2019-20 Blaze King Performance Thread Part 1 (Everything BK)

[tarzan]

I believe that it is not a good idea to cut it cause you lose the bottom copper and coating at the tip and possibly will affect accuracy. For sure is better to get the correct one.

Would you think there would be a critical difference if Poindexter ran the 4” as is?

 

[lsucet]

Would you think there would be a critical difference if Poindexter ran the 4” as is?

Mine on the princess use the 2" rod. At 2" 1/2 it is already touching the shield plate behind the cat. I don't know if that will work for him.

 

[tarzan]

Mine on the princess use the 2" rod. At 2" 1/2 it is already touching the shield plate behind the cat. I don't know if that will work for him.

How about the one you cut? Have you tried it for accuracy?

 

[lsucet]

How about the one you cut? Have you tried it for accuracy?

No I just cut it but not burning at this point.
Without the finish at the tip of copper and the coating, I assume the accuracy range +/- by the manufacturer will be different.

 

[tarzan]

No I just cut it but not burning at this point.
Without the finish at the tip of copper and the coating, I assume the accuracy range +/- by the manufacturer will be different.

I can’t see a lack of a thin coating of copper throwing the accuracy off by any real measurable means on such a thermometer. My concern would be, what’s inside the copper and will it withstand unprotected exposure to the heat.

I h

 

[Ashful]

It's fun watching you guys debate the internals of a thermometer probe, while waiting for BKVP to show up in the morning and set the record straight.

Me? I can wait one evening on a cat probe.

 

[lsucet]

I can’t see a lack of a thin coating of copper throwing the accuracy off by any real measurable means on such a thermometer. My concern would be, what’s inside the copper and will it withstand unprotected exposure to the heat.

I h

I think corrosion will get to it quickly and I don't know how resistant to heat is the inside part as you say. Maybe someone with a running stove is up to the experiment.

 

[lsucet]

It's fun watching you guys debate the internals of a thermometer probe, while waiting for BKVP to show up in the morning and set the record straight.

Me? I can wait one evening on a cat probe.

The question is. Are we still looking to the cat probe? Most of the time is just, load , char, magic mark. For some is the big O.

 

[Poindexter]

My old one is still working and I have the stove room preheated to +91dF. Wife should be home any minute. Catch you tomorrow.

 

[tarzan]

It's fun watching you guys debate the internals of a thermometer probe, while waiting for BKVP to show up in the morning and set the record straight.

Me? I can wait one evening on a cat probe.

Let’s guess at what he might say when he gets here

 

[Woody Stover]

Does the probe run parallel to the face of the cat? If so, 3" or 4" shouldn't make a lot of difference I don't think.

 

[AlbergSteve]

I have no knowledge to share on this, but I did get a kick out of this one small part of your post, as it's still sailing season here.

It's always sailing season here.

 

[Diabel]

That looks bloody cold and no fun at all! Is this recent or last year?

 

[Ashful]

It's always sailing season here.

I sail much wetter boats than you! Keelboats are for boring old people. [emoji14]

 

[Woody Stover]

it's still sailing season here.

 

[Jeff in Maine]

My Princess cat probe was pretty nasty looking rusty crusty sort of black carbon ect… I took it and soaked the probe part in a prescription pill bottle filled with vinegar. It sat there for maybe 3-4 days when it came out is now shiny new looking copper. Who knows with my luck I am quite sure I have destroyed it and would expect to see it rocket upwards like a bottle rocket once I light the stove. But boy she sure is clean and shiny now....

 

[BKVP]

Ceramic cats are more resistant to clogging since the holes are so much bigger, and princess stoves also seem more clog resistant than the new models. I have a little paintbrush that I use to sweep the face of the cat occasionally just because I'm a stove nerd and like to look for clogs, chips, cracks, and even color of the cat.

If you ever suspect cat cloggage you can use a cell phone camera from the front as a sort of periscope to verify that the cells are clear.

When it comes time to adjust the bypass tension you will need access into the cat chamber by removing the cat or by removing the flue. Maybe every couple of years at first and then not so much after that since the bypass gasket kind of stops compressing.

It's not just the cells per square inch (size). The metal cats get active much faster than ceramic, so they deal with moisture a bit better...at beginning of the burn.

 

[BKVP]

Would you think there would be a critical difference if Poindexter ran the 4” as is?

The longer probe in some older models would work as the combustor baffle would interfere.

EPA requires, under law, the combustor thermometers must be less than 1" from rear of combustor. 3" or 4" makes no difference on new models.

 

[Huckleberry]

Hi folks.
I have an older BK Princess (Model PEJ 1003).
Where would a guy be able to buy a new combustor for it?
I've been searching it out and not finding one.
Do they still make 'em for almost-30-year-old stoves?
TIA!

 

[lsucet]

Hi folks.
I have an older BK Princess (Model PEJ 1003).
Where would a guy be able to buy a new combustor for it?
I've been searching it out and not finding one.
Do they still make 'em for almost-30-year-old stoves?
TIA!

Try firecatcombustors.com.
They listing some BK combustors for older models ( early 1991 ).

 

[Huckleberry]

Thank you!

 

[Poindexter]

So , umm, I noticed my combustor wasn't lighting off as quick as I would expect and let the stove go out. I pulled the flame shield, and sure enough there was some fly ash on the cat face. So I got the vacuum with the soft brush attachment, and a bigger than I wanted chunk of cat gasket fell out onto the stove floor.

I pulled the cat since I keep spare gasket in the house, and while scooping out from behind the cat with my fingertips I noticed a smokesicle on the combustor probe. So I pulled the probe, it was crunchy, and part of the shell was missing once I had the probe out.

So I went to my local dealer and they sold me a new probe with a four inch doohickey on it, the old one was 3 inches.

I reinstalled my combustor with new gasket and old temp probe.

I got believable data out of my old broken shell cat probe for about 72 hours. BKVP says the new 4" probe is correct for my Ashford 30.0. When I started getting not believable data out of the 3" old broken probe I put the new 4" probe in and started getting believable data again.

My one data point, when the shell breaks on a combustor probe I had about 72 hours of active combustor time before I stopped believing my data.

 

[Woody Stover]

I got believable data out of my old broken shell cat probe for about 72 hours. BKVP says the new 4" probe is correct for my Ashford 30.0. When I started getting not believable data out of the 3" old broken probe I put the new 4" probe in and started getting believable data again.

How long did the 3" last..years?

 

[Highbeam]

So I pulled the probe, it was crunchy, and part of the shell was missing once I had the probe out.

What is this shell you speak of? Do you mean the galvanized coating over the copper base metal? You really think the lack of that coating affected the readings?

So did the vacuum help your cat come back to life? Was it clogged?

 

[Poindexter]

What is this shell you speak of? Do you mean the galvanized coating over the copper base metal? You really think the lack of that coating affected the readings?

There was, on my old one, a thin outer layer of metal that was partly missing.

So did the vacuum help your cat come back to life? Was it clogged?

Not clogged, just sluggish from a bit of fly ash on the face. I do keep a fairly close eye on my startups since I am a regulated burner and really need everything to go correctly to do a cold start in the alloted 20 minutes. I can do it consistently, but it took some practice, I need dry wood and my heavy stove takes many BTUs to heat all the metal up - I find the combustor conducts heat out to the firebox very efficiently which is good for long term efficiency, but I have to heat the whole dang stove up to get the combustor engaged on cold starts.