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

[kennyp2339]

Hey guys I know the info I'm looking for is on one of these pages but could anyone tell the high temp grease they use on the t-stat ? mine is starting to feel a little chunky lately.

 

[webby3650]

Copper anti-seize. I get it at any auto parts store.

 

[coutufr]

I had my installing stove company re-gasket the door one month in from new. Yes, I know it stinks but they did it for free. Yours might too but wait until after the flue is increased as it will be better but likely still smell. Handy re-gasket tip: place paper between the door and the stove so it is not inadvertently glued shut from any squishout. Open the door once to verify the gasket did not roll out, close it and don't open it for 24 hours. No peeking or the flames of Hades might prevail.

Temporary fix: place ~17" strips of Rutland thin flat window glass gasket in both of the lower corners. Place it a little past the dirt marks on the glass. It is self sticking and can be removed. Stick it to the gasket, not the stove. This helped me a lot until I fixed the short flue problem. Available at Ace and other hardware stores.

Is it now fixed 100% for your stove? Can you lower the thermostat a lot more than before (noon..?) before the smell come back when outdoor temp is above freezing point?

 

[lsucet]

Hey guys I know the info I'm looking for is on one of these pages but could anyone tell the high temp grease they use on the t-stat ? mine is starting to feel a little chunky lately.

NAPA

 

[kf6hap]

Is it now fixed 100% for your stove? Can you lower the thermostat a lot more than before (noon..?) before the smell come back when outdoor temp is above freezing point?

Before I could not lower it below 4:30. That setting would usually be way too hot for 960 sqft. In the winter I shrink my 1,591 sqft house down by closing doors. Now 3:00 is about as low as I can put it as later in the burn the cat will go inactive. You can only run a stove so slowly so It is kept at 3:30 or hotter as needed. The thermostat positions I use will be different from yours. I would say the smoke smell thing is 95% fixed. By the time it is at the smoke smell point, the stove is not needed anyway. Heating a small space like mine is a big challenge for any wood stove. The Ashford stove is a wood stove dream come true in the area of controllability and burn time. You might say the smoke smell problem is managed and not a problem. For my situation any smoke smell definitely comes from the lower corners of the loading door and nowhere else.

 

[shoot-straight]

Copper anti-seize. I get it at any auto parts store.

For some reason they didn't have the copper so I got some ceramic lube. it
A good to several thousand degrees.

 

[coutufr]

Before I could not lower it below 4:30. That setting would usually be way too hot for 960 sqft. In the winter I shrink my 1,591 sqft house down by closing doors. Now 3:00 is about as low as I can put it as later in the burn the cat will go inactive. You can only run a stove so slowly so It is kept at 3:30 or hotter as needed. The thermostat positions I use will be different from yours. I would say the smoke smell thing is 95% fixed. By the time it is at the smoke smell point, the stove is not needed anyway. Heating a small space like mine is a big challenge for any wood stove. The Ashford stove is a wood stove dream come true in the area of controllability and burn time. You might say the smoke smell problem is managed and not a problem. For my situation any smoke smell definitely comes from the lower corners of the loading door and nowhere else.

I think you are the closest one to have it solved 100%. Most likely 95% is the best we can do. When I look at the Ashford’s window, it makes sense that it is the gasket in the lower corners of the « dragon’s eyes » that cause the odor.

 

[estepracing]

Anyone else have their cat run this high?

 

[lsucet]

Anyone else have their cat run this high?
View attachment 217361

That's normal, mine stays higher than that for hrs before start dropping. Normal cruise in low is about 2 o'clock. I always do a hot burn after reload and it goes pass the scale. BKVP said that as long is into the active zone, is all what matters.

 

[Ashful]

Anyone else have their cat run this high?
View attachment 217361

Only 3x per day.

 

[aaronk25]

If that were true then you could open the door and smoke wouldn’t pour out. The pipe is under low pressure but the firebox isn’t always.

@Ashful said it spot on. I’ll just add that a pressure differential of .05 Is huge but what ashful was getting at is when the door is open the pressure differential between outside the stove and inside is almost the same with a slight drop near the top of bypass (assuming open) where the flue is drawing.

In order to maintain the same pressure drop with the door open you would need somewhere in the neighborhood of a leaf blower connected to the top of the chimney.




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[estepracing]

Thanks for the info, I'm new to this and loving it.....

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[Woody Stover]

Thanks for the info, I'm new to this and loving it.....

Well, what stove and where in IN? BTW, welcome!

 

[MissMac]

so further to my smoke smell issue, i think it might be coming from the loading door - been trying really hard to find it. was going to tighten the door today, but need to get some lube first for the nut (won't budge). But then when i really started to look at the gasket, i noticed that there's not a lot on the inside seam at the top corner (also the spot where i think the smell is coming from) - does this hunk of gasket look right? this stove is only 2 weeks old - i would think the gasket should come good to go?

 

[Woody Stover]

when i really started to look at the gasket, i noticed that there's not a lot on the inside seam at the top corner (also the spot where i think the smell is coming from) - does this hunk of gasket look right? this stove is only 2 weeks old - i would think the gasket should come good to go?

That looks like a problem. I also don't see an indentation on the vertical part of the gasket...can you easily pull paper out there? Yeah, it should come from the factory better than that but let's not lose sight of the fact that this is a BK.

 

[MissMac]

That looks like a problem. I also don't see an indentation on the vertical part of the gasket...can you easily pull paper out there? Yeah, it should come from the factory better than that but let's not lose sight of the fact that this is a BK.

no, the whole door holds a paper just fine, and yet i'm getting some smoke smell whenever i try to dial the t-stat down. at first i thought it was coming from up around the cat probe, but then also noticed it along the door on the hinge side.

 

[kf6hap]

- does this hunk of gasket look right? this stove is only 2 weeks old - i would think the gasket should come good to go?

It looks like a leak point to me as the gasket has rolled to one side. My original gasket was fixed in place with blobs, not a continuous bed of RTV. It is the bottom corners that concern me more but just where the leak point is is impossible to nail down.

As a test, you could place a piece if cheap single wall pipe atop the chimney. If it helps, you have the answer. As a test the hat need not be on unless you live very close to trees.

 

[Highbeam]

no, the whole door holds a paper just fine, and yet i'm getting some smoke smell whenever i try to dial the t-stat down. at first i thought it was coming from up around the cat probe, but then also noticed it along the door on the hinge side.

You do realize that the paper should not just be held by the door but also be clamped tightly to where you risk tearing the paper by trying to pull it out, right?

What a crappy factory gasket job. The gasket should be continuous and centered on the knife edge of the stove. For several reasons other than stink you want the door seal to be very good and I thought that the factory would also consider this a higher priority.

 

[MissMac]

You do realize that the paper should not just be held by the door but also be clamped tightly to where you risk tearing the paper by trying to pull it out, right?

What a crappy factory gasket job. The gasket should be continuous and centered on the knife edge of the stove. For several reasons other than stink you want the door seal to be very good and I thought that the factory would also consider this a higher priority.

Ya, the paper does tear when i pull it, but i agree the gasket looks a bit off. this is my first wood stove, so i don't have much to compare to. any suggestions for my next move?

 

[MissMac]

Ya, the paper does tear when i pull it, but i agree the gasket looks a bit off. this is my first wood stove, so i don't have much to compare to. any suggestions for my next move?

i'm not gonna lie, between the door gasket not looking the best, and also having to adjust the bypass plate tension, i'm starting to get a bit bummed out with the stove. frustrated that i have to deal with this stuff on a brand new stove?

 

[Highbeam]

Ya, the paper does tear when i pull it, but i agree the gasket looks a bit off. this is my first wood stove, so i don't have much to compare to. any suggestions for my next move?

I'm a pretty particular person so I would ask the dealer to replace it. At least provide me the new gasket (about 30$) so that I could do it right. But that's just me. Your dealer might not have the skill to do a better job.

Bk chose this hokey door gasket system in hopes that the seal would be superior and it can be, if the gasket is installed with care.

 

[Nigel459]

i'm not gonna lie, between the door gasket not looking the best, and also having to adjust the bypass plate tension, i'm starting to get a bit bummed out with the stove. frustrated that i have to deal with this stuff on a brand new stove?

Yeah I would be bummed too.

We have been burning a new Sirocco 20.1 for a month now and it's been flawless and as hoped. 20 hr burns, yadda yadda yadda. We do have a great draft I think with our high ceiling, and our gaskets are all tight etc. My .02 is your draft may be borderline. Seems to be a recurring theme with the "smoke smell" discussions here and makes sense.

That gasket too though, not perfect by any stretch... where are you in Ontario? Did you get it from a dealer? I would be looking to them for support. Our dealer/installer was awesome, knew everything about the stove and comparisons to other models etc. Was a big help in getting us going and dialed in.

I know service is hit-or-miss these days but I wonder if you tried the dealer?

 

[MissMac]

Yeah I would be bummed too.

We have been burning a new Sirocco 20.1 for a month now and it's been flawless and as hoped. 20 hr burns, yadda yadda yadda. We do have a great draft I think with our high ceiling, and our gaskets are all tight etc. My .02 is your draft may be borderline. Seems to be a recurring theme with the "smoke smell" discussions here and makes sense.

That gasket too though, not perfect by any stretch... where are you in Ontario? Did you get it from a dealer? I would be looking to them for support. Our dealer/installer was awesome, knew everything about the stove and comparisons to other models etc. Was a big help in getting us going and dialed in.

I know service is hit-or-miss these days but I wonder if you tried the dealer?

so, the company that installed the stove for me isn't a dealer, just WETT certified installers. they bought the stove and installed it for me, and i think the stove might have come from a dealer in Winnipeg. I'm not sure what to do exactly - so far the installers have billed me for even calling them, and i'm pretty sure they're not going to do anything for free. not sure what kind of recourse i have here - i see in the warranty that gaskets are excluded from day 1. this is disappointing.

 

[Highbeam]

i'm not gonna lie, between the door gasket not looking the best, and also having to adjust the bypass plate tension, i'm starting to get a bit bummed out with the stove. frustrated that i have to deal with this stuff on a brand new stove?

I'm disappointed too. The bypass is no big deal to adjust but that door gasket job will take a lot of time, patience, and skill. The door gasket on my super cheap nc30 (cost 20% as much as a bk) was perfect from the factory and will be very easy to replace!

 

[Nigel459]

so, the company that installed the stove for me isn't a dealer, just WETT certified installers. they bought the stove and installed it for me, and i think the stove might have come from a dealer in Winnipeg. I'm not sure what to do exactly - so far the installers have billed me for even calling them, and i'm pretty sure they're not going to do anything for free. not sure what kind of recourse i have here - i see in the warranty that gaskets are excluded from day 1. this is disappointing.

I hear ya. Ok if I were you I'd just call up Blaze King myself then. I think you did about the bypass, but maybe not about this new gasket problem yet?

I bet they would make that gasket right, send you a new (one or a new door...). It might not be a warranty item but that's just because it's high wear-and-tear with use. It should come properly installed when new!

I hope between that and maybe a few feet of chimney and you'll be a happy customer again.