2016-17 Blaze King Performance Thread (Everything BK)

[pvfjr]

yes the crap on my door smokes too . It does matter some if you open it v-e-r-y slowly but even then it stinks up the place,.. sometimes worse than others.

Yeah, I've tried doing the slow-open too, with limited success. I'm hoping some extra draft will help suck some of it back into the stove. I'm also hoping to find a correlation between the type of wood I burn and the levels of crap I get on the glass. I'm also trying to remember to start my stove loading process about an hour before bed, but I lack discipline. A couple times I've been successful running it on high for 20-30 minutes before I open it.

 

[Ashful]

That would be a no-go with the missus here. Fortunately it's rare and usually my error.

FWIW, I never have had that issue. My door doesn't get real gunked up, and it has never smoked. My stoves don't spill any smoke when I open for normal reloading. Only time I get smoke is when I forget to open cat bypass first.

 

[Woody Stover]

I found a 3' section of chimney at Lowe's for $79 with the veteran's discount. That beats the $150 for 4' I was seeing online. I'll try adding that and see where it gets me.

What height is your chimney now? Is the pipe you found at Lowes the same brand as the chimney you have now? It needs to be, so that it will fit right. Is this a thru-the-roof installation? What will be the total length above the roof when you add 3'? You will need to brace it once it reaches 5'.

 

[Highbeam]

R

FWIW, I never have had that issue. My door doesn't get real gunked up, and it has never smoked. My stoves don't spill any smoke when I open for normal reloading. Only time I get smoke is when I forget to open cat bypass first.

Remember that bg is slumming in the bk thread posting about a noncat so his experiences aren't directly applicable. My door doesn't smoke but I get smoke rollout when I open the door of a firebox that is still burning fuel.

My noncats on the same flue....never any smoke in the room.

 

[kf6hap]

I find if wood is loaded right up to the bricks (Ashford 30.1) so it is very close to the glass, the flames get near the glass and keep it clean. For a while I was maintaining a 4-5" clearance in an effort to prevent glass grunge. That seems to have defeated the self cleaning effect. The right and left lower will always crud up. This is BK normal.

For those with smoke problems remember, in addition to height the flue diameter must also to be correct. Mine was 8" resulting in smoke issues. After 6" single wall pipe was placed within the 8" stuff, the smoking problems went away.

 

[HitzerHillbilly]

I found this blaze king stove near me for sale, was wondering if anyone here could give me more info on it from the pics, the ad doesn't give much info. The are asking $400. Has a blower and the label says 1990 on it but the rest is un readable. Any info is appreciated!.


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[Scoutin Wyo]

In my location that's a $100-$150 stove. I have one like it in my barn. Mine is a non-cat princess model with an 8" flue.


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[begreen]

Is your unit a cat model?

 

[HitzerHillbilly]

Is your unit a cat model?

I haven't purchased it, was just mainly curious on whether or not it was a good price. I've been debating on getting a Blaze King to put in my basement, and just happen to come across this one on Craigslist.

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[Ashful]

I'd not pay $400 for a 26 year old stove. Not even if it had a Blaze King label.

 

[HitzerHillbilly]

I'd not pay $400 for a 26 year old stove. Not even if it had a Blaze King label.

Thanks for the input! I appreciate it.

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[pvfjr]

What height is your chimney now? Is the pipe you found at Lowes the same brand as the chimney you have now? It needs to be, so that it will fit right. Is this a thru-the-roof installation? What will be the total length above the roof when you add 3'? You will need to brace it once it reaches 5'.

The original configuration was 5' of stove pipe, 5' of chimney in the attic, and 7' of chimney above the roof (already had a brace). All totaled, I had 17' straight up. I do have a 2-story house though, so I may have been fighting stack effect. I'm also not entirely sure if the cap was 2' higher than any roof within a 10' radius, but it should be now.

My old chimney pieces are Supervent, and so are the new ones. I added the 3' section last night, and it fit great. Now I've got a 20' stack. I never figured I'd find what I need at a standard hardware store for a decent price, but it worked out. Now I just have to see if it improve things at all.

 

[begreen]

The chimney will need an additional brace at the 10ft level.

 

[pvfjr]

Indeed. I'm fashioning some new conduit pieces. I think they had one of those clamps at Lowe's as well. I just don't know how I'm going to get to the top of the chimney now.

 

[kf6hap]

A little Giant ladder might work.

 

[webby3650]

I found this blaze king stove near me for sale, was wondering if anyone here could give me more info on it from the pics, the ad doesn't give much info. The are asking $400. Has a blower and the label says 1990 on it but the rest is un readable. Any info is appreciated!.View attachment 187235View attachment 187236


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1990? 1980 maybe...?

 

[black smoke signals]

New guy and new to BK insert bought new.Problem maybe! started with three small fires 1 each day.Bk has a gauge in the center of the convection panel with arrows.Anyone know what actual temperature are? I have a 25ft masonary with 6in flex pipe slight upward from firebox to roof. Today I loaded the box up with 3 small 16 inch round pine wood after getting up to active temperature and stove top at 350 I shut the bypass.I still have small flame going and hot coals burning.Zero to 10 mph wind and now the cat gauge goes to the far right this is with the intake set to center of knob and fan on high.Do I have a problem?

 

[Woody Stover]

Bk has a gauge in the center of the convection panel with arrows.Anyone know what actual temperature are?

I typed "BK probe actual temperature" into the forums>search feature, and it looks like there are some posts with info. I think the BK probe is a re-badged Condar. As long as the probe shows "active" and you aren't getting much smoke out of the stack, I'd say you are OK. But if you are seeing the needle up past the "active" zone, I would try to burn it lower. Sustained high temps can damage the cat. If you are burning soft woods as I suspect you may be in WY, you may have to cut the air sooner to guard against getting too much wood involved and gassing at the beginning of a fresh load.

 

[Jeff in Maine]

I figured. Wasn't really aimed at you. Not all BKs have dirty glass all the time either. The new models are much better about it, though some still are able to make it happen.

I guess it was aimed at me then? My window was " gunked up" due to warm weather and small fires . When there is gunk on the door and the door is hot the door will put out a little smoke when opened.

 

[Woody Stover]

I have a 25ft masonary with 6in flex pipe slight upward from firebox to roof.

Are you saying you have a 25' liner? That will create a strong draft, especially when it gets colder out. I think you can cut the air way back on the BKs but if you still aren't able to slow it down enough, you might try a pipe damper.

 

[black smoke signals]

Correct I have 25 ft SS liner with a high wind cap. I will try to close bypass around the first active mark. This does make sense about starting sooner on the bypass setting but then will a low burn and a lot of smoke plug the pipe and have a lower active temp setting or higher cat temperature? Thanks for all replys still learning here.

 

[webby3650]

I guess it was aimed at me then? My window was " gunked up" due to warm weather and small fires . When there is gunk on the door and the door is hot the door will put out a little smoke when opened.

I know it does.
Everyone says their glass is black all the time, I just don't want everyone to assume the glass will be black all the time because that's the way a BK is. Mine sure isn't, but it happens at times.

 

[webby3650]

New guy and new to BK insert bought new.Problem maybe! started with three small fires 1 each day.Bk has a gauge in the center of the convection panel with arrows.Anyone know what actual temperature are? I have a 25ft masonary with 6in flex pipe slight upward from firebox to roof. Today I loaded the box up with 3 small 16 inch round pine wood after getting up to active temperature and stove top at 350 I shut the bypass.I still have small flame going and hot coals burning.Zero to 10 mph wind and now the cat gauge goes to the far right this is with the intake set to center of knob and fan on high.Do I have a problem?

Your catalyst will be hyperactive for the first week or so of fires. It'll really run hot! That's fine, let it do its thing. You will not over fire the stove or the cat assuming you don't have an air leak. Small pieces of pine, new cat, tall flue, thermostat on medium. Sounds perfectly normal to me.

 

[black smoke signals]

This is exactly Same picture as my insert was doing at the 300 mark

 

[dh1989]

Should I ever see the flame shield in front of the cat glowing orange? The shield itself was glowing (as well as the cat). I had it ripping full throttle for a bit when it happened. Stove top hit 700F.

On another note I'm still not sure what the correct cat probe length is for the Sirocco with the convection deck. My cat probe has been useless since I added the deck (raises it about 1-1/2"-2" out of stove). I can engage halfway through the inactive range.