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

  • Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.

    We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.

    We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
Status
Not open for further replies.
I think it would be a pain in the neck to install and remove without tabs
 
  • Like
Reactions: Highbeam
Call and ask, I had no trouble getting a call back from the main guy. Scott or Shaun, I forget. He sent me to the Midwest hearth amazon store since the firecat site sucks at taking orders. The midwest hearth place had the same price.

The M in the part number is for metal. The C in the part number for the ceramic one is for ceramic.

The 30 boxes never shipped with ceramics as far as I know so putting in a ceramic might be illegal? @BKVP
Manufacturers can only sell the combustor for which the unit was tested. This law obviously does not apply to after market resellers.
 
Manufacturers can only sell the combustor for which the unit was tested. This law obviously does not apply to after market resellers.
They can sell you anything but like the cat on your car, if the user modifies a federally required emissions device there may be violations.

The princess shipped with both ceramic and steel so they’re interchangeable imo. The 30 box never shipped with ceramic so is putting a ceramic cat in a 30 box a violation of federal law?
 
They can sell you anything but like the cat on your car, if the user modifies a federally required emissions device there may be violations.

The princess shipped with both ceramic and steel so they’re interchangeable imo. The 30 box never shipped with ceramic so is putting a ceramic cat in a 30 box a violation of federal law?
They can sell it, they just can’t offer it as a replacement for your stove. If you want to use a different substrate, you’d have to do your research in some instances.
 
After some research. The firecat and Midwest show pictures of the cat but the don't have the small tabs on the front of the cat. I found on Amazon condar sells a steel cat that the picture does have the taps but it's 16 dollars more and $15 shipping. So my questions is how important are those tabs. Thanks.

I’ve never bought a cat for the Ashford from Condar, but I did buy several SteelCats from Condar for my small army of Jotul Firelight 12’s, and they were all cheap diesel foil garbage that self-destructed after just a few uses. BKVP has alluded to this, stating that only Durafoil SteelCats are to be used in BK’s, although he has avoided favoring one cat brand over another, by calling out who uses which.

If shopping Condar, you would want some way to verify they’re using Durafoil. It’s easy to tell from a photo of the cell structure, as Diesel foil looks like a rolled up sheet of corrugated cardboard, and Durafoil has consistently even rows of formed cells.
 
I’ve never bought a cat for the Ashford from Condar, but I did buy several SteelCats from Condar for my small army of Jotul Firelight 12’s, and they were all cheap diesel foil garbage that self-destructed after just a few uses. BKVP has alluded to this, stating that only Durafoil SteelCats are to be used in BK’s, although he has avoided favoring one cat brand over another, by calling out who uses which.

If shopping Condar, you would want some way to verify they’re using Durafoil. It’s easy to tell from a photo of the cell structure, as Diesel foil looks like a rolled up sheet of corrugated cardboard, and Durafoil has consistently even rows of formed cells.
I’ve ran into a few diesel foil cats in vc’s, total prices of crap!
 
I wonder if the 30 box would test differently with ceramic. Emissions, efficiency, output. Or how the ceramic might effect the smoke smell issue.

Might be the next hot upgrade!

For sure this question will come up in the future since the ceramic cat costs almost half as much as the steel cat that was oem.

Even if performance is unchanged, most folks will choose to save the money.
 
I wonder if the 30 box would test differently with ceramic. Emissions, efficiency, output. Or how the ceramic might effect the smoke smell issue.

Might be the next hot upgrade!

For sure this question will come up in the future since the ceramic cat costs almost half as much as the steel cat that was oem.

Even if performance is unchanged, most folks will choose to save the money.
That gives me an idea!;)
 
  • Like
Reactions: redktmrider
I’ve never bought a cat for the Ashford from Condar, but I did buy several SteelCats from Condar for my small army of Jotul Firelight 12’s, and they were all cheap diesel foil garbage that self-destructed after just a few uses. BKVP has alluded to this, stating that only Durafoil SteelCats are to be used in BK’s, although he has avoided favoring one cat brand over another, by calling out who uses which.

If shopping Condar, you would want some way to verify they’re using Durafoil. It’s easy to tell from a photo of the cell structure, as Diesel foil looks like a rolled up sheet of corrugated cardboard, and Durafoil has consistently even rows of formed cells.

I shopped Condar and had a Durafoil cat shipped to my home, exactly as promised. Pics were posted. My only gripe was there insistence that I "would not need a gasket" even though BK stoves clearly do.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ashful
Hi BKers,

I am planning out my house:

If I was to go with Ashford 30.1 what would be the ideal total pipe length (double wall inside and excel outside. Two 45* inside...to avoid any issues with smoke smell....

Cheers
 
Mine is 17', no bends. The recent door gasket change out reduced it by 99%. Not a problem. I would say 2 feet above the minimum plus 1' for each bend. You are going to love the operation, especially after Vermont Casting stoves. Everything is better. With practice the cat can get lit off in 10 minutes! No long labyrinth down draft to heat up. You wont miss the nifty top load as the burn times are so long. Pack it completely full.

If possible try to place the stove near the roof peak. This places more of the pipe in an area protected from the weather. Remember the top might need to be accessed some day.
 
I had my local stove company replace the door gasket. Next time I will do it as it is not hard at all. This time I used Rutledge Hi temp caulk and a Rutledge 7/8" graphited gasket. A Nyalox wire wheel rips out the old caulk and cleans things up nicely. Lay a continuous bed of caulk, stuff the gasket in, cut to fit and place newspaper over it so it does not glue itself to the stove. Cure time is 24 hours. No opening the door for peeks.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Blazing and coutufr
Finally saw a minus sign on the temp display driving by the bank this morning. After an 11 hour work day i turned the magic knob from medium to high, turned the fan kit on, set that at high, and it took two more hours to burn the coals down far enough to justify reloading.

Feels like early october here, i should go mull some cider. Or just have some rum.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ashful and Blazing
Have a quick question about the BK warranty, Mi King was installed 7/15. My air control spins around and around, is it still under warranty?

If anyone has had this problem and wants to give some input it would be appreciated. Thanks!
 
Have a quick question about the BK warranty, Mi King was installed 7/15. My air control spins around and around, is it still under warranty?

If anyone has had this problem and wants to give some input it would be appreciated. Thanks!

Have you checked the small set screw on the knob?
 
  • Like
Reactions: black smoke signals
Have a quick question about the BK warranty, Mi King was installed 7/15. My air control spins around and around, is it still under warranty?

If anyone has had this problem and wants to give some input it would be appreciated. Thanks!
More than likely it is the set screw. Turn rod clockwise with pliers until it stops. Align white line on knob pointing straight down, secure set screw...
 
  • Like
Reactions: mwhitnee
Anyone have the fix for the light smoke smell between the two door hinges (Left side) on the princess? I'm having that issue with lower air settings when the cat's engaged, pretty much from engagement point on. Had this stove for about a week now. Not a complaint, just trying to get it dialed in.

I adjusted the door gasket and checked the gasket position in the door frame.

Is that gasket supposed to have an RTV silicone bead just on the outside edge or is it supposed to be completely bedded in silicone? Mine seems to be just on the outside edge of the 7/8" gasket.

Doesn't seem to be an outside temp issue, or draft issue on my stack. I consistently pull at least .10" of water on my chimney.

I'm currently using my single wall connector 3 feet going into a 90 bend. Contemplating going to double wall and 2 45's as the manual recommends, but have not had issue with my setup on cat and other stoves on this setup before.?

Help would be appreciated. I did do a bunch of back reading on older threads but it seemed more related to the ashfords.
 
possibly if is new still curing. give a little more time. I have the princess also i don't smell nothing after the curing process.
 
possibly if is new still curing. give a little more time. I have the princess also i don't smell nothing after the curing process.

Should be over the majority of the paint cure process. I did several fires outside before bringing it in . I've been running the stove 24/7 since this past weekend.
 
Anyone have the fix for the light smoke smell between the two door hinges (Left side) on the princess? I'm having that issue with lower air settings when the cat's engaged, pretty much from engagement point on. Had this stove for about a week now. Not a complaint, just trying to get it dialed in.

I adjusted the door gasket and checked the gasket position in the door frame.

Is that gasket supposed to have an RTV silicone bead just on the outside edge or is it supposed to be completely bedded in silicone? Mine seems to be just on the outside edge of the 7/8" gasket.

Doesn't seem to be an outside temp issue, or draft issue on my stack. I consistently pull at least .10" of water on my chimney.

I'm currently using my single wall connector 3 feet going into a 90 bend. Contemplating going to double wall and 2 45's as the manual recommends, but have not had issue with my setup on cat and other stoves on this setup before.?

Help would be appreciated. I did do a bunch of back reading on older threads but it seemed more related to the ashfords.
The rtv bed under that gasket should be deep and continuous. The gasket channel also contains the glass retainer nuts and studs so you need lots of rtv. The fact that you were able to adjust the gasket tells me it’s not installed right.
 
  • Like
Reactions: black smoke signals
The rtv bed under that gasket should be deep and continuous. The gasket channel also contains the glass retainer nuts and studs so you need lots of rtv. The fact that you were able to adjust the gasket tells me it’s not installed right.

Yea, that was my thought or question. Contemplating removing the gasket and putting a full bed of silicone instead of the outer perimeter of silicone like it has in stock OEM form?
 
I used a whole tube of ultra copper rtv. Check tightness of the glass nuts while you’re in there. The door seal is really important for this stove.
 
  • Like
Reactions: jdonna
Oh, and don’t bed the gasket with your fingers. Reinstall the door and use the stove door flange to evenly press the gasket into the rtv. If you push it too deep with your fingers the gasket will sit high over the glass nuts. Loosen up the door adjustment or be ready to deal with latching the door snug but not too tight during the cure.
 
  • Like
Reactions: kennyp2339
Hi BKers,

I am planning out my house:

If I was to go with Ashford 30.1 what would be the ideal total pipe length (double wall inside and excel outside. Two 45* inside...to avoid any issues with smoke smell....

Cheers

I have two Ashford 30.1’s. One is on a 15’ chimney, and the other on close to 30’ of chimney. Both work fine. In theory, the tall one should allow me to dial lower at warm outside temps, but since I avoid running the short stack on warmer days (it’s in a part of the house with lower heating load, so I don’t need it), I don’t have any issues with it.

I’d say that if you can get more than 18 feet of pipe, I’d not worry much about the exact height.
 
My bk insert air wash at the top of the glass is open across the top. SOME other manufactures advertise a perforated plate similar to the metal plate with holes that cover the combustor. I wondering if this would benefit the door glass on my bk insert?This would be an easy fix for me to do any input here? Its not an issue to me just wondering!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.