Just picked up a Blaze King Chinook 30!

[bushman]

I came across a Blaze King Chinook 30 a few weeks ago and at 2:00am started a 6 hour drive from Petoskey,MI over the Mackinaw Bridge across US2 then south to Green Bay,WI then up to the tip of the Door County Peninsula to get my Chinook.

As a serial stove buyer I have had plenty of stoves and this is my first Catalytic stove and have great expectations.

The prospect of 10 hour burns has me stoked and can’t wait to get the stove out of my Landcruiser and get it on the hearth.

Looks like the 1st owner ran the Catalytic Combustor with no insulation and my local stove shop in Cheboygan, Richendollars has the 2” x 1/16 flat gasket to wrap it with.

I have no idea what condition the combustor is in, it’s a steel one. It looks ok. The internals of the stove looks OK too.

Tomorrow I will get some pictures of the rest of my score.

 

[Nigel459]

Awesome, congrats, sounds like an adventure!

With the 30 box I’d sure say you can hope for, expect even?!, far better than 10 hr burns. With my 20 box I’ve gone welllll over that mark.

Enjoy!

 

[kennyp2339]

Not bad at all, good luck and post some pics.
Take the cat probe out at hit it with a wire brush to clean any build up, test the by-pass handle gasket and door gasket using the dollar bill test. The door gasket should be tight enough that its right on the fringe of ripping the dollar as you try to pull out, the by-pass gasket will be a little looser, just really need a little resistance.
Remember when closing the by-pass its a 2-part step, rotate the hand clock wise and feel the plate hit the stove, then keep going clock wise and you feel a click, its a cam shaft system.
When lighting a fire keep the t-stat turned up to max setting, get a good established fire, load that baby up, when the cat probe hits the line between active and inactive close the by-pass, continue burning on high until the wood has a good char, then turn her down to your desired heat setting, many first time users turn the t-stat handle to the 3 o'clock position just to get a feel for operation, kind of like a test drive. don't worry about the cat probe going to the 4 o'clock position, its prob still newer and very active, turn the air back some though if it wanders to the 6 o'clock position, also the cat may fire bright orange.. most importantly, have fun.

 

[Woody Stover]

over the Mackinaw Bridge across US2 then south to Green Bay,WI then up to the tip of the Door County Peninsula

Beautiful country. My buds and I lived in various places around SE WI, and would go camping up there, play golf and go to a fish fry..or do our own fish boil at the campsite. On occasion we also emptied a few Old Styles..this was in the day when they came in returnable bottles in a hard-shell, flip-top cardboard case, heheh.
Scenery up there now is probably mostly white.
Yep, for sure we need more pics of the innards and out-ards of the stove. And most importantly, price paid.

 

[lsucet]

Congratulations. Keep us posted how you like it and your finding.

 

[moresnow]

Just to add a bit of clarity to cleaning the Cat combuster. From page 30. BK bible

Brushing the face of the combuster with a soft bristle paint brush will remove some deposits.

Passing a vacuum cleaner wand or brush near the face of the combuster will remove most deposits.

Never scrape the combuster with any hard tool or brush. Never run a pipe cleaner through the individual cells of the combuster.

Good luck and definitely enjoy your new toy. You should be able to look at the operators manual online I believe.

 

[Mark8]

 

[bushman]

Got the Chinook hooked up and am hoping I the Cat lights up. I did some light maintenance and cleaned the Cat as per manual directions.

Replaced the rear firebricks with refractory clay brick for durability.

 

[Woody Stover]

hoping I the Cat lights up. I did some light maintenance and cleaned the Cat as per manual directions.

Is that just dusting the face off and gently blowing out the cells? If cat performance seems weak, some guys have revived them for a time by simmering them out with 50/50 distilled water/distilled vinegar, then rinsing well a couple times. A search will yield the details of the procedure.

 

[Rearscreen]

simmering them out with 50/50 distilled water/distilled vinegar,

Yes Woody, I like your simmering part of the equation, so I need to find/fabricate a pan that is just a tad bigger than the cat to hold the solution mix.

 

[Woody Stover]

Yes Woody, I like your simmering part of the equation, so I need to find/fabricate a pan that is just a tad bigger than the cat to hold the solution mix.

You might get a shallow rectangular stainless pan at a restaurant supply place, or get lucky and find one at a thrift store/consignment shop.

 

[bushman]

Well, I think it’s working. It’s staying active and getting hotter. The glass is staying very clean, think I got a winner here.

 

[bushman]

If this load burns all night, I’m sold!

 

[bushman]

I gave $800 for it,,,,,,,,I know.

 

[Woody Stover]

If this load burns all night, I’m sold!

Sounds like it will, if all the gaskets checked out good.

I gave $800 for it,,,,,,,,I know.

Arrest that man! How old is it?

 

[kennyp2339]

Remember the cat is positioned so you don't need a lot of flame to maintain 500-550 deg stove top under the jacket, turn that baby down and cash in on some burn time while she's cranking out a steady heat.

 

[moresnow]

Houston. We have ignition! Now consider backing off the therm until you have zero active flame. Sit back and let it ride...

Now begins the fun part. Fine tuning. Enjoy.

 

[bushman]

2015 on the rear tag.

 

[bushman]

I am conditioned to want to see active flame and that’s going to take a while to accept the catalytic burn but, I am receptive.

 

[Highbeam]

I am conditioned to want to see active flame and that’s going to take a while to accept the catalytic burn but, I am receptive.

The only way to get those 20-30 hour burns is to turn it down lower. Flames will go out but the cat temp meter must stay active to keep burning cleanly. If you need the heat, flames are fine but your burn time will be reduced.

 

[Poindexter]

Sounds like you have an active cat, but the pics on post one do show a used cat. Hopefully the combustor that came with the stove will alst long enough to prove everything else is on good working order so you don't feel bad about replacing the combustor. I look for 15-20 cords out of a new combustor, kinda on the low end around here. 30 box requires a combustor gasket. Welcome to the dark side.

 

[Nigel459]

I am conditioned to want to see active flame and that’s going to take a while to accept the catalytic burn but, I am receptive.

...Welcome to the dark side.

This is on point. "Welcome to the dark side" could also mean "welcome to the black box club," as in, the peak burn times of these BK stoves comes with the cost of virtually no flame show, other than the first 20-30 mins of charring and then some funky secondaries for a short while after turnign down the thermostat.

That said, you can still "play with" the tstat throughout the burn in order to see flames. Just won't get the lowest burn rate and thus the longgggest burn times.

Still pretty awesome stuff if what you're interested in is primarily.... heat!

 

[kennyp2339]

Guess @bushman turned it down and got board like the rest of us and found something else to do

 

[ratsrepus]

Guess @bushman turned it down and got board like the rest of us

and found something else to do

Me waiting to reload my BK

 

[moresnow]

Update on initial run?