2015-2016 Blaze King Performance thread (Everything BK)

[showrguy]

Should I be opening the bipass ??
CAT stove 101 is ALL WAY OPEN BYPASS BEFORE OPEN THE DOOR. Hope you did not do opposite.

I did.......a couple of times...
So, I need to open the bipass everytime the door gets opened ???
Thanks for the help..

 

[drz1050]

I did.......a couple of times...
So, I need to open the bipass everytime the door gets opened ???
Thanks for the help..

You need to open the bypass BEFORE the door gets opened. Yes, every time.

 

[Ashful]

Novice question here: I'm trying to limit my flue cleanings, so have been burning reloads with the door open in order to get the flue hot and limit the creo buildup. How long is safe to burn like this? I remember a warning from BKVP a while ago about potentially warping the bypass brackets.. is that glowing stove territory? I don't have a stovetop thermometer, just the cat probe. No flue probe either.

No need to leave door open past when the load is caught. I've been doing this for five years, burning two cat stoves, and have never had any problem with appreciable creo build-up during the five minutes it takes the cat to come up to temp.

So, I need to open the bipass everytime the door gets opened ???

Yes. You make it sound like it's a lot of work to turn that one lever 180-degrees.

 

[showrguy]

Should I be opening the bipass ??
CAT stove 101 is ALL WAY OPEN BYPASS BEFORE OPEN THE DOOR. Hope you did not do opposite.

I did.......a couple of times...
So, I need to open the bipass everytime the door gets opened ???
Thanks for the help..

No need to leave door open past when the load is caught. I've been doing this for five years, burning two cat stoves, and have never had any problem with appreciable creo build-up during the five minutes it takes the cat to come up to temp.


Yes. You make it sound like it's a lot of work to turn that one lever 180-degrees.

I didn't mean it like you took it,,,,,,,,,, but thanks for the clarification anyway......lol

 

[blueguy]

Novice question here: I'm trying to limit my flue cleanings, so have been burning reloads with the door open in order to get the flue hot and limit the creo buildup. How long is safe to burn like this? I remember a warning from BKVP a while ago about potentially warping the bypass brackets.. is that glowing stove territory? I don't have a stovetop thermometer, just the cat probe. No flue probe either.

From what I have read, the bypass gasket frame can warp if the stove is run at about 900 - 1000* (on the flue) with the bypass open for an extended period. This isn't glowing stove territory.

Even though many have suggested that no other thermometer is needed past the cat probe that comes with the stove, I would highly suggest at a minimum a flue probe or thermometer to stay aware of what's going on internally. I also have a stove top thermometer placed off to the far right side of my stove top and it also helps immensely to keep track of what heat is needed to keep this place warm

 

[Sushiyummy]

I did.......a couple of times...
So, I need to open the bipass everytime the door gets opened ???
Thanks for the help..

I didn't mean it like you took it,,,,,,,,,, but thanks for the clarification anyway......lol

showrguy
I may know what you're thinking. You don't want to open bypass cause you don't want to lose the heat up the chimney.
Is It right? I thought the same, but you have to save the CAT from cold air when you open the door.

 

[showrguy]

showrguy
I may know what you're thinking. You don't want to open bypass cause you don't want to lose the heat up the chimney.
Is It right? I thought the same, but you have to save the CAT from cold air when you open the door.

Well, not really, I just didn't know any better..
I figured if the cat was still active all was good.....apparently not...!

 

[Ashful]

Cat probe has too much lag to use for the purpose of seeing cat temp for the brief minutes a door is open. That probe is usually telling you what the cat was doing five minutes ago.

 

[Woody Stover]

Any recommendations for online ordering?

woodmanspartsplus has a lot of gasket. Not sure which density you need there, though...

 

[Dairyman]

woodmanspartsplus has a lot of gasket. Not sure which density you need there, though...

Hechlers is a good source as well.

(broken link removed to http://www.hechlers.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=31_9&products_id=494)

 

[Highbeam]

Hechlers is a good source as well.

(broken link removed to http://www.hechlers.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=31_9&products_id=494)

I will not risk getting a non oem part. Hecklers seems to be the bk part. I'll try my bk dealer first if he can handle shipping it.

 

[Woody Stover]

I will not risk getting a non oem part. Hecklers seems to be the bk part. I'll try my bk dealer first if he can handle shipping it.

I visited a BK dealer yesterday......I said no, I need real BK gasket that looks like that, and pointed at the door. No dice so I will be ordering it from somewhere.

Oh, I thought you were saying the dealer wouldn't order the part, since you mentioned getting it online. Why not have your dealer get it...too far away from the house?

 

[kennyp2339]

I will not risk getting a non oem part. Hecklers seems to be the bk part. I'll try my bk dealer first if he can handle shipping it.

I just ordered a cat & door gasket from them, they will be arriving tomorrow, I will let you know if it looks like an oem part.

 

[Highbeam]

Oh, I thought you were saying the dealer wouldn't order the part, since you mentioned getting it online. Why not have your dealer get it...too far away from the house?

I went to the dealer early Sunday morning and the "stove guy" wasn't there. Seems most bk dealers, like mine, are hardware stores. My dealer is an hour's drive from home.

 

[jetsam]

I went to the dealer early Sunday morning and the "stove guy" wasn't there. Seems most bk dealers, like mine, are hardware stores. My dealer is an hour's drive from home.

Was a guy who can operate a cell phone there?

As a dealer, even if you know zero about the products in question, on a day when your vendor is closed, you can drop your vendor an email asking for part numbers, prices, and lead times, and call your customer monday for payment.

 

[Ashful]

I went to the dealer early Sunday morning and the "stove guy" wasn't there. Seems most bk dealers, like mine, are hardware stores. My dealer is an hour's drive from home.

My local dealer is an HVAC guy, oddly enough. He spent most of the time I was in his store telling me how he hid shoddy work and intentionally damaged customers property doing ventilation installs while wearing golf spikes on asphalt roofs. Then he showed me how well his BK Ashford, with a front leg which he broke while removing it from the crate, burned wet wood. He also told me the clearances in the manual were complete BS, and that he goes on his own experience, not what some idiot prints in a manual. Needless to say, I didn't buy from the local dealer.

I suspect BK's dealer network will only improve with time. I did find one dealer they just signed last year to be very good, albeit a bit of a drive from my house. I was willing to pay extra to have them deliver it over a longer distance.

 

[Woody Stover]

Then he showed me how well his BK Ashford...burned wet wood.

I think webby3650 has done that but I don't believe he's a golfer.

 

[jetsam]

The dealer closest to my house seemed pretty nice. I didn't find out if they were knowledgeable or not, since I just walked in and said, "How much for a BK Princess insert?".

I do wish I hadn't let them talk me into a "professional install". I had to run the electrical into the fireplace myself, and now I have to pull the insert and reinstall it anyway. (At the time, I didn't know that I wanted a blockoff plate and Roxul in the fireplace; now I do! Would have been nice if the dealer or installer had mentioned it.)

On a closely related topic, I want to pull out an installed Princess to do a blockoff plate and Roxul/Durock insulation in the fireplace (I've seen a couple nice installs of this style in the forums here)- and insulate the flue with vermiculite. (The whole thing is exposed masonary. Right now the exterior masonary is 5°F below the fireplace and 60° above! Talk about a big heat sink!

I am slightly daunted by this because I didn't watch them put it in, and don't know how the liner connects and how much slack there is. I don't see a way to disconnect the liner from inside the stove. Anyone ever removed one without damaging the liner?

 

[Dairyman]

My local dealer is an HVAC guy, oddly enough. He spent most of the time I was in his store telling me how he hid shoddy work and intentionally damaged customers property doing ventilation installs while wearing golf spikes on asphalt roofs. Then he showed me how well his BK Ashford, with a front leg which he broke while removing it from the crate, burned wet wood. He also told me the clearances in the manual were complete BS, and that he goes on his own experience, not what some idiot prints in a manual. Needless to say, I didn't buy from the local dealer.

I suspect BK's dealer network will only improve with time. I did find one dealer they just signed last year to be very good, albeit a bit of a drive from my house. I was willing to pay extra to have them deliver it over a longer distance.

That's crazy... The closest BK dealer to me is hechlers and their 3 hrs away. [emoji20] If there was one close I'd probably have one.

 

[fireplacenoob]

Our stoves and doors are shipped in separate containers. There is a tag on the stove door latch and multiple warnings in the manual as to the need to adjust the door at the time of installation, 30-60 days later (allowing gasket to seat) and once a season thereafter. If you replace the gasket, the process repeats. An unaddressed air leak around the door is the leading factor to combustor failure. Good on you for addressing it now. Spread the word.

So I attempted to adjust the door per instructions but I can manage to slip a paper through very carefully. I even adjusted the door super tight where im worried ill score the steel latch points where they engage into one another. Gasket replacement?

I dont know if it makes any sense but it seems my burn times dropped to about 3 to 4 hours now. Could the drop in exterior temp cause this dramatic of a drop or am i missing a failure of sorts?

 

[Ashful]

That's crazy... The closest BK dealer to me is hechlers and their 3 hrs away. [emoji20] If there was one close I'd probably have one.

I'd drive 3 hours each way for a BK, any day. Yes, they are that much better.

 

[Woody Stover]

I'd drive 3 hours each way for a BK, any day. Yes, they are that much better.

Than what, a Firelight 12?

 

[BKVP]

The dealer closest to my house seemed pretty nice. I didn't find out if they were knowledgeable or not, since I just walked in and said, "How much for a BK Princess insert?".

I do wish I hadn't let them talk me into a "professional install". I had to run the electrical into the fireplace myself, and now I have to pull the insert and reinstall it anyway. (At the time, I didn't know that I wanted a blockoff plate and Roxul in the fireplace; now I do! Would have been nice if the dealer or installer had mentioned it.)

On a closely related topic, I want to pull out an installed Princess to do a blockoff plate and Roxul/Durock insulation in the fireplace (I've seen a couple nice installs of this style in the forums here)- and insulate the flue with vermiculite. (The whole thing is exposed masonary. Right now the exterior masonary is 5°F below the fireplace and 60° above! Talk about a big heat sink!

View attachment 171921
View attachment 171923
I am slightly daunted by this because I didn't watch them put it in, and don't know how the liner connects and how much slack there is. I don't see a way to disconnect the liner from inside the stove. Anyone ever removed one without damaging the liner?

I'm not certain 100% what you may plan on doing, but on the Princess insert, the power cord is not approved to be run behind the shroud.

 

[Dairyman]

I'd drive 3 hours each way for a BK, any day. Yes, they are that much better.

Someday I will...maybe there will be an Ashford 40 out by then. lol

I had a wonderful chat with one of their salesmen. He thought I should stay put until I do my add-on. So that's my plan.

 

[Poindexter]

Let a load go for 16 hours today. I blew on the coals to get tonight's load going rather than wait for it. Haven't used a match since the last time I brushed the pipe. That is all, very boring stove once I got accustomed to leaving it alone.