2018-19 Blaze King Performance Thread Part 1 (Everything BK)

[Highbeam]

The staining and brown color are normal. The dings are not great but not a problem. The lack of ears is not good, how are you supposed to pry this thing out?

 

[Ashful]

I've gotten some pretty gross stuff on the chimney cap when the cats start to fail. No wet anything during normal operation. Just black crust.

Interesting point, here. Maybe this could be used as one of the indicators of a failing cat?

 

[Niko]

The staining and brown color are normal. The dings are not great but not a problem. The lack of ears is not good, how are you supposed to pry this thing out?

i sent him a email and this is what he stated. not trying to say anyhting about anyone or any company but I just dont trust people like I used too..

Should i use it or ask for my money back? First time replacing my cat and i have no Idea on how its going to be to take it out in the future when it needs replacing or warranty purposes. If i damage it coming out i can see them blaming me..

Hi Niko,

Thanks for the feedback and the pictures. That is a brand new part, and it matches what we offer via our website.
http://www.firecatcombustors.com/ACI-64M-p/wf-4150001000.htm

plug and play.

Regards,
Scott Plageman
Applied Ceramics, Inc.
Business Development Manager

Office: 678-735-4945
Cell: 770-558-7359

 

[BURNard]

Yes. Only those bricks made of 100% wood though.

Ok thx much

 

[jetsam]

Are you removing the flue from the stove to clean debris out from behind the cat? That's the part that takes the longest for me. I do it anyways even though I can suck almost all of it out with proper vacuum technique. I worry that the small sheet metal screws into the flue pieces may wear out and strip.

I have an insert, so definitely not.

If the stove is hot, I put on a long-armed hearth glove and just reach back to the ledge underneath the flue and scrape everything off into the firebox. If the stove is cold, I stick the shopvac up there.

 

[jetsam]

Should i use it or ask for my money back?

plug and play.

If I was going to use that cat, I'd take a pair of dikes and snip a little tab out of the middle of all 4 sides, and then bend the tabs out. Now you have something to grab onto with pliers when it's time to boil or replace the cat.

I wouldn't exactly call that plug and play, but I could work with it.

 

[showrguy]

I have an insert, so definitely not.

If the stove is hot, I put on a long-armed hearth glove and just reach back to the ledge underneath the flue and scrape everything off into the firebox. If the stove is cold, I stick the shopvac up there.

I know you said your burning technics/wood condition is'nt something you'd recommend, could you elaborate a little, details..??

 

[tarzan]

Geez, you guys. Gooey stuff on your chimney cap? I’m burning more wood than most, and have never had that. Some black crunchy stuff, sure... but never sticky tar. I have a screen atop each chimney, 5/8” expanded metal, and have never had issues with build-up on that which would affect draft.

I sweep each flue once per year, in summer. I suppose I get a bit more out of my chimneys than a non-cat might, I wouldn’t know, but it’s never been enough to cause me to want to brush multiple times during the season.

I suspect wood quality is the primary issue, but other than jetsam, no one ever wants to hear that. Jetsam owns his bad wood, like a badge of honor. [emoji16]

I get a black, easily cleaned, layer of buildup on approximately the final 14-18 inches of chimney. And a cap so gummed up that I just clean it by throwing it in a fire after every season. A real eye opener on the capability of creosote btw.

Remember, Your wood consumption is split between two chimneys on a 12 and 24 hour burn cycle so your probably more in line with the normal 24-7 burner per flue. Regardless, I’m still surprised your cap stays so clean. Maybe the gunk is dispersing through out those massive stone chimneys.

 

[webby3650]

i sent him a email and this is what he stated. not trying to say anyhting about anyone or any company but I just dont trust people like I used too..

Should i use it or ask for my money back? First time replacing my cat and i have no Idea on how its going to be to take it out in the future when it needs replacing or warranty purposes. If i damage it coming out i can see them blaming me..

Hi Niko,

Thanks for the feedback and the pictures. That is a brand new part, and it matches what we offer via our website.
http://www.firecatcombustors.com/ACI-64M-p/wf-4150001000.htm

plug and play.

Regards,
Scott Plageman
Applied Ceramics, Inc.
Business Development Manager

Office: 678-735-4945
Cell: 770-558-7359

Are they still insisting that no gasket is needed? Hardly plug and play, with no gasket and no ears to keep it situated in the opening.

 

[kennyp2339]

25hr burn, cat probe was just into the inactive zone when I got home, stirred the ashes, brought up coals loaded oak and ash on top.

 

[Highbeam]

i sent him a email and this is what he stated. not trying to say anyhting about anyone or any company but I just dont trust people like I used too..

Should i use it or ask for my money back? First time replacing my cat and i have no Idea on how its going to be to take it out in the future when it needs replacing or warranty purposes. If i damage it coming out i can see them blaming me..

Hi Niko,

Thanks for the feedback and the pictures. That is a brand new part, and it matches what we offer via our website.
http://www.firecatcombustors.com/ACI-64M-p/wf-4150001000.htm

plug and play.

Regards,
Scott Plageman
Applied Ceramics, Inc.
Business Development Manager

Office: 678-735-4945
Cell: 770-558-7359

I noticed that that tabless cat in your photo doesn't have a gasket wrapper. Surely it came with a gasket? Blaze king requires a gasket around the cat. The tabless cat without a gasket will be just balanced there in the cat hole. A little backpuff would spit it out and a strong draft might suck it in.

The tabs not only help you retrieve the cat when it is spent but also assure you drive it in to the proper depth. In my experience with the gasketed cat it doesn't take much effort to pry the cat out of the stove so I think you could go in from behind and push it out the front.

 

[Niko]

I noticed that that tabless cat in your photo doesn't have a gasket wrapper. Surely it came with a gasket? Blaze king requires a gasket around the cat. The tabless cat without a gasket will be just balanced there in the cat hole. A little backpuff would spit it out and a strong draft might suck it in.

The tabs not only help you retrieve the cat when it is spent but also assure you drive it in to the proper depth. In my experience with the gasketed cat it doesn't take much effort to pry the cat out of the stove so I think you could go in from behind and push it out the front.

On their website they sell the gasket seperate so i bought 3 feet of it. But it didnt come installed on the cat. I mean can make sure the cat is straight as possible when it is installed.
But in the end are their supppsed to be tabs or not. Does everyone have tabs? I dont want to be the first guy to experiment with this..

 

[Patapsco Mike]

Are you removing the flue from the stove to clean debris out from behind the cat? That's the part that takes the longest for me. I do it anyways even though I can suck almost all of it out with proper vacuum technique. I worry that the small sheet metal screws into the flue pieces may wear out and strip.

On my annual flue cleaning I remove the cat so I can get behind there. Easy enough to do for the cost of one gasket. For the cap I just remove it from the stack, lower it to the ground for a good cleaning, and put it back. I hate it because my cap is 20' in the air, but I do it.

 

[Patapsco Mike]

Geez, you guys. Gooey stuff on your chimney cap? I’m burning more wood than most, and have never had that. Some black crunchy stuff, sure... but never sticky tar. I have a screen atop each chimney, 5/8” expanded metal, and have never had issues with build-up on that which would affect draft.

I sweep each flue once per year, in summer. I suppose I get a bit more out of my chimneys than a non-cat might, I wouldn’t know, but it’s never been enough to cause me to want to brush multiple times during the season.

I suspect wood quality is the primary issue, but other than jetsam, no one ever wants to hear that. Jetsam owns his bad wood, like a badge of honor. [emoji16]

Not wet or sticky goo. Crunchy stuff that for the most part I can bang off with the back of a wire brush. I'm burning a little more than 2 cords a year of 3-4 year old cross-stacked red and white oak.

 

[lsucet]

On their website they sell the gasket seperate so i bought 3 feet of it. But it didnt come installed on the cat. I mean can make sure the cat is straight as possible when it is installed.
But in the end are their supppsed to be tabs or not. Does everyone have tabs? I dont want to be the first guy to experiment with this..

Both of mine has tab but they're princess. You have the King. I don't know.

 

[kf6hap]

So my question is. Can I use compressed wood bricks for fuel in a cat stove? Specifically a Blaze King Ashford 30. Or should I steer clear of them? Thank you.

Some people mix them in with regular cord wood with good results. They are extremely BTU dense and convenient. Like Highbeam said 100% wood. No paraffin or chemicals the make them sparkle or light easily as they might "poison" the cat.

 

[Ashful]

Remember, Your wood consumption is split between two chimneys on a 12 and 24 hour burn cycle so your probably more in line with the normal 24-7 burner per flue. Regardless, I’m still surprised your cap stays so clean. Maybe the gunk is dispersing through out those massive stone chimneys.

I'm burning more than 4 cords per year in just one stove, and running at WOT on weekends to get that much wood thru it. I burn only maybe 2 cords per year in the other stove, so I get to see both ends of what I'd consider "average". I suspect the average for a BK Ashford is 3 cords per year, based on what most owners here report.

One of my chimneys is a big hulking stone structure of substantial height, and the other is a newer brick and clay replacement, but both are lined with insulated 6" smooth-wall liners.

The cap turns black in color, but there is no substantial build-up. I have to admit I don't go up there to look at it closely, but I look at it thru binoculars from the ground, so I'm pretty sure what I'm reporting is accurate.

When I clean with the sooteater, all of the crud is in the stovepipe (first three feet) and last two feet of chimney, so that agrees with what others are seeing. Most of the 30+ feet of pipe is pretty clean.

 

[MissMac]

I have an insert, so definitely not.

If the stove is hot, I put on a long-armed hearth glove and just reach back to the ledge underneath the flue and scrape everything off into the firebox. If the stove is cold, I stick the shopvac up there.

I like the sounds of this approach, but how difficult is it to do without hurting the cat while also ensuring that you've cleaned that whole area up sufficiently?

 

[Ashful]

I like the sounds of this approach, but how difficult is it to do without hurting the cat while also ensuring that you've cleaned that whole area up sufficiently?

How clean do you really need to get that area, is another question. You definitely don’t want any of that crud landing on the bypass door gasket, it will interfere with the proper closing of the bypass damper. But if there’s some dried creo flakes laying behind the cat, aren’t they just going to burn up on your first fire?

I don’t know the answer to this, I’m just posing the question.

 

[MissMac]

How clean do you really need to get that area, is another question. You definitely don’t want any of that crud landing on the bypass door gasket, it will interfere with the proper closing of the bypass damper. But if there’s some dried creo flakes laying behind the cat, aren’t they just going to burn up on your first fire?

I don’t know the answer to this, I’m just posing the question.

i would actually like to know how important it is to get all the stuff out of this chamber too after a sweep. i know that when we cleaned my chimney this summer, a fair bit of what came out didn't fall back into the stove because of the bypass plate (opened) being in the way. so, had to shop vac out the top, but had the cat out for inspection so not a big deal. however, doing it with the cat in place wouldn't be quite so easy.

 

[lsucet]

i would actually like to know how important it is to get all the stuff out of this chamber too after a sweep. i know that when we cleaned my chimney this summer, a fair bit of what came out didn't fall back into the stove because of the bypass plate (opened) being in the way. so, had to shop vac out the top, but had the cat out for inspection so not a big deal. however, doing it with the cat in place wouldn't be quite so easy.

I just pop the telescopic double wall and clean, grease and adjust the bypass if needed.

 

[jetsam]

I would pull the cat for every sweeping if it wasn't for that gasket.

I bet we could come up with a reuseable gasket that would do a reasonable job. I see some candidates here...

 

[kennyp2339]

So my question is. Can I use compressed wood bricks for fuel in a cat stove? Specifically a Blaze King Ashford 30. Or should I steer clear of them? Thank you.

Yup load her up, let the bricks catch and turn the stove down, I love burning those, I normally keep about 15 packs as an emergency supply in my garage every season, never had an issue.

 

[Ashful]

i would actually like to know how important it is to get all the stuff out of this chamber too after a sweep.

I can say that my BK dealer didn’t clean any of it, when I had them do my chimneys. They swept both in June, and left the bypasses open. When it came to the next October, I lit the first fire in each, and then found I could not even close the bypass dampers, there was so much crap sitting between the door and gasket. That’s when I learned it’s important to at least get that area vacuumed out.

I have telescoping pipe on each of mine, but maybe I’m unique here, my telescoping pipes never want to telescope after they’ve been used. Heck, it’s hard to get that crap to slide without feeling like you’re going to push the liner out of the chimney, when it’s fairly new! After 7 years on the one pipe, it is basically frozen at its current length.

I SootEater it up thru the bypass, then reach my had up thru the bypass door and sweep as much of that crap down into the firebox as I can. Between that and jamming the vacuum nozzle up there, I get it as clean as I can, way better than the dealer ever did.

 

[lsucet]

I can say that my BK dealer didn’t clean any of it, when I had them do my chimneys. They swept both in June, and left the bypasses open. When it came to the next October, I lit the first fire in each, and then found I could not even close the bypass dampers, there was so much crap sitting between the door and gasket. That’s when I learned it’s important to at least get that area vacuumed out.

I have telescoping pipe on each of mine, but maybe I’m unique here, my telescoping pipes never want to telescope after they’ve been used. Heck, it’s hard to get that crap to slide without feeling like you’re going to push the liner out of the chimney, when it’s fairly new! After 7 years on the one pipe, it is basically frozen at its current length.

I SootEater it up thru the bypass, then reach my had up thru the bypass door and sweep as much of that crap down into the firebox as I can. Between that and jamming the vacuum nozzle up there, I get it as clean as I can, way better than the dealer ever did.

I know what you are saying. I use my boy to help me holding the upper part to not push or pull on the support box.