2016-17 Blaze King Performance Thread (Everything BK) Part 2

[showrguy]

You will not be disappointed, it is extremely responsive and inexpensive.

VC guys are a good bunch....

Thank you,
The reason I asked in this thread is because I think the BK's are probably a little different application than the VC stoves..
I know that the probe only goes in straight for about 2-2 1/2" before it runs into something that send it sideways..
I had to have a holder/support block made up to support the probe with the Condar probe..

 

[liquidskin]

Is this window gasket cause for concern? It seems to be coming out a bit on one side.


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[Niko]

View attachment 193104

Is this window gasket cause for concern? It seems to be coming out a bit on one side.


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Does the glass move up and down? Is the gasket old or new? Looks to me that it was installed wrong or the glass is real loose and the gasket has moved on you.

 

[Highbeam]

Does the glass move up and down? Is the gasket old or new? Looks to me that it was installed wrong or the glass is real loose and the gasket has moved on you.

The nuts to tighten the glass retaining clips are under the thicker door gasket. You should be able to look through the glass and see whether the gasket is or is not pinched around the glass. My glass gasket certainly doesn't hang out that far and if it did I would be worried that it had fallen out.

The glass retaining clips on mine were not installed properly, a huge chunk of weld/chrome slag was trapped under the clip and once it was removed I could get a lot more turning on that glass clip retaining nut.

The thing to worry about is air leaks. We know how important a tight door gasket is, well a glass gasket leak is just as devastating.

To replace the glass gasket, you must remove the door gasket too.

 

[liquidskin]

The nuts to tighten the glass retaining clips are under the thicker door gasket. You should be able to look through the glass and see whether the gasket is or is not pinched around the glass. My glass gasket certainly doesn't hang out that far and if it did I would be worried that it had fallen out.

The glass retaining clips on mine were not installed properly, a huge chunk of weld/chrome slag was trapped under the clip and once it was removed I could get a lot more turning on that glass clip retaining nut.

The thing to worry about is air leaks. We know how important a tight door gasket is, well a glass gasket leak is just as devastating.

To replace the glass gasket, you must remove the door gasket too.

Damn, ok, thanks, guess it gives me a good excuse to change the door gasket.


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[Niko]

@Highbeam, is see a lot of people are getting new cat meters. Do they have a lifespan? Seem mine is very lazy in the begining and doesnt want to move right away and im getting a little hesitent to leave the bypass open till it reads in the active zone. I usually close the bypass it when it like in the middle on the inactive zone and from the their the cat probe just jumps right up. If i get a stove pipe meter will this be more benificial to know when someone should close the bypass door?

I kinda have a feeling like im still learning a lot from this stove and how to use it or maybe i got some stuff that needs some attention. I also had a question before about my cat and warranty cause either its acting weird or i got a mixture of stuff going on.

 

[liquidskin]

I'm searching but not having luck, is there a good online source for OEM door gaskets? I don't have a dealer.


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[kf6hap]

Yes, a flue probe can be used to close the bypass early. Way early! For my setup, when the flue hits 300F AND if flames are licking up on the cat flame blocking plate then the bypass can be shut. The cat lights (glows) immediately every time. The cat thermometer needle can be on the "I" of inactive, but it does not matter. Within two minutes the cat thermometer will be in the active zone. Your "magic" light off flue temperature might be different. Experiment. Often times I can roll the bypass shut in 15 minutes. Pine helps. Oak takes a lot longer.

Note: My Ashford has a steel cat. I don't know if this will work on a ceramic unit.

 

[webby3650]

Yes, a flue probe can be used to close the bypass early. Way early! For my setup, when the flue hits 300F AND if flames are licking up on the cat flame blocking plate then the bypass can be shut. The cat lights (glows) immediately every time. The cat thermometer needle can be on the "I" of inactive, but it does not matter. Within two minutes the cat thermometer will be in the active zone. Your "magic" light off flue temperature might be different. Experiment. Often times I can roll the bypass shut in 15 minutes. Pine helps. Oak takes a lot longer.

Note: My Ashford has a steel cat. I don't know if this will work on a ceramic unit.

Yours will fire up WAY sooner than a ceramic. But I still find i can close my damper before it reads active with no issues at all.

 

[rdust]

On reloads as long as the fire is burning well I close the bypass.

 

[kf6hap]

My old VC Encore took 1/2 hour and if the light off failed it would take seemingly forever to get the thing going with scary high flue temps. The BK is a dream stove. I do appreciate.

Reloads with an active cat are no effort at all.

 

[rdust]

30s last night and near 40 today so 24hr burn territory. Set on 1.5(yes I have the good label) about 10 hours in.

Stove darn near still full, hard to get a good pic though.



About 22 1/2 hours in.

 

[Niko]

I'm searching but not having luck, is there a good online source for OEM door gaskets? I don't have a dealer.


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Just to on blaze king website and look for a dealer in your area or state. Call rm up and have them order it and ship it to you.

 

[Niko]

on a new stove purchase doesnt the cat have a ten year warranty? I could swore i had a some type card when i First got mine.

My cat keep falling off per say. 2 hrs into burn time she cruising nice and then boom she just falls off and goes inactive.

 

[Gotrek]

Mine came with such a card yes. Did you mail in the paper to activate that warranty?

 

[webby3650]

on a new stove purchase doesnt the cat have a ten year warranty? I could swore i had a some type card when i First got mine.

My cat keep falling off per say. 2 hrs into burn time she cruising nice and then boom she just falls off and goes inactive.

This has been discussed here at length.
How old is it? If not all that old my first assumption would be that you are reducing your thermostat too far. Your draft might not allow you to run at such low settings without stalling the catalyst. Really low might work ok when it's new, but as the cat gets a few months on it, it settles down and becomes more predictable.

 

[Niko]

Mine came with such a card yes. Did you mail in the paper to activate that warranty?

I dont really remember, ill call up Blaze Kong and ask em.

Has anyone here gone threw the process of a cat warranty?

 

[ohiojoe13]

Looking for some advice. Last year my stove seemed to perform better. It's a ashford 30.1 new last year. Last year I could load the stove with less than perfect wood (10 month css cherry ash and soft maple), burn on high for 30 minutes and turn it all the way down. I would easily get 24 to 30 hour burns with great output without stalling the cat. Keeping the stove room about 78-80 degrees. This year my wood is css 22 months and if I try to run the stove the same way the cat will stall in about 8 hours. So I have been running the stove at about 3 o'clock or a little more. This keeps the cat for stalling usually but I don't seem to get as much heat, about 72-74 degrees in the stove room. The only changes I have made this year are I tightened the bypass and I use a 10 inch fan in the hallway instead of a 20 inch. Is this just the way cat stoves are?

 

[kf6hap]

I am on year 2 with an Ashford 30.1 and don't notice any change in operation. Outside air temps can change the minimum setting that prevents a cat stall though.

 

[webby3650]

I dont really remember, ill call up Blaze Kong and ask em.

Has anyone here gone threw the process of a cat warranty?

How old is yours?

 

[BKVP]

Let me speak to the policy nd some back ground. When the new NSPS took effect in May of 2015, the Owners & Operators Manuals became a Federally regulated document. All manufacturers must have their manuals approved by a certifying party.

For solid fuel heaters that have a catalytic combustor, the manufacturers must provide a 3 year warranty against thermal degradation. Most then include an additional prorated period that has been negotiated with their suppliers.

In March of 2014, we began a promotional 10 Year warranty. Each stove shipped since the effective date in March 2014 has had a sequentially numbered certificate within the owners package. One portion was to be returned to our offices and the other half kept in the records of the owner of the stove. We do reserve the right to end the promotional program, although we have no desire to do so. If you open the Owners & Operators Manual and read that section which addresses the warranty, it is in line with the Federal requirement. We therefore were required to "add-in" our own process for a promotional extended warranty.

As for warranty claim process, all claims go through the dealer where the stove was purchased. It should be noted that actual combustor failures are so minute, we can have a 10 year promotional warranty.

We should also point out that from all combustors returned for warranty, only a handful are actually no longer functioning. In cases where we install a combustor and test it, if it is determined to not have failed, we may return it to the dealer and decline the warranty claim. Our testing involves real world testing in that we install it into a like model and burn cordwood available locally. Obviously if the combustor has been subjected to damage we do not bother testing it but will admonish the dealer to please inform the consumer on the need for a tight door seal and proper operation.

Just a few reminders, always check for combustor activity when the fans have been turned off for at least 15 minutes, Also, keep in mind the minimum requirements for proper draft, the need for seasoned cordwood (yes, water converted to steam) can cool essential elements for clean burning in ALL WOOD stoves.

Lastly, make all adjustments incrementally to the thermostat, no radical adjustments. I have worked for BK for 18 years and in that time I can attest to the fact that the lions share of combustors that are in tact and returned for warranty are in fact functioning properly.

 

[BKVP]

Looking for some advice. Last year my stove seemed to perform better. It's a ashford 30.1 new last year. Last year I could load the stove with less than perfect wood (10 month css cherry ash and soft maple), burn on high for 30 minutes and turn it all the way down. I would easily get 24 to 30 hour burns with great output without stalling the cat. Keeping the stove room about 78-80 degrees. This year my wood is css 22 months and if I try to run the stove the same way the cat will stall in about 8 hours. So I have been running the stove at about 3 o'clock or a little more. This keeps the cat for stalling usually but I don't seem to get as much heat, about 72-74 degrees in the stove room. The only changes I have made this year are I tightened the bypass and I use a 10 inch fan in the hallway instead of a 20 inch. Is this just the way cat stoves are?

Catalytic combustors are not 100% for their entire lifespan. Their performance ha so much to do with amount of fuel burned, burn rates, fuel etc. Go outside and look up...if you see smoke (not steam) after 10-20 minutes of reloading, it may be time to clean or inspect the combustor. Your maintenance is excellent, but shorter burn times are not usually associated with combustor activity, rather air leaks, significant stack effect due to extreme cold weather and other variables (specific gravity of the fuel, MC).

 

[Ashful]

Lastly, make all adjustments incrementally to the thermostat, no radical adjustments.

Great post, BKVP. But I want to point out one possibility for improving your manuals, related to this last paragraph. I believe several of your operators manuals conflict with this statement, implying you should just turn the stove down directly from the initial 20-30 minute high burn to your desired final setting. I don't think there is any mention of making incremental adjustments in that part of my BK Ashford manual.

 

[BKVP]

Great post, BKVP. But I want to point out one possibility for improving your manuals, related to this last paragraph. I believe several of your operators manuals conflict with this statement, implying you should just turn the stove down directly from the initial 20-30 minute high burn to your desired final setting. I don't think there is any mention of making incremental adjustments in that part of my BK Ashford manual.

Thank you....

 

[showrguy]

Anyone tried an Auber AT100 digital cat monitor in a King/Princess ??
I bought a Condar from a member here but it went whacky a few nights ago..

Hello, anybody ??
Knock,Knock, Knock,.....Is this thing on ??