blaze king chinook Cat temp never pass 3 o'clock position

[bomook81]

hi all

My Cat temp never passes 2-3 o'clock position no matter what.

I burn spruce and seasoned enough. would it be normal for Chinook?

thank you

 

[Highbeam]

Do you run the fans?

 

[bomook81]

Do you run the fans?

Ues, but I also tested without the fan on.

 

[jetsam]

From page 40 of the current Chinook manual (this applies to any BK with a condar probe thermometer though).



So 1) Turn the fans off for at least 10 minutes before looking at the thermometer, and 2) Pull the thermometer out, let it it sit until it is completely cool, and make sure it reads room temp. If not, loosen the nut on back, adjust the needle to room temp, tighten the nut.

Here is a photo of how the face looks without the BK paint job.

 

[bomook81]

I checked the thermometer but I have 3 stove top fans. I will try to measure the temp without them.
Thank you all!

 

[jetsam]

I checked the thermometer but I have 3 stove top fans. I will try to measure the temp without them.
Thank you all!

It is not at all uncommon for those thermometers to get out of whack, so if shutting off the fans doesn't help, it's probably that. Reload the thread, I added a photo and instructions to the last post (I am a chronic editadder. )


If that doesn't sort you out: Have you ever seen the cat glow? What kind of stovetop temps are you seeing? I'd ask about wood MC, but I believe I could cut down a live spruce and stuff it right in the stove and get the cat to 1000° pretty easy...

 

[Woody Stover]

My Cat temp never passes 2-3 o'clock position no matter what.
I burn spruce and seasoned enough. would it be normal for Chinook?

On cat stoves I've used (in my sig, not BKs,) I consider 1100-1500 to be perfect. The cat is glowing, but not too brightly. BKVP says damage can start occurring to the catalyst material at over 1600 sustained, I've seen 1800 referenced in other places, so I wouldn't want to see that meter over 3/4 in any case.
How long was your wood split, stacked and top-covered? Was it dead when you cut it? Have you gotten a large split up to room temp for a couple days, then re-split and tested on the fresh face with a moisture meter? If your wood is marginally dry, that will cause the cat to not burn as hot..

 

[Highbeam]

Here is a photo of how the face looks without the BK paint job.

As someone who actually has owned both the BK meter (made by condar) and the condar meter with numbers, I do not believe that they are the same other than paint. As you surely are aware, the bimettalic springs can be entirely different and there are physical differences as well. You can not assume that 12 o'clock on the BK meter is equivalent to 12 o'clock on the condar meter.

My experience is that the condar has a tighter spring. Or, it just doesn't wind up as far. You can't hardly peg it but the BK meter can easily be pegged! I don't think they are the same thing so I cringe whenever I see someone try and add numbers to the BK gauge to compare them as though they are.

Get a condar gauge with numbers. You'll see. The numbers are way cooler and more useful when even the BKVP suggests that the top end cat temperature is important.

 

[Woody Stover]

My experience is that the condar has a tighter spring. Or, it just doesn't wind up as far. You can't hardly peg it but the BK meter can easily be pegged!....Get a condar gauge with numbers. You'll see. The numbers are way cooler and more useful when even the BKVP suggests that the top end cat temperature is important.

Why do you think they made the BK probe so sensitive, in the hope that people won't run the meter as high and hopefully prevent overheating the cat?

 

[Diabel]

I do not believe that they are the same other than paint. As you surely are aware, the bimettalic springs can be entirely different and there are physical differences as well. You can not assume that 12 o'clock on the BK meter is equivalent to 12 o'clock on the condar meter.

After my little experiment (different thread) with different probes I completely agree wit @Highbeam, the spring in each probe must be calibrated differently.

 

[jetsam]

As someone who actually has owned both the BK meter (made by condar) and the condar meter with numbers, I do not believe that they are the same other than paint. As you surely are aware, the bimettalic springs can be entirely different and there are physical differences as well. You can not assume that 12 o'clock on the BK meter is equivalent to 12 o'clock on the condar meter.

My experience is that the condar has a tighter spring. Or, it just doesn't wind up as far. You can't hardly peg it but the BK meter can easily be pegged! I don't think they are the same thing so I cringe whenever I see someone try and add numbers to the BK gauge to compare them as though they are.

Get a condar gauge with numbers. You'll see. The numbers are way cooler and more useful when even the BKVP suggests that the top end cat temperature is important.

BKVP said that BK thermometers are repainted condars, didn't he?

Maybe you're seeing a difference between a newer and older model? It would not surprise me to learn that condar has sourced those things from fifteen different factories in China over the years.

But either way, there should be a mark for room temp on all of 'em.

 

[begreen]

As someone who actually has owned both the BK meter (made by condar) and the condar meter with numbers, I do not believe that they are the same other than paint. As you surely are aware, the bimettalic springs can be entirely different and there are physical differences as well. You can not assume that 12 o'clock on the BK meter is equivalent to 12 o'clock on the condar meter.

My experience is that the condar has a tighter spring. Or, it just doesn't wind up as far. You can't hardly peg it but the BK meter can easily be pegged! I don't think they are the same thing so I cringe whenever I see someone try and add numbers to the BK gauge to compare them as though they are.

Get a condar gauge with numbers. You'll see. The numbers are way cooler and more useful when even the BKVP suggests that the top end cat temperature is important.

Do we know who makes BK thermometers?

 

[Woody Stover]

BKVP said that BK thermometers are repainted condars, didn't he?...would not surprise me to learn that condar has sourced those things from fifteen different factories in China over the years.

Do we know who makes BK thermometers?

I thought the Veep at one point said they made them in-house.

 

[Highbeam]

Do we know who makes BK thermometers?

I would expect condar makes both of these cat meters but I would not assume that the only difference between what bk supplies and what you but directly from condar is the paint.

 

[lsucet]

I would expect condar makes both of these cat meters but I would not assume that the only difference between what bk supplies and what you but directly from condar is the paint.

There is a big difference. For sure the spring coils has different calibration. After all, BK just need to be so so accurate for 500 df cat light off. The other probes give a more details thru a wide range of temps.

 

[begreen]

There is a big difference. For sure the spring coils has different calibration. After all, BK just need to be so so accurate for 500 df cat light off. The other probes give a more details thru a wide range of temps.

Doesn't it also need to be relatively accurate at the high end to avoid cat damage?

 

[Highbeam]

Doesn't it also need to be relatively accurate at the high end to avoid cat damage?

not the bk meter. It has no numbers so you really get no value from the readings other than active or not which is exactlyhow the manual tells you to use it. In fact, the ashford inserts now just use a go-no go gauge.

the condar meter has the active line as well as the overtemp line as well as numbers. Quite an upgrade.

 

[lsucet]

As

Doesn't it also need to be relatively accurate at the high end to avoid cat damage?

As @Highbeam said it is useless for an accurate reading after the inactive/active mark. I peg mines over the scale burning on high. With the ones with numbers, the reading is about 1200 to 1400 df when the BK ones are off the scale. I really don't pay attention to it at all except for light off of the cat. Anything else is visual and the settings I know works for me

 

[bomook81]

My stove has convection deck so can’t measure correct stove top temp. The cat glows fine when the thermometer is passed 11am. I found the the tip of the thermometer has decoloration. I will try to replace the thermometer.

thank you all!!

 

[Woody Stover]

Doesn't it also need to be relatively accurate at the high end to avoid cat damage?

The cat glows fine when the thermometer is passed 11am. I found the the tip of the thermometer has decoloration. I will try to replace the thermometer.

As long as it's not corroded too badly, it should still work OK. I scraped corrosion off the tip and kept going with 'em until they got a bit shorter, then replaced 'em. They should last a few years.

 

[shoot-straight]

hi all

My Cat temp never passes 2-3 o'clock position no matter what.

I burn spruce and seasoned enough. would it be normal for Chinook?

thank you

On normal operational settings my ashford cat temp never goes above 2 o'clock. On a normal 3-330 setting it usually runs at 12-1 for several hours then drops to 1030 or so for the remainder of the burn. It did once at the request of BKVP turbo charge it when he asked that i run a full load on high to see what the top end would be. I think it went to 3-4 when on high for like an hour. She got hot.

I swapped out my cat for a new one last week and all my settings and temps are pretty much the same. The new cat is just a bit hotter and more reactive than the older one.