2018-19 Blaze King Performance Thread Part 2 (Everything BK)

I realized that the cat doesnt glow as bright as it used to glow before. It is very dim reddish color since last couple of days. Sometimes no glow at all. Sometimes partial dim glow. It still remains in the active zone. No problem with that. Could this mean cat is “clogged”?

Second question I have is that when you reload, do you turn the fan back on right away after cat is in active zone? Or you wait for about 20 min?

You stay and send her! We'll get her educated on the subject of bourbon, draft, moisture content, specific gravity and how to deal with stove geeks!

Ashful said:

My wife was sitting right in front of the stove sorting mail thru this entire episode. Yeah, she’s not very observant of her surroundings.

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BKVP said:

You stay and send her! We'll get her educated on the subject of bourbon, draft, moisture content, specific gravity and how to deal with stove geeks!

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I have a feeling that she may not be so eager.

But Ashful you know there is free admission on Thursday if you wear your Blaze King socks. Tell the Mrs's that you will double the fun on Friday if she lets you go..hehe

chemie said:

I realized that the cat doesnt glow as bright as it used to glow before. It is very dim reddish color since last couple of days. Sometimes no glow at all. Sometimes partial dim glow. It still remains in the active zone. No problem with that. Could this mean cat is “clogged”?

Second question I have is that when you reload, do you turn the fan back on right away after cat is in active zone? Or you wait for about 20 min?

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cats like to glow a lot when new. They calm down with some hours under their belt. If you are in the active zone you are eating smoke. If it were clogged you would be suffering with smoke coming from where it shouldn’t be. I personally wait at least 10 min before engaging the fans as my cat-o-meter is affected by the cool air rushing past. Once mines past 12oclock if I need fans they get turned on.

chemie said:

I have a feeling that she may not be so eager.

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Good recall!

chemie said:

I realized that the cat doesnt glow as bright as it used to glow before. It is very dim reddish color since last couple of days. Sometimes no glow at all. Sometimes partial dim glow. It still remains in the active zone. No problem with that. Could this mean cat is “clogged”?

Second question I have is that when you reload, do you turn the fan back on right away after cat is in active zone? Or you wait for about 20 min?

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I also realized that there is more fireplace smell outside of the house recently. I am not sure if it is all related that the cat which is in it is first year not glowing like it used to and more smell coming out of the chimney.

bholler said:

The princess isn't mine to trade. And I don't want an ashford either. If I were to get a bk it would be a Chinook. But I really don't see a bk for me in the near future at all

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Good choice!

chemie said:

I also realized that there is more fireplace smell outside of the house recently. I am not sure if it is all related that the cat which is in it is first year not glowing like it used to and more smell coming out of the chimney.

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Cats start off hyper-active, and then settle in after the first few weeks of 24/7 burning. So, you could just be seeing this. Also, expectations change, and you begin to notice things that you may have just missed before, as you get to know your stove.

That aside, has anything else in your routine changed? New wood supply? Change in weather, or any changes to the house?

Ashful said:

Cats start off hyper-active, and then settle in after the first few weeks of 24/7 burning. So, you could just be seeing this. Also, expectations change, and you begin to notice things that you may have just missed before, as you get to know your stove.

That aside, has anything else in your routine changed? New wood supply? Change in weather, or any changes to the house?

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I made a mistake of using unsplit logs of Japanese Pagoda Tree (!) that I found through Craigslist. They were supposed to be seasoned for three years and they "looked" seasoned. However, they turned out to be still wet.So I used the wet wood for a day before I realized they were not seasoned. After that I realized that they are not good to burn and switched back to my regular stash. Could it be the reason to use a wet wood for a day? I am not so sure.

Converting water to steam uses a surprising amount of energy, and can make it tough to keep the cat lit at any burn rate other than “high”. So, that could have been the issue.

chemie said:

I made a mistake of using unsplit logs of Japanese Pagoda Tree (!) that I found through Craigslist. They were supposed to be seasoned for three years and they "looked" seasoned. However, they turned out to be still wet.So I used the wet wood for a day before I realized they were not seasoned. After that I realized that they are not good to burn and switched back to my regular stash. Could it be the reason to use a wet wood for a day? I am not so sure.

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That’s the reason I split every round over 4”. It just ensures that it’ll be seasoned.

Ashful said:

Converting water to steam uses a surprising amount of energy, and can make it tough to keep the cat lit at any burn rate other than “high”. So, that could have been the issue.

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I totally understand that.However, the cat lit dimmer after the usage of wet wood even when seasoned wood used. May be the way I pay attention got switched as you pointed out.

unimog1300 said:

Ordered a BK Princess yesterday. They said three weeks or more to get it....

Ordered the satin door and satin trim for the surround and now they are telling me the satin trim on the surround is no longer available. Trying to make it look a little better with the satin trim. Wondering if BKVP has any surrounds with satin trim laying around he could put on my order??

At least we will get some use out of it this year yet hopefully.

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Have been running our new Princess insert for about two weeks now and we are absolutely amazed at the technology in this thing. Dry wood is a must, period. No other choice if you expect optimum performance. We consistently get the following burn times during the work week: 7 AM until 5 PM on 7 - 8 splits. 5pm -11pm on 4-5 smaller splits and then 11pm - 7am on 6 - 7 splits. On weekends I have run it 15 hours on 9 - 10 splits. To date, I have not filled it completely so I dont' know how long it will go on a full load. We like it

Wildbilljp said:

Have been running our new Princess insert for about two weeks now and we are absolutely amazed at the technology in this thing. Dry wood is a must, period. No other choice if you expect optimum performance. We consistently get the following burn times during the work week: 7 AM until 5 PM on 7 - 8 splits. 5pm -11pm on 4-5 smaller splits and then 11pm - 7am on 6 - 7 splits. On weekends I have run it 15 hours on 9 - 10 splits. To date, I have not filled it completely so I dont' know how long it will go on a full load. We like it

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If you’re getting 10 splits in a princess insert and not filling it completely then I would suggest you consider splitting larger in the future. These things seem to love large, dry, splits. Then use the thermostat to set your output.

Wildbilljp said:

Have been running our new Princess insert for about two weeks now and we are absolutely amazed at the technology in this thing. Dry wood is a must, period. No other choice if you expect optimum performance. We consistently get the following burn times during the work week: 7 AM until 5 PM on 7 - 8 splits. 5pm -11pm on 4-5 smaller splits and then 11pm - 7am on 6 - 7 splits. On weekends I have run it 15 hours on 9 - 10 splits. To date, I have not filled it completely so I dont' know how long it will go on a full load. We like it

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It'll go more than 24 hours dialed all the way down, depending on your wood and draft.

I heat my whole house with that thing all year. It's crazy.... coming from smoke dragons, I never expected it to be so capable. The shoulder season heating is really impressive compared to every other stove I've used.

Next house gets a King, if I can figure out how to buy one without going through a dealer. Maybe a Sequoia otherwise, sad though that would make me.

Thank you to Supman99 and ED3000 for taking the time to enjoy a beer. Great to meet two more members of the hearth.com family.

I was also very fortunate to meet bholler and his mentor! Great guys, tons of valuable experience. I appreciate getting to discuss stoves with them as well....

Off to Lost Wages today!

BKVP said:

Thank you to Supman99 and ED3000 for taking the time to enjoy a beer. Great to meet two more members of the hearth.com family.

I was also very fortunate to meet bholler and his mentor! Great guys, tons of valuable experience. I appreciate getting to discuss stoves with them as well....

Off to Lost Wages today!

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No, thank you, Chris!

I could have spent hours talking with you (hopefully mostly listening) and would have enjoyed every minute. I'd have come home to an icy house, if I had (nothing to do with the stove- it was Feb. 14).

I gained valuable insight into what it looks like to be an expert and true professional. And also, just a damn fine individual.

All you BK folks are lucky to have such a passionate, knowledgeable, dedicated person working for you.

The technology is good, but you are what makes BK truly special.

I second Ed's post. If you get a chance to socialize with BKVP, please do so. Just an easy talk. Also the BK regional reps were just pleasant folks to talk to. Now tonight is gonna cost me some lobster and filet as I make up Valentines day. Any chance BK might help since you did drag me out on Feb 14th

spudman99 said:

I second Ed's post. If you get a chance to socialize with BKVP, please do so. Just an easy talk. Also the BK regional reps were just pleasant folks to talk to. Now tonight is gonna cost me some lobster and filet as I make up Valentines day. Any chance BK might help since you did drag me out on Feb 14th

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It was our pleasure guys...thank you.

BKVP said:

Thank you to Supman99 and ED3000 for taking the time to enjoy a beer. Great to meet two more members of the hearth.com family.

I was also very fortunate to meet bholler and his mentor! Great guys, tons of valuable experience. I appreciate getting to discuss stoves with them as well....

Off to Lost Wages today!

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Aahhhhh, you must have met bholler's Dad, I also got to spend some time alone talking with him when I dropped the Princess off a few months ago, he sure is a pleasure to talk to, that man knows alot about the stove and chimney world !!

I

showrguy said:

Aahhhhh, you must have met bholler's Dad, I also got to spend some time alone talking with him when I dropped the Princess off a few months ago, he sure is a pleasure to talk to, that man knows alot about the stove and chimney world !![/QUOTE

Indeed. Los of knowledge in that man..

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BKVP said:

It was our pleasure guys...thank you.

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So is @bholler who I think he is? So far I just have this

He's a very experienced sweep that can carry a tune if you're talking wood stoves and inserts...