Blaze king king tune up...

[aansorge]

I got a smoking deal on a blaze king king this spring (1000 dollars with a class A chimney) but want to ensure good operation, so I'm thinking of changing out the cat and changing the door seal (seems a bit squished and deformed). Is there anything else I should be doing? I think I heard about a gasket that does with the cat. Does this come with the cat? What kind of cat should I get?

How about the bypass gasket?

 

[webby3650]

You will need to make sure to get a gasket when the cat is ordered. I think you will need to get a ceramic cat, I don't think it was tested for a steel cat, but I could be wrong. You should also change the bypass gasket too, they are always very flat in a very short time.

 

[Highbeam]

My new BK princess shipped with a ceramic cat. No regrets there.

Other than door gasket, cat gasket, cat, and bypass gasket the only other wear parts are firebricks.

Check the operation of everything before winter. That was a great price if the stove is in good shape.

 

[jeff_t]

http://www.firecatcombustors.com/category-s/1424.htm
Comes with a gasket. Leave the masking tape on it to hold the gasket together, and slide it in. It should go pretty easily, and the gasket will expand when it gets hot. My sister bought one for her stove. The first one came damaged, and they shipped a replacement and return label out immediately.

Does the old cat look bad? Eroded, crumbled, cracked, or broken? If not, I would try it before replacing.

Make sure to find some high density gasket rope for the bypass and the door. The few stove shops around here seem to have no clue.

 

[aansorge]

Thanks for the tips...I didn't know about high density rope.

As for the cat, I'll take a picture and post it. It doesn't look too bad to me, but the stove had a huge amount of creosote in it, so I know the guy was burning wet wood. I've heard that wet wood damages the cat so I'm assuming it will be weak. I suppose I ought to try it out first though.

 

[jeff_t]

My stove has huge amounts of creosote in it, especially after low burns in the spring. Welcome to Blaze King.

What does the pipe look like?

 

[Highbeam]

BKs are supposed to have creosote in the firebox. They are designed to burn low and slow and make all sorts of nasty smoke which the cat uses as fuel. The fire itself does not burn hot enough to keep the firebox clean as you would expect with a non-cat.

My firebox, below about the top 1/4, is covered in glossy shiny creosote with some crunchy black creosote and I burn excellent wood. Only the top 1/4 is brownish.

 

[Woody Stover]

Thanks for the tips...I didn't know about high density rope.

Yep. The Buck 91 ash pan gasket had a gap that was leaking air, and I just tore it out and replaced it with some stuff I got at the farm store. It wasn't as tight a weave, and I ended up sealing the side of the new gasket to cut down the amount of air getting past it. So either get the OE stuff, or maybe someone knows where to get it online? I like to keep extra on hand....

As for the cat, I'll take a picture and post it. It doesn't look too bad to me, but the stove had a huge amount of creosote in it, so I know the guy was burning wet wood. I've heard that wet wood damages the cat so I'm assuming it will be weak. I suppose I ought to try it out first though.

I like to have a spare on hand too, but I wouldn't give up on the old one yet. I also just went ahead and got a roll of interam gasket since I'm maintaining several stoves and removing a lot of cats for cleaning, etc.
Even if you burn dry wood, you're going to get some creosote inside the box of a cat stove, since it's running at a low temp quite often.

(broken link removed to http://www.condar.com/combustorcleaningmanual.pdf)

 

[aansorge]

My stove has huge amounts of creosote in it, especially after low burns in the spring. Welcome to Blaze King.

What does the pipe look like?

I meant to say a huge amount of creosote in the pipe...

 

[jeff_t]

I meant to say a huge amount of creosote in the pipe...

Well then, I'd probably have a new one on hand. I'd still give the old one a try. He may have never closed the bypass, cause the stupid thing would go out.

 

[begreen]

My new BK princess shipped with a ceramic cat. No regrets there.

Other than door gasket, cat gasket, cat, and bypass gasket the only other wear parts are firebricks.

Check the operation of everything before winter. That was a great price if the stove is in good shape.

The bypass linkage and thermostat are also wearing parts. Though we don't hear a lot of complaints about them, so they seem to stand up well. There was a batch of stoves with the thermostat springs wound backward that really messed up burning, but that is about all.

 

[BKVP]

The bypass linkage and thermostat are also wearing parts. Though we don't hear a lot of complaints about them, so they seem to stand up well. There was a batch of stoves with the thermostat springs wound backward that really messed up burning, but that is about all.

I have read on here a few times about the "batch" of reverse wound springs in the thermostats. The fact is, there were 6 in the past 14 years. We gladly replaced them. Those stoves still performed, just inverse to the decal indications.

Any error is one too many but please accept the explanation as intended. If something is wrong with the stoves performance, it is very, very unlikely to be related too a reverse wound spring.

Thanks and have a great weekend.

Chris

 

[begreen]

Glitches like this are bound to happen in any production environment. Good to hear that this is a very limited issue Chris.

 

[Hiram Maxim]

Have lots of extra CAT gaskets......They wear out quick!

Seriously good idea to change them out once a year.....

I actually double wrapped mine this last year.

 

[Highbeam]

Have lots of extra CAT gaskets......They wear out quick!

Seriously good idea to change them out once a year.....

What? How does your cat gasket wear out and how would you know? Perhaps the bypass gasket gets smashed flat early on but the cat gasket? Really?

 

[weatherguy]

What? How does your cat gasket wear out and how would you know? Perhaps the bypass gasket gets smashed flat early on but the cat gasket? Really?

Im assuming he means when he takes out the cat to clean it then you would need to rewrap the cat. I just leave mine in there and give it a light brushing.

 

[Highbeam]

Im assuming he means when he takes out the cat to clean it then you would need to rewrap the cat. I just leave mine in there and give it a light brushing.

Seems crazy to remove the cat element(s) for cleaning. They are right there front and center with the dirty side facing out. Pretty awesome access. Maybe the King is different but I didn't think so. The only thing better would be the cast iron drop out cat frame on the woodstock fireview that lets you easily remove the cat and inspect it on the bench all with no gaskets being disturbed.

I have seen no need to brush the cat. The thing stays very clean all on its own.

 

[rdust]

Seems crazy to remove the cat element(s) for cleaning. They are right there front and center with the dirty side facing out. Pretty awesome access. Maybe the King is different but I didn't think so. The only thing better would be the cast iron drop out cat frame on the woodstock fireview that lets you easily remove the cat and inspect it on the bench all with no gaskets being disturbed.

I have seen no need to brush the cat. The thing stays very clean all on its own.

If I remember right Hiram's gasket around the cat crumbled, he didn't remove the cat. Mine after season two is starting to break up in spots. I'll probably re-wrap mine at some point during the off season.

I had to brush the fly ash off mine twice this season. The amount of ash that collects on the face may be related to draft?

 

[Hiram Maxim]

If I remember right Hiram's gasket around the cat crumbled, he didn't remove the cat. Mine after season two is starting to break up in spots. I'll probably re-wrap mine at some point during the off season.

I had to brush the fly ash off mine twice this season. The amount of ash that collects on the face may be related to draft?

Good memory RDUST

My burn times started getting shorter and shorter

Called BK and spoke with I believe Scott?

Diagnosed it as a bad gasket around the CAT like RDust stated. So I watch it very closely.....

It fell apart, and I mean it completely crumbled, called BK back, they said call the dealer,called the dealer, ordered a new Gasket, after 3-4 weeks nothing.After calling them they forgot to order it,wait WTF???? Finally got it off Ebay!!

I'm going to state this as its total BS and pisses me off to no end "BLAZE KING IF YOUR LISTENING, GO CUSTOMER DIRECT with PARTS, YOUR DEALERS ARE FREAKING WORTHLESS"

I will not buy another Blaze King unless they start shipping parts to customers.........Terrible business model

As a precaution I will change that gasket every season

 

[jeff_t]

Good memory RDUST

My burn times started getting shorter and shorter

Called BK and spoke with I believe Scott?

Diagnosed it as a bad gasket around the CAT like RDust stated. So I watch it very closely.....

It fell apart, and I mean it completely crumbled, called BK back, they said call the dealer,called the dealer, ordered a new Gasket, after 3-4 weeks nothing.After calling them they forgot to order it,wait WTF???? Finally got it off Ebay!!

I'm going to state this as its total BS and pisses me off to no end "BLAZE KING IF YOUR LISTENING, GO CUSTOMER DIRECT with PARTS, YOUR DEALERS ARE FREAKING WORTHLESS"

I will not buy another Blaze King unless they start shipping parts to customers.........Terrible business model

As a precaution I will change that gasket every season

I suppose it's a bit off subject, but I agree. I called three different dealers to order parts. I had the part numbers, all anybody had to do was order. They all said they would get back to me with a price, but nobody bothered.

When I called Konieczka Heating & Cooling in Davison, it was a different story. I believe it was Beth I spoke with, and she bent over backwards to make sure I got what I needed. When it took half an hour for her to get back to me, she was very apologetic that it took so long. When I didn't get the parts after a couple of weeks (BK's fault), she got the ball rolling and got them shipped. She even called a couple of weeks later to make sure I got them. I'm sure they didn't make much from the $32 worth of stuff, but I know who to call in the future http://www.heatmichigan.com/

 

[BKVP]

I suppose it's a bit off subject, but I agree. I called three different dealers to order parts. I had the part numbers, all anybody had to do was order. They all said they would get back to me with a price, but nobody bothered.

When I called Konieczka Heating & Cooling in Davison, it was a different story. I believe it was Beth I spoke with, and she bent over backwards to make sure I got what I needed. When it took half an hour for her to get back to me, she was very apologetic that it took so long. When I didn't get the parts after a couple of weeks (BK's fault), she got the ball rolling and got them shipped. She even called a couple of weeks later to make sure I got them. I'm sure they didn't make much from the $32 worth of stuff, but I know who to call in the future http://www.heatmichigan.com/

Hiram:

The dealers are not worthless. We have hundreds of dealers across North America and the lions share are superb at what they do, which is service the products they sell. I do not question for a moment you had the bad experience you shared here. However it is unfair to characterize (judge) all dealers by ones actions. (Which I am more than happy to address)

I will make this offer to you or any other Blaze King product owner. Call us at 509-522-2730. We will provide you with the precise part number(s) you require in order to get the parts you need. Then, call a dealer and place the order. Tell us which dealer you are calling and if we have not received a call from them on your behalf, we'll fix it, right then and there.

If you would be so kind as to send me a pm with all the details of your transaction, I will look into the matter personally. I will them get back to you within 24 hours.

Chris

 

[Rickb]

Hiram:

The dealers are not worthless. We have hundreds of dealers across North America and the lions share are superb at what they do, which is service the products they sell. I do not question for a moment you had the bad experience you shared here. However it is unfair to characterize (judge) all dealers by ones actions. (Which I am more than happy to address)

I will make this offer to you or any other Blaze King product owner. Call us at 509-522-2730. We will provide you with the precise part number(s) you require in order to get the parts you need. Then, call a dealer and place the order. Tell us which dealer you are calling and if we have not received a call from them on your behalf, we'll fix it, right then and there.

If you would be so kind as to send me a pm with all the details of your transaction, I will look into the matter personally. I will them get back to you within 24 hours.

Chris

And this is a big reason I bought a BK. I like knowing a company actually cares about its end users.

 

[aansorge]

No problems with my local dealer.... They vary just like Chevy dealers.

 

[Hiram Maxim]

Hiram:

The dealers are not worthless. We have hundreds of dealers across North America and the lions share are superb at what they do, which is service the products they sell. I do not question for a moment you had the bad experience you shared here. However it is unfair to characterize (judge) all dealers by ones actions. (Which I am more than happy to address)

I will make this offer to you or any other Blaze King product owner. Call us at 509-522-2730. We will provide you with the precise part number(s) you require in order to get the parts you need. Then, call a dealer and place the order. Tell us which dealer you are calling and if we have not received a call from them on your behalf, we'll fix it, right then and there.

If you would be so kind as to send me a pm with all the details of your transaction, I will look into the matter personally. I will them get back to you within 24 hours.

Chris

Chris,

Thank You Sir

PM sent

Happy Independence Day

Cheers, Hiram

 

[BKVP]

Thank you Hiram. Check for my response.