2021-2022 BK everything thread

[jetsam]

First off, 900 stovetop should not be possible with the door closed. Most likely culprit is gaskets. Give it (another) good dollar bill test all the way around. If that's good, lay the door flat on something soft and try to slide the glass around in the door with the palms of your hands. If you can move it at all, that gasket needs replacement also. If there are no air leaks at all, you're looking at either really crazy high draft (needs a damper) or a thermostat issue (reach out to BK for troubleshooting assistance). With a 30' stack, I'd be getting a manometer asap to put the draft in spec even if I did find an issue in the gaskets or the thermostat.

 

[jetsam]

My condolences on getting your thread moderated into this thread with all the chatter, though. You could try making a new one without "BK" in the title. That seems to trigger them.

 

[Highbeam]

I am the proud owner of a new-to-me Blaze King Princess. This is my first time using a Cat stove and I'm figuring it out, but boy what a learning curve. My first fire I was just experimenting with a few logs. The cat probe got into the active zone and I shut it down but the cat never glowed and the stove didn't really get up to temp. I also turned the blower on and the stove didn't like that. The probe dropped out of the active zone and things seemed to be cooling down. The fire was out in about 3 hours. A little disappointing but not a huge deal.

The second fire, I really loaded it up and got things running quickly. I closed the bypass as soon as the probe read active but the stove soon got to 900 degree stove top temp and got that over-fired-stove smell. I backed things off (and got the fire extinguisher ready) and the temp settled down to about 600. I dropped the tstat down to about 2 and got a 12 hour burn. Much better than the last time, but still not as long as I'm looking for from this legendary long burner.

This morning, I loaded things up again, got the fire going, closed the bypass and then dropped the tstat much sooner than I did last night. The stove is running well with the tstat at 2 but the flames were a little to active for what I would think would get me that long burn. I know a lot of people on this forum run their BKs at 1.5 so I tried that. I got some reburn flames on the roof of the firebox for a while but those went out and now I just have white logs. No fire, no coals, nothing.

My question is, am I doing something wrong? The cat is glowing bright red and the probe is well into the active zone (about half) but falling. The tstat is set to about 1.75. If I jump it up to 2 I'll get some flames back but the stove has only been running for about 4 hours and I've already burned half the wood in the firebox.

The blower is on. I've never had a stove with a blower before - do stoves not really like them?

General info:
-BK Princess circa 2012. Dollar test shows the door gasket is good
-Wood is a mix of hardwoods and around 20%, though I admit some of the wood is a little higher and there's a hissing when these pieces make their way into the stove
-Insulated liner running up through an old chimney three stories tall, maybe 30'? That's just a guess. The stove drafts well, as did the one I swapped out for the BK.
-The Tstat nob is a little funky. It will rotate almost 180* past the lowest setting before it finally stops. Not sure if this is normal or might need attention.
-The previous owner installed a new steel Cat last year. Visual inspection shows no plugs and it looks pretty good.

Any advice from all you BK masters would be very much appreciated!

First thing first, your install is not correct until you control the draft to meet the BK requirements. 30 feet of stack is too much without some sort of damper. Once you have the draft under control and provide properly seasoned wood you can start benefiting from comparing notes here about operation. Getting the long burn times requires at least a reasonably compliant setup and fuel.

Stop measuring stove top temperature. It is irrelevant and very easy to misread since just under the stove top is a ripping hot 1500 degree catalyst. So of course there will be a spot that is also ripping hot above it even when the stove is only making a little heat. It's much more valuable to measure flue temperature.

Fill the stove, get it going and cat meter above active, close the bypass, then after 10-20 minutes adjust the thermostat down to your desired output level. The only thing to worry about is making sure that you don't stall the cat by adjusting the thermostat too low. This will cause the cat meter to fall to inactive. Properly installed, fueled, and maintained, you can't overfire it.

If your princess is from 2012 then you have numbers on your thermostat dial. Be glad. Mine is from 2012 as well.

A glowing cat is not required for proper operation. It will come and go. Flames are also not necessary and when going for long burns at low burn rates you can expect to see no flames.

 

[panderson03]

I can get a 12 hour burn the problem is the house will be 50 degrees. Coaling is a big issue a stove full stove of coals won’t produce enough heat.

Hey there. We're in MN too (Ottertail county). we have a 35'x35' 3 level home. The only time our Princess struggles is when we've been away for several days and return to a cold cabin. takes 18 hours or so for the place to get comfy. No trouble maintaining a warm cabin though.

 

[Tron]

MN too (Ottertail county).

return to a cold cabin.

So I guess a "cold cabin" can be at sub-freezing temperatures? Not really surprising that it takes a while to warm up from that...

 

[TheElementalCashew]

Does anyone know offhand the draft requirements for the Princess? I could have sworn I saw it in the manual, but can't find it now. Going to install a Dwyer this weekend, so wanted to know what I should be looking for.

 

[OH_Varmntr]

Does anyone know offhand the draft requirements for the Princess? I could have sworn I saw it in the manual, but can't find it now. Going to install a Dwyer this weekend, so wanted to know what I should be looking for.

I have the Princess Insert, model number PI29, and the manual states not to exceed .06" WC in the "Catalyst Monitoring" section on page 28.

 

[logfarmer]

Late to the game of filling the king up!

 

[jetsam]

The PE1006 manual (which might be yours?) does repeatedly say to measure the draft with manometer, but it then says to refer to a manual section that doesn't exist for the spec. I looked at every section that has the word "draft" and "manometer". The phrases "WC" and "psig" both do not occur in the document. https://www.blazeking.com/manuals-and-brochures I think I've heard .06WC a lot though! TL;DR: The manometer going to tell you that you need a damper unless you live at 10000 feet above sea level.

 

[logfarmer]

Late to the game of filling the king up!

View attachment 291906 View attachment 291907

Also this is after a 24 hr burn with fan on low stat set at 1-3/4 temps outside are single digits to high teens. The coals are at the bottom of the door so this is a half load.

 

[TheElementalCashew]

I have the Princess Insert, model number PI29, and the manual states not to exceed .06" WC in the "Catalyst Monitoring" section on page 28.

Thanks! Mine isn't an insert, but I imagine it should have similar requirements.

 

[TheElementalCashew]

The PE1006 manual (which might be yours?) does repeatedly say to measure the draft with manometer, but it then says to refer to a manual section that doesn't exist for the spec. I looked at every section that has the word "draft" and "manometer". The phrases "WC" and "psig" both do not occur in the document. https://www.blazeking.com/manuals-and-brochures I think I've heard .06WC a lot though! TL;DR: The manometer going to tell you that you need a damper unless you live at 10000 feet above sea level.

I have the PE32 manual, which also repeatedly references a manometer and a seemingly nonexistent document section, without providing any details as to the draft spec (at least that I can find). Thanks for the info!

 

[stoveliker]

Late to the game of filling the king up!

View attachment 291906 View attachment 291907

nice locust (?), and a small split of oak?
Still waiting two more summers before I will be burning a little of that. Looking forward to it.
Lotsa coals (or, because of the locust...).

 

[jdonna]

Replaced my door gasket last nite and checked out the door handle, knocked out the roll pin and there is a lot of slop in the bronze bushing. Put some antiseize in there for now. Checked the price on a new one and I’m just going to machine a new bushing in the off-season! Maybe it’s normal, never paid that close of attention to it before, but it seemed to be cocked at a good angle when the door was closed.

 

[logfarmer]

nice locust (?), and a small split of oak?
Still waiting two more summers before I will be burning a little of that. Looking forward to it.
Lotsa coals (or, because of the locust...).

Yes most is locust, I’ve been mixing a couple pieces of white oak in been drying for 2 yrs and is right out 20% MC. That pic was at 25 hrs I believe and could have went a few more hrs but it was bedtime lol!

 

[elmo_4_vt]

I got a bunch of soot up on top that I hear coming down the chimney every so often and want to make sure it's clear up on top of the fire box. What's everyone's best method for getting soot off of the top of the stove near the bypass? Do you need to remove the chimney and go in from the top or can you go in from the bypass or pull the Cat and go in from there?

Thanks for the help.

 

[kennyp2339]

I got a bunch of soot up on top that I hear coming down the chimney every so often and want to make sure it's clear up on top of the fire box. What's everyone's best method for getting soot off of the top of the stove near the bypass? Do you need to remove the chimney and go in from the top or can you go in from the bypass or pull the Cat and go in from there?

Thanks for the help.

I have a telescoping piece of black pipe so I just lift it up and carefully take my shopvac hose and clean out the upper chamber, only pull the cat if you have another gasket on hand.
Its going to warm up our way tomorrow & Sat, might be worth doing a mid-season sweep if you can, if I have snow on my roof I just clean from the bottom up, start my brush then tape a garbage bag to the support box and make a small hole in the side of the garbage bag and add cleaning rods from there, keeps then mess way down as it falls in the bag.

 

[stoveliker]

I would pull the stove pipe off the top of the stove (hope you have a telescoping section there). Then you have access through the "hole" there, which is the most convenient.

Then, given creosote falling, I'd run a soot eater up the flue (with a bag taped to the flue so you don't make everything dusty) to clean farther up as well. And use binoculars to look at your chimney cap (if you can't get there yourself).

 

[stoveliker]

well d*mn. Kenny has again faster fingers than I have

 

[Highbeam]

I have the PE32 manual, which also repeatedly references a manometer and a seemingly nonexistent document section, without providing any details as to the draft spec (at least that I can find). Thanks for the info!

The BK manuals have always included lots of information but always seem disconnected and maybe written by like 10 people and thrown together at the end without anybody reading the whole thing. I’ve found contradictory statements and missing information like the draft spec example. Plus repetitive information.

 

[Ashful]

Does anyone know offhand the draft requirements for the Princess? I could have sworn I saw it in the manual, but can't find it now. Going to install a Dwyer this weekend, so wanted to know what I should be looking for.

The Ashford 30 spec's .06" WC maximum, and .05" WC ideal. I've seen similar numbers for other cat stoves, so while I can't speak with authority about the Princess, I'd be surprised if it's much different. Start aiming for .05" WC, until you hear otherwise.

I got a bunch of soot up on top that I hear coming down the chimney every so often and want to make sure it's clear up on top of the fire box. What's everyone's best method for getting soot off of the top of the stove near the bypass? Do you need to remove the chimney and go in from the top or can you go in from the bypass or pull the Cat and go in from there?

I do the opposite of kenny. I also have a telescoping pipe above the stove, but I think they're more of a PITA to work with than they're worth, once installed and used. I always keep a roll of cat gasket on hand (I buy 20 feet at a time), and just pull the cat to clean out the chamber above the bypass door. In my opinion, this is much easier and less prone to causing problems, than fighting any telescoping stove pipe section. YMMV.

The BK manuals have always included lots of information but always seem disconnected and maybe written by like 10 people and thrown together at the end without anybody reading the whole thing. I’ve found contradictory statements and missing information like the draft spec example. Plus repetitive information.

True, but I'd not beat up BK too badly on this point, I've noticed it's a common problem across most of the industry. I wonder if they even have a dedicated technical writer, this sort of work is often passed off to the least senior technician in the product engineering group, in many companies. The job is often put upon Engineering, but it should really be considered a Marketing expense, as that user manual is often the primary interface between the customer and the company.

 

[showrguy]

@Ashful,
where are you getting that CAT gasket from ?

 

[Ashful]

@Ashful,
where are you getting that CAT gasket from ?

I always bought it from Woodmans Parts Plus, but I just checked their site, and it appears their price has gone up at least 2x in the last year or two, so it might be worth shopping for another source. I believe I paid something like $2.25-$2.75/ft, the last few times.

You need 30 inches of 2" x 1/16" to wrap the cat in an Ashford 30.

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[ajzzara]

Hello All,
I recently had a BK Sirocco insert installed. I have a question regarding the thermostat which seems to have a lot of unnecessary play. Is it supposed to go from 6 o’clock position (wide open) almost all the way around back to 6 o’clock? I do believe I hear the thermostat shut around the 1 o’clock position (where the smaller side of the swoosh is) . For reference, the thermostat is mounted on the left of the unit, and would turn counter clockwise from high to low. I have attached a video as well. Thanks for the help!

 

[Highbeam]

Hello All,
I recently had a BK Sirocco insert installed. I have a question regarding the thermostat which seems to have a lot of unnecessary play. Is it supposed to go from 6 o’clock position (wide open) almost all the way around back to 6 o’clock? I do believe I hear the thermostat shut around the 1 o’clock position (where the smaller side of the swoosh is) . For reference, the thermostat is mounted on the left of the unit, and would turn counter clockwise from high to low. I have attached a video as well. Thanks for the help!

I don’t have the insert but my BK princess thermostat works the same. Almost a full turn is possible. The inserts are kind of funky so maybe another insert owner will chime in.