2017-18 Blaze King Performance Thread PART 2 (Everything BK)

[kf6hap]

Also, is there anything I should watch for regarding keeping the cat healthy with my seemingly strong draft such as on start up?

I would see the strong draft as a very good thing. Easy, fast light-off. Thermal shock ( steel cats don't shock as easily) and contamination are the things to match out for. Paint, pressure treated wood, wood with glue starting materials with metal (print, colored pictures etc.) The overfiring problem is is not present in BK stoves unless the door gasket is leaking. The thermostat limits the combustion rate to preclude overfiring. BKVP:

Get the most from your stove! Burn dry wood, keep your chimney clean and in the event it is a catalytic model, keep your door-gasket seal adjusted nice and tight. Don't burn trash in any stove, there is a proper way to deal with refuse.

 

[BKVP]

For the first time in the two weeks we've had our BK, after a couple of days of nice weather, our stove went cold.

While starting it up again this morning, with bypass open, I saw some draw through the cat, pulling some smoke through it while cold. After things heated up a bit it seemed to start drawing through the bypass.

We have a good 16' of double walled inside plus 7' chimney outside. Haven't had any smoke smells, no back puffing, and have enjoyed excellent long low burn times so far.

I guess my question is about the cat: I can't imagine a bit of flow through while cold is bad for it, but what *is* bad for it? I see reference to this or that which "could cause premature failure," such as flames licking it or thermal shock if you open the door without the bypass open but what are the actual physical reasons? Also, is there anything I should watch for regarding keeping the cat healthy with my seemingly strong draft such as on start up?

Thanks for any insight on this

It won't hurt the cat. Second, this is why we say NEVER use chimney sweeping logs in our units. The log manufacturers tell folks, "Just leave the bypass open and it will be fine", which you have observed (as have we for 20 years) is not accurate.

 

[Nigel459]

It won't hurt the cat. Second, this is why we say NEVER use chimney sweeping logs in our units. The log manufacturers tell folks, "Just leave the bypass open and it will be fine", which you have observed (as have we for 20 years) is not accurate.

Thanks, good to know, much appreciated!

I would see the strong draft as a very good thing. Easy, fast light-off. Thermal shock ( steel cats don't shock as easily) and contamination are the things to match out for. Paint, pressure treated wood, wood with glue starting materials with metal (print, colored pictures etc.) The overfiring problem is is not present in BK stoves unless the door gasket is leaking. The thermostat limits the combustion rate to preclude overfiring. BKVP:

Get the most from your stove! Burn dry wood, keep your chimney clean and in the event it is a catalytic model, keep your door-gasket seal adjusted nice and tight. Don't burn trash in any stove, there is a proper way to deal with refuse.

Thanks--ok thermal shock would be our main potential problem as we won't be burning any garbage. Only dry ash for a long while (no) thanks to the emerald ash borer.

On a somewhat similar note, how useful would a flue thermometer be while fine tuning things? I find myself wondering a) how hot the gases are in there and b) what happens when I open the bypass for reloading.

For instance, I've read here to leave the bypass open for a few minutes before reload to be sure to avoid thermal shocking the cat, but I can't imagine it needing more than a few seconds... thinking a flue probe might tell me what's going on? But don't want to bother drilling the double-walled pipe if the experienced minds here think it would be somewhat useless.

Should I get a flue thermometer or is it superfluous? (Pun intended? Ha.) Thanks for any advice

 

[BKVP]

Thanks, good to know, much appreciated!



Thanks--ok thermal shock would be our main potential problem as we won't be burning any garbage. Only dry ash for a long while (no) thanks to the emerald ash borer.

On a somewhat similar note, how useful would a flue thermometer be while fine tuning things? I find myself wondering a) how hot the gases are in there and b) what happens when I open the bypass for reloading.

For instance, I've read here to leave the bypass open for a few minutes before reload to be sure to avoid thermal shocking the cat, but I can't imagine it needing more than a few seconds... thinking a flue probe might tell me what's going on? But don't want to bother drilling the double-walled pipe if the experienced minds here think it would be somewhat useless.

Should I get a flue thermometer or is it superfluous? (Pun intended? Ha.) Thanks for any advice

Save your money and put it towards a fine bottle of your favorite spirit or towards a college fund. Stack temps vary greatly. As low as 250 (cat still being active) up to 500+ The variable is how long the bypass is open, amount of fuel in the firebox and point of ignition.

As to leaving the bypass open, with the front loading door closed and latched, opening the bypass for a minute or so will help eliminate smoke from the firebox, then crack the door, wait another few seconds and you should be good to reload...with proper draft.

 

[BKVP]

I wanted to post a comment on the AF/SC 25 insert cat thermometer to all you folks that always help owners with questions. This ONLY applies to the AF/SC 25. The cat thermometer does not have bimetallic spring. Instead, it is a switch. Once the cat is above 550F, the needle will point to approximately the 12 position (indicating active). It will not fluctuate and move as is the case with other cat thermometers.

When the cat drops below 550, the "switch will result in the needle moving left towards the inactive reading.

Our manuals will be updated to clarify this nuance.

BKVP

 

[Nigel459]

Save your money and put it towards a fine bottle of your favorite spirit or towards a college fund. Stack temps vary greatly. As low as 250 (cat still being active) up to 500+ The variable is how long the bypass is open, amount of fuel in the firebox and point of ignition.

As to leaving the bypass open, with the front loading door closed and latched, opening the bypass for a minute or so will help eliminate smoke from the firebox, then crack the door, wait another few seconds and you should be good to reload...with proper draft.

Awesome info. I will keep it simple. No holes in the flue. Save for favourite spirit

Re: bypass time open, is the one minute you’re recommending more for smoke as you mention or also cat thermal shock prevention? I believe my draft is strong; we’ve never had a puff of smoke even with above-freezing-temp fires. Do I still need to give it one minute in bypass (to save the cat) if only a few seconds always takes care of the smoke?

Great help already, thanks again.

 

[kf6hap]

The stack thermometer is useful, for me, to know when to roll the bypass shut. Two Ifs:
1. If flames are licking up at the cat
and
2. If the flue is ~350F

Then it is time to roll the bypass shut.

This works for me without fail. The cat goes red instantly, with the cat thermometer pointing to the "I" on Inactive.

Unofficial practice but I can (usually) be on cat, underway, in less than 10 minutes! Way too easy stove to use.

 

[Nigel459]

The stack thermometer is useful, for me, to know when to roll the bypass shut. Two Ifs:
1. If flames are licking up at the cat
and
2. If the flue is ~350F

Then it is time to roll the bypass shut.

This works for me without fail. The cat goes red instantly, with the cat thermometer pointing to the "I" on Inactive.

Unofficial practice but I can (usually) be on cat, underway, in less than 10 minutes! Way too easy stove to use.

Thanks yes this is what I wondered, if a stack thermo would help “dial in and fine tune” the process... hmmm thinking about it again... or overthinking?

 

[Highbeam]

Thanks yes this is what I wondered, if a stack thermo would help “dial in and fine tune” the process... hmmm thinking about it again... or overthinking?

I sure like and use the heck out of my flue probe meter. For one thing, it’s easily viewable from across the room. It’s also faster to react than the cat meter.

I think it would be useless for determining when to open the loading door. It takes several minutes for the probe meters to react to changes like that. The heat/cold needs to travel to the flue and then be conducted up the rod to where it slowly affects the bimetallic spring on the meter.

 

[Poindexter]

@BKVP , does/will the boxter 24 use the same thermometer as AF/SC 25 when it goes into production?

I want one of those little guys soooo bad, just to balance all the estrogen awsthetics on my AF30.

 

[Nigel459]

I sure like and use the heck out of my flue probe meter. For one thing, it’s easily viewable from across the room. It’s also faster to react than the cat meter.
...

What do you find is the correlation between flue and cat temps? BKVP’s reply earlier suggested to me that there wasn’t necessarily one, which made sense to me since the cat can be munching away and hot but then there shouldn’t be much heat going up the stack, no?

Or, otherwise put, how do you interpret and use the flue probe?

 

[WayneN]

Totally jealous, I'd be up there in a heartbeat if I could think of a job that would let me and I could convince my wife.
I make do with a week or two in the wilderness per year.

Is 40-50 k annual salary enough up there? If so, I know where I'm retiring lol

Health care / property taxes / income tax here in Maryland suck especially for retirement purposes.

I'm planning on retiring at 47 and not having to work ever again lol. I love the wildlife.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

 

[kf6hap]

Thanks yes this is what I wondered, if a stack thermo would help “dial in and fine tune” the process... hmmm thinking about it again... or overthinking?

A probe is inexpensive from Condar. All you need is a 1/4" drill bit. Very easy to install. Place ~24" up from the stove top. It is not required but is informational. Knowing when you can close the bypass at the very earliest opportunity is quite nice. Experience will tell you the earliest rollover temperature as each set-up is a bit different. The cost is a little more than a bottle of Thunderbird.

 

[webby3650]

@BKVP , does/will the boxter 24 use the same thermometer as AF/SC 25 when it goes into production?

I want one of those little guys soooo badly, just to balance all the estrogen awsthetics on my AF30.

It is a pretty cool stove! So simple, yet refined... I need one..

 

[Poindexter]

As a regulated burner i use the flue gas probe to run in bypass as long as i can to get the stove as hot as i can before i close the loading door. I get to clean plume faster that way.

If you are not a regulated burner with EPA personell at the sheriffs office, just go by the BK manual. Leave the loading door cracked until the fire has taken hold, close the loading door, engage the combustor when the indicator gets to active, run on high thermostat setting for 30 minutes, then dial the tsat down to where you want.

I am perfectly willing to believe the stove will actually have less emissions if you operate by the BK manual istead of working within epa mandated legislation.

 

[Poindexter]

It is a pretty cool stove! So simple, yet refined... I need one..

I am already working on the wife to let me have one while we remodel the living room. Just to keep from getting any scratches on her pretty ashford's enamel while i scrape the popcorn off the ceiling you know...

 

[Highbeam]

What do you find is the correlation between flue and cat temps? BKVP’s reply earlier suggested to me that there wasn’t necessarily one, which made sense to me since the cat can be munching away and hot but then there shouldn’t be much heat going up the stack, no?

Or, otherwise put, how do you interpret and use the flue probe?

Once cruising, the cat meter can float around 400 degrees as the stat opens and closes but the flue temp is steadier. At certain times I think that they are correlated but different at important times.

I use my flue meter to engage the cat at 500 flue temps or active on the cat meter, whichever is first. The huge majority of my cat engagements are from a cold/cool startup.

I also use the flue meter to verify a steady cruise and high efficiency from low flue temps.

The third is to make sure I don’t overfire anything or underfire to cause condensation in the flue.

The worthless gauge on a bk is a stovetop temperature gauge.

 

[BKVP]

@BKVP , does/will the boxter 24 use the same thermometer as AF/SC 25 when it goes into production?

I want one of those little guys soooo bad, just to balance all the estrogen awsthetics on my AF30.

It will have the same cat thermometer as your AF30. Boxer 24 will go into production 1st quarter 2018. All EPA certificates are in hand and approved,

 

[Nigel459]

Once cruising, the cat meter can float around 400 degrees as the stat opens and closes but the flue temp is steadier. At certain times I think that they are correlated but different at important times.

I use my flue meter to engage the cat at 500 flue temps or active on the cat meter, whichever is first. The huge majority of my cat engagements are from a cold/cool startup.

I also use the flue meter to verify a steady cruise and high efficiency from low flue temps.

The third is to make sure I don’t overfire anything or underfire to cause condensation in the flue.

The worthless gauge on a bk is a stovetop temperature gauge.

Thanks, also sounds like a really excellent good-practice thing, to monitor if something is awry. Cheers

 

[Highbeam]

Thanks, also sounds like a really excellent good-practice thing, to monitor if something is awry. Cheers

From across the room!

I also remove it way too often to check the probe for deposits. The color and dryness of that probe indicate (to some extent)what the rest of the flue looks like. It’s like pulling the spark plug of a two stroke engine to see if everything is in tune.

 

[Ashful]

I have two Ashford 30.1’s, and have a flue thermometer on one of them. I find I do look at it, because it’s there, and it’s a good indicator of when to close that bypass. Like Highbeam, I like that I can see it without ducking my head into the fireplaces in which I have each stove installed, and they’re a better/faster indicator than the cat probe on light-off.

However, an even better/faster indicator is a trained eye. I can’t teach my wife to drive by it (yet), but after just a few weeks with these two stoves, I knew exactly when I could flip that bypass and get cat light-off. Hint: the cat probe thermometer is not even half way thru “Inactive” when it’s ready to light off, due to the lag in that probe.

 

[lsucet]

Lot of food for my Princesses and lot of work for me too. I am good with all this for years to come and more is coming. I was forced to pull the trigger on a 25 ton splitter, coming on Friday.

 

[Blazing]

Lot of food for my Princesses and lot of work for me too. I am good with all this for years to come and more is coming. I was forced to pull the trigger on a 25 ton splitter, coming on Friday.

NICE!

 

[black smoke signals]

Lot of food for my Princesses and lot of work for me too. I am good with all this for years to come and more is coming. I was forced to pull the trigger on a 25 ton splitter, coming on Friday.

 

[black smoke signals]

Did we miss pictures of splitter? Looks good you have a nice setup there I bet you keep busy.