Blaze King combuster failure.

[Wrea3981]

Hi guys. I have an early blaze King KEJ-1101 and was wondering about combuster failure. I have had good luck heating with this stove. I bought a brand new combuster from condor, used it for a month and its is falling apart. My exterior temps with a laser gun are 650 or less most of the time. The temp gauge on the pipe never get higher than 375. The outside has seen 715 a few times but not much. Today I looked in the hole on top of the stove and saw the honeycomb in the combuster has fallen apart and I'd half disintegrated. Only had it a month or so. All heat shields are in place and the combuster has only been a medium shade of red to cherry red but not really glowing yellow. Not sure if I'm over firing or not. Doesn't seem like it. I check my outside temps with a laser fifty times a day while burning. Hope you all have a little insight, thanks....

 

[BKVP]

Did they sell you a combustor with a substrate made of cordierite or mullite?

When you installed the new combustor, which is oval, did it have an outer gasket and did it go into the stove snug fit or was it a bit loose?

Is your door seal tight, did you actually dollar bill test it?

Higher burn rates take room air and dump it into the combustor. Newer design preheat the air. Burning at lower burn rates will allow the air in the tubes to warm before hitting the face of the combustor.

How long is your chimney? The older cat designs were more sensitive to combustor failure due to over draft conditions.

I would call Applied Ceramics in Georgia if you want to learn more about the differences and tolerances of each of the original substrate materials as it pertains to temperature.

 

[Wrea3981]

The cat fits pretty nice and there is not a big gap around it. Not snug though and the gap around it is less than 1/8". It's a "condor" brand cat and it's their less expensive model. The burnt material looks almost powdery. Was led to believe it's ceramic but they do offer a steel variation which supposedly holds up to higher heat situations. The door seal is new and is tight as is the bypass door. No gasket around cat. They specifically stated in the instructions to NOT install a gasket as it is wrapped in a steel band lined with gasket material. The chimney drafts well and is two stories tall, not sure of the actual length. The pipe inside is about six feet before the wall exit. I was thinking of adding a damper to control the draft better. If I had to guess I would say the draft could be the issue. I appreciate all the info.

Did they sell you a combustor with a substrate made of cordierite or mullite?

When you installed the new combustor, which is oval, did it have an outer gasket and did it go into the stove snug fit or was it a bit loose?

Is your door seal tight, did you actually dollar bill test it?

Higher burn rates take room air and dump it into the combustor. Newer design preheat the air. Burning at lower burn rates will allow the air in the tubes to warm before hitting the face of the combustor.

How long is your chimney? The older cat designs were more sensitive to combustor failure due to over draft conditions.

I would call Applied Ceramics in Georgia if you want to learn more about the differences and tolerances of each of the original substrate materials as it pertains to temperature.

 

[BKVP]

There MOST DEFINITELY SHOULD be an interam gasket on the outside of the metal band! If not, expansion and contraction with heat will cause failure. Return the combustor to the supplier. Then go to the OEM supplier www.firecatcombustors.com. You will receive a properly gasketed combustor from them.