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

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Your ashford cat gasket was supposed to go all the way around. Glad you fixed it. You should be able to access everything from the flue outlet without removing the cat.


now you tell me. so now I know how to take the thing in and out. I think It was easier to remove it take it to the shop then to lug my shop vac in the house. The only gasket i saw when i removed it was on the bottom. Is it possible the gasket desintagrated?. Unless Im on drugs there was only a bottom gasket
 
now you tell me. so now I know how to take the thing in and out. I think It was easier to remove it take it to the shop then to lug my shop vac in the house. The only gasket i saw when i removed it was on the bottom. Is it possible the gasket desintagrated?. Unless Im on drugs there was only a bottom gasket

The cat gasket can stick to the stove or the cat but usually it is pretty well broken into chunks (though complete) when you pull the cat out. I've had chunks fall into the firebox as I pull the cat out. Hopefully you didn't leave any of the gasket material in the hole or pushed back into the cat chamber.

It's not an expensive gasket if you have one on hand and removing the cat won't hurt it. Look at the bright side, you now have a properly gasketed cat.
 
Yes, some of my ashford gasket pulled a disappearing act on me when i remove mine. I bought a whole bunch of gasket- like 30' just to keep in hand.

It falls into pieces everywhere
 
Blaze king says a fully packed stove will burn for 10 hours when running the stove on high. I believe this to be true under ideal conditions. In my situation running the stove on high will give my a good 5-6 hours of heat when it hits -20. Hot coals don't put out enough heat when it's really cold out. I considered a drolet ht200 but am happy with the princess. When it's 10 degrees or warmer the stove is amazing. If my house was smaller the princess would be perfect.

Is the fan on when you are running on high?
I realized that fan does effect burn time sometimes dramatically.
 
Is the fan on when you are running on high?
I realized that fan does effect burn time sometimes dramatically.

I usually run the fan when adding wood or when trying to heat the house up fast. I have noticed it burns quicker with the fan on.
 
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That's not right, t-stat should shut the fire down in less than a minute. Get your dealer on it.

Dealer got back to me, they are coming out to look. They also called BK for advice and they advised to check that the knob was attached correctly. It appears it is. I now know where the flapper is located and I can see it operating so if changing the knob position doesn't work, they are going to change out the stat. He has one in stock.
 
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Dealer got back to me, they are coming out to look. They also called BK for advice and they advised to check that the knob was attached correctly. It appears it is. I now know where the flapper is located and I can see it operating so if changing the knob position doesn't work, they are going to change out the stat. He has one in stock.

Well, air is getting in somewhere, and from the photo it does appear its thru the normal airwash path. It’s likely that t-stat is not closing properly, but if it’s not that, then it’s time to start checking gaskets.
 
Blaze king says a fully packed stove will burn for 10 hours when running the stove on high. I believe this to be true under ideal conditions. In my situation running the stove on high will give my a good 5-6 hours of heat when it hits -20. Hot coals don't put out enough heat when it's really cold out. I considered a drolet ht200 but am happy with the princess. When it's 10 degrees or warmer the stove is amazing. If my house was smaller the princess would be perfect.

How big is your house? I get good usable heat from the coals for hours. I can let them burn down so I can get a good load the next fill up. My house is 1600 sq, stove is in the center.
 
somebody deleted one of my post and also one of Kennys. Wonder why?
 
Love me some al. I have a no-ma'am T-shirt and Polk high jersey.

Wife and I went as al and Peggy a few years ago for Halloween
 
Got my Ashford 25 loaded full tonight. Got it going good and hot and turned it down once active cat. She’s humming along nice and hot! Blower works great, can hardly hear it.

I did an E/W load and it cleaned up the glass quick upon heating with oak and hickory.

So far I love it!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
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I am upstairs in the opposite end of our colonial house but I can still hear the fan on. Fan is on close to the middle. Even sett less than middle, I can still hear it even upstairs.
Is it normal?
 
I am upstairs in the opposite end of our colonial house but I can still hear the fan on. Fan is on close to the middle. Even sett less than middle, I can still hear it even upstairs.
Is it normal?

Probably , unless it’s squeaking or making an abnormal high pitched sound.

Small fans running at high rpm’s and displacing a rather large volume of air is bound to make some noise.
 
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Well, air is getting in somewhere, and from the photo it does appear its thru the normal airwash path. It’s likely that t-stat is not closing properly, but if it’s not that, then it’s time to start checking gaskets.

It is something with the stat, the good thing for troubleshooting a princess insert is that the valve is just right there next to the front of the stove, so I can watch it open and close. It is not closing even with a very warm fire going. It is a single gravity flap held up by a chain and not like the ones used for the freestanding.
 
somebody deleted one of my post and also one of Kennys. Wonder why?
Sensory stinks but we cant take it personal, There's only (1) member here that owns this site, they reserve the right to purge what they want, as a poster sometimes you need to be reminded that this isn't yours, its theirs. Its kind of like when you go to someone else's house, when you walk in the front door and come in, you take your shoes off unless told otherwise by the owner.
 
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I didnt take it personal, funny thing is, its back in place now. Strange days indeed. Maybe the valve got stuck on the internet machine.
 
So anyway I posted the other day on taking my cat out and cleaning it. Maybe Im crazy, but the stove seems to be working better than before.
 
Maybe some veteran wood burners could answer this one. What would happen if a King stove was hooked up to a 6 inch flue? I understand the outcome would be different in each setup. Is not getting a good enough draft the biggest problem or is their a safety issue? I'm sure someone has done it and I'm just curious. I have a homemade wood stove in my shop and I'm willing to bet it has at least a 5 cubic foot interior. It will handle a 25 inch log easy. The stove is hooked up to a 6 inch flue. I've only fired it up a few times but it ran great on 6 inch flue and a 20 foot chimney.

And no i'm considering a King in my house. But it would be nice.

I was scolded by BK for even asking if I could do this. Supposedly there is not enough draft strength in a 6" to keep the smoke in the stove. I have definitely seen it done and those users were happy. Since the manual prohibits a smaller flue than 8" you would be "illegal" if you did it anyway and void your insurance.

The large wood furnaces are much bigger than the king and still use a 6" flue. I'm thinking it's while you're using the low burn rate that problems arise.
i can tell you they run fine on a 7” flue, no smoke spillage ever even on cold starts. Minor “smoke smell” if it gets turned down too quickly out of the upper left corner of the door but burners with the proper setup get that too so.....
 
i can tell you they run fine on a 7” flue, no smoke spillage ever even on cold starts. Minor “smoke smell” if it gets turned down too quickly out of the upper left corner of the door but burners with the proper setup get that too so.....
So, it may work on yours or some others 7" systems. I suggest we get vastly more calls complaining their stove won't run on a 7" system. We need to remember not all installs are alike and smoke spillage is not a good thing....even if you like the smell of beef jerky in the morning.
 
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What is the size of the cat gasket for the Princess. And where online can I get one? Not that I will need one soon but like to have it on hand just in case.

Thanks
 
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