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

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ok so to make it simple when does one know a cat is bad? The cat is def not working no where near is was, just dies right out.


I had a learning curve in the beginning but years later i think im doing way better.
Niko I will try to answer your original question I don’t have an ultra I have BK insert this is how I determine mine was bad. 8 month old cat died went to dealer exchange no questions asked. Not sure this will work on your stove I noticed my cat wood not light off when up to temp and light off would start at higher cat t/stat setting. At first light stove full looking at cat gauge temperature should rise higher than stove top temperature it didn’t. I then shot stove top above cat gauge then all along across top of stove and temperature was same all the way across looking up at the cat was not glowing. I then ran sooteater to check for restrictions and it was clean. While running the stove (with bad cat)my chimney would puff out black smoke signals.
 
That is such BS from the dealer! And I've seen it hinted at in the forums as well. I burned wood in my last house for ten years and twice in that time I had smoke in the house from some weird atmospheric conditions. TWICE. If you smell smoke in your house, you HAVE smoke in your house and it shouldn't be there.

I could not agree more.
 
Here’s what happens when a customer calls us with a dead cat: We make a visit to the home and replace the cat. We send it back to BK and receive a credit toward future purchases. No charge, not even if the cat ended up being good. It’s just part of doing business and keeping lifelong customers and there’s no down time for the customer, We keep cats in stock. If the cat goes bad a second time, then things are a little different.


My dealer is not local to me, i drove out and bought the stove. But t that would be awesome if my dealer was close and did that.
 
When in doubt, swap it out. They’re cheap at just 186$ for the princess and so long as you can verify the cat is clean and has near 10,000 hours on it then it is either dead or nearly dead. Fresh cats are a delight to run and super easy to replace.

Get your freebie from bk but all cats after that are at your expense. I’m on my third and have learned to be way less bashful about dumping an old cat.

Seems my dealer wants to delay and play phone tag. The cat in question is for my king.
 
My dealer is not local to me, i drove out and bought the stove. But t that would be awesome if my dealer was close and did that.
We travel about 100 miles from our store. Close isn’t really relevant. They were still your dealer.
 
Niko I will try to answer your original question I don’t have an ultra I have BK insert this is how I determine mine was bad. 8 month old cat died went to dealer exchange no questions asked. Not sure this will work on your stove I noticed my cat wood not light off when up to temp and light off would start at higher cat t/stat setting. At first light stove full looking at cat gauge temperature should rise higher than stove top temperature it didn’t. I then shot stove top above cat gauge then all along across top of stove and temperature was same all the way across looking up at the cat was not glowing. I then ran sooteater to check for restrictions and it was clean. While running the stove (with bad cat)my chimney would puff out black smoke signals.


Thannks for the help and its pretty much the same thing im getting.
 
Where did everyone get there cat gasket from? Also any videos for installing one? Im sure once i get in their i can figure it out but i looked at my cat recently and that dam thing goes all the way to the top, do you push and pull from the bottom of stove and the top of stove with your black pipe off?
 
Where did everyone get there cat gasket from? Also any videos for installing one? Im sure once i get in their i can figure it out but i looked at my cat recently and that dam thing goes all the way to the top, do you push and pull from the bottom of stove and the top of stove with your black pipe off?
The new cat and gasket goes in easily. The interam gasket expands once it heats up, making a good seal, while allowing you to insert the new cat easily.
 
Where did everyone get there cat gasket from? Also any videos for installing one? Im sure once i get in their i can figure it out but i looked at my cat recently and that dam thing goes all the way to the top, do you push and pull from the bottom of stove and the top of stove with your black pipe off?

You just pull the old one out forward into the firebox. They’re only 2” thick.
 
I know something is "wrong" with my cat when heat output doesnt match tsat setting.

I can get the combustor probe up into the active zone burning charcoal. All the probe tells you is combustor outlet temp.

At four years use, might be time to calculate active hours on the cat. As above, 10,000 hours active time is pretty much the life expectancy. I get about 8k out of mine, i have heard as high as 16k.

Sorry your dealer isnt handling it yesterday. I think your warranty replacement combustor will come with a one year warranty.
 
Thanks to everybody for their input of knowledge onto this forum, I got a Princess insert yesterday with the large shroud for $1350! The stock was 5 years old but everything was still boxed up. I am super excited knowing how efficient this thing is. Now I have to order a liner and get this thing off the back of my truck........
 
After 2.5 years of service, one of my cats has been suddenly struggling to just barely stay above active for more than a week. That’s even at full throttle on a full load of 3 year oak, which is still sending that cat probe needle to 3 o’clock position on my other Ashford.

In my case, I think it’s clogged with ash, again. But it was too friggin cold to even think of shutting down to vacuum it... until today.

Full report at 11pm.
 
Where did everyone get there cat gasket from? Also any videos for installing one? Im sure once i get in their i can figure it out but i looked at my cat recently and that dam thing goes all the way to the top, do you push and pull from the bottom of stove and the top of stove with your black pipe off?

Wrap the new gasket around the new cat and cut it so the length is perfect for a butt joint (end touches the other end, no overlapping).

Take some masking tape and tape the seam so you have 2 hands free. You may be able to put it in at this point but I had a lot of trouble with the gasket catching, ripping, folding over. So...

Tape all the way around the gasket. The back side of the cat is the leading edge when you're putting it in. Let the tape hang out far enough that you can fold it over onto the leading edge. Now instead of a little gasket-ledge that catches on stuff, you have a nice smooth corner.

Pull the old cat. Using a flashlight and plastic scraper, scrape out the old gasket completely. This is a good time to clean out any crud that is behind the cat, and check your bypass door for good operation and seal.

Princess Insert owners, get a shop vac in there allll the way back to where the flue enters the stove. There's a little ledge there, probably full of chimney sweepings.

Pop the new cat in, tape burns off, done.
 
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Thanks to everybody for their input of knowledge onto this forum, I got a Princess insert yesterday with the large shroud for $1350! The stock was 5 years old but everything was still boxed up. I am super excited knowing how efficient this thing is. Now I have to order a liner and get this thing off the back of my truck........
What!? Call the cops! You just stole that thing. Good for you. I'm jealous.
 
What!? Call the cops! You just stole that thing. Good for you. I'm jealous.
I know, they have one more as a floor model for sale as well. The lady said they are dropping Blaze King. I guess they don't know how good they are down there in coastal VA!
 
Any chance you could buy that for me ? Of course I have no idea how to get that home even if you did.

You could hire an LTL trucking company to bring it to you- like Estes, NEMF, YRC, UPS Freight, etc. Of that group I would suggest NEMF or UPS being the ones giving you better odds of getting the stove in one piece.

NEMF/Estes/YRC might charge in the $200-$400 range, not sure about UPS.

If you do this, uncrate the stove as soon as it's in the driveway, BEFORE you sign anything, even if the driver is in a hurry. (Actually, epecially if the driver says he's in a hurry.)

If there is any damage, you can either refuse delivery or make a freight claim. Write the damages on the original freightbill and ask the driver to call dispatch and get you a claim number before signing. If you are refusing delivery, you don't sign the freightbill.

The number one thing you should look for is forklift punctures and pallet jack dents around the bottom of the stove.
 
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Our entire industry has recognized the need to deal with moisture, which you well know is the first stage of combustion, at higher temperatures. All manufacturers are pushing for more education on this point. Was that you assumption?
Well, no. When I start a top-down fire in my stove I don't come anywhere near charring the entire load and the cat will light off readily when I have hit my target flue temp and held it there for 10 minutes or so. It might take 30 minutes total to close the bypass, but I've only had the air more than half open for under 10 minutes. After that I have the air cut to 1/2 open, then cut further to hold my target flue temp. I've not concerned myself with "the need to deal with moisture" on a new load, only with getting enough wood gassing to sustain the combustor. My wood is around 17% and that's all the drier it will get with the humidity here, in my top-covered stacks.
Ha ha. People should be wary, before investing time and money on a new stove installation. This is a good place to understand the full spectrum of customer experience these stoves, both good and bad.
That's been my point all along. I'm not trying to convince the old die-hard Koolaid quaffers who have already spent their moolah, just trying to raise a couple questions in the minds of newbies who might not be inclined to do extensive research. I probably shouldn't bother..You would think that by the amount of bogus hype we see in the rest of our system, people would be going into a stove purchase like any other purchase, with a jaundiced eye. 'Let the buyer beware' and all that.
Ya I think it’s 1-2 year seasoned oak is the issue. The guys that cut it 3 years in advance and store covered never seem to have a issue.
Big percentage of available dead or dying wood here is various species in Red Oak group. Go three summers in the stack and you will be a happy burner...probably. :oops: o_O
While it doesn't burn all that long, I also Love burning lighter woods like pine and poplar.
Yep. When I don't need the absolute maximum burn time out of my stove, I will toss a couple splits of lesser wood in the back of the box (I load E-W.) That faster-burning stuff will keep stove top temp up at the end of the burn, and also give the more persistant Oak coals up front more time to burn down. When I was loading the Buck 91 N-S, I put a couple soft Maple or Cherry splits against the sides of the box, where they would burn last.
one of my cats has been suddenly struggling to just barely stay above active for more than a week.
Wow, must be the secret alien black hole dust they put in those...my cat's never been able to stay "just barely above active for more than a week." ;)
I know something is "wrong" with my cat when heat output doesnt match tsat setting.
I can get the combustor probe up into the active zone burning charcoal. All the probe tells you is combustor outlet temp.
I think your warranty replacement combustor will come with a one year warranty.
Well, your cat needle may still be in the active zone, but if it's not near as high into the zone as it was previously with similar type and dryness of fuel, you know something has changed, and there's a good chance that the cat is becoming less effective. Agreed, just because the needle is active doesn't mean the cat is burning, but if the needle is at 3:00 you can be pretty sure the cat is burning..
Any chance you could buy that for me ? Of course I have no idea how to get that home even if you did.
No problem, just drive down there and toss it in the back seat..it's just 325 lbs, about the same as a fair-sized mother-in-law and a little less than an Englander 13-NCI. ==c
 
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No problem, just drive down there and toss it in the back seat..it's just 325 lbs, about the same as a fair-sized mother-in-law and a little less than an Englander 13-NCI. ==c[/QUOTE]
Tried calling , no answer. Tried email as well, this is their response: We don't sell that. We are not a retail store. Thanks Val
 
Tried calling , no answer. Tried email as well, this is their response: We don't sell that. We are not a retail store. Thanks Val
Drat. :( That would be quite the score, pricewise. But heck, even though no one commented, there were probably a few that were tracking that place down when WP first mentioned the name. ;) Ya snooze ya lose, strike while the iron is hot and all that jazz. But maybe one shouldn't be handling a hot iron right after he wakes up from a snooze. ==c
 
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Tried calling , no answer. Tried email as well, this is their response: We don't sell that. We are not a retail store. Thanks Val

If you're looking for the store in VA Beach with the Blaze King stoves, it's the location on Reon Drive(phone is at the top of the page):

http://www.aqualeisurepools.com/

Not sure why someone else posted a store in Fredericksburg.

I got my Princess insert there for $2200 last year, then someone else got one for $2,000 when I PMed them the contact info. Now this guy pays $1,350. I'm a little jealous, but perfectly happy with my stove.
 
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