2017-18 Blaze King Performance Thread (Everything BK)

[Highbeam]

Other than the crud build up on the chimney cap, everything you describe here could be explained by a cat that’s clogged with fly ash. I had that happen 2x last year, on one of my Ashford 30’s, both times while operating on a higher setting.

You're right, cat clogging has similar symptoms as cat failure because a clogged cat is unable to perform. Step one is to unclog your cat.

 

[Highbeam]

The guys (from the stove shop where I bought the stoves) who did my yearly service this summer seem to have tightened some adjustement the bypass on each of my stoves so damn tight that I feel like I'm going to break the lever off trying to engage and disengage it. The one stove has been used two weeks now, and it's stretched the mechanism or compressed the gasket to where it's starting to feel normal again. I just started using the second stove tonight, and I honestly thought I was going to break the lever off before it cammed over into the locked position. Anyone else have this experience?

... and before anyone asks, I've put 20'ish cords thru these Ashfords and 60'ish cords thru other cat stoves with bypass dampers, I do know what the bypass should feel like by now.

Can I assume it's an adjustment they made, and not something like chunks of creosote left on the mating surface of the damper frame, which is causing interference?

They overtightened the bypass. It's really easy to do if you're in a hurry and don't plan on coming back for a year. Fortunately, it's pretty reversible. Sooner the better since your gasket is being smashed and you sure wouldn't want any extra pressure on those little gasket retainers.

 

[Ashful]

They overtightened the bypass. It's really easy to do if you're in a hurry and don't plan on coming back for a year. Fortunately, it's pretty reversible. Sooner the better since your gasket is being smashed and you sure wouldn't want any extra pressure on those little gasket retainers.

Well, if that’s the case, the damage is already done on one stove. I’ve been using it several weeks, and it has loosened up. The other one only has two burns on it, but I won’t have time to pull the pipe and check it out for several more days, I think. Limited free time at home is why I hired the job out, in the first place.

 

[Tegbert]

Well I was hoping to have this thing fired up tomorrow but realized when I pulled the mantle shield out of the box something wasn’t right. The shape was all wrong and after looking in the manual the part number I was given was for a scirocco 25 not an ashford.

After calling the dealer back it and telling them that they gave me the wrong one they figured out that their computer shows only one part number even with the ashford selected. So hopefully it doesn’t take long as it needs to go on before the insert is pushed back into place.

At least it looks good sitting somewhat in position.

Lopi Rockport
Blaze King Ashford 25

 

[Highbeam]

Good news, ordered a new ceramic cat for the princess. Firecat's site is really problematic and they suggested, why not just go buy it through amazon? Firecat recommended Midwest Hearth as selling the same Applied Ceramic cats and the price was the same. So 185$ for a new cat with free shipping.

Cats are to be replaced after 12000-14000 hours per the cat manufacturer and I've been able to exceed that with a ceramic by a lot and a steelcat by a little. My current steelcat is still somewhat effective after an acid bath and about 13.5k hours but definitely in the death spiral. I'm happy to save the money on a longer lasting ceramic cat.

7 months of burning per year is over 5000 hours per year. We burn 9 months per year so this is working out to be a 2-3 year cat life or 60-90$ per year to have a fresh cat. Totally worth it in wood savings alone. If you use your stove on weekends or just part time you can do the math to know how many years you might get out of a cat.

 

[SuperJ]

Good news, ordered a new ceramic cat for the princess. Firecat's site is really problematic and they suggested, why not just go buy it through amazon? Firecat recommended Midwest Hearth as selling the same Applied Ceramic cats and the price was the same. So 185$ for a new cat with free shipping.

Cats are to be replaced after 12000-14000 hours per the cat manufacturer and I've been able to exceed that with a ceramic by a lot and a steelcat by a little. My current steelcat is still somewhat effective after an acid bath and about 13.5k hours but definitely in the death spiral. I'm happy to save the money on a longer lasting ceramic cat.

7 months of burning per year is over 5000 hours per year. We burn 9 months per year so this is working out to be a 2-3 year cat life or 60-90$ per year to have a fresh cat. Totally worth it in wood savings alone. If you use your stove on weekends or just part time you can do the math to know how many years you might get out of a cat.

That could translate into 10 years pretty easily for a more casual wood burner in a milder climate.
Do you run the stove hard, or tend to idle it on low most of the time?

 

[Squisher]

Now you have to equate how much wood savings vs cost in cats vs difference in purchase price vs, vs, vs.

 

[Poindexter]

FWIW my cats last 8-10k hours, but tend to run at wide open throttle for about 3 months in the depth of winter and then part throttle for another three months of shoulders annually.

 

[Highbeam]

That could translate into 10 years pretty easily for a more casual wood burner in a milder climate.
Do you run the stove hard, or tend to idle it on low most of the time?

For me, most of the time the BK is at a very low setting. Constant heat output to keep the house constantly warm over our very long but relatively mild burn season. I am not convinced that cat life has anything to do with stove setting, just hours, because the cat is always at about the same temperature when it is active.

To get 10 years out of 14000 hours you would only be burning 1400 hours per year. For a stove with a 30 hour burn time that's only 47 loads or 58 days of burning. 2 months per year. 30 weekends per year is probably more of what the average part timer does.

I am guilty of using cats long after they should have been replaced. I hope to be better about that going forward. They are really easy to replace and jacking around with acid washes is not worth the effort. Pop a new one in, super easy and purchased along with your other amazon orders.

 

[jetsam]

I am guilty of using cats long after they should have been replaced. I hope to be better about that going forward. They are really easy to replace and jacking around with acid washes is not worth the effort. Pop a new one in, super easy and purchased along with your other amazon orders.

I dunno, I would have had to retire my cat after 2 years without the cat bath. It works great again now; if I get a full third year out of it, that's $150 for a couple hours of work. Plus I got to make a rocket stove!

I do already have a new cat (steel this time) and gasket onhand. Looking forward to seeing how I like the steel versus the ceramic. I think it may be good for me if it stays active at lower temperatures, since I burn so low so often.

 

[Ashful]

I am not convinced that cat life has anything to do with stove setting, just hours, because the cat is always at about the same temperature when it is active.

I’m not a chemist, but I did have to take several courses in chemistry in the course of my schooling, and this does not seem right to me. A catalytic reaction is simply a chemical reaction in which the fraction of catalyst used is very small in proportion to the chemicals or compounds upon which it is reacting. So, the catalyst depletion should be proportional to the net mass of chemical upon which it is reacting, which is going to be mostly proportional to the amount of wood put thru the stove. If you burn on high, by this reasoning, you will deplete the catalyst in fewer hours... but roughly the same number of cords.

I say “roughly” because we know that catalytic reaction efficiency (how much of the chemicals passing thru are actually fully processed) is dependent upon burn rate.

 

[Highbeam]

I’m not a chemist, but I did have to take several courses in chemistry in the course of my schooling, and this does not seem right to me. A catalytic reaction is simply a chemical reaction in which the fraction of catalyst used is very small in proportion to the chemicals or compounds upon which it is reacting. So, the catalyst depletion should be proportional to the net mass of chemical upon which it is reacting, which is going to be mostly proportional to the amount of wood put thru the stove. If you burn on high, by this reasoning, you will deplete the catalyst in fewer hours... but roughly the same number of cords.

I say “roughly” because we know that catalytic reaction efficiency (how much of the chemicals passing thru are actually fully processed) is dependent upon burn rate.

I thought so too but by definition, a catalyst is NOT consumed in the reaction.

http://www.dictionary.com/browse/catalyst

The mere presence of the catalyst is what accelerates the reaction. It's pretty magical.

The used up cat still has the precious metals but they are physically unavailable due to who knows what. I thought that they were just covered up by deposits and maybe that's part of it which is why the acid bath helps a little.

I dunno, I would have had to retire my cat after 2 years without the cat bath. It works great again now; if I get a full third year out of it, that's $150 for a couple hours of work.

Hey, I did the cat bath too and got another 1500 hours out of it so far. That's like 10% which almost covers the cost of the acid and a new gasket. If you were a 10 year cat life guy that 1500 hours is enough to get you an extra year.

 

[redktmrider]

Could it be that cat life is related to gas flow volume, the gases moving through it causing friction thus abrading the catalyst? I also think that there may be small trace amounts of catalyst poisons in normal cord word, thus ever so slowly killing the cat.

 

[Poindexter]

Since there are multiple carbon molecules involved we are deep into organic chemistry and it is probably safe to give some weight to all of fuel mass, gas flow velocity and operating time.

All i know for sure is oil prices would have to get awfully low for a replacement cat to be not economical.

 

[Hardtopseadan]

For me, most of the time the BK is at a very low setting. Constant heat output to keep the house constantly warm over our very long but relatively mild burn season. I am not convinced that cat life has anything to do with stove setting, just hours, because the cat is always at about the same temperature when it is active.

To get 10 years out of 14000 hours you would only be burning 1400 hours per year. For a stove with a 30 hour burn time that's only 47 loads or 58 days of burning. 2 months per year. 30 weekends per year is probably more of what the average part timer does.

I am guilty of using cats long after they should have been replaced. I hope to be better about that going forward. They are really easy to replace and jacking around with acid washes is not worth the effort. Pop a new one in, super easy and purchased along with your other amazon orders.

Pop in another one? Couple hundred $ . Soak in vinegar and a new gasket sound like a worthwhile proposal to me.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

 

[kennyp2339]

I’m not a chemist, but I did have to take several courses in chemistry in the course of my schooling, and this does not seem right to me. A catalytic reaction is simply a chemical reaction in which the fraction of catalyst used is very small in proportion to the chemicals or compounds upon which it is reacting. So, the catalyst depletion should be proportional to the net mass of chemical upon which it is reacting, which is going to be mostly proportional to the amount of wood put thru the stove. If you burn on high, by this reasoning, you will deplete the catalyst in fewer hours... but roughly the same number of cords.

I say “roughly” because we know that catalytic reaction efficiency (how much of the chemicals passing thru are actually fully processed) is dependent upon burn rate.

Keep poking around and "they're" going to get you, let the alien technology be alien technology. Side note, watch for white vans in the neighborhood that have BK written on the side doors... I think I've watched to many episodes of stranger things

 

[Highbeam]

Pop in another one? Couple hundred $ . Soak in vinegar and a new gasket sound like a worthwhile proposal to me.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

Not if you're good at math! If you can't get a new cat for some reason the acid bath seems to buy you a little time.

 

[coutufr]

What do you figure the min amount of wood would be required to run 24/7 from Nov to March in a 30 series firebox (I assume all BK are similar)? Assuming low fire the whole time.
I have a gas furnace too so I don't have a high need to crank it up, but I'd rather keep the stove idling away on low fire, than start a fire every evening or other day.
Or, I'm curious how much would people like Ashful put thru a single stove running on 24hr reloads.

Other question, do all BK thermostatic air inlets have the same size min fresh air hole in the blade, or does it increase with firebox size/design?
My 30 runs so long on low that I think I would've been quite happy with a 20 too.

My guess would be around 6-7 face cords if it is 24/7 on low burning hardwood (medium to big pieces) with 15% humidity. Let us know how much you actually used in the spring [emoji3]

 

[kennyp2339]

My guess would be around 6-7 face cords if it is 24/7 on low burning hardwood (medium to big pieces) with 15% humidity. Let us know how much you actually used in the spring [emoji3]

What’s a face cord? That’s like say 5 pickup truck loads of wood

 

[Highbeam]

Yikes, just 5 months of 24/7 burning. Must be nice to be a part timer with a furnace!

That would be 150 days and 2.75 CF of wood per day. Makes 412.5 cf which is 3.22 real cords. Not banana cords, bush cords, face cords, or marshmallow cords.

More importantly, that's 3600 hours of burning which is 26% or your cat life.

 

[kennyp2339]

Yikes, just 5 months of 24/7 burning. Must be nice to be a part timer with a furnace!

That would be 150 days and 2.75 CF of wood per day. Makes 412.5 cf which is 3.22 real cords. Not banana cords, bush cords, face cords, or marshmallow cords.

More importantly, that's 3600 hours of burning which is 26% or your cat life.

I was thinking the same thing, just over 3 cords total. I burn just over 5 months (from end of October to mid April) and I generally go thru 4 to 5 cords depending how cold it gets.

 

[coutufr]

What’s a face cord? That’s like say 5 pickup truck loads of wood

https://www.northlineexpress.com/face-cord-vs-full-cord-of-firewood.html

 

[coutufr]

https://www.northlineexpress.com/face-cord-vs-full-cord-of-firewood.html

In pick up truck (not stacked) I really don’t know Maybe 6 to 8 unstacked...

 

[coutufr]

Yikes, just 5 months of 24/7 burning. Must be nice to be a part timer with a furnace!

That would be 150 days and 2.75 CF of wood per day. Makes 412.5 cf which is 3.22 real cords. Not banana cords, bush cords, face cords, or marshmallow cords.

More importantly, that's 3600 hours of burning which is 26% or your cat life.

Lol banana cord

 

[moresnow]

Question for 20 series owners. I just returned home from fishing. Gone 29 hrs. Walked in the house and headed for the stove expecting it to be completely out and cold. Wrong. Still plenty warm. Had just enough coals to reload! Had planned on cleaning/checking my pipe when I got home. Had to change my plans. I was really surprised to say the least. Stove had been packed with Oak. Including 3 very large splits on the bottom layer. Fans off. Thermo at 3. Any other 20 guys/gals had the same luck? I keep checking my math to be sure I am not goofed up Might have been a combo of weather/wood etc. Still rather impressive.