2018-19 Blaze King Performance Thread Part 1 (Everything BK)

[MissMac]

The dial is at the 6:00 position when turned all the way clockwise. When I have the stove turned down as low as I can without the cat dropping out (about 3:15 position) the surface temperature right next to the cat thermometer is about 350 to 400 degrees according to the inexpensive infrared thermometer I have. When the thermostat is in the 6:00 position it is >650 degrees (my thermometer’s limit).

The lowest setting on my stove is right around 3 o.c. Like others have said, it’s different for every set-up. Took me awhile to wrap my head around why i couldn’t turn my t-stat as low as others, but you’ll get there. Adding more chimney could help to improve your draft when it’s warmer out, and maybe you’d be able to turn the stove down lower. Throw a couple of feet on and see what it does for you.

The paint peeling on the other hand is no good. I would contact your installer or BK directly - that’s something they should fix at no time/cost to you, in my opinion.

 

[pjohnson]

First fire in new King Ultra. Finally got the right double wall pipe and stove hooked up. Loaded up 4 pine splits and it took right off. I burnt it hot for a while to cook the paint, had to open windows and run some fans to clear the smoke out Loaded it up last night with oak and turned it down to about 3 oclock position its been running for 12 hours now and still over half full. Cabin stayed at 72 all night but its not too cold about 26. I'm really liking how controllable the heat output is. Just cruises long no visible fire, cat glowing and in the active zone and nice even heat. Down to 12 tonight better go carry some wood in

 

[lsucet]

First fire in new King Ultra. Finally got the right double wall pipe and stove hooked up. Loaded up 4 pine splits and it took right off. I burnt it hot for a while to cook the paint, had to open windows and run some fans to clear the smoke out Loaded it up last night with oak and turned it down to about 3 oclock position its been running for 12 hours now and still over half full. Cabin stayed at 72 all night but its not too cold about 26. I'm really liking how controllable the heat output is. Just cruises long no visible fire, cat glowing and in the active zone and nice even heat. Down to 12 tonight better go carry some wood in

Congrats on your new stove. Yeah black box.lol.
Herr Temp overnight was 15. Yesterday was snowing almost all day but melting as it touch ground. I still running on black box mode, but I am running two at same time.
Cheating a little.

 

[Highbeam]

There’s no reason to swap the door. The dealer could just repaint the door. Most new stoves need a little touch up, some right out of the crate.

Just what I want, some high school kid with a 96 cent can of krylon from Walmart trying to chase runs down into the glass of my 4000$ stove! I’ve had dealers of things try to “fix” stuff before and found the results unsatisfactory. Remember that many, not all, stove dealers are just retail middle men taking a cut with minimal knowledge of the product or abilities to repair anything.

Paint falling off like this is a product or application failure that bk should address.

 

[webby3650]

Just what I want, some high school kid with a 96 cent can of krylon from Walmart trying to chase runs down into the glass of my 4000$ stove! I’ve had dealers of things try to “fix” stuff before and found the results unsatisfactory. Remember that many, not all, stove dealers are just retail middle men taking a cut with minimal knowledge of the product or abilities to repair anything.

Paint falling off like this is a product or application failure that bk should address.

Not BK, every manufacturer has little paint flaws. Often cardboard rub. It’s not a big deal and easily remedied. Calm down

 

[pjohnson]

I'm sure all you BK owners are used to the long burn times on these things but I'm new here. I had a small stove I had to feed every three hours all night long to keep my cabin warm. Id be happy if the King made it thru the night, Well its certainly surpassed my expectations. Its been burning for 22 hours and still keeping me warm. After 22 hours there is still some wood left and the stove top is 400 and pumping out heat. Toasty warm at 75, pretty amazing.

 

[Rickb]

There’s no reason to swap the door. The dealer could just repaint the door. Most new stoves need a little touch up, some right out of the crate.

I misspoke... I meant swap or fix. I just figured it would be easier to just swap it out then they could fix it at there leisure.

 

[drstorm]

The lowest setting on my stove is right around 3 o.c. Like others have said, it’s different for every set-up. Took me awhile to wrap my head around why i couldn’t turn my t-stat as low as others, but you’ll get there. Adding more chimney could help to improve your draft when it’s warmer out, and maybe you’d be able to turn the stove down lower. Throw a couple of feet on and see what it does for you.

The paint peeling on the other hand is no good. I would contact your installer or BK directly - that’s something they should fix at no time/cost to you, in my opinion.

My low setting is 3 o.c. also.You still get the long burn times its just all relative.

 

[JKanor]

Welp I just made my first mistake with my BK princess. I lit it from cold and got the starter fire going. Let it burn down some and went to load in some bigger splits, and like an idiot I forgot to disengage the cat before I opened the door. Was wondering why I had alot of smoke spillage. Got 3 splits in and closed it up then realized the bypass was closed...the cat is only about 2 weeks worth of burning old, I'm really hoping I didnt shock it and screw it up. I did have the door cracked for a min or so before I opened it. Hoping I blended enough air that I didnt shock it.

 

[showrguy]

Welp I just made my first mistake with my BK princess. I lit it from cold and got the starter fire going. Let it burn down some and went to load in some bigger splits, and like an idiot I forgot to disengage the cat before I opened the door. Was wondering why I had alot of smoke spillage. Got 3 splits in and closed it up then realized the bypass was closed...the cat is only about 2 weeks worth of burning old, I'm really hoping I didnt shock it and screw it up. I did have the door cracked for a min or so before I opened it. Hoping I blended enough air that I didnt shock it.

I'm sure we've all done it !!
It's part of the learning curve..
Your cat will be fine, continuous shots of cold air will damage it over time..

 

[Ashful]

Welp I just made my first mistake with my BK princess. I lit it from cold and got the starter fire going. Let it burn down some and went to load in some bigger splits, and like an idiot I forgot to disengage the cat before I opened the door. Was wondering why I had alot of smoke spillage. Got 3 splits in and closed it up then realized the bypass was closed...the cat is only about 2 weeks worth of burning old, I'm really hoping I didnt shock it and screw it up. I did have the door cracked for a min or so before I opened it. Hoping I blended enough air that I didnt shock it.

I do this a few times each season, as I'm sure most do. The only difference between you and someone more experienced is the amount of time it takes to realize what you've done, for me it's at the first burp of smoke, before the door is even half open.

Thermal shock will cause some fracturing, I can't really say how quickly since most of my BK experience is with SteelCats. But I can tell you from past stoves I've owned, it takes a lot of fracturing before the thing falls apart.

 

[jetsam]

My wife and I did that a few times a year on my original ceramic cat. By the time I retired the cat due to old age, it only had mild cracking on the rear face, no missing chunks.

Try not to do it, but don't worry about one incident.

 

[kf6hap]

Let it burn down some and went to load in some bigger splits, and like an idiot I forgot to disengage the cat before I opened the door.

It is easiest to stuff the stove completely full, light it and then not open the door until you are ready for a reload. I never have a "starter fire".

 

[JKanor]

It is easiest to stuff the stove completely full, light it and then not open the door until you are ready for a reload. I never have a "starter fire".

I'd rather get a smaller hot kindling fire going to start from scratch. Gets the stove and flue hot quickly before I put full sized splits on. I'm burning 4-6" splits of red oak and hickory. That's alot of dense wood to get burning with a full firebox from nothing.

 

[chazcarr]

I had an interesting thing happen this morning...

Last night I loaded up a bit late around 11pm and went to bed with the stove turned down. This morning I woke up around 6:30 and went about the usual routine of reloading for the day. Except this time the stove was still mostly full from last night and when I turned the stat up it roared to life!

Being new to this stove I still wanted to add 3-4 splits to make sure it made it through the day. I disengaged and then slowly opened the door. As soon as the latch was up the BK just started RAGING with fire. I put three splits and and closed the door. Closed the stat down again and the cat took off and it went right back to cruising like it was all night long.

Gotta say I was not prepared, or even awake enough, for the inferno that greeted me this morning. Guess this thing does not like to be reloaded too early.

 

[MtnBURN]

I'll tell this story here because only wood addicts find such stories even slightly interesting...LOL

The early snows up north have shut down the logging for the season here in CO. I placed an order in for a load of logs in late September. @ the time, the mill had a HUGE pile of logs from a 120 acre timber sale...and I was told it would be a month before they could get it delivered. Waited....waited more....called after 6 weeks...was told "it's coming...we just need to fill the truck again".... then another call a week later we heard "Sorry...we skipped over you and helped some other folks who were OUT of wood but it is coming...probably next week" (WTF?)....then...more silence. I shovelled the snow off the driveway twice in wait...still nothing.

Got tired of getting ganked and being held hostage by piss poor business practices...so found another guy. Come to find out...the original log guy I ordered from is out of logs and was trying to buy from the same guy I bought from...and even tried to undercut the guy from the set price they agreed upon when he brought a load of logs up. Crazy how things work out there and how some folks do "business".

Anyway....got the logs. It's a good load. The only funny part about it is that when he got here I found out the guy didn't have a dump bed....so I stood...in amazement...and watched as he pulled out a Stihl with..geez...musta been a 36" bar on it (probably small stuff for the PNW/Cali/etc but this was the biggest saw I've ever seen around here)....jumped up on the truck...and started wailing away. The bigger logs were on top. He cut em in half....grabbed an end...stood the f'er up....and bounced 'em off the back of the truck onto the ground. Made a bit of a mess of about half of the load......LOL...but it'll all cut the same. My back waas going into spasms just watching. It was nuts. Glad that guy wasn't pissed AT ME....

5F here this AM.....this stuff will definitely come in handy. (even though I already have the year covered for supply it's nice to know you have too much..if there is such a thing)....and nice to have some pine/spruce to mix in with the (mostly) oak I cut this season.

Someone took out a BK Princess? Blasphemous stuff right there! Enjoy those overnight reloads is all I can say... Wow. Makes no sense here (with 3 Princesses all firing and keeping shat nice and warm). Nothing surprises me these days though....LOL. (cues circus music)

10 chains all sharpened and ready to rip....should be some good fun

be well all

 

[chazcarr]

I'll tell this story here because only wood addicts find such stories even slightly interesting...LOL

Someone took out a BK Princess? Blasphemous stuff right there! Enjoy those overnight reloads is all I can say... Wow. Makes no sense here (with 3 Princesses all firing and keeping shat nice and warm). Nothing surprises me these days though....LOL. (cues circus music)

10 chains all sharpened and ready to rip....should be some good fun

be well all

You have 3 of these things running?! No wonder you get logs delivered. Chopping those up should keep you warm.

 

[sprawlnstall]

Is thermal shock from opening the door without disengaging the cat less likely with a steel cat? I admit I ran my new stove for about two months last year without disengaging the cat. I don't see any damage on the front but who knows about the back. My cat seems to be okay I can turn the stove way down and it will stay active, If I crank it up It will still max out the active meter. It's easy for me to forget to disengage because unless the stove it turned way down I don't have smoke spillage when opening the door.

 

[redktmrider]

Is thermal shock from opening the door without disengaging the cat less likely with a steel cat?

Being much less susceptible to thermal shock is one of the advantages a steel cat has over a ceramic. Check out Condars catalyst website, they have more information on it.

 

[lsucet]

Is thermal shock from opening the door without disengaging the cat less likely with a steel cat? I admit I ran my new stove for about two months last year without disengaging the cat. I don't see any damage on the front but who knows about the back. My cat seems to be okay I can turn the stove way down and it will stay active, If I crank it up It will still max out the active meter. It's easy for me to forget to disengage because unless the stove it turned way down I don't have smoke spillage when opening the door.

Is not about smoke spillage, is about of running the stove correctly. the bypass helps on reloads with door open bypassing the cold draft thru the cat. You should bypass the cat.

 

[sprawlnstall]

Understood. Its the smoke spillage that quickly reminds you that you forgot to disengage.

 

[lsucet]

Understood. Its the smoke spillage that quickly reminds you that you forgot to disengage.

Try to create a routine. It is easy.

 

[MtnBURN]

You have 3 of these things running?! No wonder you get logs delivered. Chopping those up should keep you warm.

Like I said above...I honestly didn't need the wood...but I'm sure some folks here know how that is. I did a couple of tanks worth of work today on the pile...will do the same tomorrow and burn through a tank on the splitter as well. After that..I'll tarp it all and deal with it when the snow melts in the Spring.

This is also the first time in 3 seasons of burning Oct-May that I've purchased any wood whatsoever. We have no other permanent heat sources in any of these structures....so there's no back up heater/etc. kickin in around here! Wood is all we do. I'm makin these babies pay themselves off but quick. LOL. The gas man hates us. I always wave when he goes by.

3 stoves....YES.....but my house stove is the only stove firing 24/7. I just try to keep the garage "warm" unless I'm heading down to do a project/etc...so unless it's super cold that stove doesn't see huge/full loads regularly. The garage is R-19 walls and R-30+ ceilings so a fire every other day keeps it 50F.

Ditto the stove for the dome. This structure's mass and daily solar gain carry it through most nights >without< any additional heat. (stays 20-25 degrees warmer than the outside air temps) I only fire this stove when it appears it will drop below 15F. Last night it was 6F so she got a full load. The dome stayed low 50's all night and finally bottomed out @ 48F this AM. The Princess is in an insulated 6 x 8 external shed...heat is forced into the dome air via an inlne fan on a digital thermostat with hi/low on/off settings. Just went out there...the shed is 100F...and the Princess is set @ about 2 o'clock with cottonwood in it. Later on it will get fed some oak to keep the glow going all night... I don't care what anyone says...the non-cat stoves just couldn't pull this one off. I'm dumping outside air into the shed and then sucking it across the top of the Princess and into the dome....and still...the Princess keeps up...for 12 hours on end....and "coals" all day. It was still 80F in there from last nights load when I went in to stoke tonight's fire.

Still picking fresh tomatoes/lettuce/peppers/herbs/garlic and it looks like Summer in there.

 

[tarzan]

With all this talk about thermal shock lately, let me ask, has anyone here actually lost a cat in there BK do too thermal shock?

I haven’t. I have however done just about all the things that are supposed to cause a cat to crumble, at least once. Am I just lucky?

 

[bholler]

I'll tell this story here because only wood addicts find such stories even slightly interesting...LOL

The early snows up north have shut down the logging for the season here in CO. I placed an order in for a load of logs in late September. @ the time, the mill had a HUGE pile of logs from a 120 acre timber sale...and I was told it would be a month before they could get it delivered. Waited....waited more....called after 6 weeks...was told "it's coming...we just need to fill the truck again".... then another call a week later we heard "Sorry...we skipped over you and helped some other folks who were OUT of wood but it is coming...probably next week" (WTF?)....then...more silence. I shovelled the snow off the driveway twice in wait...still nothing.

Got tired of getting ganked and being held hostage by piss poor business practices...so found another guy. Come to find out...the original log guy I ordered from is out of logs and was trying to buy from the same guy I bought from...and even tried to undercut the guy from the set price they agreed upon when he brought a load of logs up. Crazy how things work out there and how some folks do "business".

Anyway....got the logs. It's a good load. The only funny part about it is that when he got here I found out the guy didn't have a dump bed....so I stood...in amazement...and watched as he pulled out a Stihl with..geez...musta been a 36" bar on it (probably small stuff for the PNW/Cali/etc but this was the biggest saw I've ever seen around here)....jumped up on the truck...and started wailing away. The bigger logs were on top. He cut em in half....grabbed an end...stood the f'er up....and bounced 'em off the back of the truck onto the ground. Made a bit of a mess of about half of the load......LOL...but it'll all cut the same. My back waas going into spasms just watching. It was nuts. Glad that guy wasn't pissed AT ME....

5F here this AM.....this stuff will definitely come in handy. (even though I already have the year covered for supply it's nice to know you have too much..if there is such a thing)....and nice to have some pine/spruce to mix in with the (mostly) oak I cut this season.

Someone took out a BK Princess? Blasphemous stuff right there! Enjoy those overnight reloads is all I can say... Wow. Makes no sense here (with 3 Princesses all firing and keeping shat nice and warm). Nothing surprises me these days though....LOL. (cues circus music)

10 chains all sharpened and ready to rip....should be some good fun

be well all

You do realize there are plenty of other stoves out there that can easily burn overnight dont you?