2020-21 Blaze King Performance Thread (Everything BK)

[stoveliker]

I thought I lost the cat last night,

I read that and thought: you have too much draft... Loosing your combustor...

Also, cat rays

 

[Nealm66]

31 hours and 50 minutes, 7 or 8 (can’t remember) press logs on existing leftover coals from 24hours

 

[stoveliker]

31 hours and 50 minutes, 7 or 8 (can’t remember) press logs on existing leftover coals from 24hours

And still clean glass!!

 

[Nealm66]

And still clean glass!!

That was after I had it on high for reload but that to me is crazy

 

[Highbeam]

It’s a little scary packing 7-8 pressed logs in there when the directions for people with “other” stoves say 2-3. Glad you worked your way up. I bet you’re wondering what would happen with 12 in there.

 

[stoveliker]

That was after I had it on high for reload but that to me is crazy

I think you could have gone 2 hrs more in that pile... Especially when you don't need much heat.

 

[Nealm66]

I think you could have gone 2 hrs more in that pile... Especially when you don't need much heat.

I think so too for sure. The really weird part (to me) is that they turn down and burn cooler than the fir so not cooking me out during the warmer days. I can get 20 - 24 hours out of the fir but the stove stays a lot hotter no matter how low I set the swoosh. It’s too expensive to burn the press logs all the time though at least for me. Just haven’t had a spare minute to cut anything lately.

 

[Nealm66]

It’s a little scary packing 7-8 pressed logs in there when the directions for people with “other” stoves say 2-3. Glad you worked your way up. I bet you’re wondering what would happen with 12 in there.

I don’t know if 12 would fit but it wouldn’t worry me if they did. Seems like 8 leaves a gap but not enough for another on top

 

[Highbeam]

I don’t know if 12 would fit but it wouldn’t worry me if they did. Seems like 8 leaves a gap but not enough for another on top

That’s only like 64 lbs. normal full load of pnw firewood is 50#. So you’re getting more btu in the load. Some brands are more square like bricks so you can really get a lot of lbs of fuel in there.

 

[Nealm66]

It would be interesting to see the results in a king. I’m guessing the 60 hours bkvp reported might get beat. If they weren’t so expensive, I think a guy like myself that a king would be too big might be ok as they turn down so well. Maybe.. nice try ha ha!

 

[AndrewU]

Since my wood isn’t dry, and my wife didn’t want to ask my friend who I’ve given a lot to, and who was willing to bring it back (dry) to bring us any more, I’ve been burning the Idaho logs. About 2 per load has been enough to keep us warm with the spring weather. That’s been lasting give or take 12 hours. So 4 most days, some days 5. House has stayed 72-74.

That said, can’t wait to be burning my own wood next winter. Checked a split today, and having only been bucked in late January (felled during summer) and split mid-late Feb it was about 25%. Should be in perfect shape by next fall.

 

[ksks]

I cracked the glass on my Blaze King Ultra.

Where do you folks get parts?

Thanks.

 

[begreen]

Bummer. The first place to check is your BK dealer.

 

[kennyp2339]

Back up and running here, that 3 days have been in the upper 50 to mid 60's, cold front came through last night and cooled things down to the mid 20's, so this morning I lit the stove and a away we go.

 

[jetsam]

I've still been burning 24/7. It hit 65 yesterday, but then 30 last night.

This cold-ass winter I started feeling like the stove had a hole in the bottom because I had to put wood in so often. Now I go back after 12 hours and it's still half full.

 

[jetsam]

The end of this burning season will mark 3.5 seasons of mostly 24/7, 8 month a year burning for my Steelcat.

Every time I get the stove cold enough to sweep the flue, the cat has been getting a rinse in the sink followed by a spray down with 50% distilled vinegar and distilled water, and then a spray down with distilled water.

You wouldn't mistake it for a new cat, but it got me through the coldest winter we've had lately, and I do believe it has some more seasons in it.

I think I am done retiring cats after 14k hours!

 

[Highbeam]

The end of this burning season will mark 3.5 seasons of mostly 24/7, 8 month a year burning for my Steelcat.

Every time I get the stove cold enough to sweep the flue, the cat has been getting a rinse in the sink followed by a spray down with 50% distilled vinegar and distilled water, and then a spray down with distilled water.

You wouldn't mistake it for a new cat, but it got me through the coldest winter we've had lately, and I do believe it has some more seasons in it.

I think I am done retiring cats after 14k hours!

Run her till she dies! Even though I have an expectation of cat life based on my personal experience I certainly don’t replace them until failure. Would be happy to get bonus life.

 

[stoveliker]

The end of this burning season will mark 3.5 seasons of mostly 24/7, 8 month a year burning for my Steelcat.

Every time I get the stove cold enough to sweep the flue, the cat has been getting a rinse in the sink followed by a spray down with 50% distilled vinegar and distilled water, and then a spray down with distilled water.

You wouldn't mistake it for a new cat, but it got me through the coldest winter we've had lately, and I do believe it has some more seasons in it.

I think I am done retiring cats after 14k hours!

Where do you buy your gaskets (in bulk, I guess)?

 

[jetsam]

Where do you buy your gaskets (in bulk, I guess)?

I don't. I bought a sheet of .030 stainless steel sheet metal and cut it into strips, then folded the strips into Vs. Those are my new gasket. The V shape seals the gap and allows for thermal expansion.

I hope BK will someday work with cat makers to get a similar gasket welded on to the cat . (That is probably unlikely since anything that goes around the cat adds particulates and lowers efficiency, but my crummy little homebrew one is tight enough that you can't see light around it... but an engineer who just broke his ass to get 1 less gram of emissions out of a stove design is not going to love this idea. )

For me, the downsides are entirely theoretical, and the benefits are practical and material. I didn't like the steel cat because it plugged faster and I couldn't vac out the corners- now that problem is gone. I resented paying $7 every time I wanted to clean my cat- that problem is gone. And my old cat gets washed off and demasked regularly instead of once or twice in a lifetime. That's less dollars buying cats and more heat in my house. (And less particulates emitted, thank you very much.)

I told Ashful about this a couple years ago when I first switched, but I don't think I mentioned it otherwise.

 

[Highbeam]

I don't. I bought a sheet of .030 stainless steel sheet metal and cut it into strips, then folded the strips into Vs. Those are my new gasket. The V shape seals the gap and allows for thermal expansion.

I hope BK will someday work with cat makers to get a similar gasket welded on to the cat . (That is probably unlikely since anything that goes around the cat adds particulates and lowers efficiency, but my crummy little homebrew one is tight enough that you can't see light around it... but an engineer who just broke his ass to get 1 less gram of emissions out of a stove design is not going to love this idea. )

For me, the downsides are entirely theoretical, and the benefits are practical and material. I didn't like the steel cat because it plugged faster and I couldn't vac out the corners- now that problem is gone. I resented paying $7 every time I wanted to clean my cat- that problem is gone. And my old cat gets washed off and demasked regularly instead of once or twice in a lifetime. That's less dollars buying cats and more heat in my house. (And less particulates emitted, thank you very much.)

I told Ashful about this a couple years ago when I first switched, but I don't think I mentioned it otherwise.

Genius! Good job. One low hanging fruit for improvement I see with the BK design is that cat gasket.

So is the uninstalled SS “gasket” sprung into a vee when uninstalled? For tension? Does the cat walk out? Just pressed in and removed with fingers? Holding up to the heat?

Sorry for so many questions but I love your idea? You’ll have to name it the jet gasket!

Please post some pics!

You can buy the expanding gasket by the foot from Midwest hearth. 2$ but a huge waste compared to this idea.

 

[jetsam]

So is the uninstalled SS “gasket” sprung into a vee when uninstalled?

Yes, mildly so. I don't have a sheet metal break so the nose is a bit rounded, which I think has possibly been a good thing for maintaining its angle over time.

The angle is not critical; I looked up the coefficient of expansion for steel back when I made the steel gasket, and remember thinking that the amount it expands between 70 and 1500 degrees is very small even in comparison to the material's .030 thickness.

For tension? Does the cat walk out?

Not at all. No seismic activity here but the stove sees a fair amount of banging and fan vibration.

Just pressed in and removed with fingers?

That's all. They usually fall out into the firebox when the cat is removed. If you had a mig welder you could just tack them right on to the cat and never mess with them again.

Holding up to the heat?

Better than the cat's steel jacket, that one is rusting and the stainless isn't.

Sorry for so many questions but I love your idea? You’ll have to name it the jet gasket!

Thank you but I probably won't be naming a product that consists of a piece of sheet metal folded in half.

Please post some pics!

I'll do that next time I pull the cat. But it is really just some pieces of sheet metal folded in half.

 

[begreen]

Thank you but I probably won't be naming a product that consists of a piece of sheet metal folded in half.

It's Easy as Sheet!

 

[stoveliker]

So, 23 F tonight. Split half a face cord of pine while flurries were falling. Time to relight.

I put two cedar splits and a small oak split at the bottom. Emptied out my bucket of twigs on top and added some BK pallet kindling and some paper on top. Lit it up and it took off like crazy. Flue heating up fast, but cat thermometer still very much below even the inactive range.

I didn't want to squeeze the air so soon, because the top of the flue could still need some warming up, so I thought to close the bypass. Cat immediately glowed.
From a cold start to cat active in 8 minutes...

Next time a bit less kindling... (or simply emptying out the kindling bucket outside, rather than in the stove, at the end of the season...).

 

[stoveliker]

Hm, and in my enthusiasm to restart the thing, I loaded too much on the 3 small splits at the bottom (some oak cookies), so I'm running quite high (4:30 on my tstat) to heat up the basement and be able to reload for the night - and now the flame guard in front of the cat is glowing.

 

[Montanalocal]

Question for BKVP,

I have a new BK KE40 (that I love), and I am wanting to buy a spare combustor just to have one on hand in case the covid thing blows up. I sent the following email to Midwest Hearth, and got the reply below. Do you know where to get a combustor at a reasonable price?

“ I am wanting to buy a Catalytic Combustor for my Blaze King. The one you have listed at catalytic-combustor-blaze-king-classic-parlor-ultra-5-x-10-6-x-2 has the following models listed as compatible.

King Classic KE1107BK
• King Parlor KE1107LBK
• King Ultra KE1107UBK, KEJ1100, KEJ1101, KEJ1102, KEI1300

However, mine is the new Blaze King KE 40.
Does this model fit in my new KE 40?”

Thank you for your email!
I do not have a combustor that is listed for use in the KE 40 stove.
If it is a newer stove, you may want to investigate Blaze King’s 6-year warranty on their combustors.
It should be in the back of your owner’s manual.
Kind regards,
Jason