blaze king maintenance

[steeltowninwv]

how hard is it to change the cat out on the blaze king princess....also i see on the website u have to change adjust something from time to time.......

 

[ecocavalier02]

It should be pretty easy. i just did mine a month ago. and had some trouble. but i believe its cause i bought it from condar.com and not from the dealer. i believe the one from the dealer is the one you want. the one from condar was a hell of a time getting the thing in there. really tight and took some real muscle to get it in. but go to the dealer and i think youll get the one that should just slide in. and make sure you have the gasket that goes around it if it does not come with it. i dont know what your thinking you have to adjust. maybe just the door latch or the bypass damper may need tightening.

 

[steeltowninwv]

yeah its the bypass damper thingy

 

[cmonSTART]

They do just slide in and out. Please be aware though, that if you remove your cat in order to clean something you will need to replace the gasket.

The bypass damper may need tightening after a season or two if you can't feel it lock in place when closed. This is best done through the flue collar.

 

[ecocavalier02]

yeah its the bypass damper thingy

i gave mine a little turn this year. ive also wondered how it would be to change out that gasket someday on the bypass if it ever needed. seems like a tight fit or maybe may have to go in through from where the cat is.

 

[Todd]

How often do they recommend inspecting or cleaning the cat in a BKt? Woodstock says about every cord of wood burned.

A little maintenance trick I do with my cat is remove the scoop or cat protecting screen and blow any fly ash build up out with one of those low pressure air cans, no cat removal required.

 

[cmonSTART]

I do it a couple times a season. Remove the flame shield and lightly brush/vacuum the cat. I also like to reach up and around the bypass door and make sure the back is clear of any ash.

 

[ecocavalier02]

I do it a couple times a season. Remove the flame shield and lightly brush/vacuum the cat. I also like to reach up and around the bypass door and make sure the back is clear of any ash.

+1. im investing in a brush for my vacuum so i don't brake my cat again.

 

[cmonSTART]

I just use a soft bristle paint brush and make sure I'm darn careful with the vac. My sweeping vac has a brush attachment.

 

[ecocavalier02]

I just use a soft bristle paint brush and make sure I'm darn careful with the vac. My sweeping vac has a brush attachment.

yeah im not taking that chance again when i was cleaning mine last year i smacked the vacuum against the cat and broke a piece off. cat was still a little warm as well so it made it more vulnerable to braking. also going to let it be cooler when i clean it.

 

[HotCoals]

I do it a couple times a season. Remove the flame shield and lightly brush/vacuum the cat. I also like to reach up and around the bypass door and make sure the back is clear of any ash.

I thought I had to remove those two nuts hanging down to remove the flame shield..found out I don't after the first time..lol.
I also didn't realize you could reach up around the by-pass to check for ash ..thanks,I'll do that next time I let her go out.

 

[ecocavalier02]

I do it a couple times a season. Remove the flame shield and lightly brush/vacuum the cat. I also like to reach up and around the bypass door and make sure the back is clear of any ash.

I thought I had to remove those two nuts hanging down to remove the flame shield..found out I don't after the first time..lol.
I also didn't realize you could reach up around the by-pass to check for ash ..thanks,I'll do that next time I let her go out.

haha i did the same thing 2 years ago only to realize all you have to do is push up and slide it right out. made for an aggravating half hour of trying to figure that out.

 

[nate379]

I'm not touching it till it stops working!

 

[BKVP]

Good morning all. The Catalytic Hearth Coalition funded a study of aged combustor. If you do not burn trash but rather only seasoned cordwood, in the lower 48 states it is common for the combustor in our stoves to last 10 years or more. In Alaska, many regions run their stoves up to 7 or 8 months a year. Our history shows they last about 8 years in those conditions. Conversely, down in Arizona we see 14 year old combustor being replaced...and they are still working!

A very hot fire elevates temperatures above 1000F and there is not much need to ever remove the combustor from the stove for cleaning The suggestion of light brushing makes the perfect sense. Compressed air will remove fly ash, but our suppliers tell us that in the process, it can act like a sandblaster depending upon psi. Elevated psi could strip off precious metal coatings.

As for acquiring replacement combustor, you'll like this part. Applied Ceramics in Georgia is one OEM manufacturer of combustor. You can now buy replacement combustor for older Blaze King stoves and all other catalytic models at www.firecatcombustor.com The pricing is more than attractive!

Merry Christmas to all.....

Chris

 

[mellow]

Did you mean http://www.firecatcombustors.com/ ?

 

[BKVP]

Yes thank you. The darn plural thing gets me every time!

 

[jeff_t]

So, the whole major cleaning thing in the addendum in the back of the manual isn't really necessary? With regular hot burning, I mean.

 

[HotCoals]

Did you mean http://www.firecatcombustors.com/ ?

Great prices,just bookmarked!

 

[rdust]

Great prices,just bookmarked!

x2! I almost want to buy one just to have it on the shelf! I'd replace it every year without blinking an eye if I had to since theses stoves perform so great. 24+ hour burns with silver maple on low with the cat on the edge of active is still just silly to me. :lol:

 

[HotCoals]

Great prices,just bookmarked!

x2! I almost want to buy one just to have it on the shelf! I'd replace it every year without blinking an eye if I had to since theses stoves perform so great. 24+ hour burns with silver maple on low with the cat on the edge of active is still just silly to me. :lol:

You're telling me!

I doubt I would have replaced my old BKK if not for the 33% rebate from the gov.
The stove has had a few stress cracks welded over the years and it had another one..right near the corners of the door opening is where it would happen.
The closest dealer was about 45 mins away and would not budge on price...3200 including 8% sales tax. But with over 1000 back from the gov I did do it.
I think it's the only time I ever got something back..lol.

My house temps are way more even through the burn cycle now and warmer.
There were only a few days now and then last season where I had to have some flame to keep the house temps up.
I'm still doing 24 hour burns right now cause outside temps have been fairly warm.
When I get home at 5pm there is still some charred wood left...by 6-7 I rake it forward and crank the air and heat off coals for a hour or two easy.
That's from filling at 7 in the morning.
The old BKK maybe 10-12 hours at most.
To be fair I never filled the old BK all the way ..I was afraid to.
Took me awhile to fill this one all the way up..no fear now..lol.
Amazing stove..but if a bk owner tells you his glass stays clean he's prolly full of it..lol.

 

[rdust]

Amazing stove..but if a bk owner tells you his glass stays clean he's prolly full of it..lol.

I think if I had a King it would be more difficult to keep it clean but as long as it's in the low 20's or colder mine stays pretty darn clean. Mine doesn't nasty up the lower corners until I turn it to 1 and even then it's not bad. I burn mine hot for 20-30 minutes though at the beginning of the burn and that seems to help a bunch.

 

[HotCoals]

Amazing stove..but if a bk owner tells you his glass stays clean he's prolly full of it..lol.

I think if I had a King it would be more difficult to keep it clean but as long as it's in the low 20's or colder mine stays pretty darn clean. Mine doesn't nasty up the lower corners until I turn it to 1 and even then it's not bad. I burn mine hot for 20-30 minutes though at the beginning of the burn and that seems to help a bunch.

I even tried a half load e-w and just put that in the back..i think it was worse that way..lol.
It usually burns off on the next reload but maybe once a week I scrape it all with a blade scraper..omg!
Two year old ash is what I have been burning for the most part so far this season.
This year if my stove is still around 300 stove top when I reload I close the by-pass almost right away but leave some flame ..(usually around 2-2.5 does that)..then I burn that way till the cat temp is maybe 3/4 on the gauge. Maybe 30-40 mins...then close her down in two steps..sometimes one...then after a 1/2 hour my cat temp will be almost almost be at the upper limit...then later it will settle back some.
Last season I did the way you are doing it and that was fine..but I'm trying to keep the flame impingement to a min.
It will be really interesting to me to see how our cats do over time.
But I concur..even if I had to buy a new cat every 2nd or 3rd year..I would not care.

 

[nate379]

Dunno, mine stays clean at long at it's coldish outside. 20* and colder no problems. Little bit of black on the bottom corner is all. I don't clean it, keeps clean enough on it's own.

Amazing stove..but if a bk owner tells you his glass stays clean he's prolly full of it..lol.

 

[HotCoals]

Dunno, mine stays clean at long at it's coldish outside. 20* and colder no problems. Little bit of black on the bottom corner is all. I don't clean it, keeps clean enough on it's own.

Amazing stove..but if a bk owner tells you his glass stays clean he's prolly full of it..lol.

Good deal!
I don't think we have seen 20f yet...kinda want it to..the wife and I also snowmobile and would like some snow!

 

[SolarAndWood]

Good morning all. The Catalytic Hearth Coalition funded a study of aged combustor. If you do not burn trash but rather only seasoned cordwood, in the lower 48 states it is common for the combustor in our stoves to last 10 years or more. In Alaska, many regions run their stoves up to 7 or 8 months a year. Our history shows they last about 8 years in those conditions. Conversely, down in Arizona we see 14 year old combustor being replaced...and they are still working!

A very hot fire elevates temperatures above 1000F and there is not much need to ever remove the combustor from the stove for cleaning The suggestion of light brushing makes the perfect sense. Compressed air will remove fly ash, but our suppliers tell us that in the process, it can act like a sandblaster depending upon psi. Elevated psi could strip off precious metal coatings.

As for acquiring replacement combustor, you'll like this part. Applied Ceramics in Georgia is one OEM manufacturer of combustor. You can now buy replacement combustor for older Blaze King stoves and all other catalytic models at www.firecatcombustor.com The pricing is more than attractive!

Merry Christmas to all.....

Chris

Thanks for the link Chris. What is your recommendation for deciding it is time to replace the combustor?