2017-18 Blaze King Performance Thread PART 2 (Everything BK)

[estepracing]

Decided to take a look at my BK Princess Cat today since its warm here and I let the fire die out. Other than a very light dusting of ash she looked very good! No cracks...nothing...I vacuumed what little ash was on there off...this is year 2 and all is well.

Whereabouts in Indiana are you

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[Tar12]

Whereabouts in Indiana are you

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I am 25 miles south of Lafayette in a small town called Newtown

 

[Ashful]

The bummer of the 30 series is the lack of an ash belly and lower efficiency. Low emissions though and cleaner glass!

Meh... 88% vs 86% LHV, and even tighter 81% vs 80% HHV. This make a difference of almost exactly zero, in my net time spent processing wood. I would never let this be a factor in choice of stove.

More important to me is BTU range. The Princess and Ashford have almost the same 3.25 to 1 range, with the Princess being shifted just 6% higher at the top end of the range (or one could say the Ashford having 6% more bottom-end range).

I don’t think most other stoves on the market can even run 2:1 range, in a “set it and forget it mode”. In other words, most owners of other brands are afraid to leave their stove home alone when running at any multiple rate of their minimum burn rate.

The ash belly difference is real, and it would be great if the Ashford had a belly as big as the Princess, but it’s the only BK pretty enough to cross the threshold into this house.

 

[estepracing]

I am 25 miles south of Lafayette in a small town called Newtown

Aww we're by Columbia City right by Fort Wayne

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[estepracing]

I am 25 miles south of Lafayette in a small town called Newtown

About how much wood do you burn through a year and do you solely heat by wood

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[Tar12]

Ashful I have often wondered what BK Kings could do for your heating needs....

 

[Tar12]

About how much wood do you burn through a year and do you solely heat by wood

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I heat entirely with wood....I am not 100% positive but I believe I used 2.5-3 cord last year heating a leaky 1900sq ft.

 

[estepracing]

I heat entirely with wood....I am not 100% positive but I believe I used 2.5-3 cord last year heating a leaky 1900sq ft.

Well that makes me feel better everyone I asked this year couldn't give me a straight answer it was 4 truck loads or 4 cord or 6 to 8 kind of all over the chart

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[MissMac]

well, the new gasket kit was delivered, and i just finished installing it. hopefully this puts the smoke smell right to bed, now that the corner is tuned up. before and after shots. first time putting in a stove gasket - not hard at all. just a bit of elbow grease getting the old caulking out!

 

[Ashful]

Ashful I have often wondered what BK Kings could do for your heating needs....

If they make an Ashford 40 with clearances that would work in my space, then we may find out! There is no way a King will ever cross the threshold into this house, in it's current (cosmetic) form.

I think I'd be up for the challenge, tho. In my current heating mode (3 loads per day, in all weather), I'm carrying two satchels per load into the house, and they're not completely full. My wood processing has gone down by about 3 cords per year, compared to what I was pushing thru the Jotuls. A cosmetically acceptable 4 cu.ft. BK would be in order, esp. if it could run on my current 6" piping.

 

[Tar12]

Well that makes me feel better everyone I asked this year couldn't give me a straight answer it was 4 truck loads or 4 cord or 6 to 8 kind of all over the chart

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You getting or already get you a stove?

 

[Tar12]

If they make an Ashford 40 with clearances that would work in my space, then we may find out! There is no way a King will ever cross the threshold into this house, in it's current (cosmetic) form.

I think I'd be up for the challenge, tho. In my current heating mode (3 loads per day, in all weather), I'm carrying two satchels per load into the house, and they're not completely full. My wood processing has gone down by about 3 cords per year, compared to what I was pushing thru the Jotuls. A cosmetically acceptable 4 cu.ft. BK would be in order, esp. if it could run on my current 6" piping.

I was thinking you may be able to run 24 hr loads vs the 8 hr loads....eliminating some wood carrying...less saw and split time...

 

[estepracing]

You getting or already get you a stove?

I already have one its our first year with it it's the King and loving it

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[Tar12]

I already have one its our first year with it it's the King and loving it

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Where do you hail from?

 

[estepracing]

Where do you hail from?

Columbia City Indiana

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[webby3650]

I was thinking you may be able to run 24 hr loads vs the 8 hr loads....eliminating some wood carrying...less saw and split time...

It would definitely extend the burn times, but probably not save much wood. The king will hold about 2x the wood! Keep in mind Ashful Is basically trying to heat a massive cave! It’s probably on the national cavern registry!

 

[Tar12]

Columbia City Indiana

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Up by Ft. Wayne if I remember correctly..

 

[estepracing]

Up by Ft. Wayne if I remember correctly..

Ya sure is

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[Tar12]

It would definitely extend the burn times, but probably not save much wood. The king will hold about 2x the wood! Keep in mind Ashful Is basically trying to heat a massive cave! It’s probably on the national cavern registry!

I know he is! Ugly or not the King would rule in my cave! lol

 

[AlbergSteve]

well, the new gasket kit was delivered, and i just finished installing it. hopefully this puts the smoke smell right to bed, now that the corner is tuned up. before and after shots. first time putting in a stove gasket - not hard at all. just a bit of elbow grease getting the old caulking out!

Looks good @MissMac! Please let us know if this solves your smoke problem - I think I'm going to replace mine as well.

 

[oldbluedeer]

well, the new gasket kit was delivered, and i just finished installing it. hopefully this puts the smoke smell right to bed, now that the corner is tuned up. before and after shots. first time putting in a stove gasket - not hard at all. just a bit of elbow grease getting the old caulking out!

That's looking good. Hope it completely resolves it for you! Let us know...

 

[AlbergSteve]

If you don't like long, drawn-out stories, then you might want to skip this post...

Here's an update to the inside smoke smell coming from my Sirocco 2.0, which is at its worst when filled with wood and then subsequently dampered down for the long burn.

Replacing the Duravent stovetop adapter with the Amerivent adapter (and removing a small blob of welding material at the top/inside of the stovetop collar) reduced the smell of smoke in the room by a lot. Previously when investigating this issue, I could get a clear whiff of acrid smoke just above the stovetop collar. That smell above the collar was completely eliminated after installing the Amerivent adapter.

Next I had a look at the stove door, after doing a test burn to check the results of the new adapter.

Highbeam's butthole theory on smelly stove doors appears to be a dead dog, in this case.

In sniffing the stove door at the hinge side with a cold stove, no smoke smell. In sniffing the same spot with a full load of wood burning hot on high damper, no smoke smell. However, after dampering it down for the long burn, there was a distinct smell of smoke from the hinge side of the door, and to a lesser extent along the length of the door, which means the seal/gasket on the stove door is definitely passing some gas. And it would appear that I have a sensitive smeller.

The next time the stove cooled, I inspected the door gasket closely. It looked good, with the gasket well aligned with the steel on the door opening, and a tight fit when closing the door (with the tight feel beginning before the door fully shuts, when it first engages the gasket on the hinge side). Not wanting to disturb a good looking gasket, I had the bright idea to run a thin bead of Meeco's Gasketing Cement and Stove Sealer along the juncture of gasket and the stove door, on the inside at the hinge end (some folks suggested smoke was finding a path under the gasket on the hinge side, where there are some bolts...). And yes, I kneaded the tube well before application. I was feeling pretty good about things, and fired up the stove. After it was going full throttle, I noticed that the black Meeco's had turned an amber brown, and was bubbling up along the gasket like sap does from a crack in a burning log – it is possible that I didn't let it cure the full one hour, can't remember for sure. The smoke smell from the door hinge returned in full force. After cool down, I inspected the gasket, and the Meeco's was a long blob of brittle foam-like material where I ran the bead.

At this point, I would have liked to pick up the stove and throw it out the front door, but thankfully I am not that strong…

I had to make the two hour round trip to the nearest town from my mountain retreat in Northern California, so I picked up a tube of Rutland black high temp silicon sealant. I would have picked up a new stove gasket, but the hardware store stocked absolutely every size of Rutland gasket except the 7/8” called for in the BK Sirocco owner's manual. I contemplated just pulling up the gasket at the hinge end of the door, and pumping some silicon sealant under it, but the instructions say there's a 24 hour cure time, and meanwhile I am trying to get over a cold and there's a winter storm watch for tomorrow evening.

Somewhere in the middle of messing around with the stove door gasket, I added a 2' section of chimney to the existing 15' stack (including two offset elbows), for a total of 17'. (The BK Sirocco 2.0 owner's manual really should mention adding 1' of stack for every elbow. It would save some hassle, and might influence where and how people decide to install their stoves). Adding 2' to the stack may have helped the fire start a little faster, seemed to liven it up on hot burns, and may have helped just a little to extend the time the cat is active on long burns, but did nothing to help resolve the smoke smell issue coming from the door gasket.

At this point in time, my sweet young Sirocco 2.0 still stinks. I am contemplating the 4 hour round trip to buy a new rutland gasket from the supply store in Medford, Oregon, or ordering one online during the busy Christmas season, but it is really getting a bit frustrating, messing around with a brand new stove. I am starting to believe the smoke smell coming from the BK door gasket must be a known design issue, perhaps related to those long burn times that BK stoves are known for, that arises when the gasket is not aligned and cemented with perfection.

Attached is a picture of the inside of the door gasket at the hinge end. It looks a little funny due to the Meeko's that I put on and then scraped off, but the fit is good and there is little to no indication of where it might be leaking.

Pity the old lady with a Chihuahua on her lap, who just wants to enjoy her new BK stove.

Yep, know how you feel, I get frustrated having to trouble shoot something that should just work out of the box(I'm used to it with computers!), makes you want to tie it to the hitch on the truck and tow it out of the house...

Well, after four days of burning, looks like my smoke smell is about 90% gone after trying to move the door and "fluff" the gasket. I'm still getting a bit of smoke in the middle of my burns. I think a better installed gasket is probably going to be the solution. Going to call BK soon and see if I can sort this out.

 

[Highbeam]

Meh... 88% vs 86% LHV, and even tighter 81% vs 80% HHV. This make a difference of almost exactly zero, in my net time spent processing wood. I would never let this be a factor in choice of stove.

More important to me is BTU range. The Princess and Ashford have almost the same 3.25 to 1 range, with the Princess being shifted just 6% higher at the top end of the range (or one could say the Ashford having 6% more bottom-end range).

I don’t think most other stoves on the market can even run 2:1 range, in a “set it and forget it mode”. In other words, most owners of other brands are afraid to leave their stove home alone when running at any multiple rate of their minimum burn rate.

The ash belly difference is real, and it would be great if the Ashford had a belly as big as the Princess, but it’s the only BK pretty enough to cross the threshold into this house.

It used to be a bigger spread. Like 77% to 81%. Of course, you never use the lhv fake efficiency. Odd that the numbers are closer now. Is that from the epa list or bk marketing? Either way, you’re right, a few percent isn’t terribly important.

 

[Highbeam]

If you don't like long, drawn-out stories, then you might want to skip this post...

Here's an update to the inside smoke smell coming from my Sirocco 2.0, which is at its worst when filled with wood and then subsequently dampered down for the long burn.

Replacing the Duravent stovetop adapter with the Amerivent adapter (and removing a small blob of welding material at the top/inside of the stovetop collar) reduced the smell of smoke in the room by a lot. Previously when investigating this issue, I could get a clear whiff of acrid smoke just above the stovetop collar. That smell above the collar was completely eliminated after installing the Amerivent adapter.

Next I had a look at the stove door, after doing a test burn to check the results of the new adapter.

Highbeam's butthole theory on smelly stove doors appears to be a dead dog, in this case.

In sniffing the stove door at the hinge side with a cold stove, no smoke smell. In sniffing the same spot with a full load of wood burning hot on high damper, no smoke smell. However, after dampering it down for the long burn, there was a distinct smell of smoke from the hinge side of the door, and to a lesser extent along the length of the door, which means the seal/gasket on the stove door is definitely passing some gas. And it would appear that I have a sensitive smeller.

The next time the stove cooled, I inspected the door gasket closely. It looked good, with the gasket well aligned with the steel on the door opening, and a tight fit when closing the door (with the tight feel beginning before the door fully shuts, when it first engages the gasket on the hinge side). Not wanting to disturb a good looking gasket, I had the bright idea to run a thin bead of Meeco's Gasketing Cement and Stove Sealer along the juncture of gasket and the stove door, on the inside at the hinge end (some folks suggested smoke was finding a path under the gasket on the hinge side, where there are some bolts...). And yes, I kneaded the tube well before application. I was feeling pretty good about things, and fired up the stove. After it was going full throttle, I noticed that the black Meeco's had turned an amber brown, and was bubbling up along the gasket like sap does from a crack in a burning log – it is possible that I didn't let it cure the full one hour, can't remember for sure. The smoke smell from the door hinge returned in full force. After cool down, I inspected the gasket, and the Meeco's was a long blob of brittle foam-like material where I ran the bead.

At this point, I would have liked to pick up the stove and throw it out the front door, but thankfully I am not that strong…

I had to make the two hour round trip to the nearest town from my mountain retreat in Northern California, so I picked up a tube of Rutland black high temp silicon sealant. I would have picked up a new stove gasket, but the hardware store stocked absolutely every size of Rutland gasket except the 7/8” called for in the BK Sirocco owner's manual. I contemplated just pulling up the gasket at the hinge end of the door, and pumping some silicon sealant under it, but the instructions say there's a 24 hour cure time, and meanwhile I am trying to get over a cold and there's a winter storm watch for tomorrow evening.

Somewhere in the middle of messing around with the stove door gasket, I added a 2' section of chimney to the existing 15' stack (including two offset elbows), for a total of 17'. (The BK Sirocco 2.0 owner's manual really should mention adding 1' of stack for every elbow. It would save some hassle, and might influence where and how people decide to install their stoves). Adding 2' to the stack may have helped the fire start a little faster, seemed to liven it up on hot burns, and may have helped just a little to extend the time the cat is active on long burns, but did nothing to help resolve the smoke smell issue coming from the door gasket.

At this point in time, my sweet young Sirocco 2.0 still stinks. I am contemplating the 4 hour round trip to buy a new rutland gasket from the supply store in Medford, Oregon, or ordering one online during the busy Christmas season, but it is really getting a bit frustrating, messing around with a brand new stove. I am starting to believe the smoke smell coming from the BK door gasket must be a known design issue, perhaps related to those long burn times that BK stoves are known for, that arises when the gasket is not aligned and cemented with perfection.

Attached is a picture of the inside of the door gasket at the hinge end. It looks a little funny due to the Meeko's that I put on and then scraped off, but the fit is good and there is little to no indication of where it might be leaking.

Pity the old lady with a Chihuahua on her lap, who just wants to enjoy her new BK stove.

Have you considered the butthole theory? Is there actually a haze in the room? If the gasket is not leaking smoke then you must be just getting a creo smell soaking through the gasket. ( butthole theory). It’s a welded box attached to a pipe under negative pressure.

I understand that I might be overly skeptical since I don’t have this problem on my 12’ stack. I have not walked a mile in your shoes.

Seriously, I hope you find the problem.

 

[Nigel459]

One of the reasons for deciding BK for me was all the stories of great support. Where’s the BKVP on this latest rash of smoke smell problems? You’d think he’d want to literally and figuratively clear the air a bit...

Maybe he has contacted you each on the side? I’m genuinely curious what his take would be. Or maybe I’ve just missed it in this colossal thread!