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

[AlbergSteve]

I am in 6000" elevation.

Bought Duravent double wall pipe today. Total flue length is 19'.
Will see - had not asked for more work :-(

However, the place I bought the pipes, not a BK dealer, mentioned "all wood stoves have smoke issues - more or less"

That is such BS from the dealer! And I've seen it hinted at in the forums as well. I burned wood in my last house for ten years and twice in that time I had smoke in the house from some weird atmospheric conditions. TWICE. If you smell smoke in your house, you HAVE smoke in your house and it shouldn't be there.

 

[Blazing]

Okay here comes another question, with the princess insert and a 25' masonry chimney, what is the best insulated liner to run in a 13 by 13 clay liner to purchase by an online retailer? Pre-insulated double wall or single wall w/ insulation blanket. Thank you.

I used flex king hd with insulation and it's been work great for me ymmv.

 

[kf6hap]

You have to be careful when using a "rheostat" or any other kind of speed controller. The motor must be able to tolerate it. Some will overheat and cook the windings. In others the rotor core will overheat and cook the bearings due to increased eddy current and hysteresis losses. Some fan motors have a minimum speed below which the fan will not provide adequate cooling. Most "electronic" speed controllers will make the motor sing loudly, more so at the lower speeds. On my Encore, the motor made( ~) 80% of the noise, the rest was air noise. That being said, you could try a controller and see if it works. At the most you will be out a cheap motor. A simple on/off thermostat avoids these problems and steadies the room temperature whereas a fan set a little too high can greatly overheat a room with time.

 

[Niko]

So im trying to put in a warranty claim on my cat. I posted this earlier and was waiting for responce from my dealer. They asked for pictures and i sent them, they then responded back to stating everything looks fine and then asked how i use the stove, I explained in great detail how i use the stove and the reason for my call is that this year my cat does not want to stay active at all and just dies right out. The stove pretty much has no more low burn time in the active zone.

They are asking me to explain further and i am like aaagh ok, stick dry wood in, wait for wood to char(flew temp to get to 400 for me) close bypass then lower t stat when cat is active zone. I know I am dont have the expertise as everyone else on the forum but i have 4 years under my belt now. I also explained muxh better i just dont feel like typing everything here.

I feel like they are trying to deny me my warranty. I mean im reading blaze Kings terms and it states i have to buy one from them, then send them mine. If they find mine to be good still they still charge me. But its like these guys dont wanna start the process.

CAN SOMEONE PLEASE GIVE ME A DUMB MANS WAY TO KNOW IF YOUR CAT IS GOOD OR NOT.

 

[Marshy]

So im trying to put in a warranty claim on my cat. I posted this earlier and was waiting for responce from my dealer. They asked for pictures and i sent them, they then responded back to stating everything looks fine and then asked how i use the stove, I explained in great detail how i use the stove and the reason for my call is that this year my cat does not want to stay active at all and just dies right out. The stove pretty much has no more low burn time in the active zone.

They are asking me to explain further and i am like aaagh ok, stick dry wood in, wait for wood to char(flew temp to get to 400 for me) close bypass then lower t stat when cat is active zone. I know I am dont have the expertise as everyone else on the forum but i have 4 years under my belt now. I also explained muxh better i just dont feel like typing everything here.

I feel like they are trying to deny me my warranty. I mean im reading blaze Kings terms and it states i have to buy one from them, then send them mine. If they find mine to be good still they still charge me. But its like these guys dont wanna start the process.

CAN SOMEONE PLEASE GIVE ME A DUMB MANS WAY TO KNOW IF YOUR CAT IS GOOD OR NOT.

Did you try giving it a vinegar bath to refresh It?

 

[Ashful]

I feel like they are trying to deny me my warranty. I mean im reading blaze Kings terms and it states i have to buy one from them, then send them mine. If they find mine to be good still they still charge me.

I have never seen that happen here. BKVP acknowledged that many of the cats they receive back on warranty claims are actually not dead, but I can’t recall any forum member stating that BK charged them for a new cat submitted under warranty.

They are likely just doing their due diligence, not knowing who you are, and ensuring this isn’t a case of operator error. I suspect most calls that start with claim of a defective combustor end in a discovery of operator error.

 

[Calentarse]

Hello heat pump! After weeks of cold it's gonna be in the high 50's and maybe 60 for a few days. Great time to flip the switch, run the sooteater to make sure all is well, vaccuum the cat and regroup for cold that is supposed to come back next week.

That cold last week was something for us Marylanders. Just not used to it. Cold wasn't terrible, but cold w 40kt winds made it unbearable to be outside. I'm still amazed that all the wood I burned, my ash load is not bad and I never had a coaling problem.

We got 12 inches here and saw 0 degrees. That rarely happens on the eastern shore! Glad I had a wood stove!

 

[allan5oh]

You have to be careful when using a "rheostat" or any other kind of speed controller. The motor must be able to tolerate it. Some will overheat and cook the windings. In others the rotor core will overheat and cook the bearings due to increased eddy current and hysteresis losses. Some fan motors have a minimum speed below which the fan will not provide adequate cooling. Most "electronic" speed controllers will make the motor sing loudly, more so at the lower speeds. On my Encore, the motor made( ~) 80% of the noise, the rest was air noise. That being said, you could try a controller and see if it works. At the most you will be out a cheap motor. A simple on/off thermostat avoids these problems and steadies the room temperature whereas a fan set a little too high can greatly overheat a room with time.

That's why I'm looking at thermostats with pwm output. PWM is the only proper way to reliably run motors capable of it. The fans in your computer and in your car are run off PWM. Usually a 12vdc motor can be run down to about 8 volts safely.

I did a huge "race" pump for a car. It was boiling the gas on a return system. The pump is capable of near 2000 hp. 45% duty cycle on the street with stable pressure. Works pretty neat. Fuel pumps in cars are now all closed loop pwm with no return line.

What I want to do is a closed loop PWM fan setup with a target temperature.

 

[allan5oh]

Just got off the phone with Jeff from BK Pentiction. He strongly recommended the princess or 30 series. Said I wouldn't gain much with the king, both will likely have to be fed twice a day. But less risk with the princess or 30.1 stoves.

 

[Tar12]

Just got off the phone with Jeff from BK Pentiction. He strongly recommended the princess or 30 series. Said I wouldn't gain much with the king, both will likely have to be fed twice a day. But less risk with the princess or 30.1 stoves.

I think the Princess is a good choice for your situation...I am running mine in just under a 2000 sq ft home and we recently experienced some -30 wind temps and it had no trouble keeping us warm....I have to ask tho...what risk with the King?

 

[allan5oh]

I think the Princess is a good choice for your situation...I am running mine in just under a 2000 sq ft home and we recently experienced some -30 wind temps and it had no trouble keeping us warm....I have to ask tho...what risk with the King?

Creosote

Maybe risk is the wrong word. I know that I would run the stove properly but there's two other people that wouldn't be as careful. There's also upgrading to 8". effort may not be worth the reward.

Jeff also explained the cat very well.

 

[Niko]

Did you try giving it a vinegar bath to refresh It?

No. I was told not to do that from the dealer, same dealer i bought the stove from. plus if i where to do it it would be off season and i would have a second cat for backup.

 

[Niko]

I have never seen that happen here. BKVP acknowledged that many of the cats they receive back on warranty claims are actually not dead, but I can’t recall any forum member stating that BK charged them for a new cat submitted under warranty.

They are likely just doing their due diligence, not knowing who you are, and ensuring this isn’t a case of operator error. I suspect most calls that start with claim of a defective combustor end in a discovery of operator error.

I was under the assumption that if the cat is not dead the dealer still charges you then sends you back your cat and ovviosuly you keep the new one.

They know who I am for sure.

 

[Niko]

ok so to make it simple when does one know a cat is bad? The cat is def not working no where near is was, just dies right out.


I had a learning curve in the beginning but years later i think im doing way better.

 

[webby3650]

Here’s what happens when a customer calls us with a dead cat: We make a visit to the home and replace the cat. We send it back to BK and receive a credit toward future purchases. No charge, not even if the cat ended up being good. It’s just part of doing business and keeping lifelong customers and there’s no down time for the customer, We keep cats in stock. If the cat goes bad a second time, then things are a little different.

 

[lsucet]

Always is good to have one on hand in case of weekends, holidays, etc Or just for routine cleaning, you can just swap it.

 

[Highbeam]

ok so to make it simple when does one know a cat is bad? The cat is def not working no where near is was, just dies right out.


I had a learning curve in the beginning but years later i think im doing way better.

When in doubt, swap it out. They’re cheap at just 186$ for the princess and so long as you can verify the cat is clean and has near 10,000 hours on it then it is either dead or nearly dead. Fresh cats are a delight to run and super easy to replace.

Get your freebie from bk but all cats after that are at your expense. I’m on my third and have learned to be way less bashful about dumping an old cat.

 

[Tar12]

Creosote

Maybe risk is the wrong word. I know that I would run the stove properly but there's two other people that wouldn't be as careful. There's also upgrading to 8". effort may not be worth the reward.

Jeff also explained the cat very well.

Gotcha...you will be happy with the Princess.

 

[Highbeam]

My most recent cat is ceramic from these guys on amazon. It’s an applied ceramics cat but you dont have to deal with firecat.

Carlos approves.

 

[Tar12]

My most recent cat is ceramic from these guys on amazon. It’s an applied ceramics cat but you dont have to deal with firecat.

Carlos approves.

I heard people complaining about Firecats customer service but I have to tell you my experience was nothing less than stellar!

 

[Highbeam]

I heard people complaining about Firecats customer service but I have to tell you my experience was nothing less than stellar!

I called and spoke with the main man at firecat. He nicely referred me to “their” amazon store instead of taking my order. Same exact price. I’m happy. Maybe firecat is in transition?

 

[Tar12]

I called and spoke with the main man at firecat. He nicely referred me to “their” amazon store instead of taking my order. Same exact price. I’m happy. Maybe firecat is in transition?

Could very well be that...I know people had trouble reaching them and getting their cat in a timely manner.

 

[rdust]

When in doubt, swap it out. They’re cheap at just 186$ for the princess and so long as you can verify the cat is clean and has near 10,000 hours on it then it is either dead or nearly dead. Fresh cats are a delight to run and super easy to replace.

Get your freebie from bk but all cats after that are at your expense. I’m on my third and have learned to be way less bashful about dumping an old cat.

I’ve said it before, I’d replace mine yearly without blinking an eye if it was necessary. Theses stoves are amazing.

I’m on my 7th season and second cat, zero complaints here.

 

[rdust]

I called and spoke with the main man at firecat. He nicely referred me to “their” amazon store instead of taking my order. Same exact price. I’m happy. Maybe firecat is in transition?

Amazon is where I bought mine too, zero issues.

 

[Tar12]

I’ve said it before, I’d replace mine yearly without blinking an eye if it was necessary. Theses stoves are amazing.

I’m on my 7th season and second cat, zero complaints here.

Same here! Much,much cheaper than 2K a year in propane....