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

[Indiana wood]

Yeah, I caught a glimpse of the Mansion in the back!

Come on now, we’re all friends here. I wish I built smaller but sounded like a good idea 15 yrs ago when kids were here. I’d replace it with a 2000 sq ft log cabin if I could. Im heating 5100 sq ft. The basement is basically unfinished and unused but with stove down there im heating it too.

 

[Alpine1]

Gosh... 474 square meters! My whole house can probably fit your kitchen lol

 

[webby3650]

Here’s my white oak logo cut down yesterday. 21 to 25% mc. 40 degrees outside when split. Gonna warm for 48 hrs then split and check
View attachment 254671

Why not just split it all and bring it in. It sounds like you are planning to burn it either way, splitting it now is your best bet.

 

[Indiana wood]

Why not just split it all and bring it in. It sounds like you are planning to burn it either way, splitting it now is your best bet.

I just did. I have a 8’ rack inside. 4’ worth of ash and 4’ worth of oak for overnights

 

[SpaceBus]

Come on now, we’re all friends here. I wish I built smaller but sounded like a good idea 15 yrs ago when kids were here. I’d replace it with a 2000 sq ft log cabin if I could. Im heating 5100 sq ft. The basement is basically unfinished and unused but with stove down there im heating it too.

Wow, you must have had a whole tribe!

 

[SpaceBus]

Gosh... 474 square meters! My whole house can probably fit your kitchen lol

Same here!

 

[charger4406]

So we've had a warm spell the last couple of days and I decided to change
my worn firebricks, some of which where down to a 1/3 of they're
original thickness.
When I took out the bricks from the back corner of the right side
I found some heavy scaling on both sides of the corner and the floor,
scales were 1/8" thick, 3"high by 3.75" long on both sides and
on the floor.
the depth of the damaged area is .07", measured with a straight edge
and caliper.
pictures don't show the damage very well.

 

[charger4406]

There was another area like this, but smaller in the other corner and some pitting along the back wall.

 

[MissMac]

This is my first cleaning on a new stove. Probably have 1 cord through the Princess since Nov 4. I rarely run it at wide open, usually turning it down after 10 min or so on high when the insert top is 600 or so deg. I get so worried about an overfire that I have not hit 700 on the unit (over the combustor) with the fans on. Typically burns 12 hours on low before reload, rinse and repeat.

Looks to be warm here next weekend and I can run the sooteater again as I will have enough rods to reach the top -- if you should so recommend.

As long as your stove and gaskets are functioning properly, you can’t really overfire the stove. You could consider charring your load a bit longer than 10 minutes - what does it say in your manual? 20-30 minutes, something like that (before you turn down).

 

[MissMac]

Ok, here you go. Put inside for 48hrs. 21 to 25% mc originally. 20 to 23% now. Im burning oak fellas. Also just cut done a similar red oak that measured 21%. I’ll use ash for afternoon burns and low and slow.
View attachment 254696

I’d also suggest that you stick your fresh splits more closely to the centre - as in the spot that was buried the deepest away from any drying. Your prongs in that pick look really close to the outside of the tree (just under the bark). Curious to know if you’d see a difference. Also, 4 thumbs up for woody’s comment about increasing sample size and then taking an average.

 

[Highbeam]

So we've had a warm spell the last couple of days and I decided to change
my worn firebricks, some of which where down to a 1/3 of they're
original thickness.
When I took out the bricks from the back corner of the right side
I found some heavy scaling on both sides of the corner and the floor,
scales were 1/8" thick, 3"high by 3.75" long on both sides and
on the floor.
the depth of the damaged area is .07", measured with a straight edge
and caliper.
pictures don't show the damage very well.

so are you saying that you’re worried that you might be experiencing firebox corrosion behind the firebricks? The steel on a bk is surprisingly thin. I have seen at least one other bk firebox with a hole corroded right through it but it was not behind the bricks.

I’ve never removed my bricks. Why do you think your bricks have worn so thin?

 

[charger4406]

I believe they wore down from wear and tear, these bricks are not very hard,
and I would get a piece of brick while shoveling out ash every now and then.
I am definitely getting corrosion behind the firebricks, can't say why.
I've never put wet or snow covered wood in the stove and never
seen any leaks from the chimney

 

[charger4406]

And the brick in the area where the corrosion is was not broken or worn down

 

[Woody Stover]

How come I can't see the inner baffles in the pics? Doesn't the Ashford have 'em?

I am definitely getting corrosion behind the firebricks, can't say why.
I've never put wet or snow covered wood in the stove and never
seen any leaks from the chimney

It's from creosote condensation. It happens in all cat stoves when you smolder loads.

I found some heavy scaling on both sides of the corner and the floor, scales were 1/8" thick, 3"high by 3.75" long on both sides and
on the floor.

The steel on a bk is surprisingly thin.

I think it's 10 GA steel. He's got 1/64" left.
The only plate-steel cat stove I ran, the mighty Buck, had 1/4". Hey, you guys paid full price but only got half the steel; I smell a class-action lawsuit. Not really, it's just caveat emptor. How long is the warranty on the box?

 

[Diabel]

What is this minor talk about BK and rust?

 

[Indiana wood]

You guys educated me and I listened,
Basement walls are insulated!!

 

[showrguy]

You guys educated me and I listened,
Basement walls are insulated!!

You noticing any difference ??
BTW, I’m heating a couple hundred sq. ft. More than you with a King Ultra no problem..... pretty open floor plan, with a pair of 72” ceiling fans..

 

[Indiana wood]

You noticing any difference ??
BTW, I’m heating a couple hundred sq. ft. More than you with a King Ultra no problem..... pretty open floor plan, with a pair of 72” ceiling fans..

Ohhhhhhh so you are in a mansion too.
basement install? Difference? Not sure yet. I think so. It’s keeping up now but I also keep playing with my different fans and stuff trying to get hot air upstairs. Also we are having an extremely mild winter. No polar vortex yet. Sometimes-18f here.
it becomes supplemental at that point

 

[showrguy]

Ohhhhhhh so you are in a mansion too.
basement install? Difference? Not sure yet. I think so. It’s keeping up now but I also keep playing with my different fans and stuff trying to get hot air upstairs. Also we are having an extremely mild winter. No polar vortex yet. Sometimes-18f here.
it becomes supplemental at that point

Lol,,, yea, I’ve heard that many times...
Not a basement install, 2 story on full basement, stove is in great room on 1st floor..
Stove never really runs past the 4 oclock position on the dial except on startups/reloads..
We had 3-4 days of “polar vortex” about 2 weeks ago, but otherwise, fairly mild..

 

[Woody Stover]

What is this minor talk about BK and rust?

Did you see the thread on the other forum? Doesn't sound all that minor to me..

 

[Indiana wood]

Did you see the thread on the other forum? Doesn't sound all that minor to me..

Woody, wrong thread to bash our beloved Bk’s

 

[webby3650]

So we've had a warm spell the last couple of days and I decided to change
my worn firebricks, some of which where down to a 1/3 of they're
original thickness.
When I took out the bricks from the back corner of the right side
I found some heavy scaling on both sides of the corner and the floor,
scales were 1/8" thick, 3"high by 3.75" long on both sides and
on the floor.
the depth of the damaged area is .07", measured with a straight edge
and caliper.
pictures don't show the damage very well.

I’ve seen this once in the field. It was a King in a very well sealed modular home. The stove spends its entire life on LOW. The creosote build up inside it is unbelievable, while the flue is relatively clean. The stove was approximately 12 years old at the time.
Blaze King had the stove shipped back to Washington, replaced the entire back of the stove, put the updated handle and catch on it, new cat, new gaskets, sanded down and repainted the stove. They shipped it back to us with no cost to the customer except the catalyst. My boss didn’t charge him any labor either.
People want to get online and bad mouth dealers and manufacturers that only sell to dealers and rarely get to hear about stories like this. Blaze King has top notch customer service and they stand behind what they sell. There’s no other brand being represented by their VP that I know of. Or a brand that will step up even if the dealer is useless!

 

[Woody Stover]

Woody, wrong thread to bash our beloved Bk’s

I don't think there are any perfect stoves, and I like to think I pretty much call 'em as I see 'em, regardless of brand.
If I say nothing, and let you guys go off the rails with all this gibberish about how your BKs are perfect in every way, first-time stove buyers might not get an accurate picture. Most of them don't have the time or can't be bothered to do actual in-depth reading like I did. I'm just providing a public service here. If you want Flava' Flav pure hype threads, maybe another forum could be started.

Or a brand that will step up even if the dealer is useless!

That's the boat I'm in with my SIL's T5, due to me not checking out the dealer well enough. It's obvious that they will be no help. I was hoping chimneysweep could help me out if needed, if I tossed a couple hundred his way ..but he's gone now. I'm hoping for no problems requiring the warranty to be used, and I think the chances of this outcome are pretty good.

 

[Indiana wood]

I don't think there are any perfect stoves, and I like to think I pretty much call 'em as I see 'em, regardless of brand.
If I say nothing, and let you guys go off the rails with all this gibberish about how your BKs are perfect in every way, first-time stove buyers might not get an accurate picture. Most of them don't have the time or can't be bothered to do actual in-depth reading like I did. I'm just providing a public service here. If you want Flava' Flav pure hype threads, maybe another forum could be started.
That's the boat I'm in with my SIL's T5, due to me not checking out the dealer well enough. It's obvious that they will be no help. I was hoping chimneysweep could help me out if needed, if I tossed a couple hundred his way ..but he's gone now. I'm hoping for no problems requiring the warranty to be used, and I think the chances of this outcome are pretty good.

Just teasing you woody, always appreciate your input. My only other experience is the woodchuck 2900. I do love this bk. The air control is awesomely simple. I couldn’t have picked a better stove for me. The wife is in awe compared to the nightmares she had with the chuck. Im sure there are other good stoves out there

 

[Indiana wood]

You guys are right again. Other than the 2 oaks, one white and one red, I didn’t find anything else even close to 20% mc. Almost everything was 30 to 35%. Damn! 8” diameter standing,dead,no bark is the ticket but also a needle in a hay stack. Back to ash it is. Definitely a cheap kiln this summer. I have yrs worth of oak to burn if I can just get it dry