildup on the inside walls but not too much. It normally burns off when I burn good and hot for a while (take about the same time as cleaning the glass).. I have noticed there is some buildup behind the side shields but I can't seem to get to it to clean it out. Maybe I can with the stove cold but I have used enough NG this year I am going to have to make this work or switch horses. Any suggestions on interior cleaning?

Jason

 

[RustyShackleford]

I have lost track of the whole thread, but could they simply send you a new thermostat ?

 

[Renovation]

I have used enough NG this year I am going to have to make this work or switch horses.

Jason

If you are desperate enough to consider switching horses, I'll keep beating the one you are ignoring:

Unless BK has a better idea, you absolutely have to determine at what temperature your thermometer closes in response to heat when off the stove, and if it is doing the same thing when mounted on the stove.

That will tell you what to do next. Either your thermostat is not getting hot when it is on the stove, it is malfunctioning when on the stove, or it is something else. I suggest $50 for one of those non-contact IR thermometers.

If you're seriously considering switching stoves, the cost and effort doing the above is trivial in comparison. Otherwise you can clean and tweak indefinitely, have BK figure it out for you remotely, ship it to BK or a dealer for service, or buy a different stove.

There's only so many things that can be wrong, but you'll only figure it out if you address it systematically.

 

[jtb51b]

What I am saying is that if I am going to keep letting this stove go cold to work on it then I need to just change over and run on the NG furnace until I can figure it out. As I said before it seems to be working better just not like I remember it.. I HAVE changed the thermostat out for a fresh one from BK, and after all the labor to do that swap and the WEEKS of working on it to figure it out YES I am very much ready to fix this or give up. The cost of me changing this out to be satisfied is not a problem. I do not want to do this as its kinda a PITA but if I have to I will.. The trouble with systematically fixing this problem is the 8 day (AT LEAST) lag in getting any part that has been recommended to me to change. Dealer is a long way away as well, maybe I should not have bought a stove from a remote dealer, and by the way I was NOT price shopping the stove there are no dealers in my area and a hearth member suggested I give his guy a call since I had to have it shipped to me no matter where I got it. The dealer I bought this stove from seems to be of little help, he dropped the ball enough times for me to just call BK, I will not comment on the dealer any more..

Thanks,
Jason