Blaze King latch replacement?

[PipNH]

I've had a used Blaze King Princess for a couple of years and have never been able to get the door as tight as I want it. I've replaced the gasket and tightened the nut on the catch as far as it will go, and the door still fails the dollar bill test. The latch has a groove in it, which I always assumed it was supposed to have. Not I'm not so sure. Any thoughts?

 

[Dieselhead]

That’s a wear mark, not like that from the factory.

 

[Highbeam]

My latch has that groove too. Let’s talk about your adjustment procedure. The outside nut is just a locknut. There is an inner nut too, older inner nuts are welded so you have to spin the catch in or out a full turn and then tighten the outer locknut. Newer stoves have inner and outer nuts free so you can adjust both.

In any case, just tightening the outside nut doesn’t do anything.

 

[BKVP]

Did you get our gasket or just something off the shelf?

BKVP

 

[PipNH]

Did you get our gasket or just something off the shelf?

BKVP

5/8 rope off the shelf. Where do I find Blaze King specific gaskets? I don't see anything on the website and an internet search just gives me aftermarket stuff.

 

[BKVP]

5/8 rope off the shelf. Where do I find Blaze King specific gaskets? I don't see anything on the website and an internet search just gives me aftermarket stuff.

We use 7/8". Your Dealer can order it.

BKVP

 

[PipNH]

We use 7/8". Your Dealer can order it.

BKVP

I guess that would do it. Thanks

 

[BKVP]

We have our gaskets made for us. Very dense.

BKVP

 

[m37charlie]

Re door gasket. It gradually forms a deep groove. The bent bolt needs to be tightened periodically till the groove forming process is completed.
I have a King 40 and have run 200+ cords through it in 37 years. I’ve never changed the door gasket and it still passes the dollar bill (actually piece of paper) test. However, several years ago I broke the curved (threaded) bolt because the threaded captive nut inside caused it to bottom out.
So I dug an appropriate threaded bolt out of a box in the garage, bent it with acetylene torch, and when curved just right for the latch wedge used a grinder to remove the part of the hex head on the inside of the curve.
The wedge does NOT need to be crammed really hard into the space inside the curved bolt piece Just firmly, so there’s no free play in the door and the paper/$ test is passable.
That wear groove indicates you’re tightening it too aggressively.

 

[m37charlie]

PS re never changing door gasket but adjusting latch correctly:
My stove still throttles down very nicely with lots of fuel left inside if dawn reveals clear skies and the prospect of passive solar through my 10 sq m(110 sq fr) of S facing double pane glass.

 

[BKVP]

We've made the KE40 since 2015. If you have a King model, it might be an 1102 if it's 30+ years old. Adjustment of the latch bolt doesn't fully help on hinge side of KE40, KE1107 or KE1102. Replacing the gasket just reassures a better seal on the hinge side of door.

BKVP

 

[m37charlie]

We've made the KE40 since 2015. If you have a King model, it might be an 1102 if it's 30+ years old. Adjustment of the latch bolt doesn't fully help on hinge side of KE40, KE1107 or KE1102. Replacing the gasket just reassures a better seal on the hinge side of door.

BKVP

I hear you, but the 2 facts that the hinge side passes the paper test and the entire unit can throttle down very low like right now with large chunks of carbonized birch from last evening 17 hours ago indicate to me that air ingress via gasket is still minimal.
I would most certainly replace the gasket right away if it became evident that significant air was entering anywhere but via the “flapper valve” - which does have that 12mm round hole on one side, after all.
I do love BKs - I’m in the process of giving a Scirocco 20.2 (probably should have been a 30, but she insisted on a small one) as housewarming gift to daughters family who just purchased Anchorage version of “historic house” which seems like a heat sieve. At least grandpa has 37 cords in front yard.

 

[RustyShackleford]

Piggy-backing on this thread .... I am interested in replacing my latch with a new version:

Blaze King Door Latch Catch 0693 - Hechler’s Mainstreet Hearth & Home | Troy, Missouri

Blaze King door latch catch. Notice this is the new style with the flat angle door hook. The bolt thread is 3/8" and is about 1-3/8 long

hechlers.com

Unfortunately mine is the old style with the nut inside the stove welded to it. It'd be simple to drill out the threads on that nut to install the new one, but the thickness of that nut would reduce the distance the latch could stick out from the front of the stove - so maybe not possible to make it loose enough.

Perhaps it'd be possible to remove the welded interior nut. With a feintool, or an angle grinder ? Has anyone tried this ?

P.S. Hechler's appears to be the thing I've been seeking, a genuine certified BK dealer with an online presence and wiliingness to ship most anywhere.

 

[Highbeam]

Piggy-backing on this thread .... I am interested in replacing my latch with a new version:

Blaze King Door Latch Catch 0693 - Hechler’s Mainstreet Hearth & Home | Troy, Missouri

Blaze King door latch catch. Notice this is the new style with the flat angle door hook. The bolt thread is 3/8" and is about 1-3/8 long

hechlers.com

Unfortunately mine is the old style with the nut inside the stove welded to it. It'd be simple to drill out the threads on that nut to install the new one, but the thickness of that nut would reduce the distance the latch could stick out from the front of the stove - so maybe not possible to make it loose enough.

Perhaps it'd be possible to remove the welded interior nut. With a feintool, or an angle grinder ? Has anyone tried this ?

P.S. Hechler's appears to be the thing I've been seeking, a genuine certified BK dealer with an online presence and wiliingness to ship most anywhere.

I’ve considered this upgrade too. Note that the part on the door is different too. Like the actual latch.

 

[RustyShackleford]

I’ve considered this upgrade too. Note that the part on the door is different too. Like the actual latch.

DIdn't realize that. So won't work w/o changing door part too ?

 

[RustyShackleford]

DELETE

 

[Highbeam]

DIdn't realize that. So won't work w/o changing door part too ?

I just don't know if the new style catch is compatible with the old style latch.

Or just how hard it would be to remove the welded in nut on the inside of the stove. Maybe the new style catch is long enough to pass through the welded in nut and still have threads for service on the inside with a double nut setup. You would of course need to drill out the welded nut's threads.

Myself, though I prefer the new style latch system for adjustability and contact patch, the old latch system is working fine.

 

[RustyShackleford]

I just don't know if the new style catch is compatible with the old style latch.

It's not (I bought the catch w/o realizing this).

Or just how hard it would be to remove the welded in nut on the inside of the stove. Maybe the new style catch is long enough to pass through the welded in nut and still have threads for service on the inside with a double nut setup. You would of course need to drill out the welded nut's threads.

Nope, not long enough.

It's pretty easy to get to that welded-in nut, but not sure you could get an angle-grinder on it. A feintool for sure, but might take a while. I have another idea, which involves drilling out the threads. (Somewhere someone we all know is saying "WTF is up with this guy ?" )

Myself, though I prefer the new style latch system for adjustability and contact patch, the old latch system is working fine.

Yeah, not really sure being able to do better than 1/16" resolution is really necessary, but evidently BK thought so, since they changed the design. Of course, they could've almost doubled the rez by using 3/16"-24 hardware. Actually, it's 1/32" resolution with the old design, since you'd be at worst 1/2 a turn of the 16tpi threads off from where you want to be.