2020-21 Blaze King Performance Thread (Everything BK)

[MacinJosh]

Also, is this like a universal gasket that all combustors accept? I know y’all said you have to replace the gasket with a combustor. How long would I need for a King KE40?

Interam Gasket for Catalytic Combustors (2

Interam gasket for catalytic combustors. 2" wide × 1/16" thick. Expanding seal fits snugly around catalyst. Available in precut lengths or custom cut per foot.

midwesthearth.com

 

[AndrewU]

So far super happy with the Ashford. This morning put a modestly full load of alder and cedar in. Not totally stuffed full, definitely could have played tetris and got several more splits in. 12-13 hours later and still getting good heat from the coals and cat still pretty active. And that was with a couple periods of turning the t-stat up for ambiance flamage. Probably could have let it go a bit longer but wanted a decent coal bed for the reload. Tonight’s load I did play a bit of tetris with and got pretty close to a full load, turned down low after about 30 minutes. I’m curious to see how it is doing by morning.

 

[Diabel]

Came to the lake yesterday afternoon loaded this. Will reload around 2-3pm today. Will repeat for the next 10 days.

 

[Nealm66]

View attachment 270324
Came to the lake yesterday afternoon loaded this. Will reload around 2-3pm today. Will repeat for the next 10 days.

Is that a new, front in fire start technique?

 

[stoveliker]

As I posted a few days ago: back in burning business. Morning warm-up fire that got started on the overnight coals (of mostly softwood).

 

[Diabel]

As I posted a few days ago: back in burning business. Morning warm-up fire that got started on the overnight coals (of mostly softwood).

View attachment 270325

That cat looks almost yellow. Nice

 

[stoveliker]

That cat looks almost yellow. Nice

Yes, it's at 85% -90% of the active range. This is still at the beginning of the cycle though, so a lot of offgassing going on. And after dialing the Tstat down to 2/3 swoosh from the charring burn on high.

But I think I do smell a whiff of paint fumes again

I took a little video of the secondaries (too large to upload), and sitting there for 2 minutes made me get a sun-erm stove- burn on my arm (red skin).

 

[AndrewU]

I did have to turn it up a bit this morning as the cat was at the bottom of the active zone (with the fan on). But almost 13 hours after that full load there’s still a good amount of wood left. Guessing this load will be good for 16 hours at least.

Only bummer is you don’t get the pretty flames with the long burns. I’ll take it though.

 

[rybern]

This is our 2nd season with our Sirocco 30 and we're really pleased with what It's doing for us. I'm still working through splits that are too long(~20") to keep from re-cutting them, I'm angling them into the box and it's working pretty good. I'm only able to get 3-4 splits in at a time but getting around 10 hours on these small loads. Evening temps have been in the low 20's for the past few days and I'm loving keeping our heat pump from cycling on by burning wood. Our HVAC thermostat is an Ecobee and I have a secondary sensor in our bedroom (works out very well). HVAC hasn't ran much at all. Stove is easy to control and we keep the air inlet between 3:00 and 3:30.

 

[lsucet]

I did have to turn it up a bit this morning as the cat was at the bottom of the active zone (with the fan on). But almost 13 hours after that full load there’s still a good amount of wood left. Guessing this load will be good for 16 hours at least.

Only bummer is you don’t get the pretty flames with the long burns. I’ll take it though.

It is normal that the cat probe reads low with the fan on cause air is blowing over it impacting the actual reading. If you turn the fans off and wait about 10 minutes or so, you will see how the cat probe goes up.

 

[stoveliker]

Nice set up!

 

[Diabel]

Load numero dos. East/West is not my favorite.

 

[rybern]

Nice set up!

Thank you.

 

[rybern]

View attachment 270349
Load numero dos. East/West is not my favorite.

Not as bad as the SW/NE I'm having to do with my long logs. LOL.

 

[Alpine1]

Also, is this like a universal gasket that all combustors accept? I know y’all said you have to replace the gasket with a combustor. How long would I need for a King KE40?

Interam Gasket for Catalytic Combustors (2

Interam gasket for catalytic combustors. 2" wide × 1/16" thick. Expanding seal fits snugly around catalyst. Available in precut lengths or custom cut per foot.

midwesthearth.com

If you buy from them, their ceramic cats come with a pre installed gasket, while the metallic ones have a gasket in the box you have to install by yourself (easy peasy task)

 

[JKanor]

Ok, so I went an looked on the site and they appear to be in stock. What am I missing? *Edit* I see only the Princess is out.

Catalytic Combustor Blaze King Classic, Parlor, Ultra (5

Midwest Hearth MH-64C and MH-64M replacement combustors are a high-quality choice for your catalytic wood burning stove.Replacing your old combustor will help you improve your stove's efficiency, saving you money and producing less pollution. split Catalytic Combustor FAQ Catalytic Combustor...

midwesthearth.com

Also, I have a King KE40 and it doesn’t say this is specifically compatible. Thoughts?

The kings cat, if you look at the dimensions, is 1 inch taller than the princess. I believe there is also a metal version available for the king too. To get the gasket length, just add the circumference dimensions then add a few inches to be safe...5+5+10.6+10.6

 

[Indianawood]

Buy this on Amazon. It's not much more to buy extra. Then you will have some available when you do an acid bath down the road.

 

[kennyp2339]

If you buy from them, their ceramic cats come with a pre installed gasket, while the metallic ones have a gasket in the box you have to install by yourself (easy peasy task)

My metal one came pre wrapped also now.

 

[Alpine1]

My metal one came pre wrapped also now.

Mine not... there was the right measure of gasket, but loose in the box: maybe I’m just unlucky. Received mine last Tuesday (let me say, it took only 10 days , from Midwest Hearth in USA to my door in Italy. Excellent service from them).

 

[Nealm66]

I was at work yesterday so can’t be positive but my inside thermometer for my weather station in my upstairs hallway way read 71.4 every time I looked at it for 24 hours. I should have marked my swoosh ha ha !! I’ve been reloading at about 12 hours just for convenience. It does run a little hot for a little bit after the reload but then it settles in. No idea why but I’m really having fun. Silly ha ha. Another odd thing was the blow down I cut last weekend tested just over 20 mc. I thought my meter was off but this am I finally read the manual and it has calibration points on the cap that we’re right on. I’m going to test a piece tonight and see where it’s at after being on the rack for 5 days. It feels like it’s drying super fast. I’ve still got about a week left of super dry fir so I might not need any press logs. Ho ho ho

 

[Nealm66]

Well, I have the day off ( except house construction) so I checked the wood I cut last weekend ( it was 1-2 year blow down) and interestingly to me, it only dried 1.5-2 %more than the day I brought it in. It read about 17-18.5 % so I stuffed a load in ( wish I would have knocked more of the knots off) and I let it blaze for a few minutes then I shut the bypass and left it on high for a few more minutes. It was blazing pretty good so I set the temp about mid swoosh ( low to mid 20’s outside) and checked it in about 10 minutes and it seems to be cruising along about the same as the super dry stuff. Open to any suggestions if I’m screwing up. I’ve been reloading a bit early as there’s still a bit of fuel left and might not be the best but got stuff to do so there it be. Again, open to criticism in case I’m destroying something

 

[Indianawood]

Well, I have the day off ( except house construction) so I checked the wood I cut last weekend ( it was 1-2 year blow down) and interestingly to me, it only dried 1.5-2 %more than the day I brought it in. It read about 17-18.5 % so I stuffed a load in ( wish I would have knocked more of the knots off) and I let it blaze for a few minutes then I shut the bypass and left it on high for a few more minutes. It was blazing pretty good so I set the temp about mid swoosh ( low to mid 20’s outside) and checked it in about 10 minutes and it seems to be cruising along about the same as the super dry stuff. Open to any suggestions if I’m screwing up. I’ve been reloading a bit early as there’s still a bit of fuel left and might not be the best but got stuff to do so there it be. Again, open to criticism in case I’m destroying something

In my opinion you are not hurting a thing. It's plenty dry. Even if it was on the wetter side say 25% as long as you mix with some good dry stuff and not burning really slow and low its not hurting anything. If im burning 2 oclock position i want really dry wood. 4 oclock and up wetter wood is fine. Not ideal but works.

 

[Highbeam]

Well, I have the day off ( except house construction) so I checked the wood I cut last weekend ( it was 1-2 year blow down) and interestingly to me, it only dried 1.5-2 %more than the day I brought it in. It read about 17-18.5 % so I stuffed a load in ( wish I would have knocked more of the knots off) and I let it blaze for a few minutes then I shut the bypass and left it on high for a few more minutes. It was blazing pretty good so I set the temp about mid swoosh ( low to mid 20’s outside) and checked it in about 10 minutes and it seems to be cruising along about the same as the super dry stuff. Open to any suggestions if I’m screwing up. I’ve been reloading a bit early as there’s still a bit of fuel left and might not be the best but got stuff to do so there it be. Again, open to criticism in case I’m destroying something

The only thing that’s not per the manual is the amount of time you leave it on “high” after engaging the cat. BK wants you to really get it ripping before turning the stat down.

 

[jetsam]

I have gone off the rails with the cat gasket... last year I fabricated stainless steel shims (just 4 pieces of sheet metal folded into Vs to fill the gaps around the cat). Now I can pull my cat for free, so I give it a distilled vinegar spray and distilled water rinse every time I sweep the chimney. (This was actually the product of a private conversation I had with Ashful, wherever he is this year! We were discussing his fly ash issues with Steelcats, and bemoaning the $7.50 fee to pull the cat...)

I'm also running my cat past the end of its rated life this year... it's coming up on 20k estimated hours. It doesn't glow red hot when the stove is on low like it used to when it was new, but it still glows red when the stove is going.

 

[Nealm66]

Wow, 20,000 hours seems like a lot of free heat! I wonder highbeam, it seems like my fire is definitely fully engulfed and maybe it’s because of my premature reload? Can that cause harm?( not just loss of facial hair) I always check after about 5-10 minutes after I lower my swoosh and the cat is always about about 1/4-1/2” from the highest point on the gauge. Also, in case anybody is wondering, I’m not a fan of baseboard trim. I mean, why..