Blaze King Thermostat Question

[toejam]

I cant seem to keep the cat engaged with a setting lower than 2. Are there any tricks to 1-2 setting? I will start with a nice fully enflamed fire, then I will turn it down to 3, I will wait 15 minutes then turn it down to 2 1/2 wait 15 minutes and then down to 2 and finally to 1 1/2 were I seem to loose the cat temps.

 

[North of 60]

What is your stove top temp, and how dry is your wood? I have never NOT had the CAT stay lit. Sometimes if I am in a rush to leave the house I can set it to #1 right away after a re-load and leave with no problems.
N of 60

 

[SolarAndWood]

I have that same experience when burning the junk cut offs from processing this spring. When I use the 2 year seasoned stuff, the cat stays lit down to 1 without a problem.

 

[North of 60]

Just in case... which way do you have your bypass handle when you have your cat engaged? Towards you or the rear of the stove?

 

[toejam]

I dont know what the stoves top temps are. How important is this?

I have yet to load the box if this is any help. I am getting familiar with the burn and cat before I load it up.

The wood I have 3 cords is 2 years 16% moisture reading. Its very light and grey.

The handle is away or towards the rear of the stove. I have no smoke from the chimney.

The stove is cruising at 2 with a nice coal bed and cat is halfway up the meter.

 

[North of 60]

All sounds good. Your CAT temp should actually climb once you turn the stove down as less draft through the com-buster to cool it down. It should actually spike for awhile.

EDIT: Load that thing up as the manual says. ;-)

 

[SolarAndWood]

EDIT: Load that thing up as the manual says. ;-)

+1. That is the only way to run these stoves. Even when it isn't that cold and you might be tempted to build a small fire, fill that firebox and let the tstat do its thing. If you want less total heat over the course of the burn, use a less dense wood.

 

[learnin to burn]

Toejam - Manual says to run the stove for an hour on 2 before lowering the t-stat. It's under "Addendum—Your First Fire"

Other thing is if your fans are on the turn them off for 5-10 minutes then check to see if your in the active zone.

 

[RustyShackleford]

Toejam - Manual says to run the stove for an hour on 2 before lowering the t-stat. It's under "Addendum—Your First Fire"

Hmm, I'm not even doing that. Within probably a half hour of loading the stove for overnight,
I'll run it HARD for 10-15min or so to get the wood burning, then step it down to "1" in maybe 2 or
3 steps. I've got cat activity 12 hours later. Maybe only 1/2" or so up in the "active" zone,
but no visible smoke out the chimney, so I think it's still good.

I hate to say it, but it sounds like maybe the OPs cat is not up to snuff. How old is it ? Could
it have gotten poisoned ? It DOES have some kind of warranty, I think.

P.S. I wonder why BK doesn't trust us with a thermometer that reads actual degrees, instead of
just "active" and "inactive" ? They could color-code the zones if they're afraid we can't remember
what temp is active. I wonder if mine needs adjustment, as described in p. 38 of the manual ?
They say needle should point to "bottom of active zone" when the stove is cold. Mine actually
points about 1/4" lower than that. What do other people see ? Should I adjust mine ?

 

[toejam]

I got a full load in it. The cat is red hot. Iam at setting number two. There is a ton of smoke in the box. I am guessing this is ok. Later on I will cut it back to 1.5

 

[North of 60]

Toejam - Manual says to run the stove for an hour on 2 before lowering the t-stat. It's under "Addendum—Your First Fire"

Hmm, I'm not even doing that. Within probably a half hour of loading the stove for overnight,
I'll run it HARD for 10-15min or so to get the wood burning, then step it down to "1" in maybe 2 or
3 steps. I've got cat activity 12 hours later. Maybe only 1/2" or so up in the "active" zone,
but no visible smoke out the chimney, so I think it's still good.

I hate to say it, but it sounds like maybe the OPs cat is not up to snuff. How old is it ? Could
it have gotten poisoned ? It DOES have some kind of warranty, I think.

P.S. I wonder why BK doesn't trust us with a thermometer that reads actual degrees, instead of
just "active" and "inactive" ? They could color-code the zones if they're afraid we can't remember
what temp is active. I wonder if mine needs adjustment, as described in p. 38 of the manual ?
They say needle should point to "bottom of active zone" when the stove is cold. Mine actually
points about 1/4" lower than that. What do other people see ? Should I adjust mine ?

I would say they do it to keep it simple. Don't over complicate it! Just use it. Put a thermo beside it as I did if you require a reference. DRY DRY WOOD is the KEY, with FULL loads. Enjoy

 

[toejam]

I have fire near and at the cat. It looks like the smoke is burning at the cat.

 

[RustyShackleford]

Toejam - Manual says to run the stove for an hour on 2 before lowering the t-stat. It's under "Addendum—Your First Fire"

P.S. I wonder why BK doesn't trust us with a thermometer that reads actual degrees, instead of
just "active" and "inactive" ? They could color-code the zones if they're afraid we can't remember
what temp is active. I wonder if mine needs adjustment, as described in p. 38 of the manual ?
They say needle should point to "bottom of active zone" when the stove is cold. Mine actually
points about 1/4" lower than that. What do other people see ? Should I adjust mine ?

I would say they do it to keep it simple. Don't over complicate it! Just use it. Put a thermo beside it as I did if you require a reference. DRY DRY WOOD is the KEY, with FULL loads. Enjoy

Wise advice, no doubt. I just obsess over whether I'm still burning clean/efficient at the ends of
these long burns, and the needle is not that far from the inactive zone. So if I adjust as stated,
I gain another 1/4". Probably silly though - like you said, get a real thermometer, or see how
clean the chimney effluent appears.

 

[Todd]

Couldn't you guys replace those BK probes with a Condar that has numbers on it? That would drive me crazy not knowing what temps I'm at and no point of reference for future burns.

 

[RustyShackleford]

Couldn't you guys replace those BK probes with a Condar that has numbers on it? That would drive me crazy not knowing what temps I'm at and no point of reference for future burns.

I'll bet the BK ones are special order Condar ones for the 'tards that buy BKs

 

[learnin to burn]

Toejam - Manual says to run the stove for an hour on 2 before lowering the t-stat. It's under "Addendum—Your First Fire"

Hmm, I'm not even doing that. Within probably a half hour of loading the stove for overnight,
I'll run it HARD for 10-15min or so to get the wood burning, then step it down to "1" in maybe 2 or
3 steps. I've got cat activity 12 hours later. Maybe only 1/2" or so up in the "active" zone,
but no visible smoke out the chimney, so I think it's still good.

I hate to say it, but it sounds like maybe the OPs cat is not up to snuff. How old is it ? Could
it have gotten poisoned ? It DOES have some kind of warranty, I think.

P.S. I wonder why BK doesn't trust us with a thermometer that reads actual degrees, instead of
just "active" and "inactive" ? They could color-code the zones if they're afraid we can't remember
what temp is active. I wonder if mine needs adjustment, as described in p. 38 of the manual ?
They say needle should point to "bottom of active zone" when the stove is cold. Mine actually
points about 1/4" lower than that. What do other people see ? Should I adjust mine ?

From Pg 38 of manual - At room temperature, away from the stove, the indicator
should point near the bottom of the "Inactive" zone.

Mine points just below the start of the silver line/first inactive mark.

Check this link for the insert and go to page 3 - There is a thermometer there with the arrow pointing where mine does.
(broken link removed to http://blazeking.com/Brochures-En/WoodProductPDF/PI1010ATaxCredit.pdf)

 

[toejam]

The cat still goes out with a full load. I cant imagine a bad cat on a new stove.

Would a oak setup fix this?

 

[SolarAndWood]

N/S or E/W? What do you mean by go out? Not a blazing color or inactive on the thermometer?

 

[toejam]

E/W loading


It stops glowing and it falls below inactive on thermometer.

 

[SolarAndWood]

I would try N/S. Seems to burn hotter. You will find that after a long burn there is kind of a horseshoe shaped hole in the firebox with the door being at the bottom of the horseshoe. If you rake in the sides and corners towards the front center and then turn the tstat all the way up, it will burn for another 3 to 4 hours.

 

[learnin to burn]

You could have a clogged cat or the thermometer may be coated with gunk not allowing it to read properly. The thermometer could also be bad.

Here is the trouble shooting guide to your issue.

PROBLEM: Catalytic combustor thermometer (on top of stove) does not go into "Active" zone, or does
not stay there for long.
CAUSE SOLUTION
Improper operation Check thermostat setting And operating procedures.
See page 33
Obstruction in chimney or cap Clean chimney, remove Obstructions.
Faulty catalyst thermometer. Replace thermometer and Recheck combustor
operating Temperature.
Wood too green or wet. Use seasoned wood.
Combustor plugged or coated. Clean combustor, see Page 36
Combustor not functioning. Check and test combustor
If needed replace combustor. See page 37
Thermostat not operating properly. Consult your blaze King Dealer.
By-pass door leaking or not Inspect and clean area around by-pass doors.
closing completely. Adjust or repair as necessary. Consult your
Blaze King Dealer.

 

[Wet1]

What's your flue setup like? Using a fairly short flue with these stoves will effect the burn, and the 8" only compounds the problem. A longer flue will pull more air through the stove, which might make enough of a difference to allow you to lower the stat more.

Since it's a new stove, I highly doubt it's the cat. My guess is it's the wood, your technique, or the flue configuration. I doubt the an OAK would solve the problem unless the stove is starved for air... but it seems to be fine at the higher settings so there's plenty of air in the room. You could always crack a nearby window to verify this.

 

[daleeper]

What's your flue setup like? Using a fairly short flue with these stoves will effect the burn, and the 8" only compounds the problem. A longer flue will pull more air through the stove, which might make enough of a difference to allow you to lower the stat more.

Since it's a new stove, I highly doubt it's the cat. My guess is it's the wood, your technique, or the flue configuration. I doubt the an OAK would solve the problem unless the stove is starved for air... but it seems to be fine at the higher settings so there's plenty of air in the room. You could always crack a nearby window to verify this.

Here are photos of his install:

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/46153/

Looks like a straight shot up, maybe a bit short, but otherwise ideal for good draft. Do you have trouble with smoke spilling out of the stove?

I would invest in a stove top thermometer and see if that probe thermometer is working correctly. They don't cost much, and are easy to find. Other BK King owners can tell you what temps you should be seeing on the cat thermometer and stove top. I would also double check the cat to make sure it's not clogged with ash or something.

I believe there was someone posting here within the last year or so that had a new cat that was bad, so it could be possible, but unusual.

Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[SolarAndWood]

Did you get that issue with the telescopic section resolved? If that pipe isn't tight, it may be the cause of the low burn problems.

 

[toejam]

Thanks for all your support. This stove has quite a learning curve.




The flu runs 16 feet strait off the stove.

I havent had any smoke come into the room when I open the door.

I will call them today and ask about this.