thanks for the replies! i called the blaze king phone number and talked to a rep who told me that it wouldn't hold a dollar bill like the door gasket because it's only the weight of the plate that's pushing down on the gasket. he seemed to think it was just fine.
What? The bolt BKVP is talking about is a adjustment for how hard the plate is pressing down against the gasket, right? What model is your stove?
Some what true weight of the plate there is a horizontal control rod that meets the ramp bracket and pushes the plate down. Adjustment from the 7/16 bolt head should increase tension on ramp to pass the dollar bill test. My dealer install found my stove bypass adjustment with no more adjustment and does not pass the dollar bill test dealer said it should be ok. The fix for mine is remove the stove to access the bypass plate and install new bypass along with a gasket. My stove is one year old.
It's a Sirocco 30.1. I just had it installed a couple of weeks ago - stove is brand new. Wouldn't this tightness be set in the stove straight from the manufacturer? Or is it something the installer should have checked? The guys who put the stove in for me are WETT certified, but they don't have any knowledge of the blaze king stoves.
That's why i called the Blaze King phone number on the stove manual - cause I knew the guys who installed it wouldn't know if it needed to be adjusted.
I'm not having a problem that I know of. I'm just in the process of still learning the stove and what makes it tick, and a few days ago when I was checking the door gasket with the "dollar bill test" I decided to do the same thing to the bypass plate/gasket. However, the bypass plate/gasket did not resist me tugging the "dollar bill" like the door gasket does, so then i was trying to figure out whether it needed to be tightened some how. I've read the stove manual so many times I probably could recite it from memory! But it doesn't say specifically how to test the gasket to see if it's "tight enough". It just talks about hearing the click etc. So, that's why I posted on here - to see if anyone knew how tight it was supposed to be, but then I also decided to call the Blaze King phone number to ask them. The Blaze King guy said that the bypass seal wouldn't pass the dollar bill test, because it's just the weight of the plate that creates the seal. I do hear the "click" when I close the bypass. Like I said, I'm still trying to figure out my stove, and I just want to make sure everything is working as it should be.
Yes I think you're bang on - the Blaze King guy i spoke with said that they wouldn't. Which was a relief, because when I did it to my stove, the paper slid right out!
Apparently the BK guy doesn't have much knowledge of the stove either, if he thinks it is a gravity seal. I'm sure they seek out the best help minimum wage can buy, but that only goes so far.I also decided to call the Blaze King phone number to ask them. The Blaze King guy said that the bypass seal wouldn't pass the dollar bill test, because it's just the weight of the plate that creates the seal. I do hear the "click" when I close the bypass. Like I said, I'm still trying to figure out my stove, and I just want to make sure everything is working as it should be.
thanks! i really want to learn all i can about the stove - i did tonnes of research prior to buying it. biggest concern really is that none of the WETT certified installers in my town know much about blaze kings, so i don't have much in the way of local "technical support". I think i'm going to leave the bypass door alone - I am assuming it was set up to work the way it's supposed to when the stove was manufactured. like i said, i could ask the guy who installed it if it should be tightened, but he'd probably just look at me like i had 17 eyes! hahahaApparently the BK guy doesn't have much knowledge of the stove either, if he thinks it is a gravity seal. I'm sure they seek out the best help minimum wage can buy, but that only goes so far.
You should feel the rod "cam down" the plate and make the click sound that you are hearing. I've seen that in other BK posts. If you hover over 'forums' above, maybe a search will turn some of these up. That camming action is present both of my stoves but since the hinge portion of the bypass plate isn't held in place on the BK, it's possible the the plate could move a bit in relation to the gasket as it sets down. I would try the dollar bill in several places around the gasket, and also open and close it multiple times to see if my theory about the moving plate holds any water.
That said, it may not make a whole lot of difference. Like black smoke signals said, if you're not having a problem when you run it, it's all good. If smoke is getting past the bypass gasket and is visible outside even after the cat is lit and glowing, I wouldn't like that.
You're on the right track trying to understand how the stove is supposed to work. None of these stoves are perfect, and if you're lucky enough to have a little mechanical aptitude, you can dive in there and fix a lot of problem yourself so that your stove will do the job to your satisfaction. In all likelihood you'll end up knowing more than a lot of the stove store guys out there..
If you read here for a while you'll see that all kinds of stuff comes out of the plant that ain't quite right. I had a seam air leak on the Keystone from day one. It eventually got to the point where it was affecting operation and I had to address it with some of the great Woodstock-made furnace cement. Super-tacky and stringy, it's doing the job..
Agreed..if the cat's lighting off, the thermometer is well into the active range and there's no smoke out the stack, it's working well.
Thank you for your response. I live in northern Ontario, and I called the Canadian phone number on my manual 250-493-7444 - spoke with a guy named Jeff. Like I said, he was very very helpful, and answered a lot of questions for me. The glass door on my stove is definitely sealed properly. I know that the tag that was hanging on the door reminded me that the tension for the stove door may need to be adjusted after the first few firings, so I've been checking it with the dollar bill test every time it's cold to make sure that it's still sealed properly - so far, so good. It was the last time that I did this that i decided to check the bypass door the same way, just for curiosity sake. It was at this time that i got worried, because when i closed the bypass door and pulled on my paper, it slipped right out with really no resistance. So then i got worried that it wasn't sealed properly, which is what made me post on here and call the hotline number (i couldn't find anything online or in the manual that made me know for sure if it was/wasn't working as it should be). I definitely get that "click" and cam lock when I close the bypass handle.
Remind me, but this is a new stove with few fires, correct? If so, slide up the pipe, use a 7/16" (maybe 10mm?) loosen the keeper nut. This means turn it counter clockwise about 5 revolutions. Put wrench on bolt head, rotate 1/2 turn, secure the keeper nut.
Yes, brand new stove with a few fires in it. The guy who installed it is coming over to balance out my HVAC, so I will ask him to do it when he's here.
