2017-18 Blaze King Performance Thread (Everything BK)

[Chamel]

Hi everyone! I don't mean to derail the topic, but I have a quick question. I'm getting my Blaze King Sirocco ready for the season. What type of high temp anti seize lubricant should I use for the by pass door? Preferably something that doesn't stink too bad. Would powered graphite work?

 

[Poindexter]

The operating rod where is trapped in the bp door tension adjuster might have enough spare factory lube on it to save you buying anything except a popsicle because you'll need the stick after you eat it.

If you played that card last year and need some more lube, the high temp anti-sieze carried by napa is approved by my local bk dealer. 10 or 12 bucks for a small jar that will last a long time. Napa carries three varieties, the cheapest one is fine.

 

[kf6hap]

It is difficult to overfire the BK stoves as the thermostat limits the temperature. This is wonderful. Can it be overfired? Yes, but hard to do. I believe my steel welded cast-iron clad stove top can operate in the 600s but that would overheat the house. All of my previous stoves had to be carefully watched to prevent overfire as a hotter fire makes for a hotter flue which in turn increases the draw and firing rate. Thermal runaway. On many stoves the decorative coatings can be damaged above a certain temperature.

Compared to non cat stoves, the stovetop thermometer reading is not very important. Because the cat is in the top, it can be quite hot (burning smoke, etc) but the sides not so hot. The overall stove BTUs can be moderate with a very hot stove top.

Keeping the cat thermometer in the active region and keeping the flue stack gasses hot enough to prevent bad creosote from forming is really all you have to worry about.

 

[burninwood]

Sounds like the temps I was seeing in my Sirocco above the cat housing (600-650 F) are normal then. I guess it has to be expected given the high temps the cat is chewing away at and they have obviously designed the housing to handle it. I suspect that my cat is hyperactive since it has only seen three smaller fires.

One other thing I noticed was that a minute adjustment on the T-stat meant the difference between a serious flame show and black box mode. Is this pretty well par for the course too with the BKs? It wouldn't produce any flame with a setting lower than about 4 o'clock - this is probably something that varies from install to install based on what I have read here.

Thanks to those who replied.

 

[Tegbert]

So we are going to keep our current stove and add an ashford 25 to our masonry fireplace. Started cleaning it out and cutting the damper out. Also got all the materials to make a block off plate. Going this week after work to place the order.

Issues though is the height. Blaze king recommends 15’ as most know. I just measured from the smoke shelf up and I have 11’ 2” plus maybe 2’ to where the stove connection will be. Probably closer to 18-20”. What can I do to add a couple feet on top or don’t worry about it?

Also anyone use or have a picture of the mantle shield in use or whatever? We are going to need one and was wondering what it looked like.





Lopi Rockport

 

[kf6hap]

As the thermostat is turned down, the flame activity will die down or out. As the stove cools the damper may reopen to hold the new (lower) temperature setpoint. Think of the knob as a thermostat (it is) that control the overall stove temperature (not the room or stove top). If the stove has no flames and the thermostat is increased, flames might appear then later on die down or out as the stove attains the new temperature setpoint. This is the beauty of the BK thermostatic control.

 

[RobbieB]

Flue measurement is to the bottom of the stove according to my manual, so I think you are OK.

 

[Tegbert]

Flue measurement is to the bottom of the stove according to my manual, so I think you are OK.

In the manual for the ashford25 it say the measurement is from the top of the insert on up.

 

[RobbieB]

I would trust your manual then. Add a foot and a half on top.

 

[Ashful]

Am I safe to assume that the stove top temp directly above the cat can peak into 600 degrees Fahrenheit without any major concern?

on my Ashford, I saw about 650 F on my last small break in burn with the air supply fully open.

Guys, it's time to throw away those stove-top thermometers. You're running Blaze Kings now, not non-cats. The cat probe temp tells all.

 

[WoodyIsGoody]

It is difficult to overfire the BK stoves as the thermostat limits the temperature. This is wonderful. Can it be overfired? Yes, but hard to do.

There are only two ways to over-fire a properly maintained and functioning BK:

1) Stuff it full of small, fast-lighting material that will flash off before the thermostat has time to react.
2) Leave the door cracked open too long.

 

[kennyp2339]

So we are going to keep our current stove and add an ashford 25 to our masonry fireplace. Started cleaning it out and cutting the damper out. Also got all the materials to make a block off plate. Going this week after work to place the order.

Issues though is the height. Blaze king recommends 15’ as most know. I just measured from the smoke shelf up and I have 11’ 2” plus maybe 2’ to where the stove connection will be. Probably closer to 18-20”. What can I do to add a couple feet on top or don’t worry about it?

Also anyone use or have a picture of the mantle shield in use or whatever? We are going to need one and was wondering what it looked like.





Lopi Rockport

After installing the 6" insulated liner in your existing flue you can add a anchor plate instead of a traditional cap and then a 3ft length of class a chimney.

 

[Tegbert]

After installing the 6" insulated liner in your existing flue you can add a anchor plate instead of a traditional cap and then a 3ft length of class a chimney.

Thanks for that information that is good to know. Do you know if it needs to mount directly to the masonry or can it attach to what I’m assuming is a clay liner? Mine sticks out about an inch above the top of the chimney.


Lopi Rockport

 

[jetsam]

The national weather service says it's time for a low burn tonight.... exciting! Back up into the 70s wednesday, though.

 

[Marshy]

Sounds like the temps I was seeing in my Sirocco above the cat housing (600-650 F) are normal then. I guess it has to be expected given the high temps the cat is chewing away at and they have obviously designed the housing to handle it. I suspect that my cat is hyperactive since it has only seen three smaller fires.

One other thing I noticed was that a minute adjustment on the T-stat meant the difference between a serious flame show and black box mode. Is this pretty well par for the course too with the BKs? It wouldn't produce any flame with a setting lower than about 4 o'clock - this is probably something that varies from install to install based on what I have read here.

Thanks to those who replied.

 

[kf6hap]

I don't see the 754 as a problem. The thermographs are interesting and, perhaps, instructional but not any cause for alarm or concern. All stoves have hot spots but the bottom line is:

"Guys, it's time to throw away those stove-top thermometers. You're running Blaze Kings now, not non-cats. The cat probe temp tells all."

I got my stove on catalytic operation in 12 minutes yesterday. Can you?

 

[Ashful]

I average about the same. The probe has serious time lag, so while it works, I just go by appearance of the load. I’m usually engaging the cat about 10 minutes after lighting, 15 minutes at most.

 

[Highbeam]

I average about the same. The probe has serious time lag, so while it works, I just go by appearance of the load. I’m usually engaging the cat about 10 minutes after lighting, 15 minutes at most.

I might be closer to 20 minutes but even after engagement and rise of the cat meter to well up on the gauge, I still get visible smoke until things settle in. In other words, the smoke doesn't go to zero as though a switch was flipped. Do you folks have the light switch type change in visible emissions on cold start?

 

[Rangerbait]

What has everyone done to mitigate the door/body contact issue? This is only about 7 fires into my new King, and I'm already losing a bit of paint. Maybe some kind of magnet to act as a cushion?

 

[WoodyIsGoody]

I average about the same. The probe has serious time lag, so while it works, I just go by appearance of the load. I’m usually engaging the cat about 10 minutes after lighting, 15 minutes at most.

I was told by the experts here that I was engaging it "prematurely" at 10-12 minutes.

 

[Ashful]

I might be closer to 20 minutes but even after engagement and rise of the cat meter to well up on the gauge, I still get visible smoke until things settle in. In other words, the smoke doesn't go to zero as though a switch was flipped. Do you folks have the light switch type change in visible emissions on cold start?

I know you watch your emissions carefully, because of your local ordinances and burn bans. I have to admit, I almost never look to see if my stoves are putting out smoke, so I'm not really qualified to answer that one. My method of operation is to wait until the load is well-engulfed, and at least the entire front of the load is charred over, and then flip the bypass. About a minute later, I get down on my knees and peer up at the cat, and verify it's glowing nicely. If it's night, I can just look at the floor for the reflection of the glowing cat, and avoid that whole getting down on my knees thing. I probably only take the time to look out the window toward the chimney a few times each year, as my reloads are generally before sunrise and after sunset (6am / 6 pm).

 

[WoodyIsGoody]

What has everyone done to mitigate the door/body contact issue? This is only about 7 fires into my new King, and I'm already losing a bit of paint. Maybe some kind of magnet to act as a cushion?

View attachment 201364

Is the contact area the corner of the door? I can't tell from the photo.

The contact area on my Chinook is the face of the door a couple inches from the edge. The door only opens 15-20 degrees past 90 so I'm there every reload and I lost paint on the first re-load. How many degrees does the King door open?

I'm afraid that soft magnets would melt and hard magnets would not cushion.

 

[BKVP]

I don't see the 754 as a problem. The thermographs are interesting and, perhaps, instructional but not any cause for alarm or concern. All stoves have hot spots but the bottom line is:

"Guys, it's time to throw away those stove-top thermometers. You're running Blaze Kings now, not non-cats. The cat probe temp tells all."

I got my stove on catalytic operation in 12 minutes yesterday. Can you?

Place Date Time Value Unit Value Unit Value Unit Value Unit
1 10/12/2017 6:08:00 64.4 CAT L 64.5 CAT R 64.4 CAT BCK MID 64.4 STACK
2 10/12/2017 6:09:00 64.5 T1 KTemp F 64.5 T2 KTemp F 64.4 T3 KTemp F 64.4 T4 KTemp F
3 10/12/2017 6:10:00 321.8 T1 KTemp F 253.5 T2 KTemp F 141.4 T3 KTemp F 124.5 T4 KTemp F
4 10/12/2017 6:11:00 550.7 T1 KTemp F 535.2 T2 KTemp F 457.3 T3 KTemp F 307.4 T4 KTemp F

How's 3 minutes? New prototype, very, very expensive!

 

[Highbeam]

What has everyone done to mitigate the door/body contact issue? This is only about 7 fires into my new King, and I'm already losing a bit of paint. Maybe some kind of magnet to act as a cushion?

View attachment 201364

Ignore it. Gently open the door until it rests on the body to minimize the damage and just because it's smarter and nicer to the hinges.

If you look closely I bet you'll find missing paint in other places. You'll probably get scratches and pitch/sap splashing onto the ash lip too. Cans of spray paint are available for repainting in the future.

 

[WoodyIsGoody]

I might be closer to 20 minutes but even after engagement and rise of the cat meter to well up on the gauge, I still get visible smoke until things settle in. In other words, the smoke doesn't go to zero as though a switch was flipped. Do you folks have the light switch type change in visible emissions on cold start?

Same here, even with a brand new combustor (first fire), 16% MC wood and the entire combustor glowing bright orange I could see quite a bit of emission out the stack for at least 15-30 minutes. With the high temperature of the combustor it's either just water vapor or maybe during early stages of a new fire, before the thermostat starts to reduce intake air, the velocity through the combustor is too high to treat all the smoke.

You will notice measured particulate emissions of most cat stoves go way up during high burn - relative to the incredibly low emissions at low burn.